Mindy Armstrong Appointed as Next Vice President, Menu Innovation for Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a national fast-casual restaurant brand built on a mission to Inspire Better®, appointed Mindy Armstrong as Vice President, Menu Innovation.
Mindy joins Tropical Smoothie Cafe from Ascent Hospitality Group, where she served as Vice President of Menu Innovation. In that role, she drove culinary innovation and consumer insights across the portfolio while building a best-in-class shared-service infrastructure. Earlier in her career, Mindy led innovation at Buffalo Wild Wings, part of the Inspire Brands family, and advised restaurants and manufacturers on product development as a consultant with FoodIQ, an innovation firm within Marlin Connections.
Mindy earned both her BS, Marketing and MBA from Missouri State University.
Executive Search Partnership: Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Partner Tara Flickinger is proud to have partnered with Tropical Smoothie Cafe on this Vice President, Menu Innovation appointment. Learn more about ON Partners by downloading our recent 2025 CEO Report, exploring multi-faceted pathways to the CEO role and 2024 Private Equity Talent Trends Report, which unveils the five key themes reshaping executive talent strategies in private equity.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is a national fast-casual restaurant brand built on a mission to Inspire Better®, a commitment that starts with our better-for-you food and smoothies and extends to inspiring better in the communities we serve. Born on a beach in 1997, today Tropical Smoothie Cafe has more than 1,500 locations in 44 states. For the fourth year in a row, the brand was ranked #1 in the Smoothie/Juice Category by Entrepreneur Franchisee 500. For 12 consecutive years, the brand has received the Franchise Times Fast and Serious award, and in 2024 the brand’s FUND Score was 905, one of the top scores for franchise concepts analyzed by FRANdata.
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