Riff Cold Brewed Names Adam Hertel as CRO
Oregon-based Riff Cold Brewed announced last week that it has named Adam Hertel as chief revenue officer. Hertel previously served as the SVP of sales for grocery and alternate channels at ITO EN North America, spending eight years at the company before leaving in January to found his own consulting firm.
According to co-founder and CEO Paul Evers, Hertel brings with him industry connections that will help Riff navigate the retailer and distributor landscape as it works to scale its ready-to-drink cascara line Alter Ego. Evers said that as part of the interview process, Hertel presented a proposed “scope of work plan” for his first six month on the job that built on the company’s existing 2020 strategic growth plan. The company will work to implement Hertel’s revised strategy in the coming weeks.
“We were really energized by the level of alignment with what we were already thinking and had in mind,” Evers said. “It took us about five notches higher as far as our sophistication in specific tactical approaches, ideas and strategies.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Riff to readjust its approach to the market, Evers said, as on-premise channels for its cold brew coffee keg business have shut down. Though its coffee line has performed well at retail during the pandemic, he said, the company will continue to focus on the shelf-stable Alter Ego, which offers a more flexible go-to-market approach.
Though he acknowledged the difficulties in launching a new product in a small, emerging category during the crisis — the cancellation of Natural Products Expo West 2020 was a particularly tough blow for the brand — Evers said the company now plans to focus on growing in its own backyard of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California markets.
Hertel, who started on Friday, said he is currently focused on talking with retail partners on the West Coast and is “looking at scaling a sustainable growth strategy” in the natural, specialty and conventional channels.
“Like everyone right now, we’re utilizing resources with an eye on what’s going to be the most valuable ROI, in terms of how we can spend marketing dollars preciously and also making sure we’re making calculated bets as far as where we place our chips with launching into market,” Hertel said. “I’ll be laying out the most efficient way to spend the next couple months and as we hopefully get returned to normal we’ll then start building out a California and Northwest expansion plan.”
DAHlicious Organic Names Pamela Goldberg as CEO
Probiotic yogurt and lassi maker DAHlicious Organic, operating under stakeholder Keen Growth Capital, announced last month that it has appointed former Mondelez International senior director Pamela Goldberg as CEO. According to a press release, Goldberg will work alongside DAHlicious co-founders Ajeet Burns and Jaidesh Sethi.
Goldberg previously spent over nine years at Mondelez International where she held multiple roles, overseeing the launch of belVita Breakfast Biscuits and most recently serving as senior director of biscuits for the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa markets.
“We are excited to onboard Pam as the CEO of our rapidly growing, drinkable Lassi and cup yogurt company, Dahlicious,” said Keen managing partner Jerry Bello in the release. “Her international experience and key efforts on the belVita brand make her the perfect fit to lead Dahlicious, whose products are based on slow culturing and unique flavors of India.”
Former Organic Valley EVP of Marketing Joins Cannabis Cultivator
Organic Valley EVP of marketing Lewis Goldstein has left the dairy co-op after nearly nine years to join Massachusetts cannabis cultivator and dispensary INSA as its CMO, according to LinkedIn.
At Organic Valley, Goldstein oversaw a marketing evolution for the dairy provider, including viral, humor-driven ad campaigns such as the “Save the Bros” series of videos that targeted mainstream millennial consumers. Goldstein was also a member of the Organic Valley Fresh board of directors from 2016 to 2019 and served as the treasurer on the board of directors for dairy industry trade organization MilkPEP from 2015 to 2019. Prior to Organic Valley, Goldstein held positions at Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Boston Beer Company.
Goldstein joins INSA as the cannabis brand has faced difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, the company announced it had laid off an undisclosed number of employees due to store closures. Massachusetts declared recreational cannabis dispensaries as nonessential businesses that must close down during the coronavirus crisis; however, medical dispensaries are allowed to stay open. INSA operates two medical dispensaries in Easthampton and Springfield, Massachusetts and a recreational facility in Salem.