Reprint-AA24117 Dave's Hot Chicken

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October 21, 2024

2024 Ad Age 40 under 40

The director of marketing is one of Ad Age’s 2024 40 Under 40 honorees

By Erika Wheless

Srishti Handa, marketing director of Dave’s Hot Chicken.

Credit: Dave’s Hot Chicken

Any brand loves to see positive, organic, user-generated content about their product. But few can sustain their social media accounts on user-generated content alone like Dave’s Hot Chicken.

A few years ago, the team was at a location opening in Illinois and customers said they had seen the brand on TikTok, even though Dave’s didn’t have an account. Since then, under the direction of Srishti Handa, 39, director of marketing, Dave’s has garnered 2.8 million TikTok followers and 1.3 million Instagram followers, with feeds full of organic fans taking bites of Dave’s tenders, sandwiches and fries.

“UGC videos are so effective, so why not stitch them together for CTV?” said Handa, which is exactly what the brand did. “Our chief brand officer is particular about the food not being overly made-up or glossy, so getting it in its rawest format—out of the takeout box in the car—is the best.”

In the last year, the LA-based chicken chain has added nuggets, called “Dave’s Bites,” and fried cauliflower options, dubbed “Dave’s Not Chicken,” which were touted on a 3D billboard outside of the Crypto.com arena.

The chain also opened a location in Conyers, Georgia, at the end of the summer, celebrating with a 12-minute drone show using more than 800 drones, according to Handa.

“We knew it was a tough market because this is Chick-fil-A land,” said Handa. “We wanted to stand out.”

Dave’s Hot Chicken has 214 locations in 36 states and outposts in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the U.K.

If you could have dinner with one person, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

Indra Nooyi from PepsiCo. I think she is a kick-ass woman and has been foundational in the business world. She is a woman, a minority, and has made her way as an emulator brand.

What are the top two social media sites you use on a regular basis?

I use Instagram and TikTok for work.

What’s currently on your bedside reading list?

The New York Times came out with a miniseries, “The Deserter,” on a Russian soldier who defected. It is wild. I also have been reading about ice cream. I started making it and have been on the ice cream subreddit and downloaded “Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts” to figure out what to make.

What was the last show you binge-watched?

I started watching “Shōgun,” which was great, but wow, no one had less value for their life than the characters in “Shōgun.” For the most part, I have TV on in the background. I actually got into “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” for the first time ever and watched the latest season because there was nothing good on TV and I didn’t want to watch anything that had come out years ago.

At what age do you hope to retire?

I really don’t want to. I had my own business once upon a time that spectacularly failed. But then it occurred to me that I had another 50 to 60 years and I could reinvent myself as many times as I wanted. So, I want financial safety, but don’t want to retire.

See all of Ad Age's 40 Under 40 honorees here