Gourmet News

Johnsonville Pitches Sausage-Packed Fun for SuperHole III

Published August 2, 2022

It’s SuperHole time – when untold numbers of cornhole fans schedule their lives around televised pro-am competitions. For the uninitiated, it’s up to SuperHole III now.

Johnsonville, the official sponsor of the American Cornhole League, has created a collection of limited-edition advertisement spots that will run in broadcast and digital, an impressive roster of air- mailing sausage ambassadors like Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Jennie Finch, a cornhole watch-party Pinterest board and hilarious sausage-centric swag.

“There is no doubt that this year’s SuperHole event will be the must-see event of year,” said Jamie Schmelzer, senior director of strategic growth at Johnsonville. “Being a CPG brand, we’re fully aware that American consumers inescapably link the Big Game with great advertising, creative recipes, top entertainment, media moments and watch parties.”

Schmelzer said Johnsonville has a terrific partnership with the ACL and the first two years of its pro-am versions of cornhole competitions (SuperHole) have become so popular with more celebrities and athletes playing and fans engaging.

“So, while the ACL produces their own version of the Big Game, we thought there should be some fun, sausage-y elements to enhance SuperHole weekend. The ACL team agreed, and we’ve had a blast putting this together. The fans should get a kick out of how we’ve spiced up the line-up to make it bigger and better than ever – from parodying some nostalgic ad spots to this crazy sausage-tunnel for all the players to run through – it’s going to be a lot of fun!”

With a laundry list of sizzling entertainment planned for the two live SuperHole broadcasts on ESPN2, Johnsonville and the ACL will leave viewers with just one question on the big day – “Why isn’t this a primetime broadcast all year!?”. Sausage fans will rejoice as “John. Son. Ville” makes its debut, the ACL creates their first-ever SuperHole ad and cornhole legends are born as athletes look to serve up and cement their sausage-tunnel runs in history and claim the first-ever WS Moore SuperHole Trophy, presented by Johnsonville.

The ACL SuperHole III will be broadcast live on ESPN2: The Ocho this Friday, August 5, with the quarterfinals airing from 4-5 p.m. ET and finals from 8-9 p.m. ET. First-time viewers and cornhole enthusiasts are encouraged to tune-in and serve up Johnsonville sausage in their watch- party spreads to celebrate what will be the biggest SuperHole event to date.

The complete line-up of Johnsonville experiences for SuperHole III includes:

• Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson will host his watch party live from his Instagram account, during ESPN’s “Ocho Day” on Aug. 5

• Johnsonville parody spots:

o John. Son. Ville

o SausageQRCode

• ACL’s first SuperHole ad

• Sausage tunnel runs: Watch the 16 SuperHole and ACL players take the court in style

• Rapper and entertainer Flavor Flav will emcee both SuperHole III broadcasts

• The Johnsonville SuperHole Halftime Show will feature a live performance from singer-writer Ben Rector

• Cornhole audience members will don one-of-a-kind HoleHead hats and Johnsonville grill hats

• Presentation of the first-ever WS Moore SuperHole trophy to the SuperHole champions

The SuperHole Championship lineup includes:

• Retired NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and Matt Guy

• Retired NFL quarterback Jay Cutler and Jay Rubin

• Actor Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Jacob Trzcienski

• UFC competitor Chris Weidman and Jimmy McGuffin

• University of S Carolina women’s head coach Dawn Staley and Mark Richards

• Singer/Songwriter Ben Rector and Jimmy Youmans

• Retired NFL running back Terry Kirby and Rosie Streker

• ESPN Broadcaster Marty Smith and Ryan Smith

For more about sausages and other specialty food (but really not much about cornhole or SuperHole III), subscribe to Gourmet News.

Zevia Names DeBow Jr. Chief Commercial Officer

Published August 2, 2022

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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Schuman Cheese Names Snyder CEO

Published August 2, 2022

Schuman Cheese has named Steve K. Snyder CEO, with third-generation leader Neal Schuman moving from CEO to chairman of the board.

“We are excited to welcome Steve to the Schuman Cheese family and plan to work closely to build on the company’s successes while staying true to the core values that have guided us these last 75 years,” said Schuman. “Steve brings us a fresh vision for the company’s continued success and expansion trajectory. I am confident that his experienced leadership, know-how, and clear strategic perspective will be pivotal to our next phase of growth.”

Snyder has recently led companies in the cheese, food and other industries to create and implement growth strategies, develop leadership talent and drive business and organizational development.

“It is with great pride and excitement that I join Neal and his talented fourth-generation children, Allison, Ian, and Keith, along with the entire Schuman Cheese team to continue the legacy of world-class, award-winning cheese solutions,” Snyder said. “The company’s history of caring for its employees and the communities in which it operates is inspirational. It’s that dedication to our team and our customers to operate with integrity and innovative spirit that will remain a guiding light in this next chapter of growth.’ said Snyder.

Snyder carries with him a leadership background in start-up, middle market and large company settings across food, nutrition, pharma, food safety, biotechnology, agrulture and specialty chemicals.

His most recent, full-time role was president and CEO of Whitehall Specialties Inc., a Wisconsin-based processed and plant-based cheese manufacturer, where he created and launched the NewFields plant-based cheese division. He served as president and COO of the publicly traded food and animal safety company Neogen and spent 13 years at Cargill, the large multinational, family-owned food and agricultural products company, where he and his team launched Truvia natural sweetener and other nutritional and sustainable products.

Snyder has also held various roles at Monsanto Company and a number of boards of directors’ positions in the food, agriculture, biotech, software and health areas.

Snyder joins Schuman Cheese amid continued category leadership with some of the industry’s largest retailers and recognition across both domestic and imported cheeses, including that of flagship brand Cello, which recently celebrated a sweep in the Parmesan category at the 2022 World Cheese Contest. The company is also rapidly expanding in growing food categories with innovative brands such as plant-based Vevan Foods and dessert brand, Delve chocolate truffles.

In October, Gourmet News publishes its annual Fall Cheese Guide. To advertise, email sales@oser.com.