PASADENA, Calif. – Wetzel’s Pretzels (Wetzel’s), the groundbreaking brand putting a tasty twist on snacking, announced the appointment of Vincent Montanelli to the company’s top leadership position. Montanelli joined Wetzel’s nearly 20 years ago as the Senior Vice President of Operations and most recently held the post of COO. He will maintain the COO title with the promotion, taking on the highest leadership responsibilities for the organization.

Promoted following MTY Food Group’s recent acquisition of Wetzel’s, Montanelli aims to build on the brand’s momentum, driving store growth through its multitude of flexible store formats. At the doorstep of the much anticipated historic 400th store opening, the past three years have been pivotal for Wetzel’s, including a substantial 35% increase in same-store-sales growth. The brand’s partnerships with Big Box retailers like Wal-Mart, rapidly growing mobile food truck fleet, and recent opening of new, streetside concept, Twisted by Wetzel’s, demonstrates new pathways for the snack category leader to meet guest demand.

“I was excited to join the Wetzel’s team nearly 20 years ago, because of its unique combination of serving a fresh, high-quality product, while maintaining simple operations and a proven business model,” said Montanelli. “In this new role, I look forward to enhancing our guest experience and growing our network in new and innovative ways.”

Montanelli’s responsibilities have included training, operations and procurement, while designing and implementing strategies to bring pretzels to the people no matter the platform. His past work with well-established brands like Jamba Juice, Baskin-Robins and McDonald’s also resulted in overarching success and executing growth plans.

Wetzel’s has been sharing its signature handheld happiness ever since its founding in Pasadena, California in 1994. The brand continues to attract a cult-like following in communities across North America through its cool, SoCal vibes and crave-worthy snacks, which cultivate special moments of pure pretzel bliss between friends, family and colleagues.

 Wetzel’s pretzel-preneurs benefit from being a part of a nationally recognized brand with a devoted following. With a proven business model that satisfies cravings for handheld snacks on the go, simple operations, a growing consumer base and franchise availability remaining in attractive markets, Wetzel’s can twist and turn into any design or location. Even more so, franchisees are backed by an experienced leadership team for individualized support.

For additional information about the Wetzel’s franchise opportunity, visit https://www.wetzelsfranchising.com.   

About Wetzel’s Pretzels

Providing a fun, fresh take on soft pretzels, Wetzel’s Pretzels was founded in 1994 by Bill Phelps and Rick Wetzel in Pasadena, California. Drawing fans to its mouthwatering, portable snacks that are hand-rolled, baked fresh and served hot from the oven, word quickly spread about the delicious West Coast brand. Today, Wetzel’s Pretzels has grown to more than 370 bakeries, including premier locations like Disney Springs® at Walt Disney World® Resort, Downtown Disney® District at Disneyland® Resort and Universal CityWalk™, continuing to cultivate fanatics around the world with its SoCal vibes and “gram-worthy” snacks. Its cult-like following includes famous fans like Ben Affleck, Billie Eilish, Jimmy Kimmel and Kim Kardashian. As the nation’s leading pretzel chain, the franchise has received numerous accolades, most recently being named to Franchise Business Review’s 2023 Top Food Franchises and Entrepreneur’s Top 50 Franchise Companies Doing the Most to Champion Diversity lists. 

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