Zevia Names DeBow Jr. Chief Commercial Officer
Zevia PBC has appointed Greig P. DeBow Jr. as chief commercial officer, effective today.
DeBow brings more than 25 years of experience in the beverage and consumer-packaged goods industries to Zevia’s management team, with a strong track record of leading commercial strategy to fuel revenue growth and profitability. He is responsible for driving market development in support of profitable growth for the Zevia brand through leadership across retail sales, eC\-commerce, business insights/category management and route-to-market and will report to Amy Taylor, president and CEO.
“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,” Taylor said. “He is a well-respected industry leader and expert who is well-equipped to drive immediate impact and provide critical strategic input on our long-term growth plan. I look forward to partnering with Greig along with the rest of the leadership team as we continue to strengthen the brand, drive profitable growth and realize our mission centered around global health.”
Most recently, DeBow was the senior vice president of aales at Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, the number one meat snack provider worldwide, where he contributed to building a highly profitable category-leading brand. Prior to that, he served as vice president of sales & distribution at Danone North America, where he was responsible for the Convenience, Dollar, Discount, Drug, Export, and Distribution teams across four brand units with a $510 million revenue base.
DeBow also held a variety of roles at Pabst Brewing Company from 2015 to 2019 and gained commercial leadership experience at PepsiCo, Red Bull North America and Standard Beverage Corporation. He received his BBA in marketing and business from Texas A&M University.
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Bolthouse Farms Acquires Starbucks’ Evolution Fresh
Bolthouse Farms has closed its acquisition of Evolution Fresh from Starbucks, which includes the brand, business and employees supporting Evolution Fresh. By uniting the two powerhouse brands, Bolthouse Farms looks to further accelerate the company’s leadership within the premium juice and refrigerated beverage categories in retail.
Through this acquisition, Bolthouse Farms will expand its beverage offering from nutrient-dense, plant-powered juices and smoothies to include the full lineup of Evolution Fresh’s primarily organic, cold-pressed, premium juices. Starbucks stores in the United States will continue to sell Evolution Fresh products.
“As a combined company, we will share our resources, vertically-integrated supply chain, deep knowledge of fresh produce, and passion for ingenuity and innovation,” said Bill Levisay, president, Consumer Brands, Bolthouse Farms. “Evolution Fresh produces deliciously fresh, cold-pressed juices that consumers are looking for. Our job now is to support their expertise and bring additional resources to the table to expand the brand’s reach.”
Bolthouse Farms is the No. 1 super premium refrigerated beverage brand and one of the largest carrot suppliers to North American retailers.
“Bolthouse has been on a rapid growth trajectory in the last few years, and this acquisition is an important step on the company’s growth journey, with more expected to come,” said CEO Jeff Dunn. “This acquisition expands our portfolio in a way that meets the health and nutrition needs of more consumers than ever before”.
Bolthouse Farms is a portfolio company of Butterfly, a leading private equity firm that specializes in the food sector with a particular focus on high-growth, on-trend categories. Through Bolthouse Farms, Evolution Fresh joins Butterfly’s brand portfolio that includes the likes of Chosen Foods, MaryRuth Organics, Orgain and Pete and Gerry’s Organics.
Terms of the transaction, which Starbucks and Bolthouse Farms announced on May 24, 2022, were not disclosed.
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Independent Brewers Open Membership, Launch Awards
The Society of Independent Brewers is expanding membership with three new member categories launching in 2022, starting with International Brewing Membership, which opened Aug. 1.
SIBA membership is open to independent breweries anywhere outside of the United Kingdom and includes a range of membership benefits, including access to the newly launched SIBA International Beer Awards.
“SIBA will offer our new International Brewing Members a variety of brewery business tools, U.K. promotional opportunities for their beer and brands, professional advice on essential business areas such as marketing or UK legislation, and free delegate tickets to BeerX – the U.K.’s biggest beer and brewing trade event – where our new International Awards will take place,” said Neil Walker, SIBA head of comms & marketing.
Only SIBA members will be eligible to enter beer into the SIBA International Beer Awards, with a broad variety of internationally recognized style categories judged by some of the U.K.’s most experienced beer judges, beer sommeliers and master brewers.
The awards include Belgian, French and Trappist styles, among others, alongside pale ale, IPA, speciality & sour beers, as well as more traditional British styles such as bitter and stout. The judging and awards presentation will take place as part of BeerX UK in March.
“Our new SIBA Independent Beer Awards are a truly unique competition and a first for the U.K. We’re really excited about bringing in craft breweries from across the globe and can’t wait to see who comes out on top. All of the judging and the awards presentation will take place at BeerX – the U.K.’s biggest beer and brewing trade event – so winners will get to accept their awards on the UK’s most prominent beer industry stage,” Neil said.
The trade association will bring amateur brewers into the fold, offering advice on turning professional, as well as the opportunity for technical Q&As with well-known craft brewers, a quarterly printed magazine, brewing tools and guidance, plus a new homebrew competition – again set to take place at the flagship BeerX event.
The final new member category, launching by the end of 2022, is to open SIBA membership to bottleshops – offering advice, guidance and Government lobbying support, as well as access to an exclusive retailer showcase at BeerX and more.
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