Seattle, WA – Oct. 26, 2015 – DRY Sparkling, tastemakers of gourmet sparkling beverages, has announced the expansion of its executive team with the addition of Melody Conner as executive vice president of sales, Ed Lilly as vice president of sales west, Tom Daly as vice president of sales east, and BreeAnna Marchitto as director of marketing and communications. Effective immediately, these new roles were created to further strengthen the company’s trajectory of rapid development and growth in new channels.
“We feel fortunate to have such talented individuals join our team at DRY at this pivotal time in the company’s evolution,” said Sharelle Klaus, founder and CEO of DRY Soda Co. “From humble beginnings in my own kitchen a decade ago, to overseeing one of the fastest growing sparkling beverage brands in North America, it’s been my personal mission to change the way people think about the soda category. Melody, Ed, Tom and BreeAnna will each play integral roles in expanding our distribution and retail footprint, while further building and strengthening the DRY brand.”
Conner brings more than 15 years of beverage industry sales experience to her role at DRY, where she oversees the entire sales organization and the brand’s expansion throughout North America. She began her career at PepsiCo before becoming one of the first employees at CytoSport (Muscle Milk). During her decade-long tenure at the company Connor held many executive roles, and provided strategic counsel throughout CytoSport’s acquisition by Hormel Foods.
Lilly comes to DRY with more than 20 years of CPG experience. In previous roles at PepsiCo, CytoSport, and Speedway, he managed a U.S. sales team and portfolios of national/regional customers. He will support DRY’s distribution development and expansion into new retail channels.
Daly joins DRY with more than 20 years of experience in executive level sales, operations and management roles at CytoSport, JM Smucker, Campbell’s Soup and Ralston Purina. In his new role, he is tasked with overseeing multi-channel sales growth and strengthening DRY’s brand presence on the East Coast.
Marchitto began her career at DRY, and now returns to the company after holding positions with Red Bull North America, Amazon.com and Nordstrom. She brings an abundance of branding, experiential marketing, management, and communications experience to her role at DRY, and oversees all marketing efforts for the company.
DRY Sparkling beverages were designed to taste beautiful. They are wonderful when sipped from a champagne flute, paired with a great meal, or mixed into a cocktail. Unlike other sparkling beverages that have heavy or overly-sweet flavor profiles, DRY Sparkling is crisp, well-rounded and refreshing. The full line includes eight botanically-driven flavors: Blood Orange, Ginger, Vanilla Bean, Rhubarb, Lavender, Juniper Berry, Cucumber and Rainier Cherry.
DRY is available in natural and traditional grocers nationwide, including Kroger, Target, Safeway, Whole Foods Market, Amazon.com and more. The line of premium sparkling beverages is available in 12 oz. aluminum cans, 12 oz. glass bottles and 4-packs, as well as new 750 mL Celebration Bottles in select flavors. For more information, paring ideas and craft cocktail recipes, please visit www.drysparkling.com.
ABOUT DRY Soda Co.
Founded in Seattle, Wash., DRY Soda Co. creates sparkling beverages for people seeking culinary experiences in their everyday lives. The full line is available in eight flavor-forward, crisp, unexpected varieties: Lavender, Blood Orange, Rhubarb, Vanilla Bean, Juniper Berry, Rainier Cherry, Ginger, and Cucumber. With a clean ingredient panel and sophisticated flavors, DRY Sparkling is worthy of gourmet food pairing and premium mixology. For more information, visit www.drysparkling.com.
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