Freshpet, Inc. Announces Leadership Appointments Enhancing Operational and Technical Talent to Support Future Growth


Lynn Bingham Joins Freshpet as Vice President Strategic Quality and Process Development

William Everett to Lead Midwest Manufacturing Capacity Expansion

SECAUCUS, N.J., Aug. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freshpet, Inc. (“Freshpet” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FRPT) announced the appointment of two veteran leaders to support its future growth and development, effective today.

Lynn Bingham joins Freshpet as Vice President Strategic Quality and Process Development, reporting to Stephen Weise, Executive Vice President Manufacturing and Supply Chain.  In this role, he will be responsible for leading manufacturing process improvement and quality assurance.  He will have a team of quality and technical resources reporting to him. In addition, William (“Willie”) Everett joins Freshpet as General Manager Midwest Manufacturing Expansion, also reporting to Stephen Weise.  He will lead the development and buildout of Freshpet’s Midwest manufacturing facility capacity expansion slated for start-up in fiscal 2022.

“We are excited to welcome Lynn and Willie to the Freshpet team as we continually expand our fresh pet food manufacturing expertise and scale to further our competitive advantage,” commented Billy Cyr, Freshpet’s Chief Executive Officer. “Lynn brings a proven track record of process, innovation and quality expertise with an emphasis on sourcing high quality fresh protein ingredients and we look forward to his contributions to our manufacturing team. Additionally, as we make progress on our Midwest manufacturing expansion, Willie will play an integral role in leading site selection, design and development to support our strong consumer demand and future growth - fulfilling our mission of providing more pets with fresh all-natural foods that enrich their lives and the relationships with their pet parents, and doing so in ways that are good for our pets, for people and for our planet.”

Mr. Bingham has nearly 35 years of engineering, product innovation, process, food safety and quality experience including various leadership roles at Bil-Jac Foods Inc., Win-Hy Foods Inc. and PepsiCo, Pizza-Hut division. Prior to joining Freshpet, he was Vice President Innovation and New Process Development at Bil-Jac Foods Inc., a privately-held manufacturer and marketer of diets and treats for pets with distribution in the U.S. and internationally, where he successfully led three facilities. Mr. Bingham also created numerous food safety innovations. During his tenure at Win-Hy Foods Inc., he led strategy, planning, production, and fresh pet ingredient procurement. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Asian Studies from Brigham Young University.  Mr. Bingham will be based at the Freshpet Kitchens in Bethlehem, PA. 

Mr. Everett has held several supply chain and operational leadership roles over the last 20 years at New Barn Organics, Crystal Creamery, Hostess Brands, Premium Waters, Inc. and Dairy Farmers of America and earlier in his career worked at both Hill’s Science Diet and Frito-Lay. During his career he has established a successful senior leadership and entrepreneurial track record of operational business development, multi-project oversight, strategic enterprise planning and analysis. Most recently he served as Executive Vice President Supply Chain for New Barn Organics, an organic plant-based food company, where he led operations and supply chain. He was Vice President Operations and Distribution at Crystal Creamery and Senior Vice President of Operations at Hostess Brands where he led the multi-million dollar businesses in managing production, distribution and procurement across several facilities to drive operating efficiencies. He has a degree in Business Administration from Drury University.   Mr. Everett will initially be located at the Freshpet Kitchens in Bethlehem, PA and will relocate to the future site of the Freshpet Midwest Expansion and lead the start-up of that site. 

About Freshpet
Freshpet’s mission is to improve the lives of dogs and cats through the power of fresh, real food. Freshpet foods are blends of fresh meats, vegetables and fruits farmed locally and made at our Kitchens in Bethlehem, PA.  We thoughtfully prepare our foods using natural ingredients, cooking them in small batches at lower temperatures to preserve the natural goodness of the ingredients. Freshpet foods and treats are kept refrigerated from the moment they are made until they arrive at Freshpet Fridges in your local market.

Our foods are available in select mass, grocery (including online), natural food, club, and pet specialty retailers across the United States, Canada and Europe. From the care, we take to source our ingredients and make our food, to the moment it reaches your home, our integrity, transparency and social responsibility are the way we like to run our business. To learn more, visit www.freshpet.com.

Connect with Freshpet:

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https://plus.google.com/+Freshpet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshpet

https://www.youtube.com/user/freshpet400

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release constitute “forward-looking” statements. These statements are based on management's current opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, not historical fact, and involve certain risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions. Actual results, levels of activity, performance, achievements and events could differ materially from those stated, anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. While Freshpet believes that its assumptions are reasonable, it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible to anticipate all factors that could affect actual results. There are many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made herein including, most prominently, the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's latest annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release. Freshpet undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be made that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

CONTACT
ICR
Katie Turner
646-277-1228
katie.turner@icrinc.com