Talking Rain Hires Beverage Sector Insights Leader

In the US, sparkling flavoured water brand the Talking Rain Beverage Company has appointed CPG industry exec Brian Kuz as Chief Marketing Officer.

Founded in 1987 and based in Preston, Washington, the company produces such brands as Sparkling Ice, Talking Rain Fusions and Talking Rain Mountain Spring Water. Kuz (pictured) joins with more than 30 years' experience of building brands in the beverage and consumer packaged goods categories. For the past four years he has worked at Red Bull, most recently as Global Head of Trade Marketing and Insights in Austria, having previously been the firm's Head of Shopper Insights and Category Development. Prior to this, he was Director of Category Development at Coca-Cola and at Danone Waters of North America, VP Client Service at IRI, and Director of Inventory Management at Safeway, having begun his career as a Buyer at Safeway.

In his new role, Kuz will be responsible for overseeing marketing initiatives and developing areas such as channel distribution, product development, marketing communications and customer service. He reports to President and CEO Kevin Klock, who comments: 'Brian brings a wealth of experience in the consumer goods and beverage industries which will serve us well as our brand continues its accelerated growth internationally. He will be instrumental in driving our brand identity, while taking Talking Rain to the next level to becoming a global industry-leading company '.

Web site: www.talkingrain.com .