Food Strategist & Brand Builder Joins FreshBox Farms Advisory Board

Food Strategist & Brand Builder Joins FreshBox Farms Advisory Board

Former Starbucks VP Recognized for Innovations and R&D Strategies

MILLIS, MA – June 26, 2017 – Food strategist and recognized brand builder Dr. Mary Wagner has joined FreshBox Farms’ advisory board.

Wagner, who has worked with brands including Starbucks, Mars, Taco Bell and General Mills, will be focusing on product/business development and strategy for one of the nation’s most profitable modular vertical farms.

“We are very pleased to have someone with Dr. Wagner’s experience and record of success among our advisors,” says FreshBox Farms CEO Sonia Lo. “As a Senior Vice President at Starbucks, Mary built a culture of innovation, and she is recognized for her work in food quality and safety as well as her ability to build brands and create successful strategies that foster innovation.”

FreshBox Farms uses sustainable growing enclosures that use no soil, very little water, a rigorously-tested nutrient mix and LED lighting to produce the freshest, cleanest, tastiest produce possible. FreshBox Farms’ non-GMO certified products go from harvest to the grocer’s produce section in hours, rather than days, and it is the only greens grower -- hydroponic or conventional -- in Massachusetts to be certified kosher.

“As one of only two commercial vertical farms in the US that are gross margin positive, FreshBox Farms continues to innovate and continues to be an industry leader, and we look forward to Mary’s wise counsel as we continue to be a success story in this advanced, technologically-sophisticated food industry,” says Lo.

“Indoor hydroponic farming in the US has amazing growth potential -- no pun intended,” says Wagner. “Forecasters believe that over the next 10 years, 50% of all greens will be harvested indoors through some form of hydroponic growing, and I am eager to work with Sonia and her team on research and innovation that will keep FreshBox Farms an industry leader.”

As Senior Vice President at Starbucks, Wagner was responsible for creating global food and beverage products and solutions for Starbucks and its Evolution Fresh and Teavana brands. She led the effort to create Global Centers of Excellence for R&D, Quality and Regulatory in US, Asia and Europe, with the aim of offering innovative locally relevant products in key markets outside the U.S.

She also created a “stage/gate” product development priority process that focused resources and energy on innovations that had the highest return. The result was improved time to market and an increase in more meaningful new product launches.

Wagner recently founded MK Wagner and Associates, a global food science management consulting firm that specializes in R&D strategic leadership.

About FreshBox Farms, The Thoughtful Choice

Each time consumers go shopping, they make a variety of decisions. “The Thoughtful Choice” is knowing that FreshBox Farms’ produce will always be the best option for their health, happiness, and the planet. Founded in 2013, FreshBox Farms is an entrepreneurial company with a mission of producing non-GMO certified, fresh, healthy, and pure produce for local markets through industry leading and sustainable vertical farming. Its technology and values have received global attention with interest from European, Middle Eastern and Asian markets. To learn more about FreshBox Farms, please visit www.freshboxfarms.com.