Impossible Foods Appoints Industry Veteran Chris Gregg as SVP of Supply Chain and Manufacturing
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Impossible Foods announced today the hiring of food industry veteran Chris Gregg as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Manufacturing.
Effective immediately, Gregg, 46, will be part of Impossible Foods' management team and oversee operations for manufacturing and supply chain as the company rapidly expands.
The company's flagship product, the Impossible Burger, is the world's only burger that looks, handles, smells, cooks and tastes like ground beef from cows -- but is made entirely from plants, with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. The Impossible Burger uses about 75% less water, generates about 87% fewer greenhouse gases and requires around 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows. It's produced without hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors.Impossible Foods is building its first large-scale production facility, which could enable the company to make at least 1 million pounds of Impossible Burger per month when fully ramped up. The Oakland, Calif., site has the capacity to make 250 times more Impossible Burgers than the company is currently making in its headquarters in Redwood City, Calif., and at a small facility in New Jersey.
Food industry veteran with startup and multinational experience
Gregg has more than 20 years of experience in the food industry, both at startups and at global corporations.
At Del Monte Foods Inc., Gregg was responsible for a $1.5 billion budget and oversaw procurement, external manufacturing and manufacturing commercialization. He also led and developed manufacturing joint ventures and partnerships.
Just before joining Impossible Foods, Gregg worked for a prominent private equity firm where he served as the COO of three high-growth brands -- Babyganics, Solid Gold Pet, and Bare Snacks -- leading their operations and supply chains. He previously worked for a division of the food retail giant Safeway Inc. as Vice President, International Sales.
"I was attracted to Impossible Foods not only by the intellectual challenge but by the enormous positive impact the company can have by rapidly scaling up production of its plant-based foods," Gregg said. "The more we can optimize the manufacturing process, the faster we make the Impossible Burger available worldwide to offset the environmental cost of animal farming, while creating a more resilient and sustainable food system."
Gregg is a member of Impossible Foods senior management team and reports directly to David Lee, Impossible Foods' Chief Operations Officer. Lee and Gregg worked together at Del Monte, one of America's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food for the U.S. retail market.
"At Del Monte, I saw how effective Chris was at gearing up and managing complex food manufacturing operations," said David Lee, Impossible Foods' Chief Operating Officer. "His expertise and commitment will play key roles in our ability to ramp up manufacturing so that we meet our mission to create a more sustainable global food system."
About Impossible Foods
Based in Redwood City, Calif., Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products directly from plants -- with a much smaller environmental footprint than those produced from animals. The privately held company was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., formerly a biochemistry professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Stanford University. Investors include Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Open Philanthropy Project and Temasek.
Other Bar Code News:
- Impossible Foods Appoints Industry Veteran Chris Gregg as SVP of Supply Chain and Manufacturing
- Khongboon Partners with Smartrac and Blue Bite to Launch Smart Activewear Brand
- Accelerating Development of the NFC Ecosystem: New NFC Forum Members to Drive Innovation
- Cognex Authorizes New Stock Buyback Program
- FEIG Announces Antenna Multiplexer to Support Contactless Payment Kiosks and Ticketing Systems
- Dunkin Donuts Supply Chain Expands
- Retail And E-Commerce Innovation At GS1 Connect 2017