Mari Lee Steps Down as High Brew CMO
After 4 years during cold decoction builder High Brew Coffee, CMO Mari Lee has announced her exit from a company, effective Jan 15. Lee assimilated High Brew in 2015 after portion as clamp boss of margin selling during KIND, and has formerly hold positions during Glaceau and Red Bull. High Brew’s code manager, Miles Aghajanian, will take over after her exit.
Lee told BevNET she motionless it was time to “step aside” as High Brew moves into a subsequent phase, in that it will be “pulling behind on experiential selling and creation some other vital shifts.” She pronounced she has been “lucky” to work with owner David Smith, job him a “unique mixed of owner and operator.”
“I am unequivocally unapproachable of what we have achieved together over a final 4 years during High Brew and have a pinnacle certainty that Miles will continue to lead a association to do good things,” she said.
When she started during High Brew, Lee pronounced a brand’s selling module “was in a infancy,” though her prior libation attention knowledge prepared her for a rival RTD coffee space.
“Mike Repole, co-founder of Glaceau, once told me he favourite to sinecure bruise losers, and we am unequivocally a bruise loser,” Lee said. “I adore foe in competition and in business, that meant a conflict in RTD coffee unequivocally got me excited.”
As cold decoction was “still comparatively obscure” in 2015, Lee pronounced she directed to promulgate a product’s purify appetite advantages to both consumers and retailers, while also focusing on changeable from a use of stevia to sugarine and improving a brand’s coffee sourcing by a partnership with De Los Andes Cooperative in Colombia.
The code grew significantly during her time there, she said, expanding over a initial 5 SKUs to embody products like Triple Shot and dairy giveaway latte lines (with a nitro cold decoction line forthcoming). During that time, High Brew also combined inhabitant placement with Keurig Dr Pepper and cumulative investment from and partnerships with singers Shakira and Halsey. Over a 4 years, Lee pronounced a selling group worked to boost a brand’s amicable media following by 300% and executed one-on-one sampling with over 2 million consumers.
“I would contend it’s reduction about a adorned moments and some-more about a teamwork and personal development,” she said.
Lee pronounced she skeleton to spend time during home with her five-year-old daughter before her subsequent veteran venture. Looking ahead, while she pronounced it’s “hard to suppose not operative in a food and libation industry,” though also settled that “nothing is out of a question.”
“I also demeanour brazen to removing behind to work and continue to be a certain instance of a
working mom who can have veteran success and honour while also being benefaction for her,” she said.
Ugly Drinks Names U.S. Director of Marketing
London-based stimulating H2O code Ugly Drinks has named Paige Adell as a U.S. executive of marketing. Adell formerly served as executive of inhabitant margin selling and sales for Halen Brands, where she worked with plant-based libation code OWYN as good as better-for-you break code Real Food From a Ground Up.
Speaking to BevNET, Adell pronounced she done a pierce after her purpose during Halen Brands was eliminated. She pronounced she became informed with Ugly after a co-worker assimilated a group and was intrigued by a selling proceed after saying an ad for a code on LinkedIn.
In her purpose during Ugly, Adell will concentration on substantiating a U.S. participation for a brand, where it launched in May 2018 after initial starting in a U.K. in 2016. Compared to a U.K., Adell pronounced a comparatively swarming U.S. marketplace poses some-more of a selling challenge.
“I consider it’s unequivocally sparkling to be means to take something in a difficulty here that people commend and work to make it mount out,” she said.
Adell pronounced she’ll initial work on a new rollout of Ugly’s 16 oz. cans along with code activations in New York and New Jersey Shoprite locations and during Kroger in Nashville. She pronounced a code is also environment a sights on substantiating a group in Phoenix, Arizona and securing placement in a West. She pronounced a code has also seen some of a strongest direct-to-consumer sales in center America and will aim to continue substantiating a participation there.
According to Adell, a categorical selling idea for Ugly is to have a U.S. business “seamlessly” compare that of a U.K., and she’ll be focusing on how to make a “fun and bold” code “resonate with consumers from nation to country.”
“We wish people to commend us wherever they go,” she said.
Poppi Co-Founder Stephen Ellsworth Takes Over as CEO
Stephen Ellsworth, co-founder of prebiotic soda code Poppi, has taken over as a brand’s CEO after a depart of Jason Veith from a company. Vieth assimilated Poppi final Jun after portion as comparison clamp boss of LifeTime Fitness. He’ll now join Sovos Brands, portion as comparison clamp president, ubiquitous manager for Noosa Yoghurt, a association announced this week.
“We were unhappy to see Jason go, though during a finish of a day Poppi is located in Dallas and Jason lives in Boulder,” Ellsworth pronounced in a matter to BevNET. “I have a ability to run a business and Jason saw that as well. With a event during Noosa, it authorised Jason to keep his family in Boulder while advancing in his career path. Jason was a loyal pleasure to work with and we wish him zero though a best.”
Poppi, that was co-founded by Allison and Stephen Ellsworth as Mother Beverage in 2016, announced a rebrand in December.
Lakewood Organic Names New VP of Sales Marketing
Juice association Lakewood Organic has named Kyle Gaither as a new clamp boss of sales and marketing. Gaither will be presumption a purpose formerly hold by Joseph Leitz, who will sojourn as a consultant for a code and “assist with special projects going forward,” according to a press release. Gaither has been with Lakewood Organic for 14 years, and formerly hold a position of Central U.S. and Canada multiplication sales manager.
Lakewood CEO Scott Fuhrmann pronounced in a press recover that Gaither’s “relentless concentration on patron engagement, information analysis, and sales and selling initiatives will be pivotal components to a destiny of Lakewood Organic.”
Halsa Foods Welcomes Rich Clark as VP of Sales
Oat-based fresh yogurt code Halsa Foods has named Rich Clark as a company’s new clamp boss of sales. Clark formerly served as comparison clamp boss of sales during Perfect Snacks, and has also hold care positions during Beyond Meat and Boulder Brands.
“I’m vehement to join Hälsa, a startup with higher products and an formidable mission,” Clark pronounced in a press release. “With a creation of a 100% purify plant-based routine and label, minimal ingredients, no combined sugar, and all-organic mixture Hälsa represents a destiny of plant-based. It’s easy to prognosticate Hälsa apropos a personality in plant-based yogurt.”
Helena Lumme and Mika Manninen, boss and CEO of Hälsa Foods, also pronounced in a recover that Clark’s “well-established connectors and ability to dig mixed placement channels will accelerate a expansion and get Hälsa in a hands of millions of new consumers.”
The further of Clark comes a month after Halsa announced that former Stonyfield Organic CEO Gary Hirshberg had turn an financier in and house member of a company.