Good Eggs Sees Changes in Buying, Category Management Teams

After expanding operations to Los Angeles last month, e-commerce grocery delivery company Good Eggs has restructured its buying team, a move marked by the apparent layoffs of several buyers and the departure of longtime VP of assortment Jamie Nessel.

The changes come as the company, coming off a $100 million raise last year, has turned its focus to improving its platform as well as investing in marketing and user acquisition efforts, all of which are key as the retailer strives to expand beyond its stronghold in the Bay Area.

In addition to Nessel, according to updates on their respective LinkedIn profiles, senior category manager Corey Rateau, buyer Nikki Moreno, contract category manager Levi Korvin, director of site merchandising Liza Sotelo, head of culinary operations development Maddie DeWitt and senior manager for replenishment planning Brandon Graff all left the company during February and March. Meanwhile, senior grocery buyer Alex Motal switched roles to that of purchasing operations manager

Good Eggs declined to comment on the staffing changes, but in a LinkedIn post DeWitt said she was let go.

“I was affected by layoffs last month. While this wasn’t how I planned for my time at Good Eggs to end, I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to grow in my career, to build and develop my teams, and, of course, to meet, work with, and learn from a truly exceptional group of colleagues,” DeWitt wrote in her post.

Nessel, in particular, has played a key role in growing Good Eggs, arriving at the company in 2017 from Whole Foods to lead the buildout of its online marketplace, which leans heavily on local and perishable goods. According to her LinkedIn profile, she grew the company’s average order volume by $12 from 2017 to 2018 while doubling the company’s item count. Nessel also oversaw the launch of the Good Eggs’ meal kit program, Good Eggs Kitchen, which included a building dedicated production facility and a roster of 1,000 meal kit recipes and 500 prepared food components before it was then spun out into its own division.

One of her last projects for the company, according to her LinkedIn, was assisting with the site selection and lease negotiations for its new Los Angeles facilities, which opened earlier this year.

In a post on LinkedIn, Nessel said she plans to spend some time traveling before “continuing my part in building the food system that we all deserve.”

In an interview with NOSH in February, Good Eggs CEO Bentley Hall credited Nessel as his first executive hire that helped change the trajectory of the company. Hall joined Good Eggs in December 2015, after the retailer had shuttered many of its local outposts nationwide and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Nessel, he said, had led the company in expanding its assortment to cover a broader range of use occasions, which in turn led to greater success in attracting new customers and achieving larger order volumes.

During that interview Hall referred to the company’s “third chapter,” which includes a focus on expansion and customer acquisitions. In the past year, Good Eggs has prioritized growth and user experience, with former Walgreens executive Vineet Mehra joining last year as chief growth, product and CX officer, along with COO Kiran Vinta, director of expansion Matt Miller, VP of growth ​​Daniel Lysaught, executive head of communications Chelsea Allen and head of customer experience Emily Van Meter.

Good Eggs also hired Scott Owen in January to serve as senior category manager, overseeing all categories aside from produce, meat and seafood. Owen spent over two decades at PCC Community Markets, most recently serving as a senior category manager for center store and private label for the grocery chain’s 15 Washington-based stores. Good Eggs senior produce buyer Nate Jordan was also promoted to oversee all perishable departments.

As of this month, former perishable senior category manager Ben Hartman is now managing the larger team at Good Eggs, overseeing both category management and meal kits.

Other retailers, such as Whole Foods Market, have also consolidated and standardized their own teams of buyers in recent years, moving towards a more unified structure under less individual buyers and category managers. The national products retailer has maintained a strong forager program, just as Good Eggs now has shifted former category manager Thuy Nguyen to a role working with emerging brands.

One question: how will the changes impact the onboarding process and the ability for smaller, emerging brands to stand out to buyers. However, for Good Eggs, the focus is still on local offerings as well as specialty products, so for many brands the opportunity to be listed on the platform remains higher than a national chain.