Cava hires Dr. Squatch brand chief John Ludeke as CMO. He starts on 12 October

Cava said in a Business Wire release on 30 September that John Ludeke will become its chief marketing officer on 12 October. Ludeke is currently chief brand officer at Dr. Squatch, the men’s soap brand now owned by Unilever. Cava runs Mediterranean fast-casual restaurants in the US.

John Ludeke spent over ten years at Monster Energy

Before Dr. Squatch, Ludeke worked at Monster Energy for more than ten years in global marketing roles. That included over six years as a regional marketing director in Asia-Pacific, based in Shanghai and Seoul. At Dr. Squatch he oversaw creative, media, social, PR, retail marketing and partnerships, Marketing Dive reported.

Dr. Squatch is known for stunts rather than standard ad buys. It once hid $1 million in a treasure hunt with IShowSpeed.

Cava fills a post empty since Andrew Rebhun left in August

Ludeke replaces Andrew Rebhun, who held the title chief marketing and experience officer and left in August. According to Cava, Ludeke will lead its marketing team, sharpen the brand, deepen guest loyalty and improve digital experiences. He is also meant to tie marketing closer to restaurant operations as the chain expands nationally.

Brett Schulman, Cava’s co-founder and chief executive, called him “a proven builder of culturally relevant consumer brands”.

Cava spends just over 1% of revenue on marketing

Cava’s same-restaurant sales rose 9% in the second quarter, with guest traffic up 5.3%, Marketing Dive reported. The chain spends just over 1% of revenue on marketing, against about 3% at Chipotle. Chipotle has handed a national campaign to 100 creators.

Ludeke takes over on 12 October, at the start of the fourth quarter. Cava has not said whether its marketing budget will change with him.