Matthew Swenson Promoted to Chief Product Officer at Chameleon Cold Brew
Chameleon Cold Brew chief producer officer Matthew Swenson has been appointed to succeed CEO and president Chris Campbell after the latter announced his plans to “take some time away from the company” and spend time with family, according to Swenson.
Swenson had been serving as VP of coffee & sustainability for the Nestlé-owned brand since January, and prior to that held the position of director of coffee for over two years.
In this role, Swenson will lead the Austin-based brand’s innovation pipeline, oversee sourcing practices and manage the core leadership team, according to Chameleon.
“I couldn’t be more honored to be in this position, to help write the second chapter of Chameleon with the organization of Nestle behind it all,” Swenson told BevNET. “It’s a really exciting time for us to continue to grow the brand and for me to help grow the brand from a new position.”
Swenson said the company’s focus going forward will be to “double down on quality and sustainability.” In his previous role, he spearheaded Chameleon’s sustainability program, directly investing in regions such as Peru, Myanmar, Guatemala and Colombia, where the brand sources its beans. The program is designed to provide farmers with skills to improve agricultural productivity and standard of living.
“I really think that quality and compassion within the supply chain are greatly linked and so by investing in both of those we can invest in quality long-term,” he said.
Swenson said the brand is leveraging the research and development capabilities of Nestle, which acquired Chameleon in 2017, in order to establish a “robust innovation pipeline.” One of these innovations is an ambient canned cold brew, a product he said the brand wasn’t able to develop to reach its quality standards until the Nestle partnership.
Chameleon recently made its first foray into milk alternatives, launching a multi-serve cold brew blended with organic oat milk. Swenson said in Q3, this new product along with the brand’s entire portfolio will be available in single-serve shelf-stable cans, which he said will “open up so many opportunities and more doors to help have other consumers try our product for the first time.”
Despite the leadership change, Swenson said Chameleon will continue under his management with the same values as when it was established nine years ago.
“It’s a little bit more of the same,” he said. “We’re just continuing to do what we do, but in a bigger better fashion with Nestle behind us.”
Juliet Blake Moves from Mamma Chia to Lemon Perfect
Cold-pressed lemon water brand The Lemon Perfect Company has named Juliet Blake as its new VP of marketing. Blake previously spent over five years at chia-based food and beverage brand Mamma Chia, most recently serving as senior director of marketing. She has also held marketing positions at BodyArmor, Kona Red and ZICO Beverages.
Blake told BevNET she made the decision to join Lemon Perfect after meeting with CEO and founder Yanni Hufnagel and being impressed with his product.
“As an avid consumer of lemon water, I was truly blown away by what Yanni had created with Lemon Perfect,” she said. “He took such a familiar ingredient and built something so disruptive with an extremely accessible price point.”
In her new role, Blake will be responsible for company marketing strategy, focusing on raising brand awareness through strategic retail and field execution.
“With our mission being to democratize drinkable wellness by making Lemon Perfect accessible to anyone, anytime, anywhere — my goal is to make this a reality alongside the rest of the Lemon Perfect team, all while building a truly winning championship culture,” Blake said.
Vertical Companies Names VP of Sales
Seed-to-sale cannabis company Vertical Companies announced Matthew Ippolito will join its team as VP of sales. Ippolito is a former VP and general manager of Gallo Sales Company, Gallo Winery’s Northern California affiliated wholesaler.
“I am very excited to be joining Vertical’s team of experienced business leaders, and to be entering into the emerging cannabis space,” said Ippolito in an email. “Since the end of [California’s] cannabis prohibition, I have followed the cannabis industry closely and saw its potential. Given my experiences in the wine and spirits space, I see the parallels between the two industries.”
Ippolito added that he felt he would be a “tremendous asset” in expanding Vertical’s brand portfolio and designing legal market sales structure.
Cheribundi Announces Executive Leadership Changes
Tart cherry juice brand Cheribundi announced CEO Steve Pear has stepped down after joining the team in May 2014. Current COO Mike Hagan will serve as CEO in the interim, and “potentially long term,” according to a press release.
Cheribundi also announced that CMO Michelle Greech, who joined the company in November 2017, has left the company.
“We appreciate the contributions of Steve Pear and Michelle Grech over the last several years and wish them well in their future endeavors,” said Hagan in a statement.
Hagan joined Cheribundi in March 2015, and previously held leadership positions at Coca-Cola and National Beverage. Under Hagan’s leadership, Cheribundi will focus on optimizing supply chain and building the brand’s direct-to-consumer business, according to the release.
Distill Ventures Adds Operating Partner
Beverage brand accelerator Distill Ventures has announced the addition of Evis Savvides as an operating partner. Savvides will focus on planning and operations for the accelerator’s existing portfolio.
“As we continue to expand in North America and beyond by supporting existing brands and new entrepreneurs that want to scale their businesses, Evis will apply his strategic and collaborative approach to play a key part in mentoring and facilitating successful outcomes,” said Gonzalo De La Pezuela, founder and managing director of Distill Ventures North America, in a release.
Savvides previously served as managing director at CPG consulting firm SFG Consulting and held leadership positions at Domaine Select Wine & Spirits and Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits.