Better Sour taps CPG industry veteran as SVP of sales

Better Sour has announced the appointment of longtime CPG veteran Steve Wangler as its SVP of sales. Wangler brings more than four decades of experience in CPG, most recently as VP of sales at The Good Crisp Company.

Wangler joins Better Sour during an impressive period of growth for the young, MENA (Middle Eastern & North African)-led company that lifelong Iranian American best friends, Bella Hughes, a repeat CPG founder, who most recently led Shaka Tea through an exit, and Semira Nikou, a former attorney, launched in 2023. Better Sour celebrates vibrant tart fruit flavors from around the world in low-sugar and vegan gummy candy.

“We could not be more excited to welcome Steve to our team as our SVP of sales. He brings deep expertise on all things CPG and growing early-stage brands thoughtfully and strategically across channels from Natural to MULO. May marks our first anniversary in retail and we’ve seen an incredible data story for our emerging brand across both channels over the last 12 months. We know Steve will be an invaluable leader as we continue to scale and enter the next stage of growth” shares Nikou, CEO and co-founder.

Better Sour entered retail in May 2023, launching initially in only nine Erewhon doors before expanding into 1,500 doors in 2024, including Central Market, The Fresh Market, Target, Town & Country, Shoprite, Fresh Thyme, Ralphs, Foodland, and Amazon. Inspired by the founders’ shared Iranian heritage and upbringing in Hawaiʻi, Better Sour is the first gummy that’s tart from within and is 100% plant-based, with only 60 calories and three grams of sugar, and is made with natural ingredients that are free from sugar alcohols, artificial colors, or flavoring. The product is available in two mixed-bag SKUs with flavors, like guava, calamansi lime, ume and pomegranate, apricot, and plum; a third SKU, passionfruit, will be debuting in retail later this year.

One year into retail, in the non-chocolate gummy candy set, Better Sour is the #1 contributor to growth in the Natural channel, according to SPINS, driving 26.9% of all category growth over the last 52 weeks, which speaks to the rising interest in global flavors for American shoppers, heritage-rich brands, and consumer interest in low sugar offerings. Low sugar candy in SPINS holds only 38% of the share, yet the category is driving +60% of growth, spearheading innovation amongst gummy candy.

“I’ve known Bella since the early days of Shaka Tea. Better Sour has already established a strong velocity story in year one, by the time we were recently chatting about sales strategy. Being a data geek and a big Bella Hughes fan got me thinking maybe I could be part of another brand’s journey. I’m compelled to join Bella, Semira and the team because I see the opportunity as very real, with deep consumer appeal. Excited to jump back in,” shares Wangler.

Better Sour has been busy growing their team. Late last year, the company welcomed Aaron Faust, as director of sales, who previously was the director of sales & business development at Spinster Sisters Co. and national sales director at Picaflor Live-Culture. This month, in addition to welcoming Wangler, Scott Compton also joins the team, as the head of sales operations & special projects. Compton most recently served as head of sales at Awakened Foods, previously holding roles at Shaka Tea and as the founder of JOON Kombucha.