Strategic leadership that accelerates growth and unlocks long-term value.
Our Services
Leaven Brands brings strategic insight to emerging food, beverage, and hospitality companies with the goal of accelerating growth and maximizing opportunity. We work hands-on with founders and leadership teams to bridge the gap between potential and performance, pairing innovative thinking with experienced executive leadership, clear vision, and deep industry expertise across brand, operations, and go-to-market execution.
Our Team
Nick Benz
Managing Partner
A seasoned CPG executive and founder with 20 years of experience building and scaling consumer brands across functional beverages, wine, food, and hospitality. As President of Caliwater, he led the company from early stage to national scale, growing distribution to 15,000+ retail doors including Costco, Walmart, Sprouts, and Target while driving triple-digit revenue growth and raising multiple rounds of capital. Previously, he founded and served as CEO of Betera, led the turnaround of Barrel Creek Provisions, and held senior roles at Jackson Family Wines and FIJI Water, bringing deep expertise in P&L ownership, fundraising, go-to-market execution, and organizational development.
Paul Eschbach
Partner
A Michelin-star–trained chef with over 20 years of experience across fine dining, global hospitality, brand building, and consumer experience. He has led operations for Jean-Georges restaurants in China and Hong Kong, including the reopening of Jean-Georges Shanghai, which earned its first Michelin Star in 2018, and played a key role in expanding the Mercato brand internationally. Paul later founded Betera, bringing his culinary background into consumer products, and currently serves as Executive Chef at The Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, New York. He is also the author of Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Official Cookbook, reflecting his ability to connect food, storytelling, and brand, and has held senior culinary leadership roles at Perry Street, the Hermitage Resort, and Airbnb.
Contact Us
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