Pret, Mammoth Coffee and Caribou add leaders for growth push

Pret A Manger, Mammoth Coffee and Caribou Coffee have all moved to strengthen the jobs that matter most when a coffee brand is trying to grow fast: supply chain, market expansion, technology and store execution. The common thread is not just hiring, but preparation for a tougher market where sourcing, logistics and opening new doors can make or break the next phase.

Pret A Manger added Stefan Porter as chief supply chain officer in a newly created role on May 8, giving the chain a dedicated executive to support its global growth ambitions. Porter joined from Azzurri Group, where he was group commercial director, and spent eight years at Lidl GB before that. The move signals how much emphasis Pret is placing on sourcing discipline and operational resilience as coffee costs, menu pressures and logistics volatility continue to shape the category.

Mammoth Coffee is making a different kind of bet: expansion through ownership change and international reach. Orchestra Private Equity completed a 100% acquisition of the Seoul-based chain and its roasting arm, Seojin Roasters, in a transaction valued at about 100 billion won. Mammoth was founded in 2012 in Hongdae, Seoul, and now operates about 900 franchise stores in South Korea. It already has a small Japan presence, having entered that market in January 2025 and expanded to four stores within a year. Its larger cup sizes and Express-style on-the-go format have helped it connect with younger consumers, which helps explain why Japan is the next obvious frontier.

Caribou Coffee made the broadest push, naming four senior leaders on May 12 across supply chain, marketing, real estate development and technology. Kristen Goldberg became vice president of brand and marketing, Kyley Yanker was named vice president of market development and real estate, Soumil Deshmukh took the technology post and Mike Iannuzzelli stepped in as vice president of supply chain. CEO Scott Kennedy said the changes followed an organizational realignment that began in late 2025, with the goal of creating less friction across touchpoints and greater enterprise efficiencies.

The leadership changes also fit Caribou’s wider reset. Kennedy became permanent president and CEO in September 2025 after serving as interim chief since March 2025, when the company said it had more than 800 coffeehouses worldwide. A year earlier, Caribou and JDE Peet’s completed a $260 million licensing deal covering consumer packaged goods and foodservice coffee outside the cafes, leaving the chain more focused on store-level growth. Taken together, these appointments show where the next battle in coffee is being fought: in sourcing, systems and expansion planning, long before the next cup is poured.