Jack Acree On How & Why Saffron Road Makes Top-Notch, Best-Selling Frozen Meals & Snacks
Saffron Road’s global journey began with a core belief that traditionally pure foods can be a safe medium to compassionately-inspire and inclusively-connect diverse cultures together. Regardless of language, religion, or culture, everyone loves authentically delicious, wholesome foods. Saffron Road debuted nationally in July 2010 in Whole Foods as the world’s first Halal-certified, antibiotic-free and humanely-raised frozen entrée. It has since become the fastest-growing natural frozen food brand.
Among its latest (and already-acclaimed) frozen meal offerings are Thai Style Green Curry, Vegetable Biryani, and a Shoyu Ramen Bowl. Those seeking sweet yet savory snacks cannot go wrong with Saffron Road’s Dark Chocolate Chai Crunchy Chickpeas, which are of course chocolate-covered.
Jack Acree, an accomplished food executive, is Executive Vice President of Saffron Road. Prior to joining Saffron Road, Acree successfully built two of the fastest growing startups in the natural foods business which now deliver well over $50 million in sales, Terra Chips (Hain Foods) and Alexia Foods (ConAgra Foods). Acree answered some questions for me on behalf of The Hype Magazine.
More on Saffron Road can be found online by visiting www.saffronroad.com.
How did you wind up on the Saffron Road team?
Jack Acree: Adnan and I met through mutual connections in the natural foods business. We talked on and off for a while and the vision of how Saffron Road could become the leading World Cuisine brand came into shape.
What is a typical day like for you as EVP? Are you on the road much?
Jack Acree: Each day is different and full of unique challenges and opportunities. Sales is a constant driver, but so is marketing, new product development, design and operational changes. I work with our team to make sure they have the resources they need to succeed and also work with some of our key accounts. I used to travel about 3 weeks out of the year, but now it’s down to about 1 week. It’s always important to get out and see what’s happening in the stores.
Saffron Road is far from your first successful food brand. But does it have any similarities to Terra Chips or Alexia Foods?
Jack Acree: Sure, there are many. They’ve all been challenger brands that shook up the status quo in our categories. Terra Chips is easy to see how that was. Alexia was the first Trans Fat free frozen potato at a time when that was just becoming important, and Saffron Road was the first frozen entrée brand to use protein raised without antibiotics. While all three had leading health oriented attributes, the taste and quality is always paramount.
How has Saffron Road changed since you’ve joined the team?
Jack Acree: Well, we are in 30,000 more stores than when we started! The food business at its heart is still very much of a traditional business. We don’t just write code and send it out into the cloud. There is a lot of nuts and bolts work to get everything in-house to make all that food that then needs to get to those 30,000 stores. We work hard to stay in touch with both our retail and distributor partners as well as our consumers. Lastly, we’re not the new kid on the block anymore. People expect more of us and we have to continually step up to the challenge.
Do you have a favorite of the Saffron Road offerings?
Jack Acree: Yes, I love our new Coconut Curry Chicken! Just the right blend of spice and flavor. It tastes like I just got take out from the Indian restaurant down the street.
What is coming up for Saffron Road in 2020? Or at least the coming months?
Jack Acree: We have some new Entrees and Crunchy Chickpea flavors coming, but it’s too early to talk about them. Besides our Coconut Curry, we also launched Thai Green Curry, Madras Chicken Meatballs and Vegetable Biryani in 2019.
When not busy with Saffron Road, where does your free time usually go?
Jack Acree: Spring through Fall I am mostly on a baseball diamond cheering on my son who is a great baseball player. He often has 2 doubleheaders a weekend. I try to spend as much time with him as possible because time goes by so quickly.
What was the last concert you attended for fun?
Jack Acree: Depeche Mode. I was a DJ in the 80’s and they were huge then and still put on a great concert! Still relevant, too. Dave Gahan is a great showman.
Finally, Jack, any last words for the kids?
Jack Acree: I often tell my son that the # 1 thing we should collect is memories.
TweetAbout the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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