Sparkling tea brand Minna has named Dyanna Salcedo, founder of angel investing and advisory business Tastebud Ventures and the brand’s interim CFO since August, as its new permanent CEO. Founder and former CEO Ryan Fortwendel has moved into the role of chief innovation officer.
Fortwendel said he initially “wore all the hats” when the brand launched last year, but as the brand has grown, he’s been able to add strategic hires “to start sharing that weight,” so handing leadership over to Salcedo was not a difficult decision.
“As a founder, there is no room for ego,” he said. “The decision to bring someone on as CEO was never a question I struggled with, except for when was it ok for me to do that? Early stage founders often feel they have to sit in that CEO role – as if they must be one and the same. For me, getting someone into place was critical to take the company to the next level.”
Salcedo met with Fortwendel before Minna’s first capital raise last year and helped him establish a financial plan before pitching to investors last April. Fortwendel said Salcedo was a “huge part” of the brand’s first year, and that the two work well together as they “balance the two aspects of business and creative.” The two also connected over Minna’s social mission, as Tastebud Ventures focuses on supporting “multicultural, inclusive brands” and Minna donates 1% of sales to nonprofits advocating for inclusion.
“Minna is an important brand with a mission of inclusion — a mission I’ve committed to since, as a college student, I personally benefited from an organization not unlike the ones we support,” Salcedo said. “I am proud of what we’re building here and am glad to continue to partner with Ryan in this important work every day.”
Salcedo said that over the past year, her role as interim CFO evolved beyond finance into operations and strategy, and she has worked “side by side” with Fortwendel to respond strategically to the business challenges COVID-19 has presented. In her new role, she’ll be focusing on continuing to grow distribution of the brand, building on the momentum of its recent launch into three Whole Foods regions and Wegmans. She said the brand is also “laser focused on capital efficiency given the uncertainty and volatility in the capital markets right now.”
Meanwhile, Fortwendel will focus on branding and developing new SKUs, adding that there is still “a lot of brand work to continue to flesh out for Minna.” The brand launched its latest flavor, Cherry Cacao, last month.
Health-Ade Adds VP of Ecommerce
Kombucha maker Health-Ade has added Calvin Lammers as its new VP of ecommerce. Lammers was formerly director of ecommerce at Spindrift, where he built out the company’s ecommerce platform “from the ground level,” and also previously managed ecommerce for Bai Brands and KIND Snacks.
Lammers said he joined the Health-Ade team after seeing an opportunity to face the “challenge” of growing an ecommerce business for a kombucha brand, a category he believes is “primed for growth” in the ecommerce space despite the difficult logistics of packaging and fulfillment using cold-chain shipping.
“There really hasn’t been much movement or much focus in the e-commerce space,” Lammers said. “As I see it, it’s a wide open landscape.”
While Health-ade has been selling its products direct-to-consumer for about a year through Amazon and Fresh Direct, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought its ecommerce business to the forefront of the brand’s focus amid a spike in demand from consumers, Lammers said. The brand is now working to expand its ecommerce business on Amazon while also focusing on building out its business on Instacart.
Lammers said he’s also working to ship Health-Ade more sustainably by streamlining packaging to reduce materials where possible. Sustainable shipping has been made an easier task with the launch of the brand’s Booch Pop shelf-stable prebiotic drinks, which Lammers said is the “key to winning in the ecommerce space” for the brand. Booch Pop, Lammers added, allows Amazon shoppers to reduce packaging by using the Ship In Own Container feature.
“It really does unlock a whole other level for us in the ecommerce space,” Lammers said. “We’ve got a bright road map ahead of us here.”
GURU VP of Sales Moves to SodaStream USA
Sparkling water brand SodaStream has named Richard Hinsliff VP of sales for SodaStream USA. Hinsliff previously served as VP of sales for organic energy drink brand GURU, and has also held positions at Red Bull, Heineken USA and Anheuser-Busch.
“Richard has an incredible background in the beverage industry, overseeing several key channels that can help to grow our brand, and we’re excited about the value he’ll bring to the company,” said Bryan Welsh, general manager of SodaStream USA, in a press release. “Aside from his experience, Richard has earned many retailer recognition awards that speak to his credibility and the valuable partnerships he’s established. We’re happy to have him as a key part of the incredible team we are building.”
Hinsliff said in the release he is “ready to hit the ground running” to continue SodaStream’s growth. The company announced last month that it is expanding to away-from-home channels for the first time with the launch of the SodaStream Professional Platform, a version of the hydration platform for businesses and schools.
Poppi Adds VP of Sales
Mark Nino has joined prebiotic soda brand Poppi as its new VP of sales. The move comes just over five months after Nino was named VP of sales at sports drink brand ROAR Organic. Nino has over 20 years of experience in food and beverage CPG, previously holding the VP of sales position at Chef’s Cut Real Jerky Co., along with senior leadership roles at Vitaminwater and Smartwater.
Last month, Poppi expanded distribution to all Wegmans and Sprouts Farmers Market stores, bringing its door count to over 1,000 locations nationwide.