Fresh food producer Bakkavor has fresh new CEO

Prepared foods manufacturer Bakkavor has a new chief executive officer.

Peter Laport has been named president and CEO of the Charlotte-based company; he’s been with the organization since 2020.

Bakkavor supplies more than  5,500 varieties of packaged meals for private label and branded products at key retailers and foodservice operators throughout the United States. Items include sandwiches, hummus and dips, pizza, bread and more.

The focus is on fresh, convenient and healthy foods, and Laport said he’s looking for the company to see significant growth in the next three to five years.

“I’m energized to build upon the momentum set by my U.S. predecessor and collaborate with Agust Gudmundsson in the U.K. to expand our reach, bring new product concepts to retail and foodservice customers, and reinforce Bakkavor as both a best-in-class global employer and provider of convenient farm-to-fork cuisine,” he said.

Laport comes to the company from Revlon, where he served as chief supply chain officer and executive vice president for the company. He helped transform the company’s global supply chain and manufacturing operations that supported 150 countries. He’s also worked for Ready Pac Foods/Bonduelle Fresh Americas as its chief operating officer. The company is a maker of fresh prepared salads. Lastly, he worked in supply chain at PepsiCo and Nestle, leading the global supply chain for Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream.

“Bakkavor USA is in a good position, but I believe we have the opportunity to get better every single day by empowering and equipping our leaders at all levels of the business to drive us forward by executing at an extremely high standard,” Laport said. “We flawlessly balance premium with healthy convenience and I’m optimistic about our goals for identifying more geographies around the country for our fresh prepared meals."