Brazi Bites, a U.S. producer of naturally gluten-free Brazilian-style cheese bread, announced that Michael Guanella has joined the company as CEO. In his new role, Guanella will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s operations, including overseeing the brand’s rapid retail growth and new product launches.

“This year Brazi Bites has continued its rapid growth and we knew that bringing on a qualified CEO would be extremely beneficial as we evolve the brand into a better-for-you Latin Foods platform,” said Junea Rocha, co-founder of Brazi Bites. “Michael's wealth of knowledge and experience in the food industry will be instrumental to the continued growth of Brazi Bites. He has an impressive track record of rapidly growing authentic food brands while keeping the company’s culture intact.” 

Prior to joining Brazi Bites, Guanella was the president of Justin's where he led the brand to become an industry leader in the nut butter and confection space. Guanella joined Justin's from Hormel Foods, where he was a key member of the team that led the acquisition of Justin's. He was a Senior Brand Manager at Hormel where he oversaw the Skippy Peanut Butter brand as well as had sales and marketing roles across multiples brands in the shelf-stable and refrigerated categories.

“From the very beginning, my family and I have been big fans of Brazi Bites and I'm thrilled to be part of a revolutionizing brand and an incredibly passionate team,” said Guanella. “Junea and Cameron have built a phenomenal product that consumers are excited about and I look forward to continuing to build a larger platform where Brazi Bites will quickly accelerate as the leading better-for-you Latin American frozen foods brand.”