Backpacker’s Pantry hired Duane Primozich as CEO. He will work closely with the owner and head chef Soraya Smith to continue Backpacker’s Pantry’s 71 years of creating gourmet adventure meals for consumers while maintaining the family’s vision of the business.
“It’s with much excitement and ambition that the Smith family welcomes our dear friend, Duane into our Backpacker’s Pantry family. While this will be the first time in 51 years that our CEO has not had the last name of Smith, we remain family-owned and are thrilled to have such a qualified, passionate leader to help carry us into the next chapter, championing our commitments to food excellence in creating the best adventure food on the planet,” said Smith. “We believe that as CEO, Duane will bring integrity and passion to our shared core values of creating great food, intentional ingredient sourcing, employee health and happiness, customer service and service to our planet, all the while leading our family of brands into their full potential.”
Before joining American Outdoor Products (AOP), the parent company of Backpacker’s Pantry, Primozich had a decades-long career founding, building, advising, and sitting on the Boards of more than 20 natural foods companies. He started his career at Frontier Natural Products Co-op and since then has been involved with Silk Soymilk, EPIC Provisions, Hope Foods, REBBL, High Brew Coffee, Bonafide Provisions, Bobo’s Oat Bars, and several others, while also having co-founded Pixie Mate, a Boulder, CO-based Yerba Mate tea brand and two natural foods-focused investment funds.
“We have known for some time that to realize the full potential of this business and our environmental stewardship efforts we would likely have to seek some help from outside the family. This especially came to light over the past few years as greater demands were placed on AOP due to growth, post-COVID complexities and climate change’s adverse impact on the food industry,” said Ron Smith, owner and founder of American Outdoor Products. “What we would never have dreamed of is that the person we’ve been looking for was our close friend and neighbor, Duane. He is like family and brings a wealth of food and leadership experience to our team.”
Photo courtesy Backpacker’s Pantry
