Tony Matta, CMO at Kraft Heinz Company Canada, is set to join Starbucks’ U.S. operation as SVP and general manager of its CPG business.
Starting on Monday, Matta will be leading the portfolio of Starbucks-branded products – such as ground coffee, single-serve pods, tea and other beverages – outside of cafés in the U.S., namely in grocery stores and retailers with grocery offerings, such as Walmart or Costco.
“It’s been a significant growth driver for them. But also, from an industry perspective, a lot of the café players have expanded their presence within traditional channels by offering their products there,” Matta says.
Matta has been CMO at Kraft since 2013, keeping the role following its merger with Heinz last summer. He is no stranger to working in the U.S. market, having previously been VP of marketing for Frito Lay in the U.S. Prior to that, he had a number of marketing positions with Frito Lay and PepsiCo Foods, including three years as CMO for PepsiCo Foods in Canada.
Matta has also been named a strategy Marketer of the Year twice: in 2014 while he was with Kraft and in 2009 with PepsiCo.
Brian Kerr will be taking over Canadian marketing as VP and CMO at Kraft Heinz. Kerr has been with Kraft Foods since 1999, holding a variety of sales, strategic and marketing roles within the company. He was most recently VP of cheese and dairy with the company, moving into the position last summer after just over a year as VP of marketing for beverage and grocery.
“I’m very excited for the team,” Matta says. “They’re a terrific bunch of people who are going to do great things, and they have a terrific leader in Brian. I feel sad to go, but I feel really good about what they’re set up to do.”