Bruno Cardinali, a 20-year veteran of consumer brand marketing who built the Popeyes chicken sandwich into a cultural phenomenon and scaled Oakberry's global presence across nearly 1,000 locations, has been appointed chief marketing officer of Pura Vida Miami, an emerging wellness café brand backed by private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners. The executive search was conducted by The Talent Studios, with Katlyn Maloney and Jeremy Cohen leading the recruitment process. Cardinali's appointment follows a broader leadership expansion at Pura Vida Miami that includes new chief development and culinary officers, signaling the brand's preparations for national expansion.
Cardinali brings 20-plus years of experience across fast casual dining, foodservice, beverages, and consumer packaged goods, most recently serving as global chief marketing officer at Oakberry, a Brazil-based açai bowl chain founded in 2016. During his tenure at Oakberry, he oversaw marketing for approximately 1,000 locations operating across nearly 50 countries and built the brand through high-profile partnerships in sports and culture. Before joining Oakberry in 2023, Cardinali spent nearly three years as chief marketing officer for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen under parent company Restaurant Brands International, where he orchestrated the 2019 launch of the chicken sandwich that ignited the industry-wide chicken sandwich competition. At Popeyes, Cardinali was instrumental in shifting the brand's perception from a bone-in fried chicken destination and developing the viral marketing campaign around the sandwich introduction, which ultimately delivered sales gains exceeding 1,000 sandwiches daily in many markets. Earlier in his career, Cardinali held marketing leadership roles at Burger King and spent approximately 15 years at Unilever in Brazil, Mexico, Australia, and the United States, working across multiple consumer categories and regions.
Pura Vida Miami, founded in 2012 by husband-and-wife team Omer and Jennifer Horev, operates as a premium all-day café and lifestyle brand emphasizing clean ingredients, health, and wellness. The company has grown to over 50 locations across six states, spanning Florida, New York, and Southern California, and focuses on chef-crafted offerings including avocado toast, organic açai bowls, superfood smoothies, and clean sandwiches designed with dietary restrictions and food quality in mind. The brand positions itself as elevated wellness dining rather than standard fast-casual service, combining nutritious offerings with thoughtful design and community engagement. In November 2025, Pura Vida Miami received a strategic growth minority investment from TSG Consumer Partners, a private equity firm with approximately 14 billion dollars in assets under management, while Omer and Jennifer Horev retained majority ownership and continued leadership roles as chief executive officer and chief brand officer.
TSG Consumer Partners, founded in 1987 and based in Larkspur, California, operates as a private equity firm specializing in branded consumer companies with a focus on food and beverage, restaurants, beauty and personal care, health and wellness, and e-commerce. The firm typically makes minority, majority, and structured investments in companies generating between 20 million and 1.5 billion dollars in sales, maintaining partnership relationships averaging five years. TSG's portfolio has included well-known brands such as Duckhorn Wine, DutchBros Coffee, Canyon Bicycles, Planet Fitness, and Backcountry.com, among others. The firm closed its ninth fund in January 2023 with 6 billion dollars and manages a diversified portfolio of 67 companies as of May 2026.
The appointment appears strategically aligned with Pura Vida Miami's growth ambitions following the TSG investment. Cardinali's proven track record in scaling global brand presence through partnerships and digital marketing, combined with his experience navigating the hypercompetitive quick-service and casual dining sectors, positions him to extend Pura Vida Miami's reach beyond its Southeast and coastal strongholds. The timing suggests TSG and the Horevs intend to accelerate national expansion while preserving the brand's health-centric positioning and hospitality-focused experience. Cardinali's background in launching breakthrough products at Popeyes and driving lifestyle brand positioning at Oakberry implies an emphasis on narrative-driven growth rather than purely promotional tactics, which aligns with Pura Vida's community-oriented mission and design-forward aesthetic. The addition of senior development and culinary leadership alongside marketing suggests a coordinated effort to increase unit count and menu consistency across new markets.
