FiveStar Gourmet Foods, Ontario, Calif., has hired Phil Abreo as vice president of sales-West.
His arrival at FiveStar follows other recent sales additions at the company. Kate Brooks is the new vice president of sales-East and Kristyn Lawson is the company’s new senior vice president of sales. Abreo and Brooks report to Lawson, according to a news release.
Abreo has almost two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry, starting as an Albertson’s store manager. He most recently was sales director at True Food Innovations, the company that resurrected the Chef’d meal kit brand, according to the release. Before that, he had a senior-level position at Pepsi Co.-owned Naked Juice, where he created one of the brand’s successful variety packs, according to the release.
He also was at Fresh Grill Foods for almost five years, as director of sales and marketing, gaining foodservice experience.
“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,” FiveStar CEO Tal Shoshan said in the release.
FiveStar has tripled its manufacturing footprint in recent years and plans to move into a new $55-million expanded headquarters and distribution facility in Rancho Cucamonga, which features a Culinary Innovation center.
“Phil is such an incredible asset to the team,” Lawson said in the release. “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.”
