The Fast Casual Nation Podcast offers exclusive interviews with experts ranging from top chefs and brand makers to executives and restaurants who work in one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry. In this episode, I talk with Andy Rebhun, chief marketing officer, El Pollo Loco about technology, innovation and marketing to a younger audience.

I asked Rebhun about getting started in the industry and he shared, “I actually got my first dip in QSR way back in 2006. I was a master burrito ambassador for a small Mexican restaurant chain at the time called Chipotle Mexican Grill and that was really my first foray in food marketing. I was always interested in food, I love the ability to try to satisfy what was the consumer taste or consumer desire to possibly try a new restaurant or a new brand.”

Rehbun is an extremely experienced marketer and has worked with companies including Ford Motor Company, where he started his career and for McDonald's Corporation from 2013 to 2019. He says about his time with McDonald's, “I worked in Boston, Chicago and Atlanta working in a variety of consumer marketing, digital roles that just really allowed me to kind of learn the ins and outs of the business. Working with some of the best franchisees and best marketers in the restaurant industry.” Rebhun joined El Pollo Loco about three years ago to lead the digital transformation and nine months ago became the brands chief marketing officer.

El Pollo Loco, a fire grilled chicken brand, is primarily based in the southwest and a majority of their locations are in California, Arizona and Nevada with a few locations in Utah, Texas and Louisiana. Rebhun says the brand is expanding in other markets like Colorado, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, and Albuquerque.

Rebhun talks about his philosophy as a marketer and says, “I think one of the biggest pieces of my philosophy is building an emotional connection with the consumer. I think there's lots of times in the food space we're obviously very hyper competitive. A lot of the marketing that's done is very transactional in nature and one of the things that we try to do is build that emotional connection with the consumer through all our touch points that we have throughout our marketing ecosystem.”

El Pollo Loco’s continued digital evolution utilizes TikTok to evolve how it engages with customers. Rebhun says, “we've put a tremendous focus on that aspirational consumer and a lot of that has been leaning into platforms such as TikTok that has really provided us the ability to connect with younger consumers, allow them to experience the brand for the first time and ultimately build a connection with us which they didn't have previously.”

To hear about El Pollo Loco’s marketing campaign and how menu innovation drives growth for the brand, listen to this episode of Fast Casual Nation on Apple Podcasts.