Elizabeth Fikes and Joe Johnston bring experience from PepsiCo, Sabra Dipping Company as Meati™ targets a national, omnichannel footprint by late-2023
Meati Foods, the producer of delicious, animal-free, whole-food protein made from mushroom root, today announced it has hired Elizabeth (Liz) Fikes as Chief Supply Chain Officer and Joseph (Joe) Johnston as SVP, Operations and Engineering, effective immediately. Fikes will manage the performance of Meati’s fully integrated supply chain, leading production volume expansion. Johnston, reporting to Fikes, will provide oversight of capital projects and operations, ensuring exceptional product quality and efficient delivery. The hires reflect Meati’s commitment to establishing leadership and new category creation in animal-free meat, beginning with an omnichannel national presence by late 2023.
“Meati has plans to change the way people eat by offering delicious, clean, nutrient-dense, animal-free meat, and the execution toward those ambitions begins well before we hit store shelves,” said Scott Tassani, President and COO of Meati Foods. “Ensuring Meati’s quality remains unparalleled and with reliability levels that make it a supply chain solution, Liz and Joe will be instrumental in delivering excellence for every customer and consumer.”
Fikes joins Meati Foods from Stanley Black & Decker, where she served as the Chief Transformation Officer and Manufacturing Strategy & Optimization Leader for Global Operations. In her new role at Meati, she will oversee the company’s integrated supply chain, responsible for the conception, alignment, and execution of capacity and CAPEX plans while supporting productivity, supply security and efficiency parameters. Her previous experience includes three years at PepsiCo, where she was the Vice President, Global Operations, Transformation and spearheaded the development of low-cost solutions in Manufacturing and Distribution to increase productivity. She holds her master’s degree in systems and industrial engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“This is a pivotal year for Meati, and I’m excited to be part of scaling our Mega Ranch’s capacity to serve more customers while developing strong end-to-end supply chain capabilities,” said Fikes. “I’m honored to be leading our manufacturing, procurement, engineering, planning and distribution teams at this critical point in Meati’s growth, while also looking toward a future of multiple facilities providing hundreds of millions of pounds of Meati annually to consumers across the country.”
Johnston most recently worked for the Sabra Dipping Company, where he spent nearly 10 years and finished his time there as the Vice President of Supply Chain. At Meati, he will lead the team exploring and implementing technologies to apply to the manufacturing process delivering value, cost savings, and increased performance. His team will collaborate cross-functionally with the Procurement, Pilot Plant, Food Sciences, Product Development, Safety and Quality teams. His previous experience includes four and a half years at the Campbell Soup Company, including as a Senior Product Engineer. He holds his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University.
“I’m thrilled to join Meati at this early stage to define a new category of healthful, sustainable animal-free meat, while driving toward unmatched efficiencies,” said Johnston. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with the incredible Meati team, fostering innovation across the company to make this a reality.”
Able to grow a teaspoon of spores into hundreds of cows’ equivalent of whole-food protein in just a few days, Meati’s proprietary production processes coupled with its unique mushroom root create a nearly infinitely scalable platform. The Eat Meati™ product line currently includes the Classic Cutlet, Crispy Cutlet, Classic Steak and Carne Asada Steak. To date, Meati products have repeatedly sold out within minutes of being released online. Consumers have continued to embrace Meati products through the company’s retail and foodservice partners, including Sprouts Farmers Market, Sweetgreen and Birdcall.
Meati's textures and flavors have won the enthusiastic support of some of food's biggest icons, including David Chang (chef and founder of Momofuku and Majordomo Media); Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman (co-founders of Sweetgreen) and Sam Kass (former White House senior policy advisor for nutrition and partner at Acre Venture Partners). Meati is also committed to unlocking the science behind mycelium and is conducting research in conjunction with its recently-announced Science Advisory Board. Learn more at meati.com.
About Meati Foods and Eat Meati™
Founded in 2017, Meati Foods is working to unlock a more delicious, nutritious, equitable, and sustainable food system for everyone. Eat Meati™, the debut product line from Meati Foods, features cutlets and steaks made from mushroom root, a whole-food protein cultivated with a modernized version of ancient and natural processes that have helped preserve Earth's ecosystems for millennia. Eat Meati™ made its early retail debut in July 2022 after multiple months of record sellouts through its direct-to-doorstep online shop. A national omni-channel footprint is planned for late 2023.
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Contacts
Songue PR for Meati Foods
meati@songuepr.com
