John Marcone
CEO, Founder
Oakland, CA
John loves to explore the world and its culture. From walking the Camino in Spain for 300 miles with his son to traveling across East Africa with his family - discovering different cultures and food never grows old; especially when you are with good friends. John has brought this same passion to his business where his love of travel and food is combined with helping top US retailers develop unique private brands. With a winning combination of passion, business acumen, great employees and a supportive family, John looks forward to growing Sabbel into a prominent player in the industry.
Searcy Menick Wood
Product Strategy & Sales
Phoenix, AZ
Prior to joining Sabbel in 2015, Searcy led the Sprouts Farmers Market private label grocery team and supported new product development while in Global Supply Chain at Starbucks. While working for these two great retailers, she developed a passion for defining what customers want, understanding where gaps are in the marketplace and and designing new product solutions to fill those gaps. In her spare time, Searcy enjoys visiting new international cities with her husband, exploring new restaurants, hiking with her standard poodles and watching true crime documentaries.
Marlo DeLeon
Sales
Los Gatos, CA
Marlo DeLeon is a well-respected veteran in private label. She enjoys working side by side with leaders in the organic and natural food segment to deliver high quality products and proven private label programs. Her team was recently recognized with a Supplier of the Year Award at Whole Foods Market for building “win-win” partnerships. Prior to the food industry Marlo was a Corporate Programs Manager in high tech. Outside of business hours, you can find Marlo planning international vacations around food, culture, and one of a kind experiences. Her favorite quiet moments are hiking trails or paddle boarding in beautiful Northern California.
Jorge Avila
New Product Development & Vendor Procurement
Phoenix, AZ
Jorge travels the world discovering innovative food concepts for the US market. He spent the last twelve years developing exciting products, streamlining manufacturing processes and helping define strategies for major brands and retailers. At SweetLeaf, Jorge managed the global operations and product development team and focused on new product innovation as the Global Sourcing Manager at Sprouts Farmers Market. Outside of work, Jorge enjoys cooking Mexican food, playing sports and traveling with his family.
Elyse Cottone
New Product Development
Monrovia, CA
Elyse is a product development expert with over 20 years of experience in both menu creation in the culinary world and product formulation and development for manufacturing. Elyse’s love for cooking took her to Le Cordon Blue in London, studying both cuisine and pastry; after experience in the culinary world at the renowned Dorchester, London and as a pastry chef in Los Angeles, she expanded her product development expertise with a Bachelors of Science in Food Science and Technology and a Master’s degree in Food Science with a focus on sensory analysis. She has worked in new product development in food manufacturing for the past 15 years. Elyse lives in the foothills Los Angeles where she loves mountain biking the foothills and training for half marathons amongst the deer and bears of her neighborhood. Most important of all, she loves cooking for her family and friends.
