USA – California-based company, Beyond Meat Inc has appointed The Coca-Cola Company veteran, Stuart Kronauge as its chief marketing officer, as it looks to boost its presence in retail and restaurants.

Kronauge has been working with the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company for over 20 years, holding key roles in the company including head of its sparkling business unit in North America and senior vice-president of marketing

She is credited for the resurgence of soda brands such as Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta which has boosted Coca-Cola sales through the launch of smaller-sized cans of its sodas, in tune to a change in consumer tastes.

Kronauge has also worked as the vice-president of national customer marketing and vice-president of the Walmart and Sam’s Club total beverage business. She will join Beyond Meat in January 2020

As the company seeks stay ahead of its major rival, Impossible Foods – which recently launched its product in select US retail stores, it has also announced the appointment of Marc Patrick as the senior vice-president of marketing.

Mr. Patrick joins Beyond Meat from Nike Inc, where he held several positions across sport categories, including senior director of global brand marketing for specialty categories and senior director of global brand communications.

In Addition, Beyond Meat has also appointed Shira Zackai as its vice-president and head of communications.

Ms. Zackai brings more than 15 years of experience leading public relations programs for both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups in the consumer product, food, technology and financial sectors.

Most recently, she was senior vice-president and head of media practice at New York-based public relations agency M Booth.

“We are thrilled to welcome Stuart, Marc and Shira to the Beyond Meat team,” said Ethan Brown, chief executive officer at Beyond Meat.

“As we continue to expand at an accelerated pace, it is as important as ever that we continue to tell our story, that we remain in dialogue with a widening group of consumers and that we educate the public on the nutritional and environmental benefits of Going Beyond.”

In September, Beyond Meat last month named former Tesla Inc executive Sanjay Shah as its chief operating officer.

The appointments come at a time when the company is expanding sale of its plant-based meat burgers in retail stores and partnering with more restaurants as it builds on the recent hype for vegan patties.