Hovis has appointed former General Mills marketing director Mark Brown as its first chief marketing officer in a bid to supercharge growth plans.

Brown spent the past 13 years in a variety of marketing roles at General Mills, before being promoted to marketing director for Europe and Australia in 2021, where he was responsible for the marketing function across all brands, alongside international responsibility for Old El Paso and its snack brands.

Brown has also previously worked in marketing positions at Weetabix, Kerry Foods and Kraft Foods.

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On his appointment, Brown said yesterday (22 July): “Delighted to be joining the team at Hovis to work on one of the nation’s most iconic brands!”

Hovis CEO Jon Jenkins told The Grocer: “Mark brings with him the right experience and leadership qualities to help drive the brand forward.

“I look forward to working with him to unlock the full potential in the market for Hovis and our customers.”

It comes as Hovis said earlier this year that it was not planning on lowering its bread prices in 2024, despite having increased prices by 30% after the global cost of wheat rocketed.

In March, Jenkins said that costs were now “relatively stable across the piece” and had lowered since their peak in 2022, however, the British bread giant’s  prices would remain static as factors including wage inflation were “structural” and would continue to impact costs.