Branding Veteran Plans to Accelerate the Company’s Next Stage of Growth
Lauren Barash has been named Vice President of Marketing for Full Course, the restaurant industry’s first-and-only incubator, accelerator and investor in early-stage food and restaurant brands. Barash brings nearly 20 years of branding, marketing, digital and public relations experience in restaurants, franchising and consumer packaged goods.
Prior to joining Full Course, Barash led creative strategy, national partnerships, in-store merchandising, social media and public relations for Zaxby’s Franchising LLC. She built an in-house creative department and led the rebranding effort as Vice President of Marketing for Edible Arrangements. While at Brill, Inc., Barash rounded out her foodservice experience with global branding for consumer packaged goods. Her foodservice career began with Moe’s Southwest Grill serving in various roles including Sr. Director of Marketing and Director of Public Relations over the course of 10 years, supporting the company’s growth from 100 to 700 locations.
“We are excited about what Lauren brings to our leadership team,” says Full Course Founder and CEO Lauren Fernandez. “She’s an expert at brand building, and her skillset and breadth of experience across the marketing landscape will further allow us to impact businesses in various stages of growth.”
Barash offers a unique branding perspective having worked alongside founders and franchisees on brands from one unit to more than 900, as well as business-to-business brands, and well-established consumer-facing brands like Oreo and Hershey in a licensing capacity while at Brill, Inc. Additionally, she brings holistic marketing experience across all consumer touchpoints including TV, out of home, digital, social, PR and in-store merchandising.
“Both the people and the mission drew me into the role at Full Course,” says Barash. “Having worked alongside both Lauren Fernandez and Lissa Bowen, Full Course’s Chief People + Culture Officer, at Focus Brands, I know we share the same leadership values and passion for helping others reach their goals.”
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Barash received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from the University of Georgia.
Full Course is the industry’s first and only incubator, accelerator and investor in early-stage food and restaurant brands and is changing the way that independent restaurants grow their brands. The company partners with restaurants in the early stages of development and helps them tell their stories by optimizing operations, developing strategies for sustainable growth and connecting owners or chefs with the right investors or franchise partners. Full Course Founder and CEO Lauren Fernandez has spent almost 20 years in the food and beverage industry, first as general counsel and head of franchise administration for a large company with more than 4,000 restaurants in over 15 countries, and then as an operator of a successful restaurant group. Fernandez was recently named to the Association of Latino Professionals for America Latinas to Watch list and Nation’s Restaurant News Power List. By providing support and expertise to burgeoning restaurant brands on the front end, Full Course is setting up a strong foundation for growth for them and their potential investors, from which they can successfully realize their dreams. Learn more at www.fullcourse.com.
