NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NotCo, the fast-growing food tech company valued at $1.5 billion with a first-of-its-kind patented A.I. technology named Giuseppe, announced that Fernando Machado, one of the most well-respected marketers in the world, will be joining the company as its Chief Marketing Officer in April.
Machado is a brilliant global marketer with a passion for growing brands and businesses. He is best known for pushing the creative boundaries to drive business growth and has been awarded with several coveted industry accolades.
Prior to joining NotCo, Machado spent two years as CMO of Activision Blizzard, one of the world’s most successful interactive entertainment and gaming companies. Preceding his time at Activision Blizzard, Machado served as CMO for seven years at Restaurant Brands International (RBI). His work for Burger King and Popeyes turned heads and won multiple industry awards while catapulting these brands to new echelons of cultural relevancy and business growth. Machado began his impressive career as an intern at Unilever, where he worked on various brands over the course of his 18-year tenure, last serving as Global Brand Development VP for Dove.
“I first met Fernando when he reached out to me years ago to say he liked the work we were doing. The reality was, we were big fans of the work he was doing! So, when the opportunity presented itself, we decided to join forces,” said NotCo co-founder and CEO, Matias Muchnick. “Our mission from the beginning has been to create a more sustainable world and transform the food industry by creating truly delicious plant-based foods. Fernando’s pedigree speaks for itself, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to our leadership team. We’re confident that his ingenuity and passion for our mission will help accelerate our journey.”
Machado’s hire comes on the heels of a successful round of funding last December to fuel NotCo’s new B2B Unit. The new platform was created as a way to enable other CPG brands, ingredient suppliers, and technology providers to leverage Giuseppe for their own innovation purposes and exponentially accelerate the transformation of the plant-based industry. NotCo has already demonstrated success in licensing its patented tech through a joint venture with Kraft Heinz (The Kraft Heinz Not Company) that is already starting to launch several products in the U.S. market.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the world’s most beloved brands and am incredibly excited to now apply my creativity and decades of experience to the NotCo team,” said Machado. “I’ve been a huge fan of the brand and its unique tech since it launched in the US a few years ago. The products are incredible, but I also believe wholeheartedly in what NotCo is working to achieve in the world. The culture of dreaming big and enacting real change that Matias and the other leaders have built is admirable, and I’m truly looking forward to further propelling NotCo’s growth through cutting edge and creative marketing.”
Beyond its exponential growth, NotCo is best known for revolutionizing the plant-based space through its proprietary technology, which holds 12 patents in the U.S. for its ability to recreate the same experience (taste, texture, functionality, and even smell) of animal-based foods, using only plant-based ingredients. In 2019, the then early-stage Chilean startup caught the attention of the international tech community when it became the first investment of Bezos Expeditions in Latin America. Since then, NotCo has been on an upward trajectory, transforming the food industry and the plant-based food segment, forming international partnerships with Burger King, Shake Shack, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, and attracting celebrity investors like Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton and Questlove.
NotCo’s portfolio, including NotMilk™, NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ can be found in over 10,000 stores in the U.S. including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Stop & Shop, Kroger, Fresh Market, Imperfect Foods, Amazon and more. Disrupting multiple categories across 10 countries simultaneously, NotCo has experienced staggering success in Latin America, where the company has become the fastest-growing food tech company offering superior tasting plant-based products across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and more.
About NotCo
NotCo is an industry-changing, fast-growth food tech leader and the only global company disrupting massive food and beverage segments including dairy, eggs, and meat simultaneously. NotCo has launched products including NotMilk™, NotBurger™, NotMeat™, NotIceCream™, NotChicken™ and NotMayo™ across countries including the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay and in less than three years became the fastest-growing food tech company in Latin America. NotCo utilizes a proprietary artificial intelligence technology, Giuseppe, which matches animal proteins to their ideal replacements among thousands of plant-based ingredients. Its one-of-a-kind technology enables NotCo to be a powering tool for food and beverage innovation partnering with other companies to accelerate the transformation of the food industry. For more information, please visit www.notco.com.
