People Moves: Nestlé Waters North America CEO Steps Down

Fernando Mercé Steps Down as CEO of Nestlé Waters North America

Fernando Mercé, president and CEO of Nestlé Waters North America, has decided to step down from his position “due to personal reasons,” effective tomorrow, the company told BevNET this week. The NWNA business continues to report to U.S. market head and CEO of Nestlé USA Steve Presley, and the company said a successor to Mercé would be named “in due course.”

In a notice sent to employees, the company stated: “Presley cited Mercé’s numerous contributions over his nearly 25-year career with the Nestlé family of companies and wished him the very best in his future endeavors.”

Mercé first joined Nestlé in 1992 as industrial engineer with the operations improvement team before transitioning to marketing roles and eventually being named CEO of Nestlé Purina Latin America & Caribbean in 2011. He became president and CEO of NWNA in May 2017, replacing Tim Brown as Brown became COO at Chobani, and oversaw operations in the United States and Canada.

Mercé supervised several moves toward sustainability during his time in the role, including NWNA’s commitment made last year to achieve 25 percent recycled plastic across its U.S. domestic portfolio by 2021, investment in the Closed Loop Fund and implementation of How2Recycle labels across its portfolio. NWNA announced last week that its ReadyRefresh by Nestlé direct-to-consumer beverage delivery service has achieved carbon neutrality, earning a CarbonNeutral company certification for 2020.

Matt Kahn Named CMO at SodaStream

SodaStream USA has named Matt Kahn as its first ever United States-based CMO, the company told BevNET, in order to “fulfill its true potential in the USA.” In this role, Kahn will focus on “helping to share the brand’s mission and transform the way both consumers and corporations think about sustainability.”

“I’m looking forward to working with the team on turning SodaStream into a billion dollar brand in the United States alone, as it sits at the intersection of three key mega trends – health and wellness, environmental sustainability and personalization,” said Kahn in a statement. “I want SodaStream to inspire consumers and corporations to share our ambition towards creating a more sustainable ecosystem.”

SodaStream rolled out its first Super Bowl commercial since 2014 last month, which highlighted its focus on reducing plastic waste. The company was acquired by PepsiCo in 2018 as part of its “Beyond The Bottle” initiative.

“As SodaStream continues to aggressively pursue the opportunity for growth in the USA, Matt’s introduction to our organization will help realize our potential,” said Bryan Welsh, general manager of SodaStream USA. “Matt has a proven track record of high-profile successes and iconic campaigns, and with him on board, our potential in the sparkling water market is endless.”

Kahn was previously executive vice president of marketing at performance beverage maker CELSIUS, and told BevNET in October he had left the company due to family issues. He also held marketing roles at Glacéau and The Coca-Cola Company, working with Sprite and POWERADE. Throughout his career, he was worked on endorsement deals with celebrities such as Tom Brady, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston.

Better Booch Adds Jordan Shulman as VP of Sales

California-based kombucha brand Better Booch added Jordan Shulman as VP of sales this month. Shulman said he decided to join the team as he was “impressed” with how co-founders Trey and Ashleigh Lockerbie had developed the brand, and will assist Better Booch in expanding distribution beyond the West Coast as it looks to become a “large national player” in the kombucha category.

“I love the opportunity of building a company from not only sales organization but rolling the product out to new markets and going national,” he told BevNET. “It felt like the right opportunity at the right time.”

Shulman was previously head of sales for Verve Coffee Roasters, working with the brand as it launched its first ready-to-drink line in grocery and foodservice nationally. He also held senior sales roles at LifeAID and Vita Coco.

Shulman said he believes Better Booch’s can format lends itself to opportunities in expanding the brand on a national level. Better Booch is currently sold at over 1,000 retail locations including Whole Foods, Sprouts and Safeway. According to Shulman, the brand is focusing on its e-commerce business, rolling out a new website this week, as well as on expanding its foodservice business beyond Southern California.

Shulman said the brand will debut its ninth flavor, Hibiscus Healer, at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California next month.

Juliet Blake Departs Lemon Perfect to Launch Brand Consulting Service

Juliet Blake has stepped down from her position as VP of marketing for cold-pressed lemon water brand The Lemon Perfect Company to launch The Branding Yard, a consulting service setting go-to-market strategies for new and emerging food and beverage brands.

Blake joined Lemon Perfect in June of last year after serving as senior director of marketing for Mamma Chia, and has also held positions at BodyArmor, KonaRED and ZICO. Blake told BevNET her time with these brands taught her to “think differently as a marketer.”

“I learned very quickly that you can’t launch a brand, let alone create pull off the shelves, when you think of marketing and sales as two separate functions,” she said. “My background and experience in growing brands from the ground level has really shaped the way I see product launches and overall company growth strategy.”

Blake said she was inspired to step down from her role at Lemon Perfect to pursue this venture after seeing the “lack of resources” for these new brands as they launch.

“So many new brands launch without a highly focused, cohesive and strategic plan that translates into sales,” Blake said. “This leads to overspending in areas that won’t move the business forward, especially in such an early stage of the company’s life cycle. We make sure to lay the critical, but often overlooked, solid foundation right out of the gate to ensure a smooth, successful and fun journey.”

Blake said The Branding Yard is currently working with functional hydration beverage brand Recover 180, along with three brands launching in April.

Red Thread Coffee Co. Names VP of Sales & Operations

Boston-based cold brew maker Red Thread Coffee Co. announced today it has named Jim Kaloyanides its new VP of sales and operations. Kaloyanides was previously VP of sales at Copper Moon Coffee and has also held senior roles at Club Coffee and New England Coffee Company.

“One of the things that drew me to the company is that I believe it’s the best-tasting cold brew on the market,” he said in a press release. “Also, it’s clear that Red Thread is truly unique compared to all of the other cold brews in that it’s the only line that I know of that has zero sugar, is organic and single origin. Selling a product that has a real point-of-difference and delivers against consumer needs is a lot easier than trying to sell another ‘me too’ brew.”

According to LinkedIn, in his new role Kaloyanides will work to expand the brand’s business across various retail channels, as well as work to drive revenue growth by managing its broker network and national distributors.