How does a leader hone clarity and calm when managing a team? At what point does the approach shift from working with spirited employee personalities to navigating inter-company politics? Chris Lansing and Miguel Leal have refined their leadership styles over decades of experience in CPG, and along the way, they’ve both received plenty of advice: good, bad and worthless. With each leading respected industry brands, these two newly-minted NOSH Notables firmly believe that an individual style that works best is one leaders must develop for themselves.

Listen to this week’s episode of The NOSH Podcast and hear Lansing and Leal reflect on the early lessons they still carry with them today, learn why they say developing an effective team is just as important as developing your leadership skills and understand how both CEOs have applied the learnings from both large and small companies to their current roles. 

“[By] finding your place and finding what works, all the other stuff takes care of itself.” - Miguel Leal

Catch up on all episodes of the NOSH podcast, and don’t forget to subscribe or leave a rating. 

As the industry debate over alt-sugars rages on, Domino Sugar says consumers are leaning into one of its newer SKUs, Golden Sugar. The company launched the product in the Northeast in 2019, and this week said it would expand distribution into the Midwest to retailers including Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons and Roundy's.

How is Golden Sugar helping Domino make sugar appealing at a time when many consumers are looking to cut back? It comes down to positioning. The “golden” in the product name implies lower processing, giving it an appearance the brand says is closer to the sugarcane field.

Focusing on processing is an interesting choice at a time when the nutritional attributes of artificial sweeteners such as aspartame are being debated on a global stage. While brands like Splenda have gone on the defensive, suing scientists for defamation, Domino is quietly noting that not only do they offer a possible alternative, but it’s easier to use, working as a cup-for-cup replacement in any recipe.

The Ferrero Group is wasting no time in fulfilling its promise to “accelerate growth” at Halo Top owner Wells Enterprises, which the confection company acquired in late 2022. 

• The company this week announced it would expand Wells' Dunkirk, New York manufacturing facility, which will more than double the facility’s current production output. 
• Groundbreaking is expected to occur in early 2024, with the plant coming online in late 2025. 
• The move will help “support the company's continued plans for growth in novelty and packaged ice cream, while enabling future innovation” and fits into a larger goal of expanding its national manufacturing network. 

Ferraro’s investment comes as the competition in frozen treat categories is stronger than ever. 

• In June Unilever announced its own acquisition, novelty brand Yasso, which it said would further its premiumization strategy.
• In 2022 Unilever underwent a reorganization, separating ice cream out into its own division, telling analysts at the end of the year that its ice cream business was valued at $7.7 billion and had grown 3% over the last three years.

Meanwhile, earlier this year Mars added to the title of Mars Wrigley North America president Anton Vincent, appointing him head of Mars ice cream globally. The multinational has stated a goal of turning its ice cream business into its next billion dollar business.

Gluten-free cracker and “Kookie” brand Mary’s Gone Crackers has entered what it is calling a ‘new leadership era’ by bringing on Michael Finete as its new CEO and Nate Lindsey as VP of operations. Former CEO Taki Fujii will remain chairman of the board.

• Finete comes to the company with more than 30 years of industry experience, having previously held leadership roles at General Mills, Sensient Natural Ingredients and SubHerb Farms. 
• Mary’s said the hire will help the company bolster its product innovation pipeline - the brand most recently launched a vegan take on the Cheez-It in 2022
• “Finete embodies dynamism, unwavering value and a rich history of experiences, complemented by an outstanding track record of success,” said Fujii in a press release. 
• Meanwhile, Lindsey has accumulated 25 years of experience in plant manufacturing and operations, most recently working at California-based industrial tree nut supplier and processor Ready Roast Company. He will replace Wayne McKay, who served as VP of operations for just over two years. 

👀 Other Notable Moves From Across the Industry

• Brent Gravlee, who most recently served as VP of sales for national accounts at CLIF Bar & Company, has joined snack brand Munk Pack as its new chief commercial officer. The news comes after the Greenwich, Connecticut-based brand last year closed a $5 million funding round led by an undisclosed investor.
• Functional muesli brand Guud has brought on former Bettera Brands general manager Rick O’Neil as its new COO, the company announced in a LinkedIn post. Earlier this year, the muesli brand landed its Brain Fuel, Athlete Fuel and Gut Fuel cereal products in Meijer. 

Check out the full story on NOSH.

Iron Chef Ming Tsai is bringing his MingsBings breakfast products to 150 new Whole Foods stores across 15 states, spanning Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and more. The stores will carry two SKUs – Plant-Based Sausage, Egg & Cheese Bing and the Plant-Based Egg & Cheese Bing – which are both made with JUST Egg and retail for between $5.99 to $7.39 per 2-count box.

According to Mings Bings, recent IRI data indicated the brand’s unit sales increased 350% year-over-year despite an 8.5% decline in the overall frozen handheld entree and breakfast category. The new distribution brings three-year-old MingsBings to over 5,000 retail doors nationwide. Just last month, Alpha Foods announced it would launch a range of frozen handheld plant-based breakfast items, also made with JUSTEgg.

• 🎶 How do you celebrate your brand's first redesign in nearly 40 years AND the 50th anniversary of hip-hop (trust us, we had no idea those things went hand in hand either)? McCormick this week dropped Red Cap, a new hip hop anthem performed by none other than legend Doug E. Fresh. The repeating chorus of “McCormick, snap tight. Red cap y’all, red cap y’all.” Is …descriptive? 
• 💿 Does your cheese taste like technology? No, not your smartphone, but rather microchips (which may or may not be better tasting). According to the WSJ, parm producers are now tagging their cheese with “p-chips,” edible microchips that the industry hopes will fight fraudulent cheese wheels. 
• 🍟 It’s Fry-day every day in Othello, Washington, which apparently produces more frozen french fries, hash browns and tater tots than anywhere else in the world. This week the Washington Post reported from the potato paradise.