Freja has appointed Pete Joubert as managing director to drive the next phase of retail growth at the bone broth challenger brand.
Joubert joins from Moma Foods, where he spent more than a decade in senior leadership roles. As sales director, and then MD, he oversaw consistent revenue growth, led a brand relaunch and national TV campaign, and supported Moma founder Tom Mercer with the sale of the business to AG Barr in 2021.
His earlier career included senior commercial roles at Danone, Pizza Express and L’Oréal.
In his new role at Freja, he will lead the business on a day-to-day basis as co-founders Ed Armitage and Jess Leather step into strategic leadership and product development roles.
Joubert will take full responsibility for the P&L and senior team, as well as looking after commercial, operational and financial functions as the brand accelerates its expansion across retail, wholesale and foodservice.
Armitage and Leather, as CEO and COO respectively, will continue to oversee product development and manage external customer relationships.
“I’m delighted to be joining Freja at this pivotal point,” Joubert said. “The business has already established itself as the leading bone broth brand in the UK, and there’s significant opportunity to build on that platform as the category develops in mainstream retail.
“I look forward to working with the team to drive the next stage of growth.”
Armitage added: “We’re delighted to bring Pete on board. The timing is right for Jess and me to step aside from the day-to-day leadership of the team and play to our strengths in strategy, brand, and product.
“Founders are often good at bending reality and persuading people to rally around ambitious dreams, but it takes a different skill set to get 30 employees pulling in unison towards a £30m revenue target. Pete’s experience rounds out some knowledge and skills gaps in our senior team, and, from a personal perspective, he’s a natural fit to lead our business and develop our company culture.”
Armitage and Leather founded Freja in 2020. Its range of premium bone broth is now stocked in major retailers and expanding rapidly across foodservice and wholesale.
In early 2024, the business secured £2m investment from fmcg veterans Paul Polman, Giles Brook, Joanna Jensen and Sally Preston, alongside sports stars Harry Kane and Alistair Brownlee.
It has since expanded its product offering, launching powdered shakes and instant bone broth sachets.
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