Korean bakery café chain TOUS les JOURS has appointed Max Gallegos as chief marketing officer for North America, placing a former McDonald’s executive in charge of its marketing strategy across the United States and Canada. The appointment comes as the brand pursues an ambitious target of 1,000 U.S. locations by 2030. Gallegos will oversee brand strategy, creative, digital marketing, loyalty, category development, and field marketing as the company looks to build customer awareness and support franchise expansion in an increasingly competitive bakery café market.

From McDonald’s to a Korean Bakery Café Brand

Gallegos brings more than 25 years of experience at McDonald’s Corporation, where he held leadership positions spanning communications, strategy, marketing, and field operations. Most recently, he led U.S. Cultural Strategy and Field Marketing Engagement. Earlier, he managed a regional business unit valued at $5 billion in the Southwest.

His background in a large franchise network is relevant to TOUS les JOURS’ expansion strategy. Marketing a growing bakery café chain requires more than national advertising. Brand positioning, local store promotions, customer loyalty, and franchisee coordination must work together across markets with different consumer preferences.

Gallegos will oversee these functions across North America, although the company has not disclosed specific campaign plans, marketing investment levels, or targets for customer acquisition and loyalty.

A 1,000-Store Ambition Raises the Marketing Stakes

TOUS les JOURS is targeting 1,000 U.S. locations by 2030. The company operates within CJ Foodville, part of South Korea's CJ Group, and combines Korean bakery traditions with French-inspired baking.

The chain's recent openings in Albuquerque, Toronto, and New York reflect its geographic expansion across North American markets. In September 2026, CJ's newsroom reported that the brand had reached 205 U.S. stores as of June 2026, providing a useful baseline for measuring progress toward its target.

Reaching 1,000 locations would require the company to add hundreds of stores in less than four years. That makes consistent brand execution and effective franchise marketing important operational priorities, not simply communications objectives.

Gallegos' remit spans brand, category, creative, digital, loyalty, and field marketing. Coordinating these functions could help the company build a recognizable customer experience while adapting promotions to local markets. Loyalty programs and digital engagement may also help turn occasional bakery purchases into repeat visits.

The challenge will be maintaining consistency as the franchise network grows. New locations need local awareness and repeat customers, while the broader brand must preserve the Korean bakery identity that differentiates it from conventional coffee shops and neighborhood bakeries.

Competition Extends Beyond Bakery Cafés

TOUS les JOURS competes for consumer spending with bakery café chains, independent bakeries, coffee retailers, and quick-service restaurants. Its combination of breads, pastries, cakes, and beverages gives it several consumption occasions, from everyday breakfast purchases to celebration orders.

The appointment also comes amid a demanding restaurant operating environment. The National Restaurant Association projected U.S. restaurant and foodservice sales of $1.55 trillion in 2026, while highlighting persistent cost pressures and uneven customer traffic.

In that environment, marketing leaders need to connect brand awareness with store-level performance. Digital campaigns can generate interest, but location accessibility, product availability, service quality, and franchise execution determine whether that interest translates into sustainable sales.

Gallegos' experience across marketing and field leadership could prove useful in connecting national strategy with local operations. The appointment, however, does not itself establish that TOUS les JOURS will achieve its expansion target. Store openings, franchisee economics, customer retention, and competitive conditions will ultimately determine the pace of growth.

Market Landscape

TOUS les JOURS is positioning itself at the intersection of Korean food culture, French-inspired baking, and the North American café market. Its competitive set includes Panera Bread, Paris Baguette, Starbucks, and independent bakery cafés, although their formats and product mixes differ.

Paris Baguette is a particularly relevant comparison because it also uses a bakery café model rooted in Korean heritage and is expanding in North America. Starbucks competes for breakfast and beverage occasions, while Panera offers a broader café and food menu.

TOUS les JOURS' opportunity is to differentiate through its bakery assortment and celebration-focused products while building everyday customer habits. Its 2030 target will depend on whether the brand can reproduce that experience consistently across a much larger franchise network.

Strategic Outlook

The appointment signals that TOUS les JOURS is strengthening marketing leadership to support its next stage of expansion. Gallegos' experience at McDonald's may help the company coordinate national branding, digital engagement, and franchise-level execution.

The key measure of success will be whether those capabilities translate into stronger customer retention, productive new-store openings, and sustainable franchise growth. As the network expands, marketing effectiveness will need to be assessed alongside store economics and operational consistency.

Top Insights

• Leadership: Max Gallegos brings more than 25 years of McDonald's experience, potentially strengthening TOUS les JOURS' brand strategy and franchise marketing execution.

• Expansion: The 1,000-store U.S. target by 2030 increases pressure on marketing teams to support local awareness, customer acquisition, and repeat visits.

• Digital marketing: Gallegos' remit includes digital and loyalty, creating opportunities to connect customer engagement with measurable store-level performance.

• Competitive positioning: TOUS les JOURS combines Korean bakery heritage with French-inspired baking, distinguishing its offering from coffee-led and conventional quick-service restaurant competitors.

• Execution risk: National brand consistency, franchisee economics, and local customer demand will influence whether marketing initiatives translate into sustainable expansion.

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