Harvest Food Group (HFG), a Naperville, Illinois-based co-packer, supplier and distributor of frozen food products and ingredients, has named consumer packaged goods veteran Amit Pandhi as its new president and chief executive officer. He brings a wealth of expertise to the job, having most recently served as chief executive officer of Popchips.
Within a span of just three years, Pandhi oversaw the construction of a state of the art manufacturing facility, devised innovative market strategies, and effectively doubled the business. Popchips achieved a successful sale to a strategic acquirer in Q4 2022 under his leadership. Prior to Popchips, Pandhi served as the president and chief executive officer of Arctic Zero, a faba bean-based frozen dessert company.
“HFG is a rare case study of success in all frozen food categories, including branded, private label, foodservice, co-manufacturing, and ingredients. With Amit’s proven track record of driving growth and innovation in the food space, his guidance will undoubtedly propel HFG to new heights,” said Norman Young, chairman of HFG.
As a major supplier of frozen ingredients in North America, Harvest Food Group offers hundreds of high quality IQF vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes and herbs sourced from around the world. Investments from Industrial Opportunity Partners, which purchased HFG in May of 2023, have scaled up the company’s manufacturing capabilities, including vertical and horizontal bagging lines that form, fill and seal; a bulk packing line that converts case sizes; a state of the art bowl line that will fill, seal and carton all types of meals; and a specialized cup line that produces convenient, grab-and-go frozen and refrigerated items.
“I also look forward to deepening our relationships with existing customers, from the largest retailers and best global food companies, as well as serving the most innovative emerging brands in frozen,” said Pandhi.