HIPPEAS™ Organic Chickpea Puffs announced the growth of its internal brand team with three significant executive level hires. Led by CPG veteran Joe Serventi, who has been appointed general manager, HIPPEAS has invested in expanding its sales force nationwide with the addition of Josh Francis as cice president of sales and Luke Ledyard as director of sales. In these roles, Serventi, Francis and Ledyard will be responsible for driving cross-channel distribution among traditional, natural and club retailers, and growing revenue in the United States. 
 
Prior to joining HIPPEAS, Serventi served as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at barkTHINS, where he built out the larger organization and infrastructure while establishing the disruptive snack brand in the competitive marketplace. As a key member of the executive team, Serventi drove 775% revenue growth, culminating in the company’s sale to Hershey’s. Before barkTHINS, Serventi was an instrumental member of the Pirate Brands senior management team, where he revitalized the stagnant brand and quadrupled sales.
 
Former colleagues of Serventi at Pirates Brands, Francis and Ledyard come together to reunite the dream team of sales and business development. Before joining HIPPEAS and following Pirates Brands, Francis acted as the Director of Business Development at Babyganics and Ledyard held the role of Director of National Accounts at Cookie Chips and Director of Sales, East at KRAVE Jerky.
  
Following its launch in July 2016 with Starbucks, the bright yellow bag with the chickpea smile is officially taking over the grocery aisle. With presence in over 18,500 doors, HIPPEAS can now be found at premium retailers including Whole Foods, Wegman’s, HEB, Shaw’s and Central Market, and has recently secured distribution in Kroger.