Matthew Tarallo’s Post

As many know, I’ve joined SKU as a mentor for their spring cohort.  I’ve been blown away not only with the strong leadership and mentor peer group in the SKU community, but also with the amazing brands and entrepreneurs (shout out to my personal track with Jake Buzaid & Curation Beverage Company ).   The SKU mission is simple: To surround stellar startups with a wraparound infrastructure of seasoned Mentors, customized programs, advanced operations support, access to industry expertise, and connections to capital to provide startups with the tools for successful growth. Speaking of growth … A nice segue into my next personal phase …  Reflecting on my time at Reynolds American Inc. and the success from developing to leading the organizational launch of the Beyond Nicotine division for the U.S., I am excited to be embarking on my next professional chapter. I am focusing on expanding the portfolio within RFT Ventures, and officially launching AETHER Brand Group. Together, they will complement each other focused across investing, incubating, advising, and operating emerging consumer brands in the Food, Beverage, and Adult Consumption space.   Exciting things on the horizon to announce here shortly in this new chapter ….

Amazing work and congratulations to the team - just the beginning!

Great session last week bringing everyone together! Remember, everyone has a role to play to #takeactionmakeimpact & #BeTheChange to span beyond the powerpoint and into action.

Excited to have been back at the Cannabis Drinks Expo last week – many industry evolutions in consumer attitudes and market expansions have happened since I last attended, however, still have so much upside to go. Reflecting back from my last few attendances, I’m seeing incredible positives but also continued opportunities; ✅ CONSUMER FIRST MINDSET ➡️ Consistent consumer centric approach, focus and messaging to deliver consumer first value (and not all about unique stains and potency). ✅ WELLNESS / WELLBEING POSITIONING  ➡️ Further extension in functional day-part occasions with significant introduction and expansion across the minor cannabinoids (finally)  ✅ LEADERSHIP DIVERSITY  ➡️ Continued progress and major increases across minority and female owned, operated and led companies. ⚠️ REGULATORY PROGRESS  ➡️ Sadly not much has progressed as originally anticipated, but progress appears to be happening behind the scenes. ⚠️ CAPITAL  ➡️ Capital is getting increasingly tighter, as are operating profits, with current overall pull back from traditional CPG / CVC funds. As it relates to the brand positioning and consumer targeting – the inflection point I see for brands are around being clear on who their core consumer cohorts and segments are that they want to focus on while balancing between short-term and long-term revenue opportunities and value; ✴️ WIN WITHIN THE CURRENT CONSUMERS  ➡️ Capture Share and Revenue within the existing cannabis consumers and category and whose total monthly purchases are significant and over index on combustible products. ✴️ EXPAND THE CATEGORY WITH NEW CONSUMERS  ➡️ Bring new consumers in by driving occasions, rituals, and incidence among the ever elusive “Canna-Curious” consumers, whose total purchases are low today but are more open to expanded product formats primarily across ingestion. What is clear, increasing consumer education and reducing the perceived stigma(s) on cannabis products are critical for both government / regulatory engagement and within the traditional CPG / VC space as it relates to capital investments.  

Massive congratulations to the teams on this! What an incredible transformational example for building A Better Tomorrow as well as our Beyond Nicotine ambition! #Leadership #abettertomorrow #BeyondNicotine #BAT #ReynoldsAmerican

Excited to share one more step in furthering our transformation and ambition! Amazing work to the teams and partners here! https://lnkd.in/gbgtBnea

Step 1 …. Still a long way to go but very encouraging to see how this supports the future! https://lnkd.in/grtJySaA

As many of you know, I decided to leave The Coca-Cola Company back in Dec and joined Reynolds American as SVP of New Business Development – a newly created role to lead Reynolds American's Beyond Nicotine efforts.  I am incredibly proud of my 6.5+ yrs of accomplishments, learnings, and challenges at The Coca-Cola Company. With these types of changes, it’s always a reflection back to the key people and customers that have made this journey so incredible, and fortunately for me, many will still be directly connected for years to come.  In this newly created role, I will be building and leading Reynolds American Beyond Nicotine ambition, vision, and operating division – with the collaboration and support across BAT global – to expand the company’s consumer footprint and portfolio fit for future growth. As I reflect on the first two months into this new journey, it’s been incredibly fulfilling to be part of an organization that is so focused on leading, and not just participating, in this space for the future. The bar and expectations are high, but having incredible talent, partners, and a supportive leadership team are the first steps for winning in this space together.  2022 is going to be an incredibly exciting first year and more to come ….! #leadership #team #transformation #future #growth

Huge win and big congratulations to Daniel, Lando and everyone at McLaren Racing for the success at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix! It’s exciting to see these well deserved results for an organization that I’m incredibly proud to be partnering with and delivering some amazing joint activations and experiences for the fans worldwide! Congratulations again and I’m counting down till COTA!