Verde Farms adds two executives
Verde Farms, the leading U.S. provider of 100% grass-fed, 100% free-range, organic beef has added Marc Broccoli, Vice President of Operations, and Matthew Landis, Vice President of Sales to its leadership team.
At grocery, more than half of shoppers (54%) want to see their stores carry more grass-fed beef, as well as products free from antibiotics and hormones (52%).* This interest is directly reflected in year-over-year sales growth across the grass-fed category.* As Verde continues to lead the industry with its 100% grass-fed, 100% free-range, Never Ever, and organic products, the addition of these two strategic hires will help Verde drive further innovation and accelerate growth in the grass-fed market.
VP of Operations Marc Broccoli has spent the entirety of his career in the meat industry, starting work as a teen in his grandfather's business as a third-generation meat processor in upstate New York. Bringing more than 30 years of experience to Verde, Broccoli went on to lead teams at ConAgra and Sara Lee, and has held key executive positions at Allied Specialty Foods, Rastelli Food Group, and Lorenzo Food Group. His depth of industry experience, stemming from roles ranging from processing, R&D, and category management to global retail and foodservice sales, brings a multifaceted perspective to the Verde team. His experience has spanned single-ingredient, ready-to-cook, and ready-to-eat sectors.
As an experienced CPG sales professional with deep grass-fed category expertise, Matthew Landis joins Verde as VP of Sales. Most recently, Landis was President and COO at Pasture One, a domestic supplier of 100% grass-fed beef. Prior to this, Landis was a founding member and VP of Sales at Teton Waters Ranch (TWR), a line of 100% grass-fed beef sausages, where his sales efforts helped secure placement at several retailers including Costco, Kroger, and many others.
"Marc and Matt bring uniquely well-rounded insights to Verde across the organization from supply chain and R&D, to production and customer relations, that will add great collaborative leadership value to the senior management team," said Dana Ehrlich, CEO of Verde Farms.
These key executive hires will join VP of Marketing Pete Lewis, with 15 years of natural and organic marketing experience for brands like Stonyfield Organic and Backyard Farms, as well as VP of Finance John McKenna, with 30 years of product finance experience for brands like PepsiCo and Pizzeria Unos. Together, this leadership team will support Verde in its continued expansion of grass-fed products across ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat categories, while offering consumers and retail partners continuously innovative products, consumer insights, and full-service category management.
*The Power of Meat 2019: Food Marketing Institute and Foundation for Meat & Poultry Research & Education
**Grass-fed retail sales up $100 MM in two years, according to Nielsen Fresh Facts 52 week Total US $ Sales 11/16 to 11/18
Source: Verde
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