NuZee Inc hires coffee industry veterans Kathleen
Schartner and Marie Franklin
August 5 - 2021Coffee Geography Magazine
NuZee, Inc. a leading U.S. producer and co-packer of
specialty single serve pour-over coffee pouches and tea bag style coffee,
announced two new hires to its sales team; Kathleen Schartner, VP of Business
Development and Marie
Franklin, VP of Sales, North and West Coast.
Kathleen Schartner
Kathleen Schartner will be
responsible for expanding and distributing NuZee's product offerings to the
hospitality industry, gaming, grocery channel and college & universities.
She brings a wealth of expertise in business development and foodservice
account management at companies like Nestle and Sani Professional. Most
recently, she managed the foodservice sales team at Farmer Brothers, where she
led all business development efforts on their private label and branded coffee
programs. Kathleen
Schartner said, "Hunting for new business is my passion
and I am confident that my knowledge in new business development will be an
added value to the NuZee sales organization."
Marie Franklin
Marie Franklin, VP of Sales,
North and West Coast, will be responsible for bringing and selling NuZee's
single service pour over and tea bag style coffee products to roasters on the
West Coast and Northern regions of the United States. She comes to NuZee with
25 years of experience in the coffee industry with expertise in many aspects of
coffee including importing, roasting, retailing, sales and marketing at brands
like Umbria Coffee Roasters, Sustainable Harvest, Portland Coffee Roasters
and Seattle's beloved
Torrefazione Italia. "Single-serve solutions are an appreciable part of
the coffee market and have become a necessity in the modern roaster's
portfolio. I am looking forward to using the breadth of my experience to help
NuZee's customers achieve their taste goals and move beyond the capsule."
Keith Wright, VP of Sales,
will continue to lead sales for the West Coast and Southern region from California to Texas for
NuZee. Mr. Wright, who has been with the company for over two years, said,
"NuZee's eco-friendly single serve coffee formats are great options for
coffee drinkers who want authentic tasting cup of coffee without using plastic.
I am excited to start working with Kathleen and Marie to introduce these
single serve coffee formats to more coffee roasters and hospitality customers
in the United States."
Travis Gorney, Chief
Innovation Officer, will continue to focus on business development with new
products and programs as well as working on strategic accounts.
"Leading innovation is a passion of mine and I am looking forward to
bringing new ideas to life for the customer and NuZee," said Travis Gorney.
"With
the addition of Kathleen and Marie to the sales organization, NuZee is well
positioned to work to grow its customer base as well as expand distribution
channels to reach many more US coffee drinkers," said Jose Ramirez, Chief
Sales and Supply Chain Officer, who also recently joined NuZee.
"Together with this new sales team, I am looking forward to changing
the way people drink coffee in the United States, one cup at a time."