ABOUT US Alan Hiller (abhiller@therestaurantgrowthgroup.com)  After graduating NYU with a BA in psychology, Alan joined the marketing staff of The American Tobacco Co. as an Assistant Product Manager. He became so intrigued with the prospect of persuading consumers to purchase his product that he enrolled in graduate school at the City College of New York to pursue courses in advertising and marketing.Realizing that not everyone has to smoke but everyone has to eat, he shifted gears and joined the Buitoni Foods Corporation where he could get hands-on experience with a much smaller company. At Buitoni, he had his first taste of new product development, package design, market research and general management of a variety of brands. He had found a home in the food industry and joined the Foodservice Division of General Foods Corporation. He was now entering a totally new aspect of food marketing and sales…. that being, foodservice. After spending a few years learning about the many facets of the industry including distribution, pricing, packaging and finance, he was promoted to New Product Development Manager. This was significant since it was the launch of a brand new product development department within the foodservice division at GF. It was Alan's responsibility to assess the foodservice marketplace need for not only renditions of current General Foods products but development of totally new items that would clearly be identified as foodservice-specific. This assignment led to his further involvement in definitive market research of consumers and guests, distributors and operators, financial evaluation, package design, promotion and merchandising, test market planning and national expansion. He developed a formal 10-phase development program to ensure that a potential new product would meet business proposition guidelines. Some of the products that were developed under his tutelage were Oven Stuffin' Stuffing Mix, Lean Strips and Country Time Lemonade. Eager to broaden his total food marketing and merchandising involvement, Alan joined the marketing staff of Sunshine Biscuits on the retail side as Director, New Business & Specialty Marketing. In this position, he became involved not only in new product development but in new business segments, i.e., convenience stores, mass merchandisers and membership clubs. This was augmented by the development of low opportunity markets that included licensing agreements and specialty items. His impact in the food business led to an offer by the Mott's Division of Cadbury Schweppes as Marketing Manager, Special Channels. His key responsibility in this position was to assess the foodservice market potential for Mott's USA. The result was the formation of the Mott's USA Foodservice Division. He then took on the position of Director of Marketing, Foodservice. Alan was offered a position with Great Brands of Europe (commonly known as the Evian Company, a Groupe Danone subsidiary). In this role, Alan was responsible for the importation of some key Danone products, i.e., Lu Biscuits, Jacobs Crackers and Agnesi Pasta. Alan was then recruited by another Groupe Dannone division, The Dannon Company as Director of Foodservice Marketing. After a number of years in this position, he realized there was one aspect of his career that he had not fulfilled…. that being Sales. He requested and was granted the position of National Accounts Manager in the foodservice division where his responsibilities included sales and marketing to the ARAMARK Corporation, military and some smaller chain accounts. This sales assignment completed the cycle of involvement in virtually every aspect of the foodservice experience. Alan has been a guest lecturer at the Fordham University Graduate School, Pace University, Bergen Community College and the American Marketing Association. He also has served as Contributing Editor and Editorial Board Member, Journal of Consumer Marketing. Robert Hiller (rghiller@therestaurantgrowthgroup.com)  Bob began his career in food quite by accident.
After pounding the pavement for almost six months with a joint degree in
marketing and advertising from Syracuse, he accepted a job as an Assistant
Media Plannier at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising in New York for the whopping
salary of $8,500 per year. When you figure how many hours he worked per week,
his hourly take home was in the $2.50 range. But he did have the opportunity to
immerse himself in his accounts which included Hershey Foods Co. and General
Foods Corporation. He knew at that time that he was destined for a career
somewhere in food. He went on to a variety of stints at other agencies working on more food and beverage accounts including Burger King, El Pollo Loco, Friday's, Denny's, Restaurant Associates, Aramark, Campbell's Soup, Cadbury Schweppes (Mott's), Miller Beer, Brown & Foreman, Heublein and Coca Cola. Outside of the food arena and while at McCann Erickson in the 80's, Bob led the team developing the creative for the immensely popular Joe Camel character at RJR/Nabisco. After realizing that Bob was selling things to people that they never really needed in the first place (Cigarettes), he said "enough of this…I want to cook" and he returned to school at The Culinary Institute of America full time. He then did industry BOH and FOH work at The Beekman Arms Hotel, The Rye Town Hilton and The Eduardian Room at The Plaza in NYC. Upon a successful 10 year stint as a corporate and social caterer in the Metropolitan NYC area, Bob returned to the foodservice marketing world working for The Food Group. There, he helped change the landscape at Nabisco (A1, Grey Poupon, Oreo and Ortega,) and had the opportunity to also work with Sara Lee, and Sugar Foods. Bob then opened his own successful foodservice strategic marketing shop, The Imagineer Group which was the forerunner and proving ground for The Restaurant Growth Group. Some of Bob’s clients at Imagineer/ The Restaurant Growth Group include: Nestle FoodServices, Nestle Water, Nestle Vend, Menu Magic, Surebeam, Coldwater Seafood, The Turkey Store, Fresh Express, Golden Corral, Subway, Ryan’s Steakhouse and Knott’s Berry Farm. Bob’s success lies in the fact that he designs successful programs that are intended to get more guests through the door, increase check averages, increase ROI and bottom line revenues. According to Bob, “The Restaurant Growth Group is the culmination of years of business building experience and controlling guests, competition and trends. This new concept allows the operator to affect and determine their future and set their own course. It is the future of successful away-from-home dining within all segments.” Bob is a business growth specialist and out-of-the-box thinker. He has proven leadership skills in the development and growth of business-to-business and business-to-consumer operations and utilizes a complete proven measurement device of metrics for success. Via Bob's business building methods and valued leadership, his clients consistently make their projections with the addition of new systems, products and means. Bob is a true “trusted advisor” who believes in relationships, not just in-and-out one-time jobs. Bob's expert communication and speaking skills have earned him a place on various organization's programs at events where he speaks on business building techniques and trend analysis. Bob also prides himself on being a teacher, motivator, supporter and most importantly a team player. Doug Werts (dcwerts@therestaurantgrowthgroup.com) To say that Food is Doug's passion is an understatement. From his humble beginnings making scrambled eggs at the age of 10 on Saturday mornings, to planning and preparing meals for 425 people during a weekend retreat; it has become a life long love affair. Long before there was ever a Food Network, Doug enjoyed seeking out and watching the early culinary shows featuring the original celebrity chefs Graham Kerr, Julia Child, and Jacque Pepin. It was this love of food and cooking that has resonated throughout his career in foodservice. Following his graduation from San Diego State University (the academic mecca of Southern California), Doug began his career in foodservice when he joined Carnation Company as a management trainee in their budding Foodservice Division. After the acquisition by Nestle, Doug continued to move throughout the organization in a variety of different sales and marketing positions. There is not any segment of the foodservice industry that Doug has not been directly involved with at some point in his career. In addition to his work here in the United States, Doug spent three years working with Nestle in the UK where he was responsible for managing the National Account Food and Beverage businesses. Strategic planning and sales development has always been a strong area of expertise, and Doug was able to utilize these skills in the UK by initiating several new segment strategies. Doug also held the role of European Director of Strategic Key Account Development for both Pizza Hut and McDonald's for all Nestle operating companies throughout Europe. Doug possesses the core foundation for developing an overall strategic approach to the business, with an emphasis on long term customer development. Early in his career, Doug understood the value of working together with his customers to develop their business and not just to sell product. This philosophy is never more true than it is today. Being able to work with clients and customers to build long term sustainable new business development and customer intimacy is the foundation for success. Doug has the unique ability to not only understand the strategic objectives of the clients, but help them to structure programs which accomplish those objectives. Clients who have experienced his programs are all impressed with his seamless attention to detail combined with an amazing energy level. "We are fortunate to have someone of Doug's background and expertise join our team," noted Robert Hiller, President of The Imagineer Group. "Doug is a perfect fit for our company as we extend our capabilities and rapidly grow our business. He brings direct value to our company by understanding the needs of our customers and being proactive in doing what it takes to satisfy those needs." |
