Ancient Crunch, the New York-based parent of MASA tortilla chips and Vandy kettle chips, has secured nationwide distribution across Whole Foods Market stores this August — following a test in 93 locations earlier this year. The rollout pushes the brand's total U.S. retail presence past 3,000 doors, spanning Target, Sprouts, Erewhon, Bristol Farms, The Fresh Market, and Amazon, among others.

New Leadership Bench

Ancient Crunch has simultaneously appointed two senior executives to manage the accelerated retail push. Al Matulis joins as Head of Retail, bringing more than two decades of experience scaling consumer brands across natural, mass, e-commerce, and club channels. His résumé includes leadership roles at Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg's, Kernel Season's, and Quinn Snacks. "I am excited by the opportunity to help lead Ancient Crunch's evolution from a DTC-driven business to an omnichannel focused house of beloved BFY brands," Matulis said. Greg Reintjes Jr. comes aboard as Chief Marketing Officer, most recently serving as SVP and Head of Marketing at LALO Spirits, where he helped build the brand through its acquisition by Tito's Handmade Vodka. He previously held brand management and commercial strategy roles at Beam Suntory.

The Better-For-You Angle

Both MASA and Vandy are positioned squarely in the fast-growing seed-oil-free segment — a category that has been gaining meaningful shelf space at natural and specialty retailers as better-for-you snack trends reshape foodservice and retail buying decisions. MASA is made from organic, nixtamalized corn cooked in 100% grass-fed and finished beef tallow. Vandy applies the same tallow-cooked approach to kettle-style potato chips, with no industrial oils, fillers, or artificial additives. Four SKUs are included in the Whole Foods rollout: MASA Original and Lime, and Vandy Original and French Onion.

The dual-hire strategy signals that Ancient Crunch is preparing to compete at scale beyond its direct-to-consumer roots. Reintjes framed the opportunity in category terms: "Consumers are demanding high quality food made from natural ingredients." For buyers and category managers at natural grocery and specialty retail, the brand's rapid test-to-national conversion at Whole Foods — combined with senior commercial hires from established CPG companies — positions Ancient Crunch as a credible contender for additional facings in the growing better-for-you snack category. Co-founders Seth Goldstein and Steven Rofrano described the Whole Foods expansion as a milestone in a longer national buildout, noting the company is "just getting started" investing in leadership to support the next phase of growth.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.