Rodgers Leverages Two Decades of Experience in Leading Franchise Development for the Premium Dessert Brand
Christina Rodgers is the new director of franchise development for Kilwins Chocolates Franchise, a premium dessert franchise that specializes in chocolates, fudge, ice cream and more. She is responsible for overseeing franchise recruitment initiatives and finding the right candidates for the premium dessert brand.
Rodgers said Kilwin’s core values and culture immediately resonated with her. “Kilwins does a great job of fostering a family atmosphere and making every member of the team feel valuable. I am most excited about the planned, achievable growth coming for the brand. The landscape and opportunity for growth is vast. When I saw the vision and the will of the company to make this vision a reality, I knew I had to be a part of it.”
Ron Galbreath, head of development at Kilwins Chocolates Franchise, said Rodgers is the right person to lead the brand forward. “We are confident that Christina\’s expertise and enthusiasm will greatly contribute to the future growth and success of Kilwins,” he said.
From Home Services to Food Franchising
Rodgers’ franchising career began in 2006 with ServiceMaster Brands, a leading franchise provider of residential and commercial services in the restoration, cleaning, moving and bioremediation industries. During her 13-plus years there, Rodgers took on franchise development roles representing ServiceMaster Clean, ServiceMaster Restore, Furniture Medic, Merry Maids and AmeriSpec. She then joined Authority Brands in 2019, overseeing the development of brands including The Cleaning Authority, Mister Sparky Electric, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and One Hour Heating and Air.
During her time with Stellar Service Brands, she was responsible for the growth of home services brands including Bluefrog Plumbing and Drain, Restoration 1, The Driveway Company and Softroc. Most recently, Rodgers served as vice president of franchise development for HomeFront Brands and oversaw the growth of Window Hero, The Designery and Yard Patrol Pros.
She said the transition from home services to food franchising has been seamless. “So much of franchising goes back to those relationships that you build and your core values, and that never really changes regardless of the logo on your shirt,” Rodgers said. “It certainly helps that Kilwins has an amazing product that sells itself, which frees me up to expose new franchisees to the opportunities. I can support them every step of the way.”
Building Relationships
Working in franchising for two decades has allowed her to develop relationships that have greatly helped her throughout her career, Rodgers said. “I have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing brokers and some brands that I have been extremely passionate about. The relationships and trust that I have been able to build within the franchise community are critical, and I will continue to both lean on and support these great partners at Kilwins as we achieve our ambitious growth goals.”
When she isn’t working, Rodgers enjoys spending time with her husband and three dogs: Hooch, Apollo and Adonis. She lives by her favorite quote: “As a leader, you should never be too busy to listen because it\’s the ultimate form of respect any leader can give to their team.”
About Kilwins Chocolates Franchise, Inc.
Kilwins was founded in 1947 by Don and Katy Kilwin in Petoskey, Mich. Since then, the premium dessert franchise has expanded to 160 locations across the U.S.
