Eggs Up Grill will be innovating its menu with the help of Chrissy McKinney.
After two decades with Denny’s and marketing firm Moroch, Chrissy McKinney is ready to use her experience at Eggs Up Grill as vice president of marketing and communications. McKinney said she will elevate the emerging brand and support her love of its omelets.
“Marketing entails quite a few different things and I’ve had a lot of experience in each,” said McKinney. “I was hoping to go to a smaller brand because I saw a lot of potential to take a brand to the next level.”
With 75 locations currently open along the east coast and nearly 100 deals signed, the “better breakfast” brand’s goal is to end the year with 100 units.
Chrissy McKinney.
McKinney has been in the industry since she was a teenager, working as a server and going to college to study marketing. She knew she wanted to work with big brands, and her first job with Moroch gave her experience marketing McDonald’s for a decade.
“I got to a point where I thought, ‘I want to do more, I want to do national marketing, brand marketing, product marketing,’” she said. “Then I worked with Denny’s for 11 years and looked for the next step in my career.”
She wanted her next step to be a smaller brand, so McKinney looked local. As a regular customer of Eggs Up in South Carolina, she got in touch with the leadership team. Their passion for the industry gave her confidence with Eggs Up.
Local flavors are the foundation of Eggs Up, and that philosophy with be part of the brand’s future growth.
In terms of marketing, McKinney wants to take advantage of the growing interest in breakfast concepts to bring Eggs Up to the next level. To set the brand apart from the competition, she looked inward. Since she started in December, McKinney is focused on menu innovation.
Founded in the southeastern United States, menu items are focused on local flavors and McKinney wants to keep that as the brand moves into new regions. Forming partnerships with financial strategists is an aspect of innovating the menu as product prices continue to fluctuate.
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McKinney is part of the effort to upgrade the brand’s tech stack. She wants to make Eggs Up a data-driven concept, especially when if comes to seeing the impacts of small changes in real time.
She’s already been part of some changes and McKinney isn’t slowing down. Hoping to help bring Eggs Up to 100 locations by the end of the year, 2025 will keep the ball rolling. To make sure that happens, McKinney and the team are building a “robust local marketing plan.” Engaging with franchisees and keeping them in the loop is the key to kicking off these marketing initiatives.
“The opportunity to really make a difference is the biggest thing that really drew me to this brand,” said McKinney. “We can work on a project and can make a difference for these franchise partners, who are mostly just everyday people.”