Tropical Cheese, a premier producer of Hispanic dairy and refrigerated foods, announced today the appointment of Ian McBride as vice president of sales for National Accounts.
The move signals an aggressive push by the Perth Amboy-based company to expand its presence in major grocery, mass, and club channels across the United States. McBride joins the leadership team during a period of rapid scaling, following the company’s recent acquisition of Cibao Meat Products.
McBride arrives at Tropical Cheese with a reputation for driving double-digit growth within large-format retail segments. Most recently, he led the Large Format customer segment for KIND, where he managed relationships with major U.S. grocery and natural channel retailers.
His professional background includes high-level sales and customer leadership roles at several global consumer packaged goods (CPG) powerhouses:
- Amplify Snacks/Hershey
- Mars Wrigley
- ConAgra
“Ian’s experience leading large customer accounts and implementing cross-functional commercial strategies will be critical at this point in our growth journey,” Vic Mehren, CEO of Tropical Cheese said. “His ability to turn strategy into simple, executable plans will help us unlock the full potential of our brands.”
Tropical Cheese, founded in 1982, has long been a category leader in the Eastern U.S. Now backed by Avance Investment Management and AUA Private Equity, the company is focused on transforming from a regional favorite into a national Hispanic refrigerated foods platform.
McBride noted that the brand’s deep-rooted loyalty among Hispanic and Caribbean consumers provides a unique “runway for expansion.”
“I am looking forward to… helping our customers expand their offerings in the Hispanic refrigerated foods category,” McBride said. “There is a clear runway for expansion.”
McBride’s hiring is part of a broader talent acquisition strategy at Tropical Cheese. He joins recently appointed Chief Growth Officer Ivonne Balsinde in sharpening the company’s go-to-market capabilities.
With an integrated network that includes direct-store delivery (DSD), Tropical Cheese is positioning itself to be the primary provider for retailers looking to satisfy the increasing mainstream demand for authentic Hispanic dairy and meat products.
