People Moves: Eat Beyond Names New CEO; Future Farm Taps Former Red Bull Exec to Lead U.S. Launch

Eat Beyond Names Michael Aucoin as CEO

Canadian holding company and investment firm Eat Beyond this week announced the appointment of Michael Aucoin as CEO.

Aucoin replaces Patrick Morris, who had held the CEO role since the company’s launch in fall 2019, and joins Eat Beyond after previously serving as principal for MJA Consulting and president of the Canadian division of dairy cooperative Agropur. He also has held leadership roles at Hershey and Smucker’s.

At Eat Beyond’s he’ll oversee the company’s portfolio of investments and brands including Eat Just, Turtle Tree Labs, Nabati Foods and The Very Good Food Company. Under the leadership of Aucoin, the company plans to move in a “new direction” in its mission to become a leader in the plant-based protein market in North America and Europe. The company said its future investments will focus on research, technology and capacity-building projects, and it will aim to bolster its portfolio companies with support in marketing, sales, manufacturing and distribution.

“We intend to compete in a wide cross-section of plant-protein verticals, as represented by our portfolio companies, with which we will work with closely to accelerate their success from an operational and value creation standpoint,” Aucoin said in a press release. “Eat Beyond is committed to leading the future of food and becoming the most successful Canadian plant-based food business operating globally.”

Eat Beyond said Morris departed the company to “pursue other interests,” with chairman of the board Don Robinson saying Morris built a “solid foundation” for the company, leaving it “poised for further growth.”

“I am pleased to welcome Mr. Aucoin to the team as CEO as we chart a new course in the plant-based sector, building a balanced portfolio that can deliver value to our portfolio companies and our investors while pushing the industry forward,” Robinson said.

Future Farm Adds Former Red Bull Exec Alexandre Ruberti as CEO

Preparing for its U.S. debut, plant-based meat company Future Farm announced earlier this month it had added Alexandre Ruberti, former U.S. president of Red Bull Distribution Company and EVP of sales for Red Bull North America, as its new CEO.

Founded in 2019 by Macros Leta and Alfredo Strechinsky, the company has launched its beef, chicken and sausage alternatives in 23 countries throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific over the past two years. Now, it will use Ruberti’s expertise in the U.S food and beverage industry to launch the legume and soy-based meat alternatives stateside.

“[Ruberti’s] demonstrated knowledge, influence and innovative contributions to the food and beverage industry have been instrumental in building our strategic U.S. launch plan, moving us forward into the next phase of growth and proving that it’s possible to change the way the world eats meat, one country at a time,” Leta said.

Partnering with U.S. distributor Superior Foods International, the company will debut its Future Burger, Future Sausage, Future Beef and Future Meatballs across the retail, club and foodservice channels, with plans to expand with additional meat, poultry and fish alternatives. Its flagship product, the Future Burger, is priced competitively with other plant-based burger players at $5.29, according to the company.

“We have all the key elements in place and a unique opportunity in front of us to make a substantial impact as one of the major category players; not only to deliver on what consumers are demanding from plant-based meat options, but to democratize the category and drastically reduce animal protein consumption, in the process,” Ruberti said.

GoodPop Adds Rahul Shah as President and COO

Better-for-you frozen treat maker GoodPop added Rahul Shah as president and COO, working alongside founder and CEO Daniel Goetz to oversee all departments of the company.

Shah joins GoodPop from Unilever, where he held various positions over the past seven years including serving as head of its Ice Cream Now online business, which ships brands such as Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s direct-to-consumer. He will now lend his ecommerce expertise to GoodPop, which debuted its own e-commerce site in May, shipping to the continental U.S.

“With plant-based novelties being the fastest growing segment in the ice cream category and online ice cream sales booming, people are shopping for and discovering products in new ways,” Shah said. “I’m inspired to help GoodPop continue to develop this evolving ecosystem, raise the bar and drive the future of the frozen snack category as a whole.”

Springdale Ventures Adds Third General Partner

Austin, Texas-based venture capital firm Springdale Ventures, investor in brands such as FitJoy, Cece’s Veggie Co. and Better Booch, last week announced the addition of Marissa Epstein as its third general partner. Epstein, who has served as advisor for the firm over the past two years, will work to source potential investment opportunities for the company while also serving on boards of its portfolio companies and fundraising for the firm’s second fund.

Epstein, a registered dietitian nutritionist, joins Springdale after serving as director The University of Texas Nutrition Institute, developing programs and courses for food and beverage entrepreneurs. She has also led nutrition initiatives at The White House as associate director of its Let’s Move! campaign, and previously headed health education technology services for Stanford Health Care.

“[Epstein] adds a fresh perspective, has extensive experience in nutrition innovation, deep insights into what makes products successful in the market, and knows how to tap into public and private research to help our portfolio companies scale,” Springdale co-founder Genevieve Gilbreath said.

Other notable People Moves include:

• Private equity firm Encore Consumer Capital promoted Kate Wallman to managing director. Wallman has been with the firm since 2016, previously holding the roles of vice president and director.
• Hummus maker Sabra named former Seventh Generation CEO Joey Bergstein as its president and CEO.
• Gavin Konkel has been promoted from director of grocery to VP of merchandising at Earth Fare.
• Chocolate maker ChocXO added Katrina Carlson as director of sales, USA West and Donna McReynolds-Sanchez as director of Sales, USA, Costco, Club & C-Stores.
• Functional drink powder brand MANTRA Labs named Tony Gill as digital marketing director.
• Plant-based platform company LiveKindly Collective appointed former Tyson Foods executive Malik Sadiq as COO.
• Former PepsiCo SVP Amy Chen joined cell-cultured meat company UPSIDE Foods as COO.