Gourmet News
Impossible Foods Hires Jagla as Chief Demand Officer
California-based Impossible Foods has hired top consumer goods industry leader Sherene Jagla as its first chief demand officer. Jagla will join the food and climate company to bring its sales, marketing, insights and product development teams into one integrated function under her leadership as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
Jagla’s appointment follows a year of record sales for Impossible Foods. The company continues to be the fastest growing plant-based meat brand in U.S. retail stores, where it experienced more than 50 percent dollar sales growth in 2022. In the food service sector, its flagship Impossible Beef product has been the best-selling product by volume of any plant-based meat brand in the United States.
Named one of the Top Women in Grocery by Progressive Grocer, Jagla joins Impossible with more than 25 years of sales, marketing, and general management experience at Fortune 500 companies across the CPG and food and beverage industries. Most recently, Jagla served as the senior vice president and general manager at Newell Brands, where she was responsible for a $2 billion business across 50 brands in 18 categories. There, she set the strategic direction for the brand’s top customer partnership and created a framework for collaborative growth that combined seven independent operating companies into one scaled organization.
“Our next phase of growth requires tight integration across teams and disciplines, and Sherene knows how to do that and build organizations that scale,” said Peter McGuinness, president and CEO of Impossible Foods. “She’s transformed complex organizations into high-performing businesses, and she has a deep understanding of the food and CPG space. I’ve no doubt her leadership will help transform Impossible into a household name.”
Jagla led sales at Kellogg’s with the world’s largest retailer, where she drove brand innovation in the United States and internationally. Jagla first joined the food company in 2019 to oversee sales of its Kashi cereal brand, expanding the brand’s capabilities to deliver both category and market share growth.
Jagla previously held senior leadership positions at personal care corporation Kimberly-Clark, where she led the commercial sales strategy across brands; retail strategy and execution firm Crossmark, where she built creative solutions for major CPG companies; and beverage company MillerCoors, where she developed breakthrough sales and marketing solutions for their largest brands and customers.
“One of the reasons I was drawn to Impossible is the company’s focus on leading the category and commitment to creating delicious, nutritious, and sustainable food,” Jagla said. “Impossible has created a compelling brand with a strong product portfolio that’s primed for growth. I look forward to working closely with Peter and the Impossible team to build on this foundation.”
Jagla serves on the board of directors for the American Heart Association in Northwest Arkansas and as a guest lecturer at the University of Arkansas Business School.
For news of interest to the specialty foods industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.
Butterfly to Acquire Milk Specialties Global
Credit: Milk Specialties Global
Butterfly, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specializing in the food sector, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Milk Specialties Global, a leader in human and animal nutrition, from affiliates of American Securities LLC.
Founded in 1949 and based in Eden Prairie, Minn., Milk Specialties is an industry-leading, vertically integrated ingredient manufacturer focused on the processing of raw dairy inputs, such as milk and liquid whey, into value-added functional ingredients for a variety of growing nutrition end markets.
The company’s Human Nutrition segment is a leading performance nutrition manufacturer that produces high-quality dairy protein ingredients and products designed to optimize health and nutrition. Today, Milk Specialties’ Human Nutrition segment is the largest producer of whey protein isolate in the world. The company’s Animal Nutrition segment is a leading provider of science-based animal nutrition products for the dairy industry.
Milk Specialties operates 12 state-of-the-art facilities strategically positioned across the United States that allow the company to deliver high-quality, specialized ingredients and exceptional service to customers around the globe. It has been led for over 14 years by CEO and industry veteran David Lenzmeier, who will continue to lead the business going forward.
Milk Specialties is Butterfly’s latest investment within its “seed to fork” strategy spanning agriculture and aquaculture, food and beverage products, food distribution, and foodservice. Butterfly brings specialized expertise in performance nutrition as a result of its 2019 majority investment in Orgain, one of the fastest-growing consumer brands in the nutrition industry. In 2022, Butterfly sold a majority stake in Orgain to Nestlé Health Science and continues to own a minority stake.
“We are beyond excited to roll up our sleeves and get to work with the Butterfly team. Partnering with a food-focused firm like Butterfly, we can drive enhanced value creation for all partners. We are really looking forward to what the future holds because Butterfly will enable Milk Specialties to achieve a new level of growth,” said Lenzmeier.
“We’ve admired Dave and team from afar for many years and are excited to welcome them to the Butterfly family,” said Butterfly founders and CEOs Adam Waglay and Dustin Beck. “We’re confident that Milk Specialties’ industry leadership and best-in-class team, combined with our expertise in the space, will enable us to drive even greater success for the business going forward. We can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together.”
“The Milk Specialties team has continually pushed the envelope of quality, service and innovation in the protein space, and we’re thrilled to join them in making high-quality, affordable nutrition products available to even more consumers,” added Butterfly Managing Director Aaron Kirkbride.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2023. Butterfly was advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP on legal matters in connection with the transaction. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, and Rabo Securities USA, Inc. acted as financial advisors to Milk Specialties and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP served as legal counsel.
For news of interest to the dairy industry, subscribe to Gourmet News. To advertise in the upcoming Spring Cheese Guide, email sales@oser.com.
Loftus Appointed Sun-Maid President, COO
Sun-Maid Growers of California has appointed Steve Loftus as Sun-Maid president and chief operating officer, reporting to Harry Overly, executive chairman of the board. In this newly created role, all functional areas within Sun-Maid will report directly to Loftus as he will be accountable to the daily operations of the business. A 15-year industry veteran, Loftus is recognized for his ability to build and align cross functional partners around common objectives, delivering short and long term financial and strategic growth goals.
“Steve is an exceptional and proven leader in the food industry, and we’re looking forward to the contributions he will bring to the team as president and COO,” said Overly. “Steve’s strong track record of results and expertise will be a key driver in building our success as we continue to grow, transforming the iconic Sun-Maid brand to be even more relevant to today’s shoppers.”
Loftus is a multi-functional leader who has held various leadership roles at TreeHouse Foods and Kraft Heinz in Finance and General Management. Most recently, he served as the Vice president, general manager of the Condiments Business Unit at TreeHouse Foods, where he led the unit with approximately one billion in revenues across twelve product categories and five production facilities. Prior to that, Loftus was the head of customer finance at TreeHouse Foods, where he was responsible for all product and customer pricing strategies, as well as the company’s AOP planning processes.
In addition to delivering these positive results, Sun-Maid also continues with the integration of Plum PBC, Sun-Maid’s first ever acquisition. In his new role, Loftus will lead the Sun-Maid business as it continues to transform, achieve strong sales, and improve upon all operating metrics.
“I’ve always admired Sun-Maid, and I’m excited to officially join the team as president and chief operating officer to help take the brand to the next level,” added Loftus. “In the new role, I plan to continue accelerating Sun-Maid’s transformation into a consumer and market-focused organization, while executing daily operations that contribute to the company’s growth strategies.”
Loftus will replace Braden Bender, who has been serving as Sun-Maid’s interim president since September and is returning to his role as chief financial officer.
Founded in 1912, Sun-Maid Growers of California is a farmer’s cooperative of 600 grower families with vineyards in California’s Central Valley. From childhood to adulthood and generation to generation, Sun-Maid’s innovative snacks continue to feed imaginations one little red box at a time – because when imagination is used for good, there’s nothing more delicious! And while some things change, our real, minimally processed and consistently good ingredients haven’t. Always starting with a whole fruit you can see and taste, Sun-Maid continues to offer a trusted go-to snack that’s simple, healthy and versatile – imagine that!
For news of interest to the food and beverage industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.
