Global Partners LP named Natasha Ratzlaff as its new senior director of culinary innovation and category strategy last week, a company spokesperson confirmed.
Ratzlaff’s first day with Global Partners was July 12, the spokesperson said. She joins the East Coast convenience retailer after spending nearly a decade with Kum & Go, most recently as its director of category management for foodservice, according to her LinkedIn bio.
This marks the second time in recent months that one of Kum & Go’s top foodservice decision makers has left the Iowa-based company for Global Partners. In February, Jac Moskalik, who spent over two years as Kum & Go’s vice president of food innovation, was named Global Partners’ vice president of culinary services and innovation.
As director of category management for Kum & Go’s foodservice operations, Ratzlaff implemented and expanded Kum & Go’s made-to-order program — which new owner Maverik nixed in January — and spearheaded menu development, in-store space planning and program evaluations, according to her LinkedIn bio.
“Natasha’s background provides another layer of experience and expertise that further builds out a best-in-class food and beverage team,” a spokesperson from Global Partners said in a statement to C-Store Dive. “She will work on a team that continues to disrupt both the industry and our guests’ perception of convenience stores and what they deem ‘standard’ in food and beverage.”
Global Partners’ most notable c-store banner, Alltown Fresh, has become popular for its made-to-order foodservice program. Its menu includes breakfast sandwiches and burritos, salads, wraps, protein bowls and smoothies. According to the company’s website, Alltown Fresh employs multiple in-house chefs and only uses organic and locally sourced ingredients, and it prohibits the use of ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners.
Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global Partners operates more than 350 convenience stores on the East Coast under brands including Alltown Fresh, XtraMart, Honey Farms and Jiffy Mart. The company also supplies fuel to about 1,700 locations in 12 states.
