WILMETTE, IL – Imbibe, Inc., an industry leader in flavor and beverage development, announced the appointment of Takashi Nakamura as Vice President of Research and Development. As the former Sr. VP of Product Development at Bacardi and previously was the Director of New Product Development and Innovation at Brown Forman, Takashi brings over 15 years of beverage development and commercialization expertise. Armed with both a Master’s and PhD in Food Process Engineering, he combines a strong technical background with invaluable real world experience .His appointment is perfectly timed with market demands, as Imbibe plans to launch into alcoholic beverages.
“Takashi is a strong R&D executive who will lead Imbibe’s ever-growing technical team”, said Andy Dratt, Executive Vice President at Imbibe. “In addition, his experience developing and commercializing some of the best brands in the alcoholic beverage space will be critical to Imbibe’s expansion into private label spirits and low proof alcoholic beverages”.
Imbibe’s customer base consists heavily of private label. In the past, private label alcoholic beverages have had a limited presence on the store shelf. Now as consumer willingness to try store brand spirits increases, Imbibe looks to tap into that market. Shoppers have become more refined in their tastes and are looking for more subtle and natural flavors. Innovation and variety are critical for success in this market. Nakamura will help Imbibe to be on top of trends and deliver the best tasting product.
Imbibe boasts an award-winning Beverage Innovation Center. Imbibe is an industry leader in flavor development, beverage concentrates, ready to drink beverages, liquid dietary supplements, and dry beverage mixes. Imbibe’s customers include retailers, distributors, brand owners, and entrepreneurs to whom we provide formulation, branding, packaging, manufacturing, and quality assurance services.