PERTH AMBOY, N.J., Feb. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tropical Cheese, a leading producer of Hispanic dairy and refrigerated foods in the U.S., today announced that Ian McBride has joined the Company as Vice President of Sales for National Accounts.
McBride is a seasoned commercial leader with a track record of scaling large customer portfolios, driving double-digit growth and building disciplined customer and broker management systems across grocery, mass and club channels across the U.S. Most recently, he led the Large Format customer segment for KIND, where he was responsible for major U.S. grocery and natural channel retailers. In that role, he developed and executed joint business plans, expanded distribution and strengthened in-store execution with key accounts.
Prior to KIND, McBride held sales and customer leadership roles at Amplify Snacks/Hershey, Mars Wrigley and ConAgra, where he managed sizeable customer portfolios and broker networks while working closely with supply chain, finance and marketing teams. Across these roles, he has consistently delivered strong, sustainable growth while improving customer planning discipline and field execution.
“We are excited to welcome Ian to the Tropical Cheese family as we continue to expand our best-in-class platform,” said Vic Mehren, CEO of Tropical Cheese. “Ian’s experience leading large customer accounts, navigating complex broker networks and implementing cross-functional commercial strategies will be critical at this point in our growth journey. His ability to turn strategy into simple, executable plans with retailers will help us unlock the full potential of our brands and deepen partnerships with national and regional accounts.”
“Throughout my career, I have been drawn to brands with loyal consumers and meaningful opportunity to grow relationships with retail partners,” said McBride. “Tropical Cheese has strong brand loyalty with Hispanic and Caribbean consumers, and there is a clear runway for expansion. I am looking forward to partnering with Vic and the team to strengthen our relationships with national accounts, expand distribution and help our customers expand their offerings in the Hispanic refrigerated foods category.”
This announcement closely follows Tropical Cheese’s acquisition of Cibao Meat Products and the hiring of Chief Growth Officer, Ivonne Balsinde, as the company continues to build a scaled Hispanic refrigerated foods platform and sharpen its go-to-market capabilities.
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
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Tel: 212.355.4449
AUA Media Contact
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Senior Director
ASC Advisors LLC
Tel: 203.992.1227
Cell: 917.705.1970
Email: mrayden@ascadvisors.com
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SOURCE Tropical Cheese
