Chickpea snack brand Hippeas has appointed Joe Serventi as its new global CEO in order to accelerate the company’s growth, and Hippeas founder Livio Bisterzo claimed that it could grow into a “$100 million brand” in the next three years.
Serventi joined the company in 2017 as the brand’s general manager, and in this role he helped accelerate the company’s development in the US, and the brand’s snacks are now available from 100,000 retail locations in the country.
Serventi will now oversee the global operations of the brand in the new management structure, while Livio Bisterzo will become the new chairman of the company.
Prior to joing Hippeas, Serventi served as the executive vice-president of the BarkThins chocolate snack brand, which was acquired by Hershey in 2016, and he also spent ten years at Glacéau.
Serventi said: “I have seen this company go from a disruptive startup, to a fierce and fast-growing force within the industry. Hippies has the potential to become a household name.
“Since we launched, Hippies has seen incredible velocity growth and expansion and I’m looking forward to taking the brand to the next level.”
Livio Bisterzo added: “When Joe joined Hippies last year, we knew he would play a key role in driving the brand forward, rapidly increasing distribution and building out an industry leading team.
“His strategic leadership and brand building expertise has helped the US business achieve incredible success over the past 18 months.
“Joe has proven he can lead the Hippies brand and his promotion to global CEO is a natural progression.
“I am very excited to see him help Hippies and the entire team reach its full potential in the snack food category.
“I have the ultimate confidence that Hippies can be a $100 million brand in the next three years.”
By Martin White
Source: FoodBev
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