NEW YORK — Better Choice Company announced Jan. 4 it has appointed Scott Lerner as chief executive officer. Lerner succeeds Werner von Pein, previous chief executive officer who joined the company following its acquisition of Halo, Purely for Pets in December 2019.

Lerner brings more than 20 years of consumer-packaged goods experience to his new role. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Farmhouse Culture, a health and wellness food brand.

“We are extremely pleased to announce that our search for the right CEO has culminated in us hiring Mr. Scott Lerner,” said Michael Young, chairman of Better Choice Company’s board of directors. “Scott is a former United States Marine Corps Officer and extremely successful consumer-packaged goods industry veteran who brings to Better Choice Company an incredible track record of building successful brands while expanding stakeholder value.”

Lerner previously managed iconic brands under PepsiCo, ConAgra Foods and Kimberly-Clark. In 2008, Lerner founded his own beverage brand, Solixir, which he sold in 2014. After selling Solixir, he joined VMG Partners, a private equity group, as chief executive officer of Kernel Season’s, where he helped increase profitability by 30%, launch new product lines and eventually sell the company to Highlander Partners.

“This transition comes at exactly the right time for Better Choice Company as we have now successfully integrated our brands and look to continue to deliver on our plan to be a major player in the burgeoning animal health and wellness sector,” Young continued. “On behalf of the Board of Directors we wish to thank Werner von Pein for his incredible leadership and support.”

Lerner added, “I am excited and thankful for the opportunity to join what I believe is an incredibly well positioned company in one of the fastest growing market segments, and to be able to lead Better Choice through the next phases of its stated mission to provide alternative, nutrition-based pet products and services that help dogs and cats live healthier, happier and longer lives.

“As both a consumer products expert and a pet-parent, the pet food industry is undergoing many of the same changes that I successfully navigated at Farmhouse Culture and other food brands in the past,” he said. “…I look forward towards building programs that will showcase Halo and TruPet’s natural and functional benefits, while also focusing on new product innovation that meets and exceeds the ever-changing consumer needs.”

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.