Jon Bratta, Bp/Ampm

This exec loves the proprietary sweet snacks at his company

Jon Bratta, proprietary brand director for BP's ampm c-store chain, knows the ins and outs of private label. In his role, he leads a team responsible for BP's development of proprietary items across fresh food, hot and cold dispensed beverages, and CPG categories, and his work landed the retailer a private label packaging award for its proprietary brand of snacks.

Prior to joining BP, Bratta spent nearly 11 years with 7-Eleven Inc. in various roles, including fresh foods merchandising.

Bratta lives in Southern California with his wife, two teenage daughters and his 5-year-old son. In his spare time, he rides motorcycles both on and off road, and volunteers for Operation X, which works with the USO to bring action-sports oriented entertainment and musical acts to military bases throughout the United States.

What is your favorite place to visit and why?

I am really partial to visiting either Yellowstone or Yosemite National Parks. I have lived in the desert, although technically it is chaparral, my whole life. Going anywhere with non-palm trees and green hills for more than 30 days out of the year is really appealing to me.

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

This may sound self-serving (and not very nutritionally rounded), but it would probably be a fresh-baked pastry item from one of our stores — the croissants, the Conchas, the cheese danish, the cinnamon roll. They are all to die for!

What is your favorite TV show?

I have been a fan of the suspense and action of "24" for years, and now that it is coming to an end, I am disappointed. I also really like the writing in "Lost," but it is going away too. I guess Monday and Tuesday evenings are going to be open!

What did you want to be when you were young?

I was into all the stuff boys wanted to be when they grew up. It ranged from fighter pilot to baseball player. I pursued the baseball player piece through the end of college, until my arm finally said "no more!"

Which business person do you most admire and why?

I have a great deal of respect for anyone who takes a risk and opens a business for themselves. They place their own money at risk, and either reap the rewards of their efforts or learn the hard way on what could be done differently. The small-business person at the end of the day lives and feeds themselves and their families directly off of the successes or failures they create.

For comments, please contact Mehgan Belanger, Associate News Editor, at [email protected].