Quinn Brings in New CEO as Founder Moves to Chief Visionary Role
Pretzel and popcorn brand Quinn announced today that founder and CEO Kristy Lewis has stepped down from her current role and will transition to a new role as Chief Visionary Officer and chairwoman of the board at the company. She will be succeeded by Mike Keown, who most recently was the CEO of sports nutrition brand Honey Stinger.
Lewis founded the Boulder, Colorado-based company in 2012 alongside her husband, Coulter Lewis, who has since become the founder and CEO of fast growing lawn care company Sunday. A press release notes that the leadership change was motivated by Lewis’ desire to shift her focus to the company’s mission and innovation strategy. Embracing a “farm to bag” philosophy and promise to “Be Better, Do Better,” Lewis has long championed the company’s emphasis on regenerative farming practices and transparent ingredient sourcing.
“After 11 years of leading Quinn this is a chance for me to lead where my heart is and to exclusively focus on turning Quinn into a company that stands for the greater common good,” Lewis said in the release. “I am beyond grateful to be in a position where my job is to help build Quinn with a primary focus on Being and Doing Better in everything that we do.
Prior to his time at Honey Stinger, Keown served in various roles across the industry including as the president and CEO of coffee brand Farmer Brothers, president of the Coffee Creamers Channel for WhiteWave Foods, and president of the Dean National Brand Group for Dean Foods.
At press time Keown’s LinkedIn profile, which he has since edited, noted he has a history of working with turnaround companies, adding that he is often brought in to “resurrect once strong companies and return them to growth.” Often the means to do so, his profile said, is to drive revenue, increase profits and reduce costs.
Quinn has raised several rounds of funding since its inception. In July 2021 the company announced a $10 million “series B round,” which, perhaps uniquely, followed a “series D round” in 2020. Closed over the course of the year, the 2020 raise included $3 million from a slate of individual investors and firms, followed by an undisclosed amount of funding from the Hershey Company.
Quinn initially launched with flavored and seasoned popcorn kernels in Whole Foods, however, that line is now largely sold in conventional and mass retailers including Target, Kroger, Safeway and Wegmans. The company’s expansion into gluten-free pretzels, which are sold in the natural channel and beyond, has allowed the brand to explore new categories within snacking.
Keown joins the company at a time where competition in the salty snack set — particularly popcorn and pretzels — has gotten even more fierce as larger multinational brands pick up better-for-you and natural players. Over the past several years alone, Hershey’s acquired Dot’s Pretzels and Skinny Pop; Cambell’s acquired Snyder’s-Lance (which included the Pop Secret, Pretzel Crisps, Snyder’s of Hanover and Late July brands), and Utz (now a publicly traded company) acquired H.K. Anderson and Good Health.
Quinn Snacks and Lewis declined to answer questions for this story or about the leadership transition.
