Sector News

Soylent co-founder Rob Rhinehart steps down as CEO

December 15, 2017
Consumer Packaged Goods

After an eventful (and sometimes challenging) year for Soylent, co-founder Rob Rhinehart announced today that he will resign as the meal replacement shake company’s chief executive officer. That position will be taken over by Bryan Crowley, the president of Soylent’s parent company Rosa Foods.

In a blog post, Rhinehart said that since Soylent is no longer in the early startup stage, he has “decided to pass the reins to a new CEO with more management and industry experience.” Crowley joined Rosa Foods in June after twenty years working in the food industry, most recently as chief strategy officer at kombucha maker KeVita, which was acquired by PepsiCo in December 2016.

Rhinehart, who will continue as Soylent’s executive chairman and largest shareholder, added that Crowley “has been Soylent’s president for the better part of a year and has already had an untold positive impact improving our distribution, marketing, supply chain, product and organization—all the things a good CEO should do. We have put in place a three-year roadmap for the business, and I have completely confidence in the leadership’s team ability to execute it.”

Soylent has raised about $74.5 million in funding, including a $50 million Series B round led by GV that closed earlier this year. Mocked as an example of Silicon Valley’s obsession with lifehacking when it was founded in 2013, Soylent has nonetheless managed to go mainstream. It is now the bestseller in Amazon’s meal replacement drink category and began a distribution deal with 7-Eleven in July.

But it’s also faced several setbacks recently. In fall 2016, Soylent halted production of Soylent Powder and Soylent Bars after its products made some customers ill, then began shipping again after reformulating its powder. Soylent was dealt another blow in October when Canada’s food safety agency said its products failed to meet all requirements for meal replacements, forcing it to stop sales in the country until the issue is resolved.

By Catherine Shu

Source: Tech Crunch

comments closed

Related News

December 3, 2023

‘Hangover Beauty’ tipped to be top trend in 2024 – WGSN

Consumer Packaged Goods

A new wave of brands is emerging that promotes indulgence and rejects the notion of sacrifice. Low-maintenance “hangover” beauty products are designed to address the effects of late nights and partying without judgment or hassle, and even include cosmetics that are formulated in a way that means you can fall asleep in your makeup without feeling guilty.

December 3, 2023

Diageo transforming Captain Morgan and Smirnoff distribution with circular packaging strategy

Consumer Packaged Goods

The pilot will allow the company to scale circular packaging in about 18 markets over the next three years, an approach that jumps on the success of similar efforts in the company’s Indonesia ecoSPIRITS program, which launched in 2022 and is active in 38 bars.

December 3, 2023

Unilever CEO: We will stop ‘force fitting’ purpose to our brands

Consumer Packaged Goods

Unilever’s focus on purpose across its brands has been a source of criticism from some of its investors. Its new CEO Hein Schumacher says the company now recognises there are some brands where the concept is simply not relevant.

How can we help you?

We're easy to reach