Rising Stars 2023: Boller, Merlen, Roberts, and Schmid
For the fourth consecutive year, Store Brands is celebrating those under the age of 40 who are rising through the ranks in the world of private label.
The past year has once again offered a host of challenges that required leadership along with new ways of thinking. From inflation to labor shortages and the need for additional manufacturing capacity, product suppliers and retailers alike are adapting to the new, ever-changing landscape. This year’s Rising Stars list offers insight into how a new crop of young talent in private label are pushing forward and continuing to innovate.
Today’s profiles include Jessica Boller of Kroger, Nicolas Merlen of Chocmod USA, Kyle Roberts of Associated Wholesale Grocers, and Ali Schmid of Thrive Market.
Jessica Boller
The Kroger Co.
Senior Category Strategy Manager
Seen by colleagues as a leader who empowers, coaches and mentors her team, Jessica Boller works to develop Kroger’s Our Brands strategies and plans that drive growth across the fresh meat department. She leads her team to map customer, food, global and behavioral trends across multiple categories to influence product development pipeline plans across Our Brands and the broader organization.
Lauded as an excellent problem solver, communicator and collaborator, Boller has worked to build solid processes to improve quality and speed to market, adjust and evolve those processes over time, as well as train and coach a cross functional team on how the process flows. Working daily to create a culture of connectivity, empathy and empowerment, she keeps her team focused on executing with excellence and ensures new products are launched on time and successfully.
Boller is also able to easily pivot when changes occur, works with her team to find new ways of working, and inspires her team. She is consistently a 'go to' for the team when they have questions, need advice or need help moving something forward. Co-workers said her leadership is immensely valued.
Nicolas Merlen
Chocmod USA
National Sales Manager
As a national sales manager, Nicolas Merlen manages multiple account relationships for Chocmod, a French chocolate truffle company that specializes in private label. In this role, he has excelled working with top retailers on private brand chocolate candy items, while earning praise for his attitude and enthusiasm for business and communication savvy.
In 2023, he led the development of 26 own-brand SKUs and started business relationships with eight new retailers. Merlen worked directly with the two company plants, Chocmod France and Chocmod Canada, to innovate and come up with new products.
Merlen is solution oriented with an “above and beyond” attitude. He likes to be involved in every step of the process, making sure the programs are getting delivered in full and on time.
Kyle Roberts
Associated Wholesale Grocers
Private Brand Specialist
In his role at Associated Wholesale Grocers, Kyle Roberts helps the company drive progress when it comes to private brands by analyzing data to help fuel sales. With a background in space planning, Roberts has been able to provide valuable insights into assortment, market voids and product execution while working closely with retailers to identify and create action plans.
Using sales and market data to optimize assortments, he has led several projects to improve private label assortment across center store categories. He also led a project to increase holiday orders for floor ready displays where possible. By utilizing sales data, he was able to determine the proper locations for incremental display, which will increase sales, decrease out-of-stocks and drive margin.
In addition to being praised as an effective communicator and driven leader, work at AWG is personal for Roberts. He said it is a privilege to be “carrying the torch” for his father, who worked at AWG for 19 years and recently retired. Looking ahead, he added that he wants to continue expanding the company’s product assortment of private label and pass value onto consumers.
Ali Schmid
Thrive Market
Product Innovator, Food
Ali Schmid came to Thrive Market with five years of purchasing experience, and during her two-year tenure, she has already had a large impact on the online retailer’s private label assortment.
She has upleveled the Snacks category by re-sourcing several owned brand SKUs and filled big white space opportunities by prioritizing the largest revenue drivers while keeping Thrive’s members and its mission in mind. Some of the private label snacks that have seen the most gains under Schmid’s leadership include sustainable products like regenerative dried mango, sprouted trail mix and rolled out and oat flours. She also focused on adding regenerative sources to Thrive’s private label mango, pecan and Brazil nut SKUs.
In February, Schmid said she visited several suppliers in Kenya to witness regenerative farming practices and toured mango, avocado and macadamia nut farms. She described this experience as “life-changing,” and said that in 2024, she plans to find ways to partner with others in the CPG industry who share goals around health and sustainability.