US culinary on-demand start-up Kitchen United has named former Yum! Brands executive Meredith Sandland as its chief operating officer (COO).
In the new role, Sandland will be involved in driving revenue and manage Kitchen United’s business strategy, operations and national roll out plan.
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Kitchen United CEO Jim Collins said: “I’m incredibly excited to welcome Meredith to Kitchen United’s leadership team. She embodies the strong business instincts, deep knowledge of the industry, extensive leadership and passion that will drive our mission forward.
“We have ambitious goals for 2018, and the addition of Meredith will enable us to help restaurant operators and independent food professionals expand their footprint and integrate seamlessly with delivery operations by using our turnkey back of house infrastructure.”
Prior to this appointment, Sandland served as chief development officer for Yum! Brands division Taco Bell, which has 7,000 locations and $10bn in system sales.
According to Kitchen United, Sandland led more than $1bn in sales to the system through the addition of 1,000 Taco Bell restaurants in just four years.
In addition, former McDonald’s executive Atul Sood and restaurateur and SBE Entertainment leader Massimo Noja De Marco join Kitchen United as the chief business officer and chief culinary officer, respectively.
Last year, Kitchen United was spun out of Cali Group, which is a holding company that comprises CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain.
In February, the company opened a new 12,000ft2 facility in Pasadena, California, for use by regional and national food and restaurant brands.
The firm also offers kitchen space for an hourly rental service to food truck operators, catering firms and restaurants.
