Apu Mody and John Koury Join Boba Bam’s Management Team
As consumer awareness of boba tea grows in the U.S., California-based frozen instant boba kit brand Boba Bam has appointed industry veterans Apu Mody as Executive Advisor and John Koury as Vice President Sales.
“Boba Bam is well positioned as the ‘at-home boba’ category leader, with the first and only all-natural at-home boba kit, an impressive roster of leading retailers, and an experienced team of professionals,” said Boba Bam CEO and co-founder, Brian Koddham, in a press release. “We are thrilled to add John to the management team, and Apu as an executive Advisor. Their expertise will only fuel our growth.”
Mody joins the company from plant-based protein snack maker Lenny & Larry’s, where he served as CEO from 2017 to 2019. Additionally, he served as former President of Mars Foods Americas and Middle East and Senior Vice President at Del Monte Foods.
Prior to joining Boba Bam, Koury spent decades in CPG sales, marketing and customer relationship management with senior sales positions at Lundberg Family Farms, SunFoods LLC and PepsiCo, among others. Most recently, he advised CPG brands at consultancy firm Omnium CPG.
Launched in 2021, Boba Bam set out to produce a better-for-you frozen boba product that targeted conventional grocers and mass accounts.
“We essentially took something that sort of existed in the marketplace and we perfected it for what we think is the mass market. It took a lot of work and R&D for us to come up and make the product that we have, and the product is all made authentically in Taiwan,” Khoddam told BevNET earlier this year.
The brand’s flagship boba product, Brown Sugar Boba, first debuted at Texas Costco stores last year. Distribution has since expanded to include Costco and Sam’s Club nationwide, as well as ALDI in California and Texas.
Looking ahead, the global boba market is projected to reach $4.3 billion by the end of 2027, according to Allied Market Research. Boba Bam plans to “capitalize on the category’s growth with a robust product development pipeline, unmatched operations and supply chain management, and first-class sales and marketing,” according to a LinkedIn post.
Ounce Water Appoints Roger Wood as CEO Amid Company Reorganization
Amid company reorganization efforts, Ounce Water, Inc. announced it has appointed veteran international marketer Roger Wood as CEO and independent board director.
The reorganization plan was put in place to “ensure that a long-term, professional management structure and formal succession plan is implemented with the best interests of the company, with its employees at the center.”
Under the plan, Theo will contribute to the brand’s celebrity endorsement strategy while shifting his focus toward acting opportunities. Meghan will become chair of the board of directors, working in-step with Wood.
“It is very important to me that the company I built with my wife is set-up for ongoing stability and growth. With Roger, Ounce has gained an extremely experienced leader who enjoys our full confidence,” said Ounce Water co-founder, Theo Rossi, in an official statement. “We poured ourselves into this effort for the past few years, but there is so much further to go.”
Wood comes to the company as a veteran corporation executive with experience at Heart Corporation, Willis Group Holdings, Reebok and Ralph Lauren RLX. As CEO, he will take on daily operations with his management firm, Blue Bear Brands.
“Ounce Water is a strong brand that understands water. This is due to the efforts of such a dedicated, loyal team and patient shareholders. I look forward to working closely with all of them to build an exciting future for Ounce,” said Wood in the release.
Zevia Expands Leadership Team with Greig P. DeBow
Zero-calorie soda maker Zevia today announced it has brought on Greig P. DeBow as its new chief commercial officer.
With 25 years of industry experience under his belt, DeBow will be responsible for driving market development in support of Zevia’s growth across retail sales, ecommerce, business insights/category management and route-to-market. Most recently, he served as senior VP of sales at Jack Link’s Protein Snacks.
“We are thrilled to welcome Greig as Zevia’s Chief Commercial Officer. Greig brings decades of deeply relevant experience, which is essential as we sharpen our go-to-market strategy, strengthen our business partnerships at retail and drive channel and geographic expansion,” said Zevia CEO and president Amy Taylor in a press release.
Coke Florida Announces New VP, Planning and VP, Strategic Integration and Analytics
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC announced the promotion of Scott McLaughlin to VP, Planning and the appointment of Sally Forsyth to the newly created role of VP, Strategic Integration and Analytics.
Founded in 2015, the Tampa-based, family-owned Coca-Cola bottler now retains exclusive sales distribution rights covering 21 million consumers across 47 Florida counties, including Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa.
McLaughlin began his Coke Florida career in 2015, most recently serving as South Florida Territory Director. As part of his promotion to VP, Planning, he will oversee plannings for all commercial operations at Coke Florida, including forecasting activities, enabling the execution of segmented service models and allocating resources to optimize commercial outcomes, according to a press release.
Forsyth also began her Coke Florida career in 2015 and has over 30 years in the Coca-Cola system. She previously served as VP, Enterprise Planning and Analytics. In her new role, Forsyth will retain responsibilities for revenue growth management and decision support in addition to focusing on “new challenges that improve Coke Florida’s positioning in the competitive landscape of consumer packaged goods in Florida.”
“Both Sally and Scott have been key leaders in the growth and capability development of Coke Florida to date,” said Thomas Benford, president and COO of Coke Florida, in the release. “With these moves, we will allow them to have greater focus and influence on the activities that will enable our continued growth to meet the increasing demands of Florida’s rapidly evolving marketplace.”