Originally posted on http://blog.soylent.com/post/171671542927.
First of all, I want to take a moment to say hello and thank you to all of our Soylent friends out there who have helped turn Rob’s vision into one of the most talked about and fastest growing brands in the food and beverage industry! I’ve been in this industry my entire career, and I’ve never seen anything like it. I couldn’t be more excited to be part of this community and take on this new, expanded role for the company.
Rob and I have spent a lot of time together since we met just over a year ago discussing the history of the brand; the people here, both past and present, who have helped get us where we are today; and our shared vision for the future. We also spent a lot of time just getting to know each other and our friendship has grown each day. When Rob asked me to step into the CEO role, I told him I had one condition – I would only do it if he would continue to partner with me to help bring our vision to life. He agreed, of course, and Rob will continue to be a guiding force in his new position as Soylent’s Executive Chairman.
In the last year, we’ve been very busy and the company has seen tremendous growth. We’ve introduced two new products in Soylent’s Cafe line, Cafe Vanilla and Cafe Chai, and I’m thrilled to share that Cafe Chai recently won Best New Product at BevNet’s Best of 2017 Awards. Amazon has been an amazing partner helping us get more Soylent in the hands of more consumers nationwide, and we’re now one of the fastest-growing brands on Amazon, as well as #1 in the meal replacement category. This past summer, we partnered with our friends at 7-Eleven to test expansion into retail and blew away our expectations. Now we are expanding with 7-Eleven and other retailers in markets around the country. And I’m also proud of our #SoylentforGood program, which has donated over a million meals and counting, sent meals to support disaster relief and contributed funds to the World Food Program USA to support their mission of Making Hunger History! When you’re trying to do something truly innovative, there will of course be challenges. We’ve had a few along the way, but we’ve learned from each one and have come out on the other side smarter and more determined than ever…