HTeaO, the nation’s leading iced tea franchise, announces a significant step in strengthening its marketing organization with the promotion of Kelsey McManemin to Senior Vice President of Marketing and the addition of industry veteran Brittany Knollmiller as Director of Marketing. The expanded leadership structure reflects HTeaO’s commitment to accelerating its national growth, enhancing its digital ecosystem, and continuing to build the brand into a category leader in both beverage innovation and community-driven loyalty.
Since joining the brand in January 2024, McManemin has been instrumental in redefining and elevating HTeaO’s marketing engine, laying the foundation for the brand’s next phase of expansion. Her promotion recognizes her impact and positions her to play a larger role in company-wide initiatives, partnering more closely with the C-suite while continuing to lead the marketing department.
McManemin has driven some of the most notable milestones in HTeaO’s recent history. Under her leadership, HTeaO launched its new app and loyalty platform in December 2024 and surpassed 1,250,000 loyalty accounts, averaging 38,000 new signups per month. She introduced high-performing promotional campaigns that drove significant traffic systemwide, including 2 cups for $5 National Iced Tea Day offer, which generated the highest single day of loyalty visits to date with nearly 42,000 unique visits, as well as the new 2 for $10 gallon promotion now used for major national holidays.
In 2025 alone, McManemin oversaw seven limited-time beverage campaigns, with Fizzy Refreshers’ Desert Pear becoming the most successful LTO in brand history. She guided the launch of the new “Thirst Quenchers” category during HTeaO’s menu board rollout, introducing non-coffee handcrafted drinks such as The Razzler Refresher, Dirty Cherry poppi, and Desert Pear Fizzy Refresher. This category will continue expanding in 2026 as HTeaO builds out a new generation of beverage innovation.
Her work has helped drive measurable brand reach and engagement. The company opened 27 new stores in 2025, served more than 9,145 free cups of tea at grand openings, and sold over 10,445 half-priced gallons during opening events. Additionally, this year alone, HTeaO gained more than 248,200 followers across its national social media channels.
In her expanded role as Senior Vice President of Marketing, McManemin will take on deeper involvement in business strategy, cross-functional planning, brand positioning, and long-term innovation. She will continue overseeing the full marketing team while serving as a strategic partner to executive leadership as the brand scales to new markets.
“It has been incredible to watch Kelsey elevate this brand in such a short time,” said Heath Nielsen, President of HTeaO. “She has strengthened every part of our marketing engine and built a foundation that sets us up for long-term success. Her promotion reflects both her leadership and the role marketing will continue to play in shaping the future of HTeaO.”
As HTeaO enters a new chapter of growth, the company is also welcoming Brittany Knollmiller as Director of Marketing. Knollmiller brings more than a decade of experience leading marketing strategy for large-scale franchise and fast casual brands, most recently serving as Director of Brand Marketing and eCommerce at Yogurtland. She is widely recognized for her ability to make brands culturally relevant with Millennials and Gen Z, designing omnichannel campaigns that drive sales, loyalty growth, and brand affinity.
During her time at Yogurtland, Knollmiller delivered three consecutive years of double-digit comp sales growth, created viral campaigns in collaboration with major artists and entertainment partners, and scaled loyalty revenue through personalized digital engagement. She previously held leadership roles at El Pollo Loco, where she helped guide national campaigns across 478 restaurants and played a key role in the company’s IPO-era brand repositioning.
In her new role at HTeaO, Knollmiller will lead national brand storytelling, integrated campaign development, product marketing, cultural trendspotting, and loyalty-driven creative strategy. She will work closely with McManemin to amplify the brand’s reach, strengthen digital engagement, and support franchise success across HTeaO’s expanding footprint.
“Brittany brings a modern, creative, and data-informed brand perspective that will complement the work Kelsey has already built,” said Nielsen. “Her experience with high-growth franchise systems, loyalty ecosystems, and culturally relevant campaigns will help us reach new audiences and accelerate the momentum we are seeing nationwide.”
McManemin and Knollmiller will jointly lead the next phase of HTeaO’s marketing evolution, strengthening the brand’s consumer engagement strategy and driving growth through innovation, national storytelling, and loyalty-driven initiatives.
For more information about HTeaO, please visit www.hteao.com.
About HTeaO
HTeaO, the leading iced tea franchise in the United States, has ascended as a frontrunner within this niche, a growing category within the beverage industry. With a cost-effective, highly-attractive business model, the brand operates their own supply chain, resulting in significantly reduced costs of goods. Offering a range of ultra-premium tea, water, and coffee products, HTeaO caters to customers both in-store and through convenient drive-thru services. Each location boasts 20+ meticulously crafted flavors of sweetened and unsweetened tea, made using a proprietary water filtration system and 100% natural ingredients. In January 2023, HTeaO announced a minority partnership with two Dallas-based private equity firms, Crux Capital and Trive Capital, signaling a strategic move for stable expansion. Hitting a significant milestone of 150 locations in July 2025, HTeaO is on the path of continued growth. HTeaO believes in fostering an atmosphere where all are welcoming, and takes pride in its commitment to giving back to its local communities. For more information on franchise opportunities, please visit https://HTeaO.com/franchise/.
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