Former Clorox and Burt’s Bees product development and innovation leader joins Open Book Extracts to lead its private label efforts. This division is poised to support custom product development efforts for world-class CPG companies interested in entering into the CBD/Hemp Extracts category.
Open Book Extracts, one of the leading cultivators, processors, and manufacturers of high-quality cannabinoid products, has appointed Phoebe Leppla as Director of Product Development. Most recently, Leppla led skincare research and development and a team of Formulation Chemists, Packaging Scientists and Process Engineers to bring new products to life for Burt’s Bees. Spending nearly a decade at The Clorox Company, she built and sharpened her engineering, formulation, and project management skills prioritizing consumer learning to drive product innovation in cleaning, wellness, beauty and personal care categories.
“Blending art and science is a passion of mine, both in my personal life through cooking, theater and music and as a professional ethos,” said Leppla. “In product creation, this intersection is vital. When someone is struggling, the last thing a product should be is difficult to use. The consumer shouldn’t have to choose between beautiful or functional, or choose between a luxurious feeling lotion or CBD – why not both? It needs to add value with ease.”
As the leader of Open Book Extracts’ product development function, Leppla will strengthen Open Book Extracts’ custom Product Development and Manufacturing divisions, offering customers specialized products and services for cosmetic products including beauty, skincare and bath formulations.
Leppla joins an established team of formulation and product development experts with broad, global experience, including Trevor Gentry, a Givaudan-trained Flavor Specialist with a Food Science PhD from Cornell University, Francesco Alagna, a Topical Formulation Specialist with a Cosmetic Chemistry Masters and experience at L’Oréal, and Peyton Daly, an Environmental Technology Scientist with a broad background in research and development.
“Adding Phoebe to the Open Book Extracts team is one of the many investments we have made to strengthen our private label division, affirming our commitment and belief in the value of this product offering,” said Open Book Extracts CEO, Dave Neundorfer. “Phoebe and the team’s expertise with beauty and personal care formulations has us excited for a new, premium tier of topical products to enter the CBD market.”
Private label formulation and manufacturing is the latest offering from Open Book Extracts, which also provides white label services and bulk ingredient production. Open Book Extracts currently offers topicals, gummies, capsules, tinctures, and culinary products through its private label division.
About Open Book Extracts
Open Book Extracts is a vertically integrated grower, processor and manufacturer of premium hemp derived products. Their ownership of the entire supply chain, a state-of-the-art extraction campus, product development and manufacturing capabilities, and aggregation of experienced professionals from relevant industries support their efforts to bring transparency and high quality ingredients to the new hemp extracts market. For more information, visit www.openbookextracts.com
Media Contact:
Samantha Veeck at samantha@openbookextracts.com
