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CPG News Report: October 21, 2026

Five stories moved the CPG industry over the past 48 hours. Lindt & Sprüngli removed its CEO. Nestlé and PepsiCo each announced a plant closure. Dan-O's raised $25 million. CLEAN Cause named a new leadership team. Here is what happened, with sources linked for each story.

Lindt & Sprüngli Removes CEO Adalbert Lechner

Lindt & Sprüngli, the Swiss parent of Ghirardelli, said CEO Adalbert Lechner will leave the company. Dieter Weisskopf, vice chairman of the board and the company's CEO until 2022, takes over on an interim basis. The board said new leadership was needed "to return to consistent, strong growth and to capture opportunities in all its markets globally." The company expects to name a permanent successor in the second quarter of 2027.

Lindt has cut its outlook twice this year. Organic sales growth guidance for 2026 now sits at unchanged to up 2 percent, down from an initial target of 6 to 8 percent. The company blamed lower than expected order volumes in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and it also made leadership changes in its German and Austrian businesses. Weisskopf said, "We will invest significantly in our brands while improving our profitability. My task is to hand over to the next CEO a company with renewed momentum."

Source: Food Dive

Nestlé Will Close Its Solon, Ohio Factory by the End of 2027

Nestlé plans to close its factory in Solon, Ohio by the end of 2027. Foodservice pouch production moves to the company's facility in Gaffney, South Carolina. Production in Solon is expected to conclude by the third quarter of 2027, and Nestlé plans to file a WARN notice around March. The company did not say how many workers are affected.

The broader Solon campus stays open and keeps R&D and corporate operations. Nestlé has nearly 3,000 workers across seven Ohio facilities. The company said in a statement, "As customer needs and volumes evolve, we determined that building on capabilities already in place elsewhere in our network was the most sustainable path forward."

Source: Food Dive

PepsiCo Closes Its Knoxville Bottling Plant

PepsiCo closed its bottling plant in Knoxville, Tennessee effective immediately. A WARN notice put the count at 112 workers across manufacturing, maintenance and warehouse services. Workers will be paid through January 1 and get access to employment and transition resources, and PepsiCo said it is working to place people at nearby facilities. Local sales and delivery teams will continue serving Knoxville area customers.

The closure follows a cost cutting push from CEO Ramon Laguarta, who said this month that "everything that is not related to growth will not be part of the company." PepsiCo's North America volume fell 2 percent last quarter. The company announced the end of manufacturing at a Maryland bottling plant in September.

Sources: Food Dive, PepsiCo

Dan-O's Raises $25 Million and Clears Its Cap Table

Dan-O's Seasoning secured a $25 million investment from The Newcastle Network, a consumer focused private equity firm. The deal lets the brand buy out previous investors and take the business in a new direction as it enters new eating occasions.

Source: NOSH

CLEAN Cause Names Jeff Arnold CEO

Canned yerba mate brand CLEAN Cause brought in a new leadership team. The company is preparing new marketing initiatives and a packaging redesign under new CEO Jeff Arnold.

Source: BevNET

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Colin Nolan

Executive Vice President, Mark Anthony Brewing Inc.

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Hilal Tabsh

Chief Revenue Officer, Glass House Brands

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“Over the last 10+ years my experience with Michael Bitar and the Protis Global team has been exceptional across multiple industries. Michael and his team work to get to the true needs of my hiring plan and partner with us throughout the process. They understand our business, company culture, what success looks like, and then propose candidates that will produce results while also fitting into our team dynamic. Overall it’s a great team and experience and I would recommend to anyone looking to hire top-notch quality candidates reach out to Protis Global and Michael Bitar.”

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Chief Executive Officer, Bespoken Spirits

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Soley Van Lokeren

SVP, People

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“I have been in the field of human resources for over thirty years, in executive level roles both in-house and in outsourced positions. Michael Bitar is my favorite talent acquisition professional with which I have ever worked. He cares deeply about building a relationship with his clients, learning their business, culture, challenges, and truly understanding the needs of a role requisition. His approach is mirrored by the rest of the Protis team, who are courteous, thorough, and who make you feel like you are their only client. Protis successfully delivered hires for our Chief Commercial Officer role and for three key challenging roles (in both Marketing and Sales). They are simply – the best!”

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Brian Kuz

Chief Sales Officer

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“Protis is unique in their go-to-market strategy in that they not only find the right candidate for the role, but they find the right opportunity and company for the candidate. Protis Global looks for people who are ready to make a change...I will continue to recommend Protis Global as one of the best placement agencies in the World, as I have worked on every continent and have dealt with the big executive placement firms and the boutique ones. Protis shines above all, and as long as I am hiring, I will continue to go to Protis Global first, if not exclusively.”

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Chris Hall

CEO, poppi

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“Partnering with Protis Global has been a game-changer for poppi. They understood our vision and the unique challenges we faced as a rapidly growing brand. Their expertise in executive search helped us find the right leaders who not only fit our culture but also brought the skills and passion needed to drive accelerated growth. The Protis Global team actively took our feedback and adapted the search so that we could focus on what we do best – creating innovative, healthy beverages that our customers love. They’ve truly become an extension of our team, and we couldn’t imagine achieving our success without the team members they helped us to bring aboard.”

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Chad Palma

President of Sales, Spindrift

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“Michael Bitar and the Protis team have been such a pleasure to work with over the years. Not only do they do amazing work with recruiting but we have also developed a partnership between our two companies. Michael and his team provide a crucial role in reviewing my hiring needs at the beginning of each year. Once the review is complete, Michael begins searching for quality candidates that fit the role and culture for Spindrift. He and his team do an outstanding job of finding the right candidates for the position in need. I highly recommend Michael and the Protis team for your hiring needs.”

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John Sacksteder

President, Mark Anthony Brewing Inc

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“From the start, the relationship with Protis Global was different than other recruiting firms.  The team had a deeper level of commitment and desire to learn about our business than I had experienced with other firms. Our company was experiencing a time of exponential growth and our staffing needs were complex. We needed very experienced people across every possible function in the Operation and Supply Chain Teams and we needed them in a hurry. The Protis Global Team mobilized quickly and established a methodology to identify strong candidates and work them through the interview process in a professional and timely manner. Their grit, determination, understanding our needs and culture, sense of urgency and drive to exceed our expectations set them apart from the pack.”

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Thomas Frisch

Chief People Officer at IJW Whiskey

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“The team worked quickly and efficiently to find a unique position.”

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Kim Nguyen

VP of Supply Chain at Lallemand

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“Everyone involved was extremely helpful - Gary, Michael, Ben - thank you!! The team didn't only search for candidates based on the job description, but also the qualities that I look for in candidates.” 

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Shashank Gaur

VP of Product Technology & Innovation

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“The interview process was smooth and extremely professional. Ben and team represented me as much as they represented the company.” 

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Jeremy Schulman

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Don Stohrer Jr.

CEO, Arla Foods USA

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“We’ve been a Protis Global client for eight years, and during this time have always appreciated the thoroughness of the recruitment process, as the candidates brought to us have been well-vetted, not only from a competency perspective, but more importantly from a [cultural] fit dynamic. Mike and the team have always been highly engaged to ensure they bring us candidates that match our culture. That’s been critical to the success of the candidates that have landed here by way of our relationship with Protis.”

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Alaa Selim

VP of HR, Solaris Paper

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“Many thanks to the team, not only for identifying and placing excellent candidates but also for the Protis Global team’s professionalism and efficiency in the overall sourcing process. The platform you gave us access to and the candidate summary you provided were always on point and accurate. 

You made us feel you were part of the team.”

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