Sol Cuisine Welcomes Three Veteran CPG and Retail Business Leaders to its Board of Directors

• Sol Cuisine’s board of directors is now comprised of a majority of independent female directors.
• Mary Dalimonte retired as the SVP of Merchandising and Commercial Programs for Sobeys Inc. and brings over 40 years of experience in retail grocery to the Company’s board.
• Beena Goldenberg is a proven CPG leader with over 30 years of experience, including 15 years with Hain-Celestial Canada, where she oversaw brands including Yves Veggie Cuisine.
• Lisa Swartzman is an accomplished senior executive with 25+ years of experience. Ms. Swartzman is the former president of AirBoss of America Corp. and spent 15+ years in senior roles with George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 27, 2021 /CNW/ – Sol Cuisine Ltd. (“Sol Cuisine” or the “Company”) (TSXV: VEG) a growth-oriented North American plant-based protein leader, would like to welcome Ms. Mary Dalimonte, Ms. Beena Goldenberg and Ms. Lisa Swartzman to the Company’s board of directors effective upon closing of the Company’s qualifying transaction on May 19, 2021. All three are highly experienced professionals with proven track records of success in CPG and consumer retail. The new additions join Chairman Mike Fata, who has a 20+ year history in natural products, including as the founder and CEO of Manitoba Harvest, and Dror Balshine, founder and President of Sol Cuisine.

Mike Fata, Chairman of the Board of Sol Cuisine commented, “I would like to personally welcome Ms. Swartzman, Ms. Dalimonte and Ms. Goldenberg to Sol Cuisine’s board of directors. All three bring proven long-term track records of building successful organizations within the CPG and retail food distribution sectors to Sol Cuisine. This experience will both establish a strong governance foundation as the Company begins its public journey and ensure that management has direct access to some of the best talent available in the industry. It also represents a key milestone aligned with the Company’s commitment to gender equality and representation – Sol Cuisine’s board of directors is now comprised of a majority of independent female directors. We are confident that the seasoned and diverse viewpoints of Ms. Swartzman, Ms. Dalimonte and Ms. Goldenberg will help guide the strategy as the Company continues to leverage early leadership in the plant-based protein sector, into further growth and value creation for shareholders.”

Mary Dalimonte

Mary Dalimonte retired as the Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Commercial Programs for Sobeys Inc., a leading Canadian grocery retailer and food distributor, and is currently engaged as a highly sought-after consultant to the CPG industry. Ms. Dalimonte joined Sobeys in 2008 as the General Manager of Sobeys Urban Fresh, was subsequently appointed to Vice President of Private Label and, in 2012, was promoted to Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Commercial Programs. In this capacity, she led the strategic plans and drove the development and execution of customer-focused, market-leading innovations and new store concept designs for Sobeys’ Full-Service banners across Canada. Prior to joining Sobeys Inc., Ms. Dalimonte held a variety of progressively senior retail management roles at Loblaw Supermarkets Ltd.

With over 40 years of achievement in the retail grocery industry, Ms. Dalimonte’s expertise spans Merchandising, Multi Banner Operations, Private Label, Innovation Development and Process Management, Governance, New Store Concept Development and Design and has been an active Board member across a number of businesses and organizations.

Beena Goldenberg

Beena Goldenberg is a proven business leader with over 30 years of experience in CPG and a background in marketing and manufacturing. Presently, the President and CEO of Supreme Cannabis, Ms. Goldenberg has extensive experience managing brands and operations within the Canadian CPG sector in companies including Parmalat, Ronzoni Foods and Pillsbury Canada.

Prior to joining Supreme Cannabis, Ms. Goldenberg was tasked with leading Hain-Celestial Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN) here she strategically grew the company through innovation, increased distribution, and acquisitions. During her 15-years at Hain-Celestial Canada, Ms. Goldenberg managed a portfolio of over 15 brands, including organic and plant-based brands – most notably the Yves Veggie Cuisine brand.

Ms. Goldenberg has served on the Board of Food and Consumer Products of Canada, the largest CPG industry association, and currently serves on the Board of prominent plant-based food companies such as The Better Meat Company and Portland Plant Foods.

Lisa Swartzman

Working both directly at a Senior Executive level as well as in advisory roles, Lisa Swartzman is an accomplished senior executive with 25-plus years of experience in manufacturing, consumer products, retail and healthcare. She has extensive experience providing strategic direction and operational oversight, with a proven track record of driving positive organizational change in complex, regulated environments operating in North America and Europe.

Ms. Swartzman currently operates BGO Advisory which provides strategic advisory and turnaround management expertise to small and mid-market privately held and publicly traded companies, with a specific focus on business transformation, evaluating potential M&A and raising capital. Prior to BGO Advisory, Ms. Swartzman was President of AirBoss of America Corp. (TSX: BOS), a multi-divisional manufacturing organization with a highly technical and diverse portfolio and facilities in Canada, the US and Asia. Ms. Swartzman also spent 15+ years with George Weston Limited/Loblaw Companies Limited where she held progressively more senior positions, including 6 years as Vice President, Treasurer.

For more details, visit Sol Cuisine’s IR website at: investors.solcuisine.com or contact the IR team at investors@solcuisine.com.  

About Sol Cuisine Ltd.

Sol Cuisine is the publicly traded parent company of Sol Cuisine Inc. following the completion of its “qualifying transaction” on May 19, 2021. Sol Cuisine is a fast-growing producer of branded, consumer-preferred plant-based protein offerings across key center-of-plate and appetizer categories. The Company’s products are offered through an established omni-channel distribution platform in Canada and the U.S. and are available in over 11,000 stores and more than 41,000 unique points of distribution. Over a history of 20+ years, Sol Cuisine has consistently demonstrated an ability to innovate and delight consumers in Canada and the U.S., while remaining true to its commitment to producing great tasting products that are nutritionally superior both to meat-based offerings and to competitive plant-based products. This commitment has resulted in several Canadian product wins, including the #1 frozen plant-based burger in Canada, the #1 consumer-preferred chicken alternative and the #1 quality roast product as determined by Whole Foods Market. The Company’s taste and nutritional superiority has also resulted in private label contracts with some of the most recognized natural brands in North America. These products are all produced at Sol Cuisine’s two state of the art facilities, totaling 35,000 square foot facility in Mississauga, Ontario, capable of supporting up to 10 million kilograms of volume per annum.

For more details on Sol Cuisine’s consumer brands:
Website: www.solcuisine.com
Instagram: @solcuisine
Facebook: @solcuisine
Twitter: @solcuisine
LinkedIn: @solcuisine

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws regarding the Company and its business. Often but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “expect”, “intends”, “anticipated”, “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of the management of each entity, and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Although the management believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, including risks regarding the size of the industry, the growth of the market for the Company’s products, the rate and quantity of production at the Company’s facilities, market conditions, economic factors, management’s ability to manage and to operate the business of the Company and the equity markets generally. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed, approved, or disapproved the content of this news release.

John Flanagan
Chief Executive Officer
905-502-8500 SOURCE Sol Cuisine Ltd.