Mochi Love Crowned Champion of Nosh Live Pitch Slam 15
Mochi Love was named the winner of Pitch Slam 15, Nosh’s annual pitch competition for emerging food brands sponsored by Vdriven.
Launched in 2024 by Brandie and Will Miller, the California-based brand produces a line of “crème clouds,” refrigerated mochi bites featuring a French crème center. Available in two flavors – Mango Passionfruit and Chocolate Ganache – the product seeks to bring the excitement from the ice cream aisle (where many mochi products live) to grab-and-go cold cases. Mochi Love is available at various retailers, including Misfits Market, Good Eggs, Arguello Market, and La Boulangerie San Francisco.
“When I think about the brand and what makes us unique, it falls into three rings: we have a convenient, snackable two-pack, the product is merchandised in the fridge and not the freezer and our brand identity emulates happiness, joy, and kindness,” said Brandie Miller during her presentation.
Mochi Love emerged victorious from a group of six emerging CPG food brands that also included Doosra modern Indian snacks, Brune Kitchen clean label cookies, Harken functional, better-for-you candy bars, NOOISH matzo ball soup, and Chutni Punch finishing seasoning powders.
During Friday’s Pitch Slam round, finalists were given five minutes to pitch their product and brand while explaining to the panel of judges where their products are situated in the market, their blueprints for scaling the business, and how they plan to differentiate themselves in a crowded healthy food market.
The round was judged by Lisa Tosun, senior local forager for the SoCal Whole Foods Market region; Monica Watrous, managing editor of Nosh; Luke Abbott, founder and CEO of Vdriven; and Arnulfo Ventura, SVP of Siddhi Capital.
The judges unanimously praised Mochi Love for its taste and for standing out in an increasingly saturated market – the mochi market was valued at $282.6 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $638.6 billion by 2031, according to Verified Market Research.
“You’re in a trendy area, and you’re doing something different that hasn’t been done before,” said Tosun.
Ventura echoed the sentiment, saying, “I’m not sure I’ve seen the two-pack carrier before, so that in itself already feels disruptive alongside the refrigerated approach you’re taking. And the flavor absolutely delivers on the descriptor.”
As the champion of Pitch Slam 15, Mochi Love will walk away with a $10,000 awareness-building advertising package from Nosh and bragging rights.
Mochi Love joins past PitchSlam winners like Lentiful lentil-based meals, Sunnie snack dippers, Ruani adaptogenic brownies, Cocina 54 frozen empanadas, Savorly appetizers, and Kokada coconut spread.
Looking ahead, Mochi Love plans to spend 2025 rolling out two new crème cloud flavors – Raspberry Lychee and Coconut Chocolate – plus pushing into foodservice, releasing shelf-stable mochi products, and producing private label products. In 2026, the brand will seek to deepen its presence in the snacking set with mochi puffs.
