Mana Mushrooms

Mark Sampson, a 1984 Graduate of Babson College majoring in Finance & Investments began his entrepreneurial career at Babson buying, operating and subsequently selling a student run catering business. After graduation, he spent 2 years as a corporate banker with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in Boston and on Wall Street.

Mr. Sampson began his consumer product career with the Harpoon Brewery. Beginning in the first month of operation, he took this Microbrewer to the $10 million dollar sales level over an 8-year period. At the time of his departure the Harpoon Brand was the 3rd Best selling microbeer in the Northeast (New England to Virginia) and the 10th best selling microbeer nationwide.

He spent the next 2 years transitioning HandsOnToys from a sales and marketing perspective back to the specialty only market after it’s Toobers&Zots brand was discontinued by mass merchants, dropped by Hasbro and subsequently dumped on the open market.

Remaining in the toy & gift industry for another 3 years he brought his decade plus of Consumer Product Sales & Marketing expertise to a start up catalog company. He was instrumental in developing Kid Galaxy’s strategic & tactical retail approach for both the Dream Doll Designer and Bendos brands. Not limited to but including; product, packaging, catalog, & point of sale development, as well as hiring training and managing the sales force in all channels.

In 2001, Mr. Sampson took his previous experience, expertise & contacts, invested in himself, and boot strapped Sampsons, a line of healthy, hand made, small batch gourmet food products. In 2004 Sampsons came into it’s own in terms of awareness and media attention being featured in: InStyle Magazine, The Today Show, Boston Magazine, Lucky Magazine, More Magazine and more. For more information, visit sampsonsnuts.com.

Mr. Sampson is the father of 2 teenagers, lives in Watertown, MA and is on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Specialty Foods Association. An organization of like minded food producers. There is some “mushroom thing” he’s involved in as well.