Bob Burke
As a consultant since 1998, Bob Burke provides assistance in bringing natural, organic and specialty products to market across most classes of trade. This includes work in strategic planning, growth strategies, writing sales, marketing and business plans, budgeting, pricing, building distribution, broker selection and management, organizational development, strategic options, branding and trade spending management. He is also the co-author and co-publisher of the Natural Products Field Manual, Fourth Edition and The Sales Manager’s Handbook. Prior to consulting, Bob was with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt for 11 years as Vice President, Sales & Corporate Development and Vice President, Marketing & Sales. He has held marketing positions with Colombo, Inc. and Sperry Top-Sider. He received an MBA from Babson College.
Clients: Have had the privilege of working with and learning from exciting companies such as: Annie’s Homegrown, Oregon Chai, Snyder’s of Hanover, United Natural Foods, No Pudge!, Kraft Foods, Bayer Consumer Care Division, ConAgra, Kellogg’s, General Mills, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Kettle Cuisine, Small Planet Foods, New Hope Natural Media, Bushes Beans, Equal Exchange, Nantucket Offshore/Stirrings, Immaculate Baking, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, Dancing Deer Bakery, The Natural Dentist, Rice Select, EcoFish, PMO Wildwood, S.C. Johnson, Blake’s All Natural Foods, Megafood/BioSan, Mighty Leaf Tea, Lesser Evil Snack Co., Theo Chocolate, The Jane Goodall Institute, Kashi, Project 7, Vermont Butter and Cheese, Yoghund, Bord Bia, American Halal, Orgain, Turtle Island, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Bauch + Lomb, Boehringer Ingleheim, Harbar, LLC, Pfizer, Heel USA, and others.
He currently serves as an outside director for Stonyfield Farm, EcoFish, Nutrabella, and American Halal. He serves on the advisory boards of Galaxy Nutritional Foods, Theo Chocolate, and Runa LLC. He is a former director of Equal Exchange, Stirrings, LLC, Pulmuone-Wildwood and the NASFT (National Association for the Specialty Food Trade). He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Nutrition Business Journal. He is also on the board of directors of the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Bob was named one of the “Top 25 Business Builders of the Natural Products Industry for the last 25 years” by Natural Foods Merchandiser Magazine.
Bob has been qualified as an expert witness in federal court on the subject of the sales and marketing of natural, organic and specialty products.
Bob has delivered presentations, seminars and moderated panels at leading trade shows and conferences such as Natural Products Expo East & West, The NASFT’s Winter and Summer Fancy Food Shows, OTA’s “All Things Organic Trade Show and Conference”, Natural Products Europe in London, Bord Bia in Dublin, Canadian Consulate in Boston, Kosherfest in New York, The Soyfoods Conference, Agrifood Trade Services in Nova Scotia, Saskatoon and Quebec and has been a featured trainer and speaker at Management Venture Institute forums. He is also a presenter and panelist at the Stonyfield Entrepreneurial Institute Boot Camp. He authored the NASFT’s White Paper on Trade Promotion.
Bob also runs full day seminars on “Becoming a more Effective Sales Manager in the Natural and Specialty Channel” and “Financing your Natural and Specialty Products Company.”
Rick McKelvey
Rick brings over twenty years proven experience within the natural products industry. He currently serves as President of The Natural Pasta Company/ dba Putney Pasta. Prior to Putney, he was Director of Sales for Fairfield Farm Kitchens where he spent five years launching over 40 frozen organic entrees and fresh organic soups. Under Rick’s guidance the company emerged as the #1 national brand of organic meat based entrees and organic fresh soup with annual sales of $6 million. Fairfield Farm Kitchens was sold to Blue Marble Foods, the branded division of United Natural Foods, Inc.
The bulk of Rick’s career was spent as Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Lightlife Foods, Inc. He joined the husband and wife-run business as its first Sales Manager at less than $1 million in sales. Rick’s creation and implementation of growth plans resulted in the profitable expansion of sales to $25 million, and eventual sale to Con Agra Foods. Under Rick’s leadership, Lightlife emerged as the number one fresh meatless company (vegetarian hot dogs, luncheon “meats,” sausages, etc.), with nationwide distribution through natural product outlets. Rick also successfully navigated the “cross-over” of the brand into the supermarket trade nationally; becoming the top-selling fresh meatless brand in the U.S. Rick also led the company’s efforts in developing Lightlife’s food service, private label, and international business.
Rick has served on the board, and as a past President, of the Soyfoods Association of North America, and in the community as board member of the local Y.M.C.A. and Sr. Warden of St. James Episcopal Church. Rick is also co-founder with Bob of the G.E.N.A. Group and holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He lives in the small country town of Conway, MA, where he loves to work around his home and spend time with his wife of 20 years, Lynn, and his children, Matthew and Meaghan.