by Food Trade News Team
Bel Group is putting an experienced food executive in charge of its next phase in North America, naming former Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness to lead its US snack business.
McGuinness will take over as CEO of Chicago, IL-based Bel North America, overseeing brands including Babybel, Laughing Cow, and GoGo Squeez, as the French snack maker looks to lean into what it sees as sustained demand for more intentional, better-for-you snacking.
Bel framed the appointment as a growth move at a moment when its dairy- and fruit-based snack portfolio is seeing accelerated momentum in the U.S. and Canada. The company operates five manufacturing facilities across the region and has been expanding capacity to keep pace with demand.
Bel Group Is Getting an Experienced Food Leader
McGuinness brings deep experience scaling food brands at inflection points. Before joining Impossible Foods, he spent nearly a decade as president and COO of Chobani, helping grow that company from insurgent yogurt brand into a national dairy powerhouse. At Impossible, he led efforts to reposition the brand amid slowing growth in plant-based meat, focusing less on novelty and more on mainstream adoption.
Bel executives say that McGuiness’ accomplishments – brand repositioning executed with operational discipline – fit the company’s North American ambitions.
The company has been pushing further into fruit, vegetable, and dairy snacks, positioning its portfolio around protein, fiber, and convenience as consumers scrutinize ingredients and portion sizes more closely. Brands like GoGo Squeez have benefited from that shift, as snacking occasions move away from impulse toward planned, functional eating.
Bel is also investing behind product reformulation and innovation, including partnerships aimed at increasing real fruit content, while expanding production at facilities in Wisconsin and South Dakota.
McGuinness’ appointment comes shortly after his departure from Impossible Foods, where the company credited him with stabilizing the business and outperforming a contracting plant-based category. At Bel, the challenge is different, with less emphasis on reinvention, more on execution, but the underlying task is familiar: translating shifting consumer intent into durable, profitable growth.
