ORLANDO, Fla. — Kalera AS (Euronext Growth Oslo: KAL, Bloomberg: KSLLF), one of the fastest-growing and largest vertical farming companies in the world, today announced the appointment of Aric Nissen as Chief Marketing Officer. In his new role, Nissen will be an integral part of the executive team as he oversees the development and execution of Kalera’s marketing initiatives.
Bringing with him more than 20 years of senior leadership experience and award-winning expertise engaging customers and building brands, Nissen joins Kalera from Restaurant Technologies where he served as Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Revenue Optimization for Subway® and spent over four years as a management consulting executive with Accenture Digital.
“Aric is a fantastic addition to our executive team with an impressive background and proven track record in driving customer demand,” said Kalera CEO Daniel Malechuk. “Aric’s oversight will be invaluable as we continue to grow. We are delighted to welcome him to the Kalera family.”
Nissen began his career with International Dairy Queen Inc. where he was responsible for menu strategy, market testing, product launch advertising and brand management. He earned the nickname “CEO of Blizzard” for his efforts to increase awareness and sales of the brand’s flagship products resulting in a sales increase from $400MM to over $800MM in less than five years.
“This is an exciting time to join Kalera’s talented executive team,” noted Nissen. “The technology and innovation of a Kalera farm is literally breathtaking to see. Seed science, artificial intelligence, and data analytics form the backbone of growing non-GMO plants with dramatically less environmental impact. As a global leader in the vertical farming industry, we are primed to drive rapid acceleration in North America and across the globe.”
In addition to the hiring of a new CMO, Kalera has experienced significant growth in recent months including the announcement of the acquisition of &ever, a vertical farm company headquartered in Germany with operations in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, and the addition of new high-profile customers. With the acquisition of &ever, Kalera will operate facilities in Orlando, FL; Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX and Kuwait. Additional facilities are slated to open across the US — including Denver, CO; Columbus, OH; Seattle, WA; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Honolulu, Hawaii — as well as in Singapore.
Kalera uses a closed-loop irrigation system which enables its plants to grow while consuming 95% less water compared to field farming.
About Kalera
The Kalera Group is a vertical farming group headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Kalera uses technology to ensure that more people around the world have access to the freshest, most nutritious, and cleanest products possible. It has spent several years optimizing plant nutrient formulas and developing an advanced automation and data acquisition system with Internet of Things, cloud, big data analytics and artificial intelligence. Kalera currently operates farms in Orlando, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. Kalera’s Houston, Texas farm will open soon, and the company has plans to open more farms in the US and also in both the Middle East and Asia in the coming months. More information is available at www.kalera.com.
