Hamdallah Heads to Clif as First CIO

Following the May hiring of Sally Grimes as CEO, snack brand Clif Bar announced today the appointment of Rizal Hamdallah as the company’s first chief innovation officer. Hamdallah joins the company after serving as global chief innovation officer at Ocean Spray Cranberries, where he led R&D and the company’s incubation program, The Lighthouse.

Currently residing in Boston, Hamdallah expects to relocate to Clif’s headquarters in Emeryville, California in the new year. He said Clif’s core principle of “bringing humanity through food,” focusing on creating accessible, nutrient dense products, was what drew him to the opportunity — which will allow him to “create a more valuable contribution” to the food system.

“[Clif] is doing this because that’s who they are. This kind of thing is normally an add on to who a company is, but this is embedded in who they are. They were born because of this goal,” Hamdallah said “I’m tired of companies that talk about impact, but [for only a] PR benefit. I think Clif has done it, through tangible examples, and we want to continue to push it.”

The move reunites Hamdallah with Grimes, who previously was the President of Tyson Foods’ prepared foods division. From 2017 to 2019 Hamdallah was the managing director of Tyson New Ventures and, later, VP of the Tyson Innovation Lab. At Clif, Hamdallah will report directly to Grimes, who he called “inspirational.”

Over the past year Clif has faced increased competition from upstart food brands also targeting the nutrition bar and functional food segment. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a decrease in bar sales as consumers stay home and need fewer on the go snacks.

While Clif, and its sub brand Luna, has expanded into adjacent categories such as fruit snacks, energy chews, granola, hydration powders and energy gel shots, its innovation program has largely focused on targeting the same consumer base. One of its main competitors, KIND Snacks, has had a more widespread innovation strategy, launching new products ranging from frozen bars to chocolate bark to hot breakfast cereal. At Clif, Hamdallah said he will work to bring in new shoppers, though the exact innovation strategy is still to be determined.

“The way I’m looking at it is Clif is in a moment of transformation,” Hamdallah said. “Clif was interested in working with me because of [a desire] for bold innovation…If I am just coming to a company to create a lot of incremental products for the base, it’s great but I want to grow something.”

Meanwhile, the fate of Hamdallah’s previous focus, the Ocean Spray Lighthouse program, remains unclear. Ocean Spray did not reply to a request for comment as to the company’s plans for the incubator, which over the last year has launched everything from functional CBD beverages to water enhancers for dogs to gummies that help improve skin quality. Hamdallah, however, sees potential for the project — if not the framework — to continue on.

“It was a successful approach and there was a lot of innovation launched through the Lighthouse that was very powerful,”Hamdallah said. “It showed to the organization, the industry and the board that innovation can work. With or without me the foundation is there.”