Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Readies for Next Growth Phase with New CEO, New HQ

Exciting changes for successful better-for-you brand

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Sep 18, 2019, 10:20 ET

BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt, the world's first frozen Greek yogurt bar and fastest growing novelty brand is excited to announce it will be opening a new headquarters office in better-for-you hub, Boulder, Colorado along with a new CEO and management team.

As the brand prepares to hit $100 million in revenue in 2019, Yasso Co-Founders and current Co-CEOs, Drew Harrington and Amanda Klane, have started to build the foundation for the next growth phase for the brand, beginning with the announcement that they will be transitioning out of their roles as Yasso Co-CEOs, and will be handing the reigns over to a new leader, Craig Shiesley.

"Since we founded Yasso in 2009 at just 23 years old, it's been more than just a business for Amanda and I, it's been a way of life," said Drew Harrington, Yasso Co-Founder. "It's been the thrill of a lifetime to work alongside our amazing team to build Yasso from a simple idea to a nationally distributed and recognized brand. We felt now was an appropriate time to select a new leader to execute our strategic growth plan. As Craig joins the Yasso family as CEO, we're confident the brand will continue to grow and carry on with our mission to bring great tasting, better-for-you desserts to fans all across the country while making a positive impact in our communities."

Prior to Shiesley's role as Yasso CEO, he was an existing independent member of the Yasso Board who not only had an impressive resume, but also saw the massive opportunity to accelerate Yasso growth, while staying true to core principles. Shiesley brings more than 25 years of experience building brands and businesses in the consumer packaged goods industry, as well as extensive experience with successful better-for-you brands. Most recently, Shiesley had been the President and COO of Amplify Snacks, preceded by President roles at the WhiteWave Food Company, responsible for leading the broad plant-based business platform which included the Silk, So Delicious and Vega brands.

"Hiring a new CEO is no simple task and although Drew and I met with many impressive candidates from CPG brands we admire, we hadn't met someone we felt had everything it would take to lead Yasso until we met Craig," said Amanda Klane, Yasso Co-Founder. "It was important for us to find a cultural fit who would stay true to our core mission and principles, but also someone with a proven track record of leading brands of scale with larger company management experience, but smaller company mindset. We found that in Craig and we are both excited to be partnering with him. His vision and ambition matches ours."

"Anyone who knows the Yasso brand knows it's special, but what they may not know is what makes both the brand and the company unique are the founders. Both Drew and Amanda have an authenticity, purposefulness and a commitment to win that is present in their lives as well as how they run their business. These values originally attracted me to Yasso as a board member, and will be the values that we continue to cultivate at Yasso to make it a special place to work as I assume the CEO role," said Craig Shiesley, Yasso CEO. "The Yasso brand already has strong momentum, leading in velocity growth as well as repeat in the category, and yet there is so much more growth runway for the brand. In particular, I'm looking forward to leveraging our unique 'made with the goodness of Greek yogurt' product platform to accelerate the growth of our base business, and an innovation capability that will continue to delight consumers across new forms and categories. I'm also excited to expand our better-for-you snacking platform beyond Yasso to other strategic partnerships."

As for Yasso's founders, Drew and Amanda will stay close to the brand as Board Directors and investors, working closely on innovation, brand storytelling and will remain devoted to the growth of the Yasso Game On! Foundation, continuing with its charitable mission to give back to communities through monetary donations and partnerships. The Game On! Foundation works with partners to contribute to meaningful programs that will cultivate the inner health rebel in everyone, inspiring fitness, friendly-competition and teamwork for people of all ages through sport.

Since joining Yasso in July, Shiesley has worked swiftly and strategically to build an executive team with deep industry experience and the skills necessary to elevate Yasso to the next level. As the newly renovated Yasso headquarters are finalized in downtown Boulder, this new executive team plans to build the team further as it works to fill a variety of exciting roles in operations, sales, marketing, and more to support brand growth and platform expansion.

"We are so pleased with how this next phase is shaping up with Craig at the helm and the transition to Boulder. We've always been fortunate to surround ourselves with talented, good people and this next chapter for Yasso is no different. Establishing new roots in Boulder gives us a tremendous talent pool as we expand our team and capabilities. It's an exciting time for the Yasso brand and broader category, and Craig has already done a great job building out a fantastic management team with like-minded people. We are confident that with Craig as our new leader, we can expand our better-for-you dessert and snacking platform with Yasso and strategic partnerships," added Harrington.

About Yasso^®: Kindergarten friends turned entrepreneurs, founders Drew Harrington and Amanda Klane set out on a mission to create desserts that deliver on everyday indulgence with great taste, quality ingredients and superb nutritionals. Since hitting store shelves in 2011 as the first to market frozen Greek yogurt, Yasso quickly became one of the fastest-growing dessert brands in the world, disrupting the brand ranks of deeply entrenched competitors and attracting a loyal following of brand enthusiasts. Yasso currently offers 18 flavors of stick bars and 9 new pints, as well as its new line of Snack Buddies™ all of which can be found at major grocery and club stores nationwide, and is an active, positive contributor to the community via its Game On! Foundation. To find your local retailers and to learn more about Yasso, please visit www.yasso.com and follow @yasso.

Contact: Megan McElduff, 617-845-5058, [email protected]

SOURCE Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt