Lemon Perfect Names Richa Anand as Director of Brand Marketing
Enhanced water brand Lemon Perfect has named former Taco Bell brand and marketing manager Richa Anand as its director of brand marketing. The move reflects a deeper investment into marketing for the Georgia-based beverage startup, which had previously focused on growing its business through a sales-driven strategy.
Anand, who previously spent nearly eight years with Taco Bell overseeing brand partnerships like The Big Cheez-It Tostada and Loaded TRUFF Nacho Fries, joined Lemon Perfect last month reporting to VP of marketing Taylor Smith. Speaking with BevNET today, Anand said she’s focused on rapidly increasing the brand’s marketing activations and is eyeing opportunities in the sports world – through pre-existing partnerships with athletes like tennis pro Sloane Stephens and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts – as well as new campaigns tapping into the visual arts.
“The product itself has really propelled the business to be honest, and the way that that’s happened is through our sales team,” Anand said. “They’ve been phenomenal about execution in-store and direct-to-consumer online, but there really hasn’t been much marketing behind it. And I think the beauty in that is that people just genuinely liked the product and that’s why we’ve been able to continue to grow year-over-year. But there’s so much potential, when we haven’t even tapped into marketing and we’re already growing this much – think of the unlock that we can have when we actually build a brand behind this model.”
The move to Lemon Perfect marks Anand’s first time working on the CPG side of food and beverage, although she said she gained strong insights into the industry through the various partnerships she led at Taco Bell. Based in Los Angeles, Anand said she was already a consumer of Lemon Perfect before joining the team and had wanted to work in a startup environment after so many years at a Fortune 500 company.
“When you think of culture today, at least when I do, I think of how quick things change, whether it’s trends on the internet or what’s hip and what’s not, and things move in a 24 hour cycle,” Anand said. “And so to be able to have that kind of startup feel to what you’re doing, which I had in my past role when working with brands like TRUFF who are able to move and be really agile, that’s something that I then can take to Lemon Perfect and be able to, hopefully, make sure that we are continuing to be more and more relevant as we grow.”
Earlier this year, Lemon Perfect closed a $31 million Series A funding round backed by several investment firms as well as pop star Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Anand noted that the company now has more than 80 employees, although the marketing team remains small for now.
Looking ahead, Anand said she feels Lemon Perfect has laid strong roots in the sports world, but hopes to craft messaging for the brand that embodies its health-based mission and can bring in consumers from different demographics and communities, beginning with an upcoming collaboration with a visual artist that will be announced later this year as well as aspirations to incorporate the brand into the fashion scene.
“Sports we’ve got on lock and we’re very happy with what’s happened so far and the momentum that we’re going to continue building with our partnerships over the next couple of years,” she said. “But there’s so much more space to play in one day down the line. Is it music? Is it nightlife? … To me, art and creative spaces excite me most [and that] is where I see our next moves being.”
Electrolit Looks to Canadian Growth with New Commercial Director
Isotonic hydration beverage producer Electrolit has named Enrico De La Torre as its Commercial Director for its Canada office, leading the brand’s distribution and marketing expansion in the country.
Based in Toronto, De La Torre – who has previously held sales positions at PepsiCo and Red Bull – joined the company last month, coming from Aurora Cannabis where he had served as director of consumer sales since October 2021. According to a press release, De La Torre is skilled in leading “high performing teams” and at Red Bull he held various management roles across distribution, account management and marketing.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to turn Electrolit into a global powerhouse and I couldn’t be more grateful to be joining such a dedicated team at a company that is quickly gaining momentum,” said De La Torre in the release. “We’ve seen an opening for growth in the industry when it comes to better for you beverages; I’m excited to continue expanding brand awareness and to bring high quality ingredients and functionality to consumers that want better performance and functionality from the products they purchase.”
This summer, Electrolit named another Red Bull veteran, Christian Patiño Webb, as its CEO. The Mexican brand, a subsidiary of Pisa Pharmaceuticals, has scaled rapidly since it launched in the U.S. in 2015, becoming the fourth largest sports drink brand in the U.S. with retail dollar sales up 87.9% to $337.2 million in the 52-weeks ending August 7, per IRI sales data.
Patiño Webb said the company aims to become a top three – if not top two – sports drink brand in the coming years. The drinks are currently available in over 65,000 doors in the U.S.
He also said one of his top priorities as CEO is to “make Electrolit a global brand,” noting that as of this past summer the brand was sold in 11 countries, including Canada, with more Latin American countries slated to come online in the near future and a European launch expected in 2023.
Answering questions via email today, De La Torre said Electrolit is “still in its infancy” in the Canadian market, having only launched in the country in March 2021. However, he noted that momentum is strong, with the brand on pace to sell over 500,000 bottles there in 2022 with just under 1,000 stores – primarily in Western Canada – and no major marketing campaigns.
He noted a “massive opportunity” to grow the brand in Ontario and Quebec with a focus on securing cold box placement in grocery and drug channels, with marketing efforts expected to pick up next year.
“We are barely scratching the surface in terms of the total opportunity,” he wrote. “Our immediate focus is to grow our distribution and build our awareness through trial.”
BlueTriton Names Kheri Holland Tillman as CMO
Bottled water portfolio company BlueTriton Brands has named Kheri Holland Tillman as its new CMO, according to a release today.
Tillman brings more than 20 years of experience to the company, having held roles at brands like Jell-O, electronics maker JBL, and Heineken USA where she served as VP of marketing overseeing the “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign for beer brand Dos Equis.. She comes to the company from Harman International, where she served as VP of global development and marketing services.
“As we continue to unlock the power of our core business with increased brand building investments and expand organically through innovation and strategic additions to our platform, Kheri’s broad skill set, creative approach and leadership abilities will make her an invaluable asset to our marketing efforts and further augment the strength of our senior management team,” said Paul Norman, BlueTriton’s president of retail, in the release. “In addition to a home of great brands, our goal is to further position BlueTriton as a destination for great talent who have the passion and expertise to meet the challenge of our exciting growth strategy. Kheri more than fits the bill and we are delighted to welcome her aboard at this important time.”
BlueTriton became one of the largest bottled water producers in North America when it was formed last year, following the $4.3 billion acquisition of the Nestlé Waters North America regional brands portfolio by One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co. Its portfolio includes Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills, Arrowhead, Origin, Saratoga Spring Water, Pure Life and Splash Blast among others.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to the consumer packaged goods industry, working on a beverage business with a portfolio of iconic brands,” said Ms. Holland Tillman. “It is such an exciting time for BlueTriton and I’m looking forward to working with the company’s talented team to identify creative ways to propel our brands forward.”