Meat snack challenger Ember has strengthened its advisory board with the hire of three experienced fmcg veterans.
Tim Rees, Mark Palmer and John McKinley will advise brother founders Jack and Harry Mayhew on the next stage of the brand’s rapid growth.
Rees has been Vita Coco CEO for the EMEA region since 2021 following a promotion from UK MD. He joined the coconut water brand in 2016 as commercial director after spending six years with Reckitt Benckiser.
Palmer was marketing director at chocolate brand Green & Black’s, orchestrating a sale to Cadbury in 2005. He has since worked as marketing director and advisor to Pret a Manger, and worked alongside numerous fmcg founders on the boards of Cawston Press, Union Coffee and LA Brewery.
McKinley runs fmcg advisory agency Bitesize Consulting and was previously finance director at Pip & Nut. He has also worked in senior finance roles at Innocent and Nestlé.
“We feel privileged to formalise our new advisory board with such a strong group of people,” Jack Mayhew said.
“Last year, we officially became the fastest-selling product in our category and on target to double distribution with retailers in 2024. Between Mark, Tim and John we will have some great thought partners with their varied specialisms across the core departments to ensure we execute the next phase of our business successfully.”
McKinley added: “Having worked as Ember’s fraction financial director with our financial services business, Bitesize Consulting, for the last two years, I know the brothers and Ember extremely well.
“The brand has strong foundations as they move to a robust supply chain and double down on their strong retail performance. I look forward to moving into this new advisory position alongside my role as finance director.”
The Mayhew brothers launched the company in 2017 with a mission to support British farmers and provide consumers with healthier snacking options.
Today, Ember supplies biltong, charcuterie and chicken bites to more than 6,000 distribution points in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, with plans to roll out into another 3,000 stores this year.
The business also has the backing of serial entrepreneur Giles Brook as a significant shareholder.
Ember raised £1.4m from almost 400 crowd investors in 2021 to aid its campaign to end factory farming and improve food labelling standards.
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