NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hu (as in “Human”) Master Holdings, the parent company of Hu Products and Hu Kitchen, the rapidly-growing, healthy-lifestyle snacking brand, announces today that Sir Kensington’s Co-Founder and CEO Mark Ramadan has joined the company as CEO in the next chapter of his successful CPG career. Ramadan’s expertise will be invaluable to the fast-paced growth of the company, given his experience in purpose-driven brand-building, responsible sourcing and product development. Ramadan’s hiring follows Hu’s recently announced partnership with an investment from Mondelēz International, with the objective of accelerating Hu’s growth, while maintaining the company’s mission to offer consumers minimally processed, high-quality snacks.
As a veteran entrepreneur, Ramadan’s notable experience as co-founder and CEO of Sir Kensington’s, (a non-GMO, mission-driven condiments, sauces and dressings company) aligns perfectly with Hu’s mission and ethos. Similar to Hu, Sir Kensington’s was also built on purpose with a clear mission to develop products with the highest-integrity ingredients that do not sacrifice on taste – once a rarity in condiments. Sir Kensington’s grew rapidly after its founding in 2010, and under Ramadan’s leadership, Unilever, one of the world’s leading consumer products businesses, acquired Sir Kensington’s in 2017 for a reported $140 million.
“Hu has grown exponentially since its start in 2012, and I’m so thrilled to be joining the team alongside the incredible founders to help continue the rapid expansion of the brand,” said Ramadan as newly appointed CEO of Hu. “There is such incredible overlap between Hu’s philosophy to encourage consumers to ‘Get Back to Human’ through the food they eat, and my personal philosophy of bringing food back to how it once was – made with simpler, fewer ingredients. The company is poised for remarkable growth, and I am honored to join the team and make this brand part of my next chapter.”
Founded in 2012 as a family business by Jason H. Karp and siblings Jordan Brown and Jessica (Brown) Karp, Hu began as New York City eatery Hu Kitchen, a high-end kitchen and market focused on delicious, paleo-inspired foods with simple, real ingredients. The Hu Kitchen market section quickly became a proof-of-concept CPG testing ground, prompting the company to expand its medal-winning, vegan and paleo-friendly chocolate products (free of refined and cane sugars, sugar alcohols, soy, lecithins, palm oil, dairy, and gluten). Today, Hu has developed into a premium, multi-SKU brand portfolio of wellness-focused, vegan and paleo-friendly snacking products with a devoted following.
“When Jordan, Jessica and I started Hu, we never dreamed of the rapid growth we’ve had,” said Jason H. Karp, Chairman and Co-Founder of Hu. “At our current stage, we are thrilled to have Mark join as CEO, with his expertise of knowing how to responsibly scale a company without sacrificing the integrity of the product. With the addition of Mark to our team, we believe we can continue to build a big future for our company as we expand our product offerings and reach more health-conscious consumers.”
Co-Founder Jordan Brown said, “Mark is terrific, and we are very excited to work with him. He brings a wealth of unique experiences and a great success story to the table. His mission-driven approach jives beautifully with Hu’s approach. Paired with our recent partnership with Mondelēz, Mark’s joining our team will help continue our ‘Get Back To Human’ global push.”
About Hu Products and Hu Kitchen
Hu Products (pronounced “hue” as in Human) is one of the fastest-growing chocolate and snacking companies in the U.S. with a fanatical focus on combining delicious taste with strictly-vetted, simple, understandable ingredients. Hu Chocolate is vegan, paleo, free of sugar alcohols, refined sugar-free and has won various medals over multiple years for Best Vegan Chocolate. Hu Kitchen is a high-end, fast-casual restaurant and market in NYC, serving over 1,000 people per day, focused strictly on delicious, unprocessed foods. More information about Hu Kitchen, Hu Products and how we “Get Back to Human” is available at www.hukitchen.com.