Hugo Naturals Bolsters Management Team with Industry Pros

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Hugo Naturals, a premier manufacturer and marketer of luxurious, handcrafted, all-natural personal care products, announces today the appointments of Mr. Michael J. Internicola to the position of Senior Vice President of Sales and Mr. Tony Quartararo to the role of Senior Vice President of Operations. Internicola and Quartararo report directly to Mr. Steven Dickstein, Chief Executive Officer.  This follows the April, 2010 strategic investments by the private equity firm Manhattan Growth Partners and from the private equity arm of the Matthew Pritzker Company, LLC.

Internicola brings more than 30 years of experience in the personal care and consumer package goods industries to Hugo Naturals. Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Hain-Celestial Personal Care Group and as Senior Vice President of Sales at Avalon Natural Products.  In his four years at Avalon prior to the sale of the brands to Hain-Celestial, Mike led the doubling of sales of both Avalon and Alba brands within the natural food channel.  Quartararo, another industry veteran, comes to Hugo Naturals with 40 years of experience in the personal care industry, including 14 years at L'Oreal.  More recently, he led the Burt's Bees supply chain as Executive Vice President, through an explosive period of 60% growth and 50% productivity gains.

"Hugo, Debra, and I are thrilled to have Mike and Tony join us.  Not only because of their proven track records and stellar reputations in the natural food channel, but also because of their alignment with our passion for raising the industry standards for ingredient purity," said Dickstein. "They add significant expertise to our management team as we gear up for growth and open our new factory that has four times the capacity of our current plant," Dickstein added.  

"Hugo Naturals already has a reputation for innovative natural beauty care products and the company is now well-positioned to expand its distribution across the country and internationally," said Internicola. "The new leadership team and the recent capital investment are a strong vote of confidence in the strategic business growth plan and I look forward to leading the distribution effort for our long-term success."

"Hugo Naturals leads the natural industry in terms of its level of product authenticity and commitment to excellence," said Quartararo. "This is a company that is well poised for growth and I am excited to be a part of the effort and to work with the management team to achieve our vision."

About Hugo Naturals:

Hugo Naturals is a rapidly growing marketer and manufacturer of premium natural personal care products that are handcrafted from only the highest quality, all-natural ingredients. The company has grown revenues more than 50% per year since its inception less than four years ago.  The product range includes over 150 SKU's in categories such as bar and bulk soaps, body and hand lotions, hair care products, face and body scrubs, baby care products.  They are sold primarily in U.S. and Canadian specialty food and independent health and beauty retail channels. To learn more about Hugo Naturals products, please contact Amy Wein, Senior Vice President of Creative Media Marketing at 212.979.8884 or [email protected] and visit www.hugonaturals.com

About Manhattan Growth Partners:

Manhattan Growth Partners is a progressive thinking private equity firm focused on control equity investments in high growth consumer businesses. With a collective 21 years in business development and private equity investing, Managing Partners Dean Bosacki and Patrick McBride possess significant entrepreneurial, operating, and investing experience.  Combined, they have completed nearly 50 private equity transactions representing over $500 million in value. For more information, visit www.manhattangrowth.com

About Matthew Pritzker Company

Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Matthew Pritzker Company, LLC is a family office that manages the business and philanthropic interests of Matthew Pritzker. The Company's business interests include investments in entertainment, real estate and private equity.

SOURCE Hugo Naturals