Jones Soda Co., the US soft-drinks group, has named a new CEO and CFO.
Coffee and foodservice veteran Scott Harvey has joined as chief executive.
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Brian Meadows, most recently the CFO at plant-based products business Simply Better Brands, will lead Jones Soda’s finance function.
In the space of nine days last year, Jones Soda announced the departure of both its CEO and its director of finance.
Paul Norman, Jones Soda’s chairman, has held the roles of CEO and CFO on an interim basis in recent weeks.
He said: “Both Scott and Brian have deep food and beverage experience, have successfully driven business transformation in their previous roles, and we believe will provide immediate hands-on value in implementing our strategy.”
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By GlobalDataHarvey joins Jones Soda after 20 months as president of Dunn Brothers Coffee.
His career also includes three years as president and COO at Black Rifle Coffee Company and more than two decades at Einstein Noah Restaurant Group.
“I’m impressed with the steps that Jones has taken to expand beyond its craft soda roots by adding new product lines and formats that I believe are aligned with the preferences of today’s consumer,” Harvey said. “I believe the company’s strategic plan provides a clear path to leveraging that foundation to achieve profitability and I look forward to working with the team to put the plan into action.”
In the nine months to 30 September, Seattle-based Jones Soda ran up a net loss of $5.4m, compared to $3.3m a year earlier.
The company also made an operating loss of $5.4m, versus $3.3m in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The group’s revenue stood at $16.4m, against $13.2m in the first nine months of 2023.
Announcing the figures on 13 November, Norman said Jones Soda’s third-quarter results – which included losses and falling sales – “did not meet our internal expectations”, adding: “We have taken immediate action to correct our trajectory.”
He said: “The third quarter results were negatively impacted by a Canadian distributor transition, the loss of a discount retail customer in the U.S., and a slower than expected ramp up with our HD9 distribution network. In addition, we incurred more operating expenses than we had initially budgeted. We have taken corrective actions to improve and align our cost structure, adjust our Canadian distribution model and have added more HD9 distributors in the fourth quarter.”
The departure of director of finance Joe Culp was announced on 6 November.
The exit of previous CEO David Knight was announced on 28 October.
Former PepsiCo executive Knight joined the Lemoncocco soda and Mary Jones brand owner in 2023 last year to replace Mark Murray as president and CEO.
