Accelerating growth and product innovation are key focuses of new Bevi CEO
When Cathy Lewenberg joined Bevi earlier this year as CEO, she was tasked with three priorities: accelerating growth and product innovation, investing in the foundation for scaling, and driving Bevi’s sustainability mission through strategic partnerships and alliances.
At NAMA’s CTW Show last week, Bevi debuted the Bevimobile — a break room on wheels with all of the bells and whistles. Bevi will have the demonstration unit on display next in Miami in January, where it will be visiting prospective customers, current partners, and events. After Miami, the Bevimobile will travel to other cities to show off the Bevi machines at more events and prospective customer visits.
VendingMarketWatch.com interviewed Cathy Lewenberg shortly after she joined Bevi. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
VMW: What drew you to Bevi at this particular stage of its growth?
Cathy Lewenberg: After exploring many different opportunities, I ultimately found that Bevi was the right next move given its product and market fit, team culture and incredible mission. After spending time with Bevi’s leadership team and learning more about the business and the broader industry landscape, I knew Bevi was the perfect fit, especially at such an exciting time in the company’s growth journey.
I have always found value in working for companies that make an impact, and I am excited to leverage my strengths to lead the team at a time when Bevi is well-positioned to accelerate growth.
VMW: What lessons from your roles at Drizly and CVS, if any, will help you in serving the convenience services/convenience retail channel?
CL: I’ve learned a number of lessons and skills in my past roles spanning the consumer, retail, health and technology industries that will help me in serving the convenience services channel. Not only have my past roles fueled my passion for leading companies that are making an impact, but they also gave me experience leading companies through phases of growth and expansion. During my time with Drizly in particular, I led the company through a very high-growth phase followed by an acquisition and integration. At CVS Health, I played a role in expanding the company’s healthy food and beverage offering, ensuring that consumers had access to healthier choices which closely aligns with Bevi’s mission of making healthy and customizable drinking experiences more widely available.
VMW: What do you hope to bring to Bevi? What excites you most about leading the company into its next phase?
CL: I’m looking forward to bringing my experience and lessons learned to this new role. As Bevi’s CEO, I will focus on three major efforts: accelerating growth and product innovation, investing in the foundation for scaling, and driving the company’s sustainability mission through strategic partnerships and alliances.
VMW: Health and wellness products are a key part of a strategy to create office spaces that support return-to-work initiatives — and investment in convenience services such as office water and coffee service. How does Bevi plan to meet the increasing demand for healthier beverage options?
CL: Here at Bevi, we are constantly monitoring consumer trends and preferences. As office spaces focus on return-to-work initiatives, we have noticed an increase in product adoption and a shift in demand for healthy beverage alternatives, such as organic and better-for-you beverages, soda options, and functional beverages. With that in mind, Bevi will continue to innovate our physical hardware products and beverage offerings to expand our existing lineup of healthy beverage options.
VMW: What role do you see Bevi playing in the future of the workplace beverage experience?
CL: We see Bevi playing a major role in the future of the workplace beverage experience. As companies are mandating employees to return to the office, more organizations are adopting amenities and technologies like Bevi machines to entice employees to spend time working in their spaces. Bevi has seen increased adoption not only with technology companies that are looking to add the latest and greatest tech to their office spaces but also within other sectors such as manufacturing, real estate and more, that want to offer employees those same great perks.
Employees are also increasingly focused on the sustainability initiatives taken by their employers. Companies looking to prove their mission and commitment to sustainability to employees will need to ditch the idea of offering plastic bottles and cans and outfit their common areas and kitchens with vending services like Bevi machines.
VMW: What product innovations or enhancements can customers expect to see in the near term? What strategies will Bevi use to deliver compelling products for the workplace beverage experience and convenience services/convenience retail channel?
CL: Bevi is currently developing innovations for its machines and beverage offerings. We’ll continue to use technology to enhance our hydration solutions and expand our offerings for customers across various verticals.
The Bevi team monitors trends and consumer preferences closely, so product innovations never stop. In the months to come, we plan to offer beverages that are currently trending in the consumer market in the office.
VMW: Having shared your vision for Bevi’s place in the industry, how do you think the broader water and beverage services landscape will evolve?
As more information about the negative impact of single-use plastic packaging on the environment and on human health comes to light, customers are pushing beverage services to become more sustainable. Companies in the water and beverage services industry will need to keep this in mind, innovating to create solutions that meet customers’ sustainability and health goals.
VMW: What are your key priorities when it comes to scaling the business?
Bevi’s co-founders have successfully taken the company from a startup to a Series D, and we now have more than 6,000 customers across North America. I’m thrilled to help bring Bevi to the next phase of growth, pulling on my experience scaling businesses and my past work in the food and beverage sector. As the company grows under my leadership, I will prioritize strategic vision and operational excellence and will remain committed to building Bevi’s already outstanding team along the way. My key priorities include: accelerating growth and product innovation, investing in the foundation for scaling, and driving Bevi’s sustainability mission through strategic partnerships and alliances.
Linda Becker | Editor-in-Chief
Linda Becker is editor-in-chief of Automatic Merchandiser and VendingMarketWatch.com. She has more than 20 years of experience in B2B publishing, writing, editing and producing content for magazines, websites, webinars, podcasts, newsletters and eBooks, primarily for manufacturing and process engineering audiences. Since joining Automatic Merchandiser and VendingMarketWatch.com, Linda has developed a new appreciation for the convenience services industry and the essential role it plays. She is dedicated to serving readers by covering the latest news in the vending, office coffee service and micro market industry. She can be reached at 262-203-9924 or [email protected].
