“Empathy should be abundant.
It should inspire brand growth,
exceptional leadership and positive
impact on people & planet.
THAT’S WHY WE HIRE FOR IT.”
— Ryan Pintado-Vertner
CEO & Founder of Smoketown
Who We Are
CEO & Founder
Ryan Pintado-Vertner is a Chicago-based strategic marketing veteran with two decades of experience guiding the strategy, marketing and innovation choices of Fortune-level brands, startups, and nonprofit organizations. He earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business at U.C.-Berkeley. He is also a board member at Mad Agriculture, an advisor at Trailhead Capital and Whipstitch Capital, and a co-founder of (included), the largest peer network of BIPOC CEOs in the CPG industry.
Ryan believes it’s not enough to create yet another brand in the marketplace. We have to go beyond the basics to create brands that will bring more justice, nourishment, regeneration and wellness to the world.
That’s why he founded Smoketown, a boutique brand consultancy that helps brands and their entire ecosystems flourish. Smoketown specializes in mission-driven brands. Clients have included Bragg Live Foods, Purely Elizabeth, DeeBee’s Organics and Aura Bora.
Ryan Pintado-Vertner
CMO-In-Residence
With 15+ years of experience and a passion for growing purpose-driven brands, Asha has experience that spans natural food, personal care, fem care and health & wellness. Her diverse experience spans work at leading marketing agencies, start-up brands, and big CPG companies.
In her time with Smoketown, Asha has led marketing for a range of brands, from beverage & frozen meals to supplements & hair removal. Prior to Smoketown, her experience included Plum Organics, Cora, One A Day and Digitas.
Asha Datta
Our Partners
Top Experts, Across Disciplines
To extend our capabilities and reach, we’ve built a network of top consultants, all pre-vetted, with talent across a range of disciplines. We call it “The Collective.” Their skills include graphic design, copywriting, email automation, sales & channel strategy, DTC, web / Shopify development, and brand management.
Marketing Mix Modeling Partner
We work with industry-leading, AI-powered software that optimizes the marketing & trade mix at a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional approaches. Our partner is NoiseGrasp. Working together, NoiseGrasp and Smoketown help brands get more value from their demand spending in a way that is also consistent with the company’s growth plan. NoiseGrasp’s proprietary software uses a simple app interface, machine learning and Bayesian modeling to make predictive recommendations for optimal spending across limitless scenarios. Clients walk away with an online optimization tool, plus a deeper understanding of saturation levels, minimum spend thresholds and decay curves across marketing and trade tactics.
Nonprofit & Social Enterprise Partner
In our work with nonprofits, foundations and social enterprises, we collaborate with Mission Partners, a Certified B Corporation™ and a Certified Women-Owned® social impact communications firm that counsels global nonprofits, foundations, and purpose-driven organizations across the U.S. and around the world, as well as the partners who fund and support their work. Their expertise is in guiding organizations to realize their greatest moments of impact to effect positive and lasting social change.