Lewis combines her experience in multi-unit retail, digital transformation and data-driven brand building to grow one of the most beloved sandwich franchises in America.
By Luca Piacentini1851 Franchise Managing Editor
Name: Kim Lewis
Role: Chief Marketing Officer
Brand: Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop
Kim Lewis’ path into franchising was a natural one. After working in restaurants throughout high school and college, she cut her teeth in corporate CRM and digital marketing during a pivotal time when the industry was shifting from traditional brand building to a more digital-forward approach.
In 2017, she was brought in to help a major restaurant franchisor modernize its marketing engine — an experience that showed her franchising is the perfect intersection of strong brands, strong operators and scalable growth systems. At Capriotti’s, she unites strategy, storytelling and structure to help operators win in every market.
Q&A With Kim Lewis, Chief Marketing Officer, Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop
1851 Franchise: How did you find your way to franchising and franchise marketing?
Kim Lewis: My path into franchising was an evolution of the work I’d been doing in multi-unit retail and restaurants for years. I worked in restaurants in high school and college, then came up through corporate retail CRM and digital marketing while the industry was shifting to a more holistic, digital-first growth model.
In 2017, I had the opportunity to help a large restaurant franchisor modernize its marketing engine and make the leap into a multi-dimensional digital powerhouse. During that time, I learned that franchising is the perfect intersection of my passion for strong brands, strong operators and scalable growth. I’m now bringing all of that together in a new way at Capriotti’s.
1851: What makes franchise marketing uniquely challenging (and rewarding) compared to corporate-only marketing?
Lewis: Franchise marketing is equal parts strategy, storytelling and systems.
Corporate marketing often focuses on driving national demand, but franchise marketing requires systems that operators can execute consistently, confidently and profitably. Everything has to be simple, scalable and rooted in clarity. A great idea that franchisees don’t believe in or can’t execute isn’t a great idea.
The reward is that when you get it right, the impact is multiplied. You see campaigns come to life in real communities. Operators gain momentum. Teams take pride in being part of something bigger. Franchisees have made significant personal investments to build their businesses, and there’s nothing more rewarding than helping them win.
1851: What is the single most powerful lever a marketing team can pull to directly impact franchisees’ profitability at the unit level?
Lewis: Menu architecture and pricing strategy. Marketing can absolutely drive traffic, but profitability is won or lost on what guests buy, how they buy it and how efficiently operators can execute.
A well-designed menu guides mix toward profitable, high-trust items, reinforces your value story, supports throughput and labor efficiency, protects margins, simplifies training and creates a consistent experience guests come back for.
When menu architecture, pricing and messaging work together, you create a profit engine that runs every single day — not just on promotion days or when media is working overtime.
1851: What is an untapped marketing opportunity you see for franchise brands?
Lewis: I think franchise brands underestimate the power of narrative consistency. Brand guidelines aren’t enough — you need alignment across operator-facing, national and local messaging.
When the brand story, the value story, the menu story and the local community story all align, the guest experience feels seamless and trustworthy. That’s how you build loyalty that lasts beyond a single offer or season.
There is a huge opportunity for brands to give franchisees plug-and-play messaging that aligns with national strategy but still feels local and personal. That’s where modern franchising wins.
1851: What is one marketing fad or buzzword that you believe will actually deliver real results in the coming year?
Lewis: Personalization — but only when it’s grounded in real guest insights and not used as a gimmick.
I don’t mean “Hi Kim!” subject lines. I’m talking about using behavior patterns, product affinities and channel preferences to serve relevant stories, offers and menu items that matter.
At Capriotti’s, we’re rolling out a new customer data platform in early 2026 and expanding our marketing team so we can quickly turn insights into action. When personalization is actionable and practical, franchisees see the impact in traffic, frequency and check.
1851: What’s your boldest franchise marketing take?
Lewis: Complexity is the silent killer of franchise performance. Brands add new products, new platforms, new promotions and exceptions with good intentions. But when complexity grows faster than clarity, execution and profitability suffer.
My bold take is that the most revolutionary thing a franchise brand can do is simplify.
Simplify systems. Simplify menus. Simplify tech stacks. Simplify messaging. Simplify the path for operators to win.
The future belongs to brands that create alignment, reduce friction and build trust through consistency and executional excellence.
Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit www.1851growthclub.com and see what we can do for you.
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