Insignia International Names CEO to Accelerate Growth
Insignia International, a Denver-based food company specializing in Hispanic and Southwestern flavors, has appointed Jason Parasco its new CEO. The leadership appointment comes as Insignia is ramping up its national expansion strategy through its core brands, which include 505 Southwestern, Lilly B’s, Yucatan guacamole and La Tortilla Factory. According to the company, several of its brands have recently posted double-digit growth and are consistently beating category averages.
Parasco succeeds Adam Butler, who led Insignia’s rebranding from Flagship Food Group in 2024 and helped develop several new products and categories for the business. Butler recruited and mentored Parasco and has helped facilitate a seamless leadership transition.
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“This is the fulfillment of a dream – building a company with heart, hustle and purpose,” noted Parasco. “At Insignia, we don’t follow flavor trends, we create them. We’re leaning into the explosive growth of Hispanic cuisine and creating bold, authentic products that outperform in the marketplace and on consumers’ tables. With an entrepreneurial approach, faster decisions, and what I call a ‘street fighter mentality,’ we’re ready to punch above our weight class and take our leading brands national.”
Founded in 2007, the company is poised to accelerate growth through flavor-forward product innovation, strategic retail expansion and category leadership in the premium Hispanic food segment, which has seen its flavors recently overtake Italian cuisine in mainstream American consumption for the first time.
Parasco, who joined Insignia in early 2024 as chief sales officer (CSO), is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and former U.S. naval officer. He brings to his latest role disciplined leadership and a proven track record in the consumer packaged goods space, having helped scale Sovos Brands from under $100 million to more than $1 billion in revenue. At Insignia, he has unified the company's sales operations around a core growth portfolio and led successful retail expansions into such major operators as Walmart, Kroger, Publix and Costco.
During Parasco’s tenure as CSO, Insignia achieved significant retail wins, among them expanding its craft salsa line into 1,400 Walmart stores and securing placement for its Hatch Magic Chips at 2,000 Kroger locations. His flavor-first, consumer-led strategy elevated Yucatan Guacamole to the No. 1 guacamole position at Publix after a reformulation, while Lilly B's organic burritos surpassed club store sales projections by millions of dollars in Q1 2025.
As consumer demand increases for clean-label, premium Hispanic foods, Insignia is investing heavily in innovation while also actively pursuing strategic acquisitions in the premium Hispanic segment that align with its growth goals. The company is especially focused on U.S. consumers age 25 to 50, the demographic currently driving mainstream adoption of Hispanic cuisine. In keeping with this focus, the company’s premier brand, 505 Southwestern, known for its Hatch green chile products, is expanding from its regional Southwest stronghold to pursue national distribution.
Insignia is also currently preparing for peak Hatch green chile season, during which it processes a significant portion of the total volume from New Mexico's Hatch Valley.
“This next chapter isn’t about chasing growth for the sake of it,” continued Parasco. “It’s about earning it through focus, consistency and flavor-first innovation that truly connects with modern shoppers.”
In addition to its branded business, Insignia partners with retailers and food companies through its private label, brokerage and logistics solutions, including freight and warehousing. Headquartered in Denver, the company also maintains operations and offices in New Mexico, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Kansas and Mexico. Insignia is the result of a buy-and-build strategy led by CREO Capital Partners, a Miami-based private equity firm concentrating on food and food logistics investments.
