Second Nature Brands, the U.S.-based creator of premium, nutritional, and better-for-you snacks and treats, has announced the appointment of Chris Caswell as chief financial officer. 

Second Nature Brands owns a growing portfolio of brands including Kar’s Nuts, the trail mix delivering better-for-you, on-the-go fueling snacks; Second Nature Snacks, creator of natural, non-GMO-verified premium snacks, and trail mixes created for a healthy, on-the-go lifestyle; Sanders, which makes premium, small-batch, kettle-cooked sea salt caramels; and Brownie Brittle, a thin brownie snack.

Caswell brings more than 20 years of financial and operational experience to the role, including direct food and consumer industry experience, business strategy, financial and operational transformation, IT acceleration, implementation of best in class finance teams, and working with Boards and leadership teams to drive organic and acquisition-led growth. 

Prior to joining Second Nature Brands, Caswell was chief financial officer of Welch Foods Inc., where he contributed to the creation and implementation of a new long-term business strategy to drive transformative growth, profitability, and shareholder value.

Previously, Caswell worked with Clarks Americas, holding a number of senior roles, including chief financial officer and chief operational officer. Here, he led strategic planning for the company and significantly improved profitability and cash flow.  Before that, he held several leadership positions with Keurig Green Mountain Inc., Harvard University, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.  

Commenting on the appointment, Victor Mehren, CEO of Second Nature Brands, said: “We are delighted to welcome Chris to Second Nature Brands. He is a leader of the highest caliber with extensive financial and operational experience with a deep understanding of the food, snacking and retail sectors. Supported by our majority owner CapVest, we have ambitious plans to grow Second Nature Brands into a US leader in better snacks and treats and with his extensive experience and insight Chris will play a leading role in helping us realize these exciting plans.”

Caswell said: “This is a very exciting time to be joining Second Nature Brands and I look forward to working with Victor and the team to build on their successes to date. Supported by such a strong and experienced owner, we have a great opportunity to grow the company and gain market share and I’m excited about helping build the Second Nature Brands Snacks and Treats platform organically and through strategic acquisitions.”