Sweetgreen Appoints Retail Veteran Williams as COO
Sweetgreen announced the appointment of Rossann Williams as the company’s chief operating officer, effective Feb. 5. Williams joins Sweetgreen’s executive leadership team and will oversee operations, real estate + development and supply chain for the company.
Williams is an accomplished global operations executive bringing more than 30 years of experience leading retail businesses. Williams is a respected and engaged leader focused on cultivating high-performance teams at every level of the business.
“Rossann is an industry veteran with a proven track record in driving sustainable growth of global, iconic brands and leading teams to generate profitability,” said Jonathan Neman, CEO and co-founder of Sweetgreen. “Rossann complements the existing skills and experience of our leadership team as we pursue our next chapter of growth. It’s clear that she shares our values, and I look forward to partnering with Rossann to further our mission of connecting more communities to real food.”
Prior to joining Sweetgreen, Williams spent over 18 years at Starbucks, where she rose to EVP and president of North America retail. In this role, she oversaw a market of approximately 16,000 stores, where she significantly improved same-store sales, successfully opened thousands of new stores and helped navigate the company through the pandemic. At Starbucks, Williams also served in senior operations roles across North America, eventually rising to SVP, global and Americas operations services. Previously, Williams held leadership roles for several well-known Fortune 500 brands, including Blockbuster and Toys “R” Us.
“I’ve long admired Sweetgreen’s leadership as a founder-led, mission-driven company driving the industry forward. I am deeply aligned with Sweetgreen’s values, people-centric approach and commitment to connect more people to delicious, real food. I’m thrilled to be joining the Sweetgreen team at a moment of significant growth and an incredible opportunity ahead,” said Williams.
Sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Sweetgreen sources the best quality ingredients from farmers and suppliers they trust to cook food from scratch that is both delicious and nourishing. They plant roots in each community by building a transparent supply chain, investing in local farmers and growers, and enhancing the total experience with innovative technology.
Since opening its first 560-square-foot location in 2007, Sweetgreen has scaled to over 220 locations across the United States, and their vision is to lead the next generation of restaurants and lifestyle brands built on quality, community and innovation.
To learn more about Sweetgreen, its menu, and its loyalty program, visit www.Sweetgreen.com. Follow @Sweetgreen on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
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Heart-Shaped Cheerios Return With Personalized Touch
Cheerios is bringing back its beloved Happy Heart Shapes in honor of American Heart Month with a fun new twist. To celebrate five years of Happy Heart Shapes and the role Cheerios can play in supporting Americans who want to live a heart-healthy lifestyle, Cheerios is launching special-edition boxes featuring names of those who inspire you to make heart healthy choices.
In addition to special-edition boxes with names such as Mom, Friend, Grandparents and Family in both English and Spanish available at retailers nationwide throughout February, consumers can also order personalized yellow boxes online featuring any name (within 18 characters) at Cheerios.com.
With more than 100 million Americans having some form of heart disease, Cheerios understands how important heart health is. When people see Grandma, Abuelo, Bestie, Dad, and the names of other loved ones on the cover of their box, they will be reminded to take care of their heart not only for themselves, but for those people who mean the most to them. The name boxes are a great way to remind people that apart from the convenience and great taste, Cheerios are made with whole grain oats, which can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet.
“From being there to cheer on your kids’ activities to laughs across the breakfast table – these are the moments with loved ones that remind us why it’s worth saying, ‘Yes’ to taking care of our heart health,” said Kathy Dixon, senior brand experience manager for Cheerios. “This year, the special-edition Cheerios name boxes and Happy Heart Shapes are a simple reminder for people to take care of their heart so they can be there for all of life’s special moments.”
Special-edition boxes will be available at retailers nationwide in five delicious flavors: Original yellow-box Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Chocolate, Strawberry Banana and Apple Cinnamon. Learn more here.
General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to drive shareholder value by boldly building its brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing its scale and standing for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names such as Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Totino’s, Annie’s, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, General Mills generated fiscal 2023 net sales of $20.1 billion. In addition, the company’s share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled $1 billion.
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Southern Recipe Small Batch Launches Sweet BBQ Pork Rinds
Southern Recipe Small Batch, the leading authentic, handcrafted, small batch pork rind snack brand, recently announced its newest product launch, bringing a sweet and saucy new flavor to the snack food aisle: Sweet BBQ Pork Rinds. The new variety will be available in Kroger stores nationwide in late February at an SRP of $3.99 for each four-ounce bag. This new flavor is a direct response to consumer interest, and is a trending flavor for snack food, overall.
According to Flavor & the Menu magazine, “American barbecue has never showcased more flavor diversity and appeal than it does right now. Across the country, chefs are putting their own spins on the classics while also introducing consumers to the country’s wide array of on-trend regional variations.” As a result, consumers are driving demand for their beloved BBQ flavor in sweet variations in the snack food aisle as well.
“BBQ flavoring for snack foods is as traditional as it gets,” shares Mark Singleton, VP of sales and marketing at Rudolph Foods. “Especially when it comes to pork rinds, consumers just love the combination of BBQ and that bacony flavor they can find only in a pork rind. And because sweet BBQ is a trending flavor right now, we believe this is a flavor made in hog heaven.”
Southern Recipe Small Batch’s newest addition to its branded line of products are a true testament to innovation in nostalgic snacks and flavors. The new Sweet BBQ variety allows the brand to diversify its current offering and speak to the conversations with shoppers specifically requesting this culinary flavor. The brand is excited to once again help fans renew their love for pork rinds, and to become a new favorite for snack food lovers everywhere.
Southern Recipe Small Batch, a division of Southern Recipe – “The tastiest crunch in the South” – is a small batch, handcrafted brand of pork rinds. Developed with the purpose of delivering iconic flavors in a nostalgic recipe, Southern Recipe Small Batch offers this traditionally indulgent Southern snack in internationally-inspired flavors that boasts up to eight grams of protein, up to seven grams of collagen, low carbs and naturally gluten free. For additional information, please call 1-800-241-7675, or visit SouthernRecipeSmallBatch.com.
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