Olipop Hires Abby Redick as Director of National Accounts
Prebiotic soda maker Olipop has hired Abby Redick as its new director of national accounts, the company announced last month. Redick most recently served as the director of sales at RISE Brewing Co. and previously held various sales and account management positions at Health-Ade Kombucha.
Redick is also the co-founder and former CEO of fitness lifestyle brand Wags & Weights and has also held marketing positions at Whole Foods Market and software company Red Hat, according to LinkedIn.
Redick joins Olipop just two years after its 2018 launch, as the brand surpasses 3,000 stores nationwide including in grocers such as Whole Foods, Giant Eagle and most recently Kroger. The California-based brand has also launched in the Northeast with Rainforest Distribution and is now expanding in the Midwest.
Olipop co-founder David Lester said that Redick will be tasked with “leading the charge” as the brand continues to grow, noting the prebiotic soda segment has grown 665% year-over-year. As the market for prebiotic sodas is still small, with competitors including Health-Ade Booch Pop and Poppi, Lester said Olipop aims to be first-to-market in the majority of regions it is targeting and wants to work closely with retailers and act as “thought partners for them in building out this category in the right way in the stores.”
Redick is expected to work closely with Olipop’s senior director of sales Scott Goldstein, who joined the company in January. Goldstein also previously worked at Health-Ade as a senior sales director, managing Target stores as well as national off-premise, convenience and drug accounts.
“We just brought in Abby Redick, alongside a couple of other hires, and she joins as we’ve seen e-comm explode through the COVID period, and also as we’re about to learn a lot from this Kroger launch,” said co-founder David Lester. “We’re in a category that we want to lead, and we need to put ourselves forward with retailers and make sure that this [growth] is done in the right way.”
Essentia Elevates Senior Leaders From Within
Premium water brand Essentia last week announced the promotion of several employees to new roles within the company’s Senior Leadership Team, moves that reflect new CEO Scott Miller’s “commitment to fostering a ‘people-first’ culture,” according to a press release.
Effective immediately, Zola Kane has been elevated to Chief Marketing Officer at Essentia, while Kazumi Mechling has been named the new Senior VP of Corporate Communications and Strategic Alliances. Kane and Mechling are the first two women of color to join Essentia’s Senior Leadership Team, the release stated.
Essentia also announced the promotion of James Konsmo to Senior Vice President of Operations.
“Over the last several months, I’ve had the honor to observe and work closely with Essentia’s departmental leaders including Zola, Jim and Kazumi,” said Scott Miller, CEO, Essentia Water. “I have been impressed by their visions and voices and am confident that their leadership will help drive Essentia toward its goal of being the no. 1 premium bottled water globally.”
In her role, Kane is overseeing Essentia’s marketing efforts and operations across digital and non-digital platforms, with sales integration into CPG performance marketing being an area of particular focus, according to the release.
Meanwhile, Mechling, making the step up from Senior Director of Corportate Communications and PR, is being tasked with expanding Essentia’s corporate social responsibility platform, Believe+, as well as elevating the company’s corporate communications discipline areas: sustainability, innovation and thought leadership. The company’s strategic alliances “will include external business and philanthropic partners as well as an internal focus on cross functional innovation,” the release stated.
As Senior Vice President of Operations, Konsmo is continuing to lead the company’s operations team but with a greater emphasis on manufacturing, product availability and bringing new products to market.
Along with promoting from within, the release stated that Scott has confirmed that Essentia is “bringing on new hires with strong consumer packaged goods and beverage experience.”
“At Essentia, putting people-first will always be our number one responsibility,” Miller said. “In these unprecedented times of health, social and economic crises, we will continue to give back and support our communities in meaningful ways. As an organization, we are committed to doing our part towards solutions from the inside out and making a difference each day by our actions.”
Richard Hubli Joins Operations Team at Reed’s
Richard H. Hubli has been named as Vice President of Operations at craft beverage maker Reed’s Inc., effective immediately.
Hubli, who’s prior experience includes roles at PepsiCo, Cadbury Schweppes, Nestle and General Foods, among other companies, said in the release that he was attracted to Reed’s by its “unlimited growth potential.”
“With my extensive experience in supply chain management, it’s an incredible time for me to join the team, and create an operational infrastructure that propels the company forward as the leader in the all-natural beverages category,” he said.
In a press release, the company noted that Hubli will lead the long-term strategy “to establish an operational infrastructure of systems, processes and personnel that support the company’s rapid growth.” His areas of focus will include supply chain, enhancing internal procedures and ensuring optimal production timelines, as well as management of the company’s financial operations and future capital planning.
“We’re excited to welcome Rich, and are confident that his proven success in end-to-end supply chain management will advance our operational goals during this crucial time of our company’s acceleration,” said Norman E. Snyder, CEO of Reed’s, Inc., in the release. “We’ve seen tremendous momentum this year, and Rich’s track record of developing strategic operational practices will be instrumental in expanding our supply chain and co-packer network to meet the increased demand for our portfolio of handcrafted beverages. He will round out the senior management team and will continue to advance the processes implemented that have contributed to supply chain improvements experienced by the company this past year.”