BIGR Ventures’ Duane Primozich On Why He Doesn’t Consider Himself a Leader Born to Lead is ForceBrands’ original leadership series that highlights industry thought leaders across CPG. In the debut episode of Born to Lead, we caught up with Duane Primozich, the Co-Founder & Managing Partner at BIGR Ventures, a Boulder, Colo.-based growth equity fund providing value-added, strategic partnership, and capital to promising early-stage products. Although Primozich doesn’t […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED May 26, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Reimagining Soda for a New Era with the Co-Founder and CEO of United Sodas Marisa Zupan Soda has an iconic place in American culture. For many Americans, the sweet, bubbly beverage conjures up nostalgia for beach vacations, childhood celebrations, and trips to the movie theater. Marisa Zupan not only wants to celebrate this legacy but modernize it for today’s consumers with the launch of United Sodas. Cleverly packaged in a rainbow […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED May 24, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Join ForceBrands’ ‘Born to Lead’ Webinar Featuring Mast-Jägermeister, Proximo, Cincoro, and More ForceBrands will host a live thought leadership webinar with some of the beverage alcohol industry’s top leaders on May 27 at 1 pm EST. Part of ForceBrands’ new leadership series, Born to Lead, panelists will discuss how they’re “Addressing Real Challenges and Driving Positive Change Through Leadership in Today’s Environment.” Gathering together some of the best […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED May 21, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Olya Batsula Olya Batsula has been named Brand Development Manager, GA & SC at Hotaling & Co. She had been On-Premise Sales Representative at Republic National Distributing Company. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED May 19, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Paige Shelton Paige Shelton has been named Regional Sales Manager – NY, NJ, CT at Hotaling & Co. She had been Regional Sales Manager at Copper & Kings American Brandy. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED May 19, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
James Feeley III James Feeley III has been named Director of Wine & Spirits at Lakeshore Beverage. He had been District Sales Manager at Terlato Wines International. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED May 19, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
CPG Accelerator Pivots to Online Showcase in Response to COVID-19 SKU’s seven CPG startups will present virtual pitches to a national audience of CPG investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. For the startups going through SKU’s consumer products accelerator, Showcase Day represents the culmination of the rigorous 14-week program. During the celebratory event, the founders traditionally present their pitches to a room full of hundreds of […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED May 19, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
ForceForward: The Essential Business of Cannabis with Grassroots Lisa Hurwitz ForceForward is a video interview series from ForceBrands that highlights what businesses and teams look like tomorrow. One of the more positive business narratives to emerge amid the COVID-19 pandemic has been the fact that the government has deemed cannabis businesses essential, further legitimizing cannabis as a powerful CPG player. We caught up with Lisa […] CATEGORIES Cannabis PUBLISHED May 19, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
5 Expert Tips for Managing Stress in Today’s Remote Workplace As many of us find ourselves working from home, it may feel like our work and home worlds are colliding. If you had been previously dreaming about working from home while you were in the office, you might be finding the reality is much more complicated than the fantasy. While many people are reporting increased […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED May 18, 2020 AUTHOR Melissa Feldman
ForceBrands’ ForceForward Series Highlights What Business Looks Like Tomorrow ForceForward is a video interview series that highlights some of the positive momentum in the consumer brand universe. Each episode features a conversation with one of the industry’s top thought leaders and offers a glimpse into what business looks like tomorrow. ForceForward speaks to ambitious entrepreneurs, executive leaders, and transformational brand builders who are looking for innovative […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED May 11, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
NYC CPG Accelerator BeyondSKU Accepting Applications for Companies and Mentors In partnership with Austin, Texas-based CPG accelerator SKU and New York City’s top natural products consulting agency, BeyondBrands, BeyondSKU is a unique mentorship and capital program for entrepreneurs. BeyondSKU brings together experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors to mentor early stage CPG companies with a focus on better-for-you products and mission-based business values. “As a serial […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED May 11, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
How Transparent Food Marketplace BUBBLE Is Proving Its Essential Place in Grocery Jessica Young has always had a passion for clean food. Although she didn’t set out in her career to launch an online marketplace where consumers could directly access some of the healthiest products from today’s most innovative food brands, she recognized there was a need for it. “I was thinking of launching my own food […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED May 10, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Julie Agrella Julie Agrella has been named Retail Chain Manager – West at Hotaling & Co. She had been Strategic Account Manager at Delicato Family Wines. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED May 8, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Karolina Kierzkowska Karolina Kierzkowska has been named Portfolio Manager at Sazerac Company. She had been Sales Representative at Wölffer Estate Vineyard. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED May 5, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Elizabeth Staino Elizabeth Staino has been named Director of Product Development at Hotaling & Co. She had been Brand Manager at Edrington Americas. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED May 5, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Learning and Working Remotely in Crisis: What Are Professionals Looking For? According to a recent survey from professional training search engine findcourses.com, the mass-shift to remote work and remote training has not dampened learners’ desire for professional training. Instead, how learners need work and training to be delivered has changed. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop and unfold around the world, employees across industries and […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED May 5, 2020 AUTHOR Max Maccarone
Created By Emerging Brands for Emerging Brands: OTHRSource Helps Challengers Restock with Speed During this challenging time, we’ve seen a surge in demand hit the food and beverage industry. CPG brands are working around the clock to complete orders, but the sheer scale of demand retailers are facing is leaving many shelves across the country still bare. The situation was impossible to plan for and necessitates added support […] CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED May 4, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Highlights From FounderMade’s Power Hour with Recess, OATLY, Milk Makeup, and More ForceBrands co-hosted a Power Hour with FounderMade on Wednesday afternoon to discuss redesigning brands of the future. The webinar brought together trailblazing thought leaders across food, beverage, beauty, wellness, and cannabis. Josh Wand, Founder and CEO of ForceBrands, led the panel that included Benjamin Witte, Founder and CEO of Recess; Mike Messersmith, General Manager of […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED May 1, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
ForceForward: Virtual Brand Discovery with FounderMade’s Meghan Asha ForceForward is a video interview series from ForceBrands that highlights what businesses and teams look like tomorrow. What happens when your business is built around in-person meetings and events, and the world suddenly shifts to a new virtual reality? How do you adapt? We caught up with FounderMade‘s Founder Meghan Asha to learn how she’s […] CATEGORIES Beauty PUBLISHED April 30, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
How Proposition Cocktail Co.’s CEO John Korkidis Is Finding Opportunity Amid Chaos Entrepreneur John Korkidis considers himself a jack-of-all-trades and a master of one. His multidimensional background in advertising, tech, and creative has proved instrumental in building the Proposition Cocktail Co. brand. He’s also no stranger to challenging times, either. He lived in Beijing, China not long after SARS (the first pandemic of the 21st century) during the […] CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED April 26, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Larry Turnage Larry Turnage has been named Senior Sales Manager Grocery at Distant Lands Coffee. He had been Director of Sales West at Brandstorm Inc./Natierra. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED April 23, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Shenna Jean Shenna Jean has been named Director of Sales & Marketing at antedotum. She had been Club Director at Here House Aspen. CATEGORIES Beauty PUBLISHED April 23, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
3 Inspiring Initiatives Supporting the Consumer Brand Universe With a surge in consumer demand for products across categories, many prospering CPG companies are reinvesting their profits in COVID-19 relief efforts. Vita Coco donated $1 million to Feeding America and No Kid Hungry. Clif Bar & Company donated 3 million CLIF Bars to healthcare professionals around the world. Just Salad announced its partnership with […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED April 23, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
How ‘Friends in Weed’ Is Bringing the Cannabis Community Together ‘A friend in weed is a friend indeed.’ That’s one of the campaign slogans for a new initiative, Friends in Weed, designed to help Colorado’s retail cannabis, restaurant, and hospitality industries cope during the COVID-19 crisis. Founded by cannabis brands that wanted to do something to help the community, Friends in Weed aims to provide ongoing support […] CATEGORIES Cannabis PUBLISHED April 20, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
19 Founders and CEOs Share Leadership Insights During COVID-19 In times of crisis, leadership matters more than ever. It’s during challenging times that people look to higher authorities for stability, reassurance, and guidance. Whether it’s a CEO of a company or an official within government, leaders across the world are being tested during COVID-19. Forbes recently shared an article highlighting how some leaders across […] CATEGORIES Career Advice PUBLISHED April 17, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
How ‘Founders Give’ Creator Cole Riley Is Rallying Food and Beverage Brands for a Cause In early March, Cole Riley launched Founders Market, a food discovery network aimed at sharing the stories of the founders behind some of the most exciting food brands. It wasn’t long before his business pivoted. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, he paused content operations to focus on a new initiative designed to support relief efforts in New […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED April 12, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Dominick Valenza Dominick Valenza has been named Wine & Spirits Portfolio Manager at Clare Rose Distributors. He had been Heineken Director at Manhattan Beer. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED April 10, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Melissa Nguyen Melissa Nguyen has been named Account Manager at CreaFill. She had been Territory Sales Manager at Solgar/The Nature’s Bounty Co. CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED April 10, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Bryan Campana Bryan Campana has been named Mid-West Regional Manager at Laws Whiskey. He had been Mid-West Regional Manager at VOSS Water. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED April 10, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
David Cronin David Cronin has been named Director of Sales Eastern Division at Laws Whiskey. He had been Sales Director Mid-Atlantic at Palm Bay International. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED April 10, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
ForceForward: Redesigning Teams with ForceBrands’ Founder and CEO Josh Wand ForceForward is a video interview series from ForceBrands that highlights what businesses and teams look like tomorrow. In the debut episode of ForceForward, a new interview series highlighting what businesses and teams look like tomorrow, we caught up with ForceBrands’ Founder and CEO, Josh Wand — or as we like to call him, Motivator in […] CATEGORIES ForceBrands PUBLISHED April 6, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
How to Hire Without In-Person Meetings, From Those Who Have Done It for Years ForceBrands recently ran a piece about virtual hiring, which featured some great tips on how to make remote interviews as effective as in-person meetings, but that’s only one challenge companies have had to face in recent weeks. Since the emergence of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the entire hiring process has changed in several ways. Fortunately, many organizations […] CATEGORIES Career Advice PUBLISHED April 2, 2020 AUTHOR Stefanie Schwalb
Karen Dempsey Karen Dempsey has been named Regional Sales Director at On The Rocks Cocktails. She had been named Division Sales Manager at Willliam Grant & Sons. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED March 29, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Brian Harvey Brian Harvey has been named Director of Marketing and Partnerships at Kansas City Barbeque Society. He had been Sr. Manager of Field Marketing and PR at Hostess Brands. CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED March 29, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Sandy Blumberg Sandy Blumberg has been named Director of Client Experience at Dirty Hands LLC. He had been Director of Marketing at Bulletproof 360. CATEGORIES Food PUBLISHED March 29, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer
Michael McCloskey Michael McCloskey has been named Director of Sales at The Salcombe Distilling Co. He had been Northeast Regional Sales Manager at Empress Gin. CATEGORIES Beverage PUBLISHED March 29, 2020 AUTHOR Rebecca Fryer