IQI names Alana Brown sales manager for North America
Bottom line
IQI Trusted Petfood Ingredients has appointed Alana Brown as sales manager for North America, adding a technical hire to its regional commercial team as the company continues to build out its presence in the US and Canada. Brown joined the North American sales team in May 2026 after serving as North American customer technical insights manager at AFB International. IQI said she brings about a decade of experience across quality, R&D, ingredient formulation, and manufacturing, and will now focus on customer relationships and supporting the company’s growth strategy. (petfoodindustry.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is a people move inside the pet food ingredient supply chain, not a clinical or regulatory change. Still, it’s relevant because IQI supplies premium and functional pet food ingredients globally, and Brown’s background suggests the company is leaning into more technical, consultative selling with manufacturers. That can influence how formulation, palatability, and ingredient conversations reach brands that ultimately serve pet parents and veterinary channels. IQI is part of OSI Group and says it operates more than 50 production sites worldwide, while recent North American hires indicate a broader regional growth push. (petfoodindustry.com)
What to watch: Watch for whether IQI pairs this appointment with new North American customer programs, ingredient launches, or expanded commercial leadership responsibilities in 2026. (iqi-petfood.com)
IQI Trusted Petfood Ingredients has named Alana Brown sales manager for North America, the latest in a string of commercial hires tied to the company’s North American expansion. Brown joined the team in May 2026 and moves into the role after working in a technical customer-facing position at AFB International. (petfoodindustry.com)
The appointment fits a broader pattern for IQI. Over the past two years, the ingredient supplier has repeatedly added regional sales leadership, including Brooke Eiler in North America in July 2025, Mike Turnbull for Canada and the US in April 2026, and other market-specific hires in Europe and elsewhere. Taken together, those moves suggest IQI is continuing to invest in local commercial coverage as competition for pet food ingredient partnerships remains tight. (iqi-petfood.com)
Brown’s background stands out because it bridges technical and commercial functions. According to PetfoodIndustry and IQI’s company materials, she most recently served as North American customer technical insights manager at AFB International, where she worked with sales teams on product and technical needs for key customers. Before that, she held roles at Monsanto, now Bayer, Crossmark, and the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she studied animal sciences. In her new role, IQI said she’ll manage customer relationships and use her technical knowledge to support growth. (petfoodindustry.com)
IQI and industry coverage both framed the hire as a benefit to customers as much as to the company. Brooke Eiler, identified in coverage as sales manager North America, said Brown’s experience in pet food, ingredient formulation, and manufacturing would be a “huge benefit” to IQI and its customers. Brown said the move from R&D into sales is a new challenge and that she plans to apply her technical background to help partners find what they need. (petfoodindustry.com)
The company’s own positioning helps explain why that matters. IQI describes itself as a global provider of premium and functional ingredients for the pet food industry, with logistics hubs in Europe, North America, and Asia. On its website, IQI emphasizes product selection tied to claims around flavor, health and well-being, and sustainability and welfare, which points to a sales process that likely depends on technical fluency as much as relationship management. That makes Brown’s move from technical insights into sales a logical fit for an ingredient supplier serving increasingly specialized manufacturer needs. This is an inference based on the company’s stated market focus and Brown’s prior role. (petfoodindustry.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the immediate impact is indirect, but still worth noting. Ingredient suppliers sit upstream from the diets and treats that reach clinics, specialty retail, and pet parents. When suppliers add staff with R&D and quality experience, it can signal more technically informed support for formulation decisions, palatability work, and customer problem-solving. In a pet food market where claims scrutiny, ingredient differentiation, and manufacturing consistency all matter, those behind-the-scenes staffing choices can shape what products make it to market and how confidently brands talk about them. (petfoodindustry.com)
There’s also a strategic angle. IQI’s recent appointments across North America suggest the company isn’t treating the region as a single sales territory anymore, but as a market requiring deeper bench strength and more specialized coverage. For veterinarians who track pet nutrition and supplier dynamics, that’s another sign the ingredient side of the business is becoming more consultative and regionally tailored. (petworldwide.net)
What to watch: The next signal will be whether IQI follows these hires with new ingredient programs, stronger US and Canadian account activity, or more public-facing partnerships with pet food manufacturers over the second half of 2026. (iqi-petfood.com)