Kettle & Fire Scales Into Its Next Phase as Bone Broth Category Grows
As demand for nutrient-dense, minimally processed food grows, Kettle & Fire is strengthening its leadership team to accelerate momentum and extend its category leadership
AUSTIN, Texas, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kettle & Fire, the category leader in bone broth1, has built a strong foundation across the business, driving demand growth, expanding household penetration, and scaling manufacturing capacity to support it. To accelerate this momentum and maximize the opportunities ahead, the company today announced an evolution of its leadership structure.
Kettle & Fire brings together a leadership team with complementary strengths that will support the company's next phase of growth. Sam McBride will step into the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), having previously served as executive chairman of the board. His commercial leadership and growth expertise will pair with Brian Hack's ability to translate strategy into results as he transitions to President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jay Luikart joined Kettle & Fire to help expand the company's operational and manufacturing capabilities in support of continued growth and scale, while Senior Vice President of Marketing Jack Meredith continues to lead the brand's consumer engagement, innovation storytelling, and category-expanding efforts.
Under Hack's leadership, and with the strength of the broader Kettle & Fire team, Kettle & Fire has grown into the category leader in bone broth, nearly doubling its business, expanding household penetration by more than 2 million buyers, and opening the brand's first owned manufacturing facility to support long-term scale.
McBride is a seasoned operator who has served on the Kettle & Fire board for eight years and is also an investor in high-growth consumer brands. As the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of RXBAR, he brings experience scaling a category-challenging brand from its early days through a $600 million acquisition by Kellogg. He is also the founder of Colter Ventures, which led the acquisition of a minority interest in Kettle & Fire through a $43 million secondary transaction in 2025.
As part of this next phase, Kettle & Fire is expanding beyond traditional bone broth into adjacent categories and formats, building on its foundation as a strong category leader. This evolution is already underway, with the launch of Kettle & Fire Beef Tallow last year and continued innovation within bone broth. The brand will introduce three new bone broths in 2026, including Kettle & Fire x Force of Nature Bison Bone Broth—the first made with 100% regeneratively-raised bison—which launched in early May. Supporting this evolution is KettleWorks, the brand's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Lancaster, Pa., now celebrating its first anniversary, and enabling greater scale and speed in innovation. Together, these investments position Kettle & Fire to accelerate expansion while maintaining its uncompromising standards in ingredient quality and sourcing.
"Our growth at Kettle & Fire has always been guided by a clear mission to heal rather than harm," said Hack. "We've established a strong foundation across the business—driving demand growth, expanding household penetration, evolving the product portfolio, and scaling our manufacturing capacity to support it. This leadership strengthens our ability to accelerate momentum, scale innovation, and maximize the opportunities ahead."
As consumer demand shifts toward minimally processed foods with functional benefits, bone broth is seeing renewed momentum. The U.S. bone broth market was estimated at over $400 million in 2025. At its current growth rate, the market size could double in the next few years2.
"From the beginning, I was drawn to Kettle & Fire's commitment to quality and its mission to change the food system," said McBride. "What's been built since then—clear category leadership, real momentum, and a team deeply committed to that mission—gives us a strong foundation for what comes next. We're not changing direction—we're scaling what's already working, and I'm excited to step into this role to accelerate growth and expand our impact even faster from here."
For more about Kettle & Fire and its portfolio, visit www.kettleandfire.com.
About Kettle & Fire
Founded in 2014, Kettle & Fire is the leading shelf-stable bone broth brand on a mission to make foods that nourish our bodies and the planet. Made from 100% grass-fed and grass-finished cattle and free-range, organic chicken, our slow-simmered bone broths and cooking broths deliver on key nutrients and flavor. Available in over 22,000 stores nationwide and online, we craft real-food essentials to uncompromising standards, including beef tallow and a variety of bone broths and cooking broths.
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Robin Zimmerman
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1SPINS 52W view ending 3/22/2026
2Based on 2025 reported retail dollar sales per SPINS, Nielsen, Costco-Circana, and internally reported E-commerce sales
SOURCE Kettle & Fire
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