The Charcuterie Board Concept is Part of United Franchise Group
Graze Craze, a charcuterie board franchise, appointed Ryan Papillo director of national accounts. With this role, he will report to Graze Craze president Cory Hibbard and develop a national accounts program.
“The word ‘charcuterie’ is not familiar to everyone yet, but I firmly believe that within the next five years, our brand name will not only become synonymous with charcuterie but also replace it. I’m looking forward to the day when people refer to a charcuterie board as a Graze Craze board and bring that vision to fruition,” Papillo said.
As a new member of the franchising community, Papillo enjoys working with, helping and learning from entrepreneurs on a daily basis. He appreciates their insight and wisdom because he’s an entrepreneur himself. To Papillo, good entrepreneurs are able to learn but great ones find ways to improve on what they’ve learned. With Graze Craze, he gets to apply his skills and experience to help others build successful businesses and learn from franchise owners simultaneously. Graze Craze benefits from decades of leadership experience as part of Starpoint Brands, the franchise division of United Franchise Group.
Hibbard is thrilled to have Papillo on board. “As we prepare to break out as a leading national brand in a top dining category, Ryan was the perfect choice to lead us there.”
Papillo’s Background
Papillo has worked alongside and learned from some of the top sales and marketing minds. He’s always been intrigued by the food category, especially as it adopts game-changing technologies, which have created new revenue channels. Papillo notes that charcuterie is one of the fastest-growing segments in food and is an efficient way to feed large groups. To him, Graze Craze boards can cater to a variety of tastes or dietary needs while offering high presentation value. He sees a large market with emerging revenue channels and a unique product that can differentiate itself.
Avoiding Lonely Days
Like many Graze Craze franchise owners, Papillo is also an entrepreneur and understands what it takes to succeed as a business owner. But entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, he says. When he was building his business, there were times when he wished that he had someone to go to for advice or just bounce ideas off. With his new role, he wants to ensure that Graze Craze franchise owners never have a lonely day.
About Graze Craze
Graze Craze was founded in 2020 and began franchising in 2021. Since then, the charcuterie board franchise has expanded to 36 locations in 20 states, with 24 new locations coming soon, according to a press release. Expansion in Arkansas and Virginia is also expected before the end of 2023.