Gourmet News

General Mills Group President Jon Nudi to Retire

Published March 10, 2025

General Mills announced Jon Nudi, Group President, North America Pet, International, and North America Foodservice, will retire on June 30, following a highly successful career with the company spanning more than three decades. Liz Mascolo, currently President for North America Blue Buffalo, will be promoted to Segment President, North America Pet and join the General Mills Senior Leadership Team effective March 16, 2025.

“Jon will leave a lasting legacy at General Mills,” said Jeff Harmening, chairman and CEO, General Mills. “Over the course of his 32 years, Jon embodied what it means to be a dedicated, diligent and visionary leader. His dedication to delivering outstanding results and his unwavering passion for developing future leaders strengthened us for the long term and will be a key part of the indelible mark he leaves. I sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment and wish Jon nothing but the best as he begins his next chapter.”

Nudi joined General Mills in 1993 and held roles of increasing responsibility across the company, including leading the U.S. Snacks division and the Europe & Australia segment. Prior to his current role, Nudi served as Group President of the North America Retail (NAR) segment for 7 years, where he drove a significant improvement in performance, including strong growth in net sales and segment operating profit, as well as market share gains across the majority of NAR categories.

“While I’m proud of how I contributed to our business results,” said Nudi, “I will most cherish the moments I had connecting and working with the incredibly talented people at General Mills. As someone who started his career as a sales rep in central Pennsylvania but grew to work across the company and globe, I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities the company provided, including being able to develop and mentor some of the company’s next leaders.”

Mascolo has 22 years of experience across a broad set of General Mills brands and businesses. Prior to her current role, she served as Vice President of Strategy and Growth and Vice President of Marketing for the Pillsbury Business Unit and Cheerios Business Unit. Mascolo’s earlier career includes an international position as Global Marketing Director at Cereal Partners Worldwide S.A. and a variety of general management roles. Mascolo holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a BS in Government from the University of Notre Dame.

“I am excited to welcome Liz to join our Senior Leadership Team,” continued Harmening. “I’m confident her broad experiences across both human food and pet food – as well as her history of driving growth and innovation – will only strengthen our company further.”

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The Fresh Market Opens 1st Spirits & Wine Store

Published March 10, 2025

The Fresh Market announced the opening of its first-ever Spirits & Wine store. The premium grocer officially opened the doors of its new store Friday, March 7 and is excited to bring the same exceptional shopping experience to its new adult beverages concept.

The new Spirits & Wine store is located adjacent to The Fresh Market’s Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., grocery store location and features a wide selection of premium spirits, wines and craft beer, plus assorted mixers, snacks, glassware, and wine by the glass. Guests can expect more than 7,000 square feet of retail space dedicated to a carefully curated range of spirits including bourbon, whiskies, rums and vodkas, alongside a comprehensive wine selection ranging from European to domestic offerings, craft beers, and chilled beverage coolers.

“The opening of our Spirits & Wine store is an incredible opportunity to expand on our popular beverage program,” said The Fresh Market CEO, Brian Johnson. “Our guests already trust us to provide the highest quality ingredients and finest flavors from around the world. Now, with our Spirits & Wine store, they can enjoy the same impeccable hospitality paired with our new, top-shelf beverage offerings to help make their shopping experience extraordinary.”

Voted #1 in three categories by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for 2024—”Best Grocery Store Bakery”, “Best Grocery Store Deli” and “Best Grocery Store Prepared Foods”—and recognized for three years in a row as the “Best Grocery Store in America”, and as a top 5 most trusted grocery retail brand for specialty and natural/organic foods in the 2022 BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, The Fresh Market helps guests discover the best with time-saving meal solutions, unique ingredients, and delicious food for any occasion.

From fresh produce and exceptional meat and seafood to signature baked goods and thousands of organic options, the specialty grocer has something to please every palate. The Fresh Market currently operates more than 165 grocery stores in 22 states across the U.S. and one Spirits & Wine store, inspiring guests to discover new flavors and cook with confidence. For more information, please visit www.thefreshmarket.com or follow the company on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and Pinterest.

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Carbone Fine Food Named to Insurgent Brands List

Published March 10, 2025

Carbone Fine Food

Carbone Fine Food has been named to Bain & Company’s 2025 Insurgent Brands list, which identifies companies redefining growth in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. Carbone Fine Food is one of 120 brands to make this year’s list.

“It is an honor to be recognized on the Insurgent Brands list again this year,” said CEO Eric Skae. “Our efforts to introduce new innovations across the premium sauce category continue to help us drive growth, increase shelf space and solidify our position as a leader in the segment.”

Bain & Company defines insurgent brands as those that generate more than $25 million of annual revenue in tracked channels, have grown more than 10 times their category’s average growth rate over the past five years, and maintained positive growth over the past two years while remaining independent or having been acquired by a large consumer packaged goods company only within the past two years.

“Bain’s insurgent brands list offers valuable insight into where innovative, disruptive growth is taking place within the consumer packaged goods sector,” said Charlotte Apps, executive vice president of Bain’s Consumer Products practice. “While the broader sector continues to grapple with stagnating volumes, limited pricing power, and consumer headwinds, these insurgent brands are unlocking incremental growth by addressing unmet consumer needs in new, authentic, and often founder-led ways.

“These brands provide a roadmap for sustainable growth in this evolving marketplace, and they showcase the power of compelling consumer-centric value propositions, strong brand engagement, and superior velocity on the shelf. Looking ahead, we anticipate these insurgents will continue to capture an increasing share of category growth and play a meaningful role in shaping the future of the industry.”

Carbone Fine Food sauces feature the same fresh, quality ingredients found in the brand’s iconic restaurants, including the world’s best-tasting tomatoes, grown in volcanic ash and handpicked in Italy. Using a traditional technique, the sauces are slow cooked in small batches. Chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi oversee the entire sauce process from start to finish, from choosing the farms that the ingredients are sourced from to testing hundreds of batches to ensure that the quality of the jarred sauce is second to none.

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