Ontario, CA – FiveStar Gourmet Foods, producers of the Simply Fresh™ brand, continues to solidify their commitment to retail with another addition to their sales team. Phil Abreo has been appointed Vice President of Sales West and joins recent addition Kate Brooks who was appointed Vice President of Sales East. Both Kate and Phil will report into newly hired industry leader, Kristyn Lawson who was named Senior Vice President of Sales.
Phil Abreo started his career as an Albertson’s store manager and brings over 19 years’ experience in the food and beverage industry, most recently as Sales Director at True Food Innovations. He previously held senior level positions with Naked Juice, owned by Pepsi Co. where he created one of the brands most successful variety pack products which propelled sales over $140MM. Phil has lead account growth within the military, retail, convenience and foodservice channels. He received an undergraduate degree from California State Polytechnic University – Pomona.
“I am thrilled to bring on such incredible talent like Phil to support our retail sales growth and strengthen our formidable sales organization,” said Tal Shoshan, FiveStar’s Chief Executive Officer, “Phil brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise within the fresh, prepared food space and has developed long standing and meaningful customer relationships that reflect his strong professional reputation.”
The demand for the Simply Fresh™ salads, snacks and fresh meals has grown tremendously, especially in the West where Phil’s focus will be. FiveStar has tripled its’ manufacturing footprint in recent years and will soon move into a $55 million new, expanded headquarters and production facility located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, which features a Culinary Innovation Center.
“Phil is such an incredible asset to the team. It truly is a testament to FiveStar’s commitment to grow the Simply Fresh™ brand in retail and I am confident that we will continue the rapid growth of these fresh, convenient and delicious products, says Kristyn Lawson, FiveStar’s Senior Vice President of Sales.
Phil began his role in early April and reports into the Ontario, California headquarters.
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About FiveStar Gourmet Foods: With an “appetite for excellence”, leading innovator within fresh and frozen value-added foods, Southern-California based Five Star Gourmet Foods, the producers of the Simply Fresh™ brand, have been producing premium, healthy foods for more than two decades. With processing facilities nationwide, FiveStar manufacturers a complete line of retail and foodservice products including convenience salad bowls and snacks featuring fresh produce and proteins under the Simply Fresh™ and MiniMeals2Go™ brands using all natural, no artificial ingredients. Five Star has achieved both organic certification and the highest quality and food safety certification of SQF Level 3. To learn more, go to FiveStarGourmetFoods.com
