Jennifer Frankenberg
Jennifer Frankenberg has over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, including pet food, and supplements. She has worked with, and for, food companies of all sizes, and brings to the table deep experience in food safety, regulatory compliance, food certifications, supply chain management, operations, and equipment design. She is adept at assessing risk, defining objectives, and optimizing business opportunities.
Her career began at The Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, OH and included regulatory, supply chain, and marketing roles. During her tenure there, she streamlined the company’s recall management system, managed a $700M portfolio of ingredients, negotiated strategic forward buy contracts, and conducted Kroger dairy plant audits.
After several years of private consulting, she moved into the due diligence space at an operations management firm. As a Vice President within the firm, she developed and managed a Food & Beverage Practice within the company, working with middle market private equity and portfolio companies conducting pre- and post-acquisition projects, and ultimately identifying more than $500M in collective operational savings. Most recently, she was the Vice President of Supply Chain for an emerging direct-to-consumer pet food company. Within the first 6 months with the firm, she lowered raw material spend by 8% through negotiated contracts.
Over the span of her career, Jennifer has performed over 100 diligences, including food safety inspections and operational assessments; documented and implemented various policies, procedures, and training programs; managed food-related crisis events; prepared companies for SQF and BRC certification audits; worked with professional and food industry trade associations; and facilitated an overhaul of an ANSI standard on hygienic bakery equipment design.
Jennifer has spoken at various national food and private equity meetings, sat on panels, and conducted webinars for the food industry, covering food safety, regulatory compliance, and supply chain topics. In addition, she has been published in several food industry magazines.
Jennifer holds a BBA in Marketing and a Master of Business Administration from University of Cincinnati. She is a certified Six Sigma Lean Green Belt and holds several certifications in Microbiology and Food Safety. She is also a Certified Food Safety Manager in the foodservice industry.