Since the pandemic began, families have been opting to eat at home instead of dining out and premium delivery services have become not only ubiquitous, they’re necessary. This new food tech startup sends you premium meals with a subscription, but you get something else — your very own smart oven. It’s called Tovala. You simply scan the barcode and the oven knows exactly how much time to cook it for. What I was most fascinated about is that it can scan other bar codes like frozen foods from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.
On today’s episode, I interview Lesley Butler, CMO of Tovala. A proud Canadian, she holds a BComm from Queen’s University and an MBA from Harvard. She’s spent 15 years in consumer marketing, innovation, and strategy roles at Pepsico, Bain, and Kraft. Most recently at Pepsico, she co-led marketing for the Quaker brand and oversaw innovation, launching over 30 products generating $200MM in revenue. Tovala has become a dinnertime savior in her busy life with two young boys. Her favorite ingredient is basil.
Since joining Tovala in 2018, Lesley has helped drive 5x growth and deliver over 1MM meals to customers. At Tovala Lesley oversees all marketing efforts across the customer journey including new user acquisition, customer experience, brand and design.
Prior to joining Tovala, Lesley was founder of The Growth Project, a strategic marketing advisory business helping early stage food & beverage startups chart a consumer-led path to growth. Previously, Lesley spent nearly 15 years in the CPG Food & Beverage industry where she held a number of senior roles in marketing, innovation, and strategy at Pepsico, Bain & Company, and Kraft Foods. During her time at Pepsico she launched over 30 new products generating over $200MM in annual revenue.
Originally from Canada, Lesley holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and lives in Chicago with her husband and 2 young boys.
Meet My Guest:
- WEBSITE: Tovala.com
- INSTAGRAM: @lesleytodbutler
- FACEBOOK: /lesley.todbutler
- LINKEDIN: Lesley Butler
