Tropical Cheese Names Ivonne Balsinde Chief Growth Officer

PERTH AMBOY, N.J., Jan. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tropical Cheese, a leading producer of Hispanic dairy and refrigerated foods in the U.S., today announced that Ivonne Balsinde has joined the company as Chief Growth Officer (CGO).

Balsinde is a global commercial and marketing executive with a track record of scaling brands, accelerating market expansion, and building multi-channel growth engines across the U.S., the Caribbean, Mexico, LATAM, and Europe. She brings more than two decades of relevant experience in innovation pipeline leadership, commercialization, pricing and trade strategy, distributor and retail execution, and cross-functional alignment.

Most recently, she served as Global VP, Marketing & Business Development at Matosantos International Corporation, where she led marketing, innovation, commercialization, and business development for a $100M+ multi-category CPG portfolio and drove expansion across multiple geographies. Prior to that, she spent 13 years at Kellogg in leadership roles across the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean, including Breakfast Category Director for Foodservice and Away From Home, and Snacks Category Director in Mexico. Earlier in her career, Balsinde held other senior marketing roles at Casa Grande Interactive, IVB, and Kimberly-Clark.

"We are excited to have Ivonne join the team as Chief Growth Officer," said Vic Mehren, CEO of Tropical Cheese. "Ivonne is an innovator with a strong track record of turning consumer and customer insights into commercial execution that drives real growth. Tropical Cheese is at an important point in our journey. We have a strong foundation, and a big opportunity ahead to expand our footprint, deepen partnerships with customers, and accelerate our growth with a stronger, more connected go-to-market engine. Ivonne's experience and perspective make her the right leader to help us sharpen that engine and build the next chapter of growth."

"Throughout my career, I've been drawn to businesses with strong brands, real momentum, and teams that want to win the right way," said Balsinde. "Tropical Cheese is a category leader with high-quality, loved products and a deep commitment to the customers and communities it serves. That's a strong foundation for long-term success. I'm looking forward to partnering with the team to strengthen innovation, accelerate growth, and build a repeatable playbook across channels and markets."

About Tropical Cheese
Founded in 1982, Tropical Cheese has become the category leader in Hispanic cheeses across the Eastern U.S., with an expanding portfolio across Hispanic refrigerated foods, serving retail channels through an integrated network that includes direct-store delivery. Backed by Avance Investment Management and AUA Private Equity, the company is focused on expanding its reach, growing its portfolio, and becoming a leading brand across the full spectrum of Hispanic refrigerated food products on the East Coast.

About Avance Investment Management
Avance is a private equity firm with a passion for building great businesses in partnership with talented founders and management teams. Avance focuses primarily on thematic investments within the Services, Technology and Consumer areas in the U.S., seeking attractive opportunities with catalysts for growth and fragmented spaces with consolidation opportunities. Avance's team has a long history of partnering with founder-owned businesses, industry executives, and management teams and aims to add value to each investment through the application of its STAGE™ value creation framework. Avance has offices in New York and Miami. For more information, please visit www.avanceinv.com.

About AUA Private Equity Partners, LLC
AUA Private Equity Partners is an operationally focused, lower middle-market investment firm providing strategic capital to companies in the consumer products and services sectors with a particular focus on family-owned businesses or companies benefiting from the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population. AUA Private Equity invests in companies in their core sectors that generate in excess of $10 million in EBITDA. For more information on AUA Private Equity Partners, please visit www.auaequity.com.

Avance Media Contact
Woomi Yun / Erik Carlson / Madeline Jones
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212.355.4449

AUA Media Contact
Max Rayden
Senior Director
ASC Advisors LLC
Tel: 203 992 1227
Cell: 917 705 1970
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Tropical Cheese