A former Kellogg's head of specialty has joined All About Foods as commercial director.

Chris McLaughlin officially stepped into the ­position on Thursday after eight years at Kellogg's working in a number of sales and finance leadership roles the most senior being head of specialty.

All About Foods puts restaurant brands such as Nando's and Pizza Express on supermarket shelves. McLaughlin will oversee all its commercial operations in his new job. He will also lead the sales and commercial team, develop existing retailer relationships and identify new commercial opportunities to drive growth across the business.

McLaughlin, who has spent the past 10 weeks working in a consultancy capacity on the company's commercial strategy, told The Grocer that he was delighted to join such a thriving company and hoped to "take this unique business to the next level".

"I've always wanted to work in an entrepreneurial company. This is no ordinary small company, it has fantastic brands and we've got more and more contemporary brands in the pipeline," he said.

"The company is growing very fast. It has had double-digit growth every year since it was formed in 1999 more than £25m ­retail sales value turnover since 1999. We plan to double that to £50m over the next five years," he added.

The company has worked with renowned names such as Nando's, Pizza Express, Wagamama and Cranks, and has recently teamed up with Gourmet Burger Kitchen, La Tasca, Loch Fyne and Wahaca. It specialises in developing and launching ranges of ambient chilli sauces, marinades, cooking sauces, salad dressings and snacks; all of which can be found in supermarkets across the UK.

Phil Lynas, managing ­director of All About Food, added: "As we continue our sustained growth at All About Food, we recognised a need for more creative and targeted planning, passion and strategy, which Chris brings in abundance from his years of experience in the industry."