On Tuesday, Swig announced a shift in leadership to enhance its increasing nationwide growth by promoting Todd Smith to president of the company. In his previous position as Swig’s chief commercial officer, Smith headed supply chain operations, real estate investments and building construction. As president, Smith’s leadership will continue to lead the expansion by scouting paramount locations in order to meet customer demands.
“His past experience has been an amazing asset to Swig,” says Swig CEO Alex Dunn. “Both his bigger experiences at Wendy’s and Sonic, his entrepreneurial experiences, starting some of his own brands and restaurants, and franchising, all together have proved to be very valuable to Swig as we continue our expansion.”
In conjunction with Smith as president, Shannon Swenson is appointed to chief of franchise partnerships to strategically make “dirty soda” accessible to customers nationwide.
“Shannon is one of the top executives in all of food and beverage for franchising,” says Dunn. “She will continue to accelerate our expansion into franchising and allow us to establish a nationwide footprint for Swig.”
As chief of franchise partnerships at Swig, Swenson seeks to lead the department to drive brand expansion, develop strategic initiatives with partners facilitating explosive growth, and collaborate with the leadership team to align franchise goals with company objectives.
The “Home of the Original Dirty Soda” was founded in 2010 in St. George and has grown into one of the most booming franchises focused on beverages in the country. With over 120 locations across 16 states, the carefully curated dirty sodas, water-based refreshers, energy-filled revivers and mouth-watering snacks have overthrown the industry.
Founder Nicole Robison opened the first store with the vision that “people could grab a drink, connect, and feel a little joy in their day.” The unique and customizable menu became a daily stop for students, moms, families and everyone in between.
These leadership promotions initiate the next chapter in Swig’s journey to make dirty soda available to customers everywhere. Dunn says that the company’s goals and values will remain the same: They’re not sacrificing their unique culture for growth and are keeping the endgame in mind of being in every state with thousands of locations nationwide.
“We’re doing for soda what Starbucks did for coffee. Starbucks was able to take the demand for coffee and turn that into a multi-billion-dollar business worldwide. Soda is a $300 billion a year industry just in the United States alone, so there’s that same opportunity,” says Dunn.
The promotion of Smith and Swenson will take the company’s store growth and franchising opportunities to the next level.