Cultivate CPG Hires Kroger Veteran to Accelerate Growth for Startup Brand Community at Kroger

Cultivate CPG, a leading emerging brands broker and sales agency, announces early stage brand expert and Kroger veteran Kaylee Hamilton as the new Director of Sales - Kroger, effective January 6th, 2025.

Cultivate CPG focuses on top grocery accounts nationally across Grocery, Natural and Club (including, but not limited to: Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Kroger, H-E-B, Central Market, Costco, Wegmans, Raley’s,The Fresh Market, Publix, Thrive Market, and more) which help accelerate growth for new-to-market brands.

Kaylee brings a wealth of experience garnered during the last seven years at Kroger in the snack and beverage sectors. Her high performance, ability to oversee growth, product insight and innovative outlook brings a unique and fresh perspective into play. Her skill set and network positions Cultivate CPG to be the lead brokerage for the startup community at Kroger. In her new role, Kaylee will be responsible for growing existing business at Kroger, launching and expanding new brands and seeking out creative opportunities for the category teams.

“ We are thrilled to welcome Kaylee to our team. Cultivate’s presence at Kroger has accelerated and we are excited to build upon our strong foundation for the emerging brand community. We’ve seen first hand the dollar opportunity for new-to-market brands at Kroger, and Kaylee’s experience and passion for startup brands will be fun to watch.” said Tom Williams, Co- Founder at Cultivate CPG

As the leading brokerage for startup and emerging brands in the U.S., Cultivate CPG is a brand builder that takes an experience driven approach to retail. Cultivate CPG utilizes thoughtful trade programs at the retailer and distributor level while taking a strategic approach to which retailer and “why”. Cultivate has found success in helping brands win by using real world experience and knowledge.

The foundation for Cultivate’s diverse and scrappy approach is built by a team of previous sales leaders from startup brands, previous brand founders, distributor executives, and leading retailer category managers.

“We are growing our team across the country with the top retailers in mind, seeking to find the best people at the best accounts in order to support the best brands in America. Retailers are looking to Cultivate to bring them innovation—we are doing just that.”  said Aaron Barnholt, Co Founder at Cultivate CPG