Good Culture Expands C-Suite to Strengthen Leadership Team for Continued Growth

The Brand Has Added Three Executive Roles in 2026, Building the Leadership Bench Behind a Business That Has Nearly Quadrupled Sales in Three Years

AUSTIN, TX (September 2, 2026) — Good Culture, the brand credited with revolutionizing cottage cheese for the modern age, today announced the appointment of Kirk Jensen as Chief Operating Officer, capping a year of executive expansion as the company builds its leadership team to support its continued growth. Jensen joins Samantha Famous, Chief People Officer, and Sofia Salvadore, Chief of Staff, who were also appointed to their respective roles in early 2026. Together, the additions strengthen Good Culture’s leadership across operations, people, and executive strategy.

The leadership expansion comes as Good Culture experiences significant business growth. The brand’s velocities are 2-3x the category average across channels, and it is now available in nearly 13,000 retailers nationwide. Good Culture is also the No. 1 branded cottage cheese at Whole Foods Market, and recently partnered with Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) to expand production capacity, meet rising consumer demand, and bring its products to more shelves nationwide.

“We spent this year building a leadership team that matches the size of the business we’ve become,” said Jesse Merrill, CEO and Co-Founder of Good Culture. “Bringing on Kirk, Samantha, and Sofia is a deliberate investment in how we operate, how we grow our people, and how we execute. Together, they bring the leadership and expertise we need to support Good Culture’s next phase while staying true to what makes this brand special.”

As Chief Operating Officer, Jensen will lead Good Culture’s end-to-end operations, spanning supply chain, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and quality, focusing on scaling the company’s operational infrastructure and building the systems and teams for the brand. Bringing more than two decades of operations leadership in packaged foods, he spent six years as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Sovos Brands, where he played a key role in scaling Rao’s and helping the company surpass $1 billion in net sales before its 2024 acquisition by Campbell’s. He most recently served as COO of The Honest Kitchen, where he remains an advisor, and previously held leadership roles at Snyder’s-Lance, Diamond Foods, and Frito-Lay.

“I’m thrilled to join Good Culture as COO," said Kirk Jensen, Chief Operating Officer at Good Culture. "The people, the products, and the growth trajectory make this a compelling opportunity, but the final nudge came from my college-age daughters, longtime fans of the brand, who told me in no uncertain terms that I couldn’t pass this up.”

Famous joined Good Culture as Chief People Officer in February 2026, where she leads the company’s people strategy, talent, culture, and organizational growth, bringing more than 15 years of experience across high-growth consumer companies such as Modern Animal, sweetgreen, Blue Apron, L Brands, and Target Corporation.

"Good Culture is at exactly the kind of inflection point I've built my career around — helping mission-driven brands scale without losing what makes them special," said Samantha Famous, Chief People Officer at Good Culture. "It's the moment where 'people' strategy matters most, and it's what drew me to this opportunity. I'm excited to build an organization that can grow at pace without losing the passion, standards, and values that got us here.”

Lastly, as Chief of Staff, Salvadore partners with the c-suite team on strategic planning, cross-functional execution, and the company’s operating cadence. Together, the expanded leadership team brings the expertise needed to support Good Culture’s momentum while staying focused on its mission to make cottage cheese accessible to more consumers nationwide.

To learn more about Good Culture, visit goodculture.com and follow along on Instagram @good_culture.

About Good Culture:

Based in Austin, Texas, Good Culture is a clean-label cultured foods brand credited with revolutionizing cottage cheese for the modern age. Founded in 2015 by Jesse Merrill and Anders Eisner, the two recognized the untapped potential of cottage cheese as a superfood, transforming it into a frontrunner of the real food movement. Today, Good Culture makes cottage cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese, all made with milk from cows raised on family farms, with no artificial ingredients, gums, stabilizers, or additives. The brand’s partnerships with 1% for the Planet, Path to Pasture, and B-Corp Certification demonstrate its commitment to higher standards for its workers, communities, and the environment. For more information about Good Culture, please visit goodculture.com and follow on Instagram @good_culture.