The Indiana-based company recently made a slew of appointments, including Greg Pearson as CEO (formerly VP/GM of the Pasta Business Unit at Conagra Foods/TreeHouse Foods); Mike Kaczynski as VP of sales (formerly head of US sales at Evans Food Group); Tim Jax as VP of marketing and innovation (formerly GM at TreeHouse Foods); and Carey Hoffman as director of R&D (formerly associate director of New Product Development at Hershey). It also engaged Mark Zurcher (formerly CEO of Angie’s Boomchickapop) and Rod Troni (formerly chief marketing and innovation officer at Snyder’s-Lance) as independent Board members.
Han brings nearly 30 years of operational and manufacturing experience to his role at Pretzels. Most recently, he served as the VP of operations for Craftmark Bakery, a supplier of frozen bakery products.
He has also worked for Lassonde Pappas, a private brand supplier of sauces and beverages, Target, PepsiCo and Bee Gee Shrimp Company.
His responsibilities include growing Pretzel’s operational footprint, with a focus on manufacturing, quality and product management.
Rapid expansion
“Ku joins our team during an exciting time. His experience in food manufacturing will further strengthen our executive leadership team and aligns well with our business strategy, as we continue to expand our facilities and enhance our capabilities,” said Greg Pearson.
Pretzels – founded in 1978 – is currently expanding its Plymouth manufacturing facility by over 120,000 square feet. It has a second facility in Bluffton, Indiana.
The contract manufacturer produces traditional, peanut butter-filled, flavoured, seasonal and gluten-free pretzels, as well as other extruded snack products to a diverse customer base.