Our Story
“If you look at our history, being a vehicle for the greater good has been the ethos of this company.”
– Brian Griffith, Owner and Executive Chairman
Action follows purpose. Collaboration leads to innovation. And more often than not, the future you can envision is the future you can make a reality. This was certainly true in 1919 when Enoch Luther (E.L.) Griffith, a Chicago salesman, and his son Carroll Ladd (C.L.) Griffith, a pharmacologist, took the first bold steps toward improving America’s food industry. The Griffiths’ aim was to introduce food science to the food industry. Why? Because they believed they could improve food safety while creating healthier, better-tasting food.
Fast forward four generations and a century later, and it’s the same purpose-driven approach that continues to guide Griffith Foods today, and for the next 100 years
Our Founding
At a time when the nation’s food supply couldn’t be trusted, Enoch Luther (E.L.) Griffith and Carroll Ladd (C.L.) Griffith recognized the need to introduce food science to the food industry through personal customer relationships. Thus began the storefront start of the company at 429 W. 79th Street in Chicago.
North American Growth
On May 14, 1929, Griffith’s first company outside of the United States was established in Toronto under the leadership of E.L. Griffith’s nephews, Maurice and Luther Rector. Griffith introduces specialty flours, liquid seasonings, and imports German Prague Salt, which dramatically reduced the required curing times for ham, bacon, and sausage.
Product Development
Working to create safer, healthier and better-tasting food, Griffith utilized innovative technologies and processes to enhance the taste and safety of food products while reducing cost and speeding up production – developing Prague Powder “The Safe Fast Cure”, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, an essential and affordable building block of flavor, antioxidant seasonings and more.
Going Global
Then, as now, Griffith grew by helping its customers grow – expanding its product line and services with ingredients and technology made to assure dependable flavor, texture, and quality. E.L.’s grandson, Dean L. Griffith joins the company and pioneers a global spirit to adapt and meet the needs of the cultures we serve.
Increasing Innovation
Following new operations in South America, Europe, and Asia in the 1960s and 1970s, Dean Griffith restructured the company in 1978 to preserve its global footprint. Further pushes for improvement involved collaboration between culinary teams and food scientists, allowing Griffith to expand within the food industry.
Unit Paks offer processors and foodservice operations optimized batching and back-of-house efficiencies. Griffith Foods introduces HVP flavor extensions, Flava Glaze for BBQ, authentic liquid blends, and unique coating systems with increased durability and functionality in baked and fried applications.
Purposeful Evolution
By acquiring new companies, creating a new division, and further developing its core capabilities, the company blended together diverse approaches and points of view to help customers grow. Griffith acquired Custom Culinary® in 1991 to expand its soup, base, sauce, and gravy offerings, then launched its Innova®Flavors division in 1997, which greatly diversified its catalog of customizable natural flavorings, pastes, and marinades
Two new, state-of-the-art Culinary Centers are opened at the Alsip headquarters and in Europe to provide customers with additional product development resources. Custom Culinary® is acquired and Innova®, a manufacturer of savory flavors, is established. New facilities are built in Brazil, Southern China, and South Korea.
Built for Success
Griffith’s sustainability platform has been a key driver of change looking toward the future.
By following the four strategic thrusts – shared value, leverage technology, partner ecosystems, and health and nutrition – a positive impact has been made through endeavors like the Griffith Sustainably Sourced (GSS) program and clean-label products. These initiatives are both a validation of Griffith Foods’ past successes and an essential step in our continuing push to blend care and creativity to nourish the world.
Griffith Foods acquires a liquids facility focused on the production of sauces and soups. New manufacturing units are built in Mexico, India, and Northern China. Additional culinary centers are constructed within targeted facilities throughout the world. In 2019, the company launches TEROVA™, a supplier of sustainably sourced and superior spices, herbs, botanicals, and innovative ingredients, in order to scale sustainable sourcing efforts.
A New Era
Today, the world is Griffith Foods’ market. Its central pursuit builds on its legacy of blending care and creativity to nourish the world. Countless global partners rely on the company for seasonings, spices, coatings, sauces, and more, while its sustainability efforts support local and regional food ecosystems around the world.
Our Values
Born from our purpose, our values are at the heart of everything we do.
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Make the Future Better
We are optimistic and courageous while making choices in pursuit of our dreams. Sustainability informs our curiosity, imagination, and innovation. We are passionate about leaving our planet a better place for future generations. We believe the best is yet to come.
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Work Together Globally
We recognize our diversity creates a unique strength, and we learn from our colleagues and partners globally. By collaborating, communicating, sharing, and learning, we create better together.
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Behave like Owners
We are passionate about creating long-term value. We believe that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and strive to make a difference. We trust each other and treat talent as a valuable resource. We believe in strategic risk-taking and in doing the right thing, especially when it is hard to do.
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Build Customer Success
Recognizing that our success depends on our customers’ success, we work to create value and ensure success by understanding, anticipating and prioritizing customer needs. We build a mutual commitment to derive sustainable long-term value.
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Deliver Results
We take personal responsibility for meeting our commitments. We are focused on achieving objectives aligned to our triple bottom line of people, planet, and performance. We execute with excellence, measure results, and reward success.
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Act like Family
We are a caring family company where everyone has the opportunity to grow, follow their own personal “Purpose” and find fulfillment in their work. We support each other and demonstrate mutual respect. We nourish people’s well-being – physical, mental, and financial.
Our Family of Companies
Griffith Foods is a global product development partner specializing in food ingredients from seasoning and sauces to breadings, coatings, flavors, bakery products, and more.
Custom Culinary® specializes in providing foodservice and food processing professionals with real, authentic branded and proprietary culinary flavor systems.
TEROVA serves modern society with premium, sustainable ingredients, and products grown with a farmer first approach and full traceability.
Nourish Ventures is a strategic partner to new ventures, accelerating their ability to scale and grow, focused on creating the food system of the future – delicious, nutritious, sustainable.
Joint Ventures
Join Our Family
When you join Griffith Foods, you are not only joining our family, you are joining a community of change-makers. At Griffith Foods, you are encouraged and empowered to make meaningful contributions and discover innovative solutions. Learn more about our career opportunities and join us on our journey to nourish the world.
Our Leadership
We believe in leading by example. Connected by a shared purpose, our leaders are committed to the well-being of every Griffith Foods employee, while maintaining responsible stewardship of the People, Planet, and Performance.
Wim van Roekel
President, North AmericaWim van Roekel joined Griffith Foods in 2017 after spending 21 years with global food ingredients companies across the globe. Wim currently leads the North American business, having previously led our European team for 4 years.
“Agility and continuous differentiation are critically important for complex business in North America. By living our purpose, we enjoy the daily challenge of supporting our customers in the exciting North American marketplace. Our team provides creative culinary solutions through close collaborations with partners and customers in our value chain, adding value to their businesses. I’m both proud and passionate about the role Griffith Foods plays in that arena.”
Matt Foerster
Vice President of Finance, North AmericaMatt Foerster is the Vice President of Finance for the North America Region. He has been with Griffith Foods since 2007 where he started as the US Finance Director. Prior to joining Griffith Foods, he worked for 10 years in several different positions at Pliant Corporation (formerly Hunstman Packaging).
Matt holds a master’s degree in business administration from the College of William and Mary and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Utah.
Sarah Cigrang
Vice President of Human Resources, North AmericaSarah Cigrang is the Vice President of Human Resources for North America, a position she assumed in February 2022. She leads the North America HR team and is responsible for the people strategy and day-to-day HR functional excellence to achieve our purpose-driven strategy.
Sarah brings 14 years of leadership experience in human resources with companies including, Ingredion and Honeywell, both domestically and overseas. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Integrated Talent Experience for Ingredion Incorporated, a global ingredient solutions manufacturer and our supply partner. Besides a breadth of generalist HR leadership, Sarah brings specialist depth in talent management, change enablement, learning & development, and diversity, equity & inclusion. She is passionate about developing people.
Sarah has a master’s degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations and a BA in Sociology, Business from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of Chicago and Greater Northwest Indiana.
Amy Jones
Vice President R&D North AmericaAmy is currently Vice President R&D North America. She holds a B.S. in Food Science from Purdue University. Since joining Griffith Foods in 1995, Amy has built her technical leadership skills by holding positions focused on snack and protein seasonings, sauces and coating system product development, productivity initiatives and global foodservice technical project management, with specific focus on formula security management. Amy serves as a member of the Griffith Foods North America Leadership team, the Global R&D Leadership team, the Global Innovation Council and the Global Leverage Technology team. Amy is an IFT Certified Food Scientist and volunteers with the Institute of Food Technologists and is an active member of WFF and FEW. She continually applies her purpose of using her enthusiasm to unify and engage people to unleash their creative potential.
Guillermo Hernandez
Vice President Supply Chain, North AmericaGuillermo Hernandez is our Vice President, North America Supply Chain based in Chicago, Illinois – with focus in integrating the regional supply chain efforts under a standardized approach of strategy, structure and operating systems.
Guillermo has more than 30 years of experience in Griffith and prior this role had led a variety of efforts for us from ERP project transitions, Purchasing, Logistics and Product Development leadership roles; Holds an MBA and a Biochemistry Bachelor’s degree from Monterrey Tec.
Jaime Mestan
Director of Culinary, North AmericaJaime Mestan comes to the Griffith Family with a wealth of knowledge and experience with Protein Processors, Food Service and Retail. She has worked for companies such as Vienna Beef Ltd as Vice President of Culinary Innovation and Ed Miniat LLC as Research Chef, both family-owned companies.
Skilled in collaborative innovation strategies and nutritional and dietary menu creation, Jaime brings a unique combination of Food Science and Culinary that round out her professional experience. Having received a Bachelor of Art in Culinary and Hospitality Management from Kendall College, she is also the current President of the Research Chef Association and a Certified Research Chef.
John Karellas
Vice President Engineering, North AmericaJohn Karellas is Vice President Engineering for Griffith Foods North America, Custom Culinary®, and Innova Flavors. Prior to joining the North America team, John worked for Griffith Canada and the Griffith US groups where he built his expertise by holding various positions for the Product Development, and Supply Chain teams.
John is a Chemical Engineer from the University of Toronto, holds a Professional Engineer license for the Province of Ontario. He has over 23 years of experience in the food and beverage industries and has a passion for all things relating to Food and Food Technologies.
Nicole Strohman
Vice President of Business Development, North AmericaNicole is the Vice President of Sales and Business Development for North America at Griffith Foods. Before this role, Nicole led Sales teams with Custom Culinary® and Griffith U.S., both business units within the region. She is responsible for designing and implementing sales processes and growth initiatives that support our customer partnerships and drive Our Purpose.
Nicole earned her undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Management from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and she completed her MBA at Arizona State University. She is a volunteer leader in the non-profit organization Female Strong ® to support and develop future women leaders.
My purpose journey taught me that my role is to bring energy and care to encourage others to take risks, accept failure, and find ways to create a work-life/personal life ‘fit.’ It’s important to me to keep work fun while we grow together.
Ryan Schuering
Vice President Purchasing, North AmericaRyan Schuering is Vice President, North American Purchasing for Griffith Foods, originally joining the Griffith Goods team in 2009. Prior to his current role, he has held the positions of Director, North American Purchasing for Spices and Vegetables and Commodities Purchasing Manager, for the Griffith Foods US business.
Ryan has over 20 years’ experience in the food industry. Prior to joining Griffith Foods, Ryan held positions in Commodities Merchandising at Archer Daniels Midland and Cerestar as well as roles in Co-Product Sales and Product Management at Tate & Lyle. Ryan has a degree in Marketing from Illinois State University.
Doug Pritchard
Vice President & General Manager, CanadaAs Vice President & General Manager for Canada at Griffith Foods, Doug has full accountability and P&L responsibility for the Canadian operation. He manages a diverse team of 400 employees including: manufacturing, 3PL warehousing, 30+ food scientists and R&D professionals, culinary, quality, marketing, sales, finance, and management. Doug’s leadership helps to chart new courses in emerging market segments and uncover unique and ownable insights that guide breakthrough initiatives.
Doug is a seasoned marketing executive with 20 years of experience in Canada and the US. Before joining the Griffith Foods team, he held positions at Kraft Foods Group and General Mills. Doug earned an MBA from Ivey Business School at Western University.
Mauro Trevisani
Vice President & General Manager, United StatesAs Vice President & General Manager for the United States at Griffith Foods, Mauro brings a wealth of market leadership experience for global and regional corporations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Central America and the Caribbean.
Mauro has numerous years leading a full P&L, developing and executing strategy, and cultivating an inclusive, purpose-driven culture. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
“My personal purpose is to help people to have a better quality of life and happiness together with my personal values they are a perfect match into our corporate purpose and valued behaviors.”
Hector Astorga
Vice President & General Manager, MexicoHector has been part of the Griffith Foods team for over 25 years and is currently the Managing Director of our Mexico operations. He has held various positions, from sales to operations to supply chain, and true to Griffith values — Hector always puts customers’ needs first.
Board of Directors
Our board of directors comes from rich, diverse backgrounds that lend well to Griffith Foods’ Purpose. We are proud to have this dynamic group of leaders usher us into the next century of purpose-driven business.
Brian Griffith
Executive ChairmanBrian Griffith is the Executive Chairman of Griffith Foods, marking the fourth generation of his family to lead the company. Griffith Foods is a purpose-driven, family-owned global developer and maker of customized food recipes for food service restaurants, protein and snack companies. Griffith Foods has a unique combination of capabilities in the form of Insights, Culinary, Food, and Sensory Science that translate into some of the world’s most loved seasoning, coating and sauce recipes blended to exacting specifications that are culturally authentic and taste great. Founded in 1919, Griffith has grown and expanded globally to include a presence in over thirty countries.
Brian has a deep and fundamental belief in “business as a force for good” and therefore organized the company to drive further impact through Griffith’s Triple Bottom-line sustainability platform of People, Planet & Performance across all business units worldwide. Our Purpose at Griffith Foods is “We Blend Care and Creativity to Nourish the World….which means as a purpose-powered organization, we are focused on the integration of their Purpose, Values and Sustainability platform actioned through strategy & innovation to deliver positive change and impact that is good for people (all stakeholders) and the planet.
We play at the intersection of Sustainable Agricultural Systems and Health & Nutrition…”Better for You, Better for the Planet.”
TC Chatterjee
Chief Executive OfficerTC Chatterjee was named Chief Executive Officer in 2016. Before becoming CEO, TC held positions as Chief Operating Officer, as well as Group President across some of Griffith’s fastest-growing regions, including Central and South America, Asia Pacific, and India – Middle East, as well as Custom Culinary, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Griffith Foods™.
“Griffith’s global footprint and our ability to add value to our customers and their customers through our expertise and experience in food science, culinary arts, sensory and consumer insight help us offer a range of capabilities to enable our customers’ growth and innovation. We are proud of our ability to provide these locally as well as globally.”
Matt West
Executive Vice President and CFOMatt West joined Griffith Foods in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer following a 27-year Finance career in global food and consumer products companies. Matt leads the planning and strategy for Griffith’s financial performance as well as the company’s funding and investment strategies.
“At Griffith Foods™, we operate in numerous countries that each have strong opportunities to grow our business. Our cash flow and capital investments are the fuel for our growth,” Matt said. “In Finance, we balance the reinvestment of company profits with funding from our financial partners to support the best business opportunities around the world. My team and I put it all together.”
Jose-Luis Bretones
Board MemberJose-Luis Bretones founded LINAR Advisors in 2015, a boutique consulting practice with a focus on global supply chain operations, and currently serves as managing partner after more than 20 years working across several industries around the world.
His experience includes leadership roles in supply chain with McDonald’s, Lucent Technologies, and Castle Metals before founding LINAR Advisors.
Jose-Luis grew up in Spain, relocated to the United States in 1998, and currently lives in Chicago with his wife and two daughters. He holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ETSII) and an MBA degree obtained while on assignment with Lucent Technologies in Oklahoma. He earned numerous professional accreditations from Kellogg School of Management (USA), INSEAD School of Management (France), Goldratt Institute (Spain), and APICS.
Dean Carter
Board MemberMr. Dean E. Carter has been Vice President of Human Resources & Shared Services at Patagonia, Inc. since May 2015. Mr. Carter provides strategic leadership and direction of Patagonia’s global human resources, finance, and legal teams and is charged with developing initiatives to support Patagonia’s nearly 2,000 employees worldwide in carrying out its mission.
Prior to joining Patagonia, he served as the Chief Human Resources Officer and Vice President of Talent & Human Capital Services at Sears Holdings Corporation and has supported more than 220,000 employees in the United States and Asia and partnered directly with more than 30 Business Unit Presidents. In 2013, he was awarded the Top 10 Breakaway HR Leaders by the Global HR Summit. He has a BS in speech/organizational communication from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Workforce Science Fellow of Northwest University School of Law in Chicago.
Sonia Lo
Board MemberSonia Lo is the Chief Executive Officer of Crop One Holdings. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of Chalsys LLP, an advisory and direct investment firm that has invested over $120 million in 15 global growth-stage companies. Prior to Chalsys, Ms. Lo was co-founder and CEO of eZoka Group, a UK-based internet startup that was sold in 2002. Ms. Lo is a former Director of Global Content for Google.
She was appointed one of the Global 100 Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum in 2000 and 2001 and named one of Management Today’s leading 35 businesswomen in the UK under the age of 35.
Ms. Lo earned her BA in Political Science from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard University. She holds Professional Chef and Pastry Qualifications from London and City College and completed certifications in Green Supply Chain Management and Zero Energy Architecture.
Joseph Maslick
Board MemberMr. Maslick joined Griffith Foods in 1970 and was quickly promoted to management positions in the USA and then in Corporate finance. In 1988, he was elected Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In 1990 he was elected Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Griffith Foods until his retirement.
Mr. Maslick holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from the DePaul University of Chicago. He has served as a Board Member of Illinois Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Greater Phoenix Area, and is active with the Mayo Clinic Foundation in Arizona, raising funds for its cancer research activities.
Joseph Schmieder
Board MemberJoe is a principal consultant of The Family Business Consulting Group assisting family-owned organizations to increase their value through the careful guidance of family succession and the resolution of complex family business issues. He is a strong advocate for incorporating innovation into family businesses, blending family and non-family execs into effective leadership teams, developing next-generation leaders, creating effective governance structures, and facilitating family meetings.
He is the author of the book Innovation in the Family Business: Succeeding through Generations and numerous family business articles. He presents family business topics around the world, including FBCG’s annual program for board leaders: The Chair Forum. Joe earned his Masters of International Management degree from Thunderbird Global School of International Management and a Bachelor of Science degree from Central Michigan University.
Mary Wagner
Board MemberMary K. Wagner is a recognized executive leader and board director with a reputation for creating innovative products, managing risks, handling corporate crises, and managing food quality and safety. She is a strategist, an operational leader, and a team builder who has been an executive in branded global retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. She has created growth through consumer-facing innovation and brand building.
Mary holds a Professional Director Certification from the American College of Corporate Directors (ACCD) and is a Governance Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). She is a member of Women Corporate Directors, as well as a Belizean Grove member. Mary is a graduate of Harvard’s Program for Management Development (PMD), and a participant in the Kellogg Family Governance program. She has a BS and MS from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Partnerships and Ecosystem
