Red Mango founder and chief concept officer Dan Kim is stepping down to start his own consultancy, Kim said Friday.
Kim will continue in an advisory role at Red Mango, he said. The 300-unit frozen yogurt chain is now owned by Dallas-based BRIX Holdings LLC, which also owns Smoothie Factory and an 80-percent stake in RedBrick Pizza.
“After eight years of eating frozen yogurt nearly every day, I decided last week to step down from Red Mango to pursue two things I've been wanting to do for awhile: (1) form a consulting agency where I can help cool and innovative companies in broader consumer markets, and (2) spend more time collaborating with colleges and universities on teaching and promoting innovation,” Kim wrote in a Facebook post Friday.
Kim founded Red Mango in Los Angeles in 2007 and served as chief executive until he stepped down to serve as chief concept officer in July 2011.
Kim said he would continue to work on a few Red Mango projects this year.
“I have couple of innovative flavors I’ve been working on,” he told Nation’s Restaurant News Friday. “I’ll wrap those up, but I’ll be spending the majority of my time building up my consulting practice.”
Kim said his new company, DAN.KIM&CO, “will use digital and social marketing as a platform for growth and development objectives. It will be for leveraging the digital and social ecosystem to get their message across in effective ways.”
Kim added that he could help with the introduction of new products, or entrances into new markets as well.
“I think there’s an opportunity for a consultancy that lives and breathes the principals of today’s Millennial culture, driven by social media,” he said.
Red Mango is owned by Brix Holdings LLC, a Dallas-based holding company that formed in 2014 and is headed by John Antioco, who previously served as chairman of Taco Bell Corp. and was chair and chief executive of video-rental chain Blockbuster. Antioco invested in Red Mango in 2008 with Dallas-based private-equity firm CIC Partners LP.
Antioco and CIC bought out the company in 2009, and CIC exited Red Mango in 2013, with Antioco taking a majority ownership. The company also acquired Smoothie Factory and RedBrick Pizza in 2013. The company was rebranded as BRIX.
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