Joshua Wright Joins Better With Buckwheat as Director of Operations

WINSLOW, Maine-- Better With Buckwheat is proud to announce that Joshua Wright has joined the artisanal buckwheat snack producer as its Director of Operations. With 12 years of experience in food & beverage manufacturing for established and emerging brands, Joshua will leverage his extensive knowledge and expertise to improve Better With Buckwheat’s operational efficiency as the award-winning brand expands nationally.

Joshua joined the company in December 2023, just days before a major flood hit central Maine and damaged the Better With Buckwheat facility. As Director of Operations, Joshua was instrumental in the company’s recovery, restarting production after only 34 days. He drew on his skills honed during his service in the U.S. Army and major food & beverage brands, where he excelled at crafting policies and processes that comply with government regulations while driving down production costs. In his managerial roles in quality assurance and operations for brands including Boar’s Head and Sazerac, Joshua created high-functioning teams trained in Good Manufacturing Practices that improved overall quality and safety, increased customer satisfaction, and grew market share. 

“In the future, I hope the first days of our new employees aren’t met with 100-year flooding events and power losses. Josh’s presence during that event was invaluable to our recovery,” explains Better With Buckwheat CEO Lewis Goldstein. “But regardless of the flood, as we experience exponential growth, we were excited to find someone with Josh’s experience to optimize our wonderful new facility to enable us to meet our aggressive growth targets. Josh’s background in food and beverage was a perfect fit for us, and we’re lucky to have him.” 

Better With Buckwheat experienced triple-digit percentage growth from 2022-2023, underlining the importance of its 2022 move to a new 17,500 sq.ft. facility in Winslow, Maine. As new packaging equipment is installed as part of Maine’s Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Program, Better With Buckwheat is poised to accelerate its growth with additional production capacity and improved efficiency. 

The brand’s growth potential drew Joshua to the Director of Operations role. “The operation has a ton of potential, and I am excited to help lead the team through our incredible growth,” explains Joshua Wright, Director of Operations at Better With Buckwheat. “The products are delicious and unique - my role in building a robust manufacturing team will expand operations to make a highly profitable product that meets consumers’ needs for better-for-you snacks.” 

Joshua joins the Better With Buckwheat team as the brand enters new grocers; starting in May 2024, the brand’s crisps and crackers will be available nationally through its two largest distributors, UNFI and KeHe. For a complete list of where Better With Buckwheat products, including Maine Crisps, are sold, please visit https://www.mainecrisp.com/pages/store-locator.