Nicole Bernard Dawes is a pioneering business owner whose lifelong dedication to transforming the food system resulted in her founding Late July Snacks, one of the country’s most successful organic snack brands. Nicole has been named Food & Wine and Fortune Magazine’s ‘Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink’ and Forbes Magazine’s ‘Top Five Women Breaking Barriers in Food and Beverage.’ Furthering her dedication to the industry, Nicole is excited to announce the launch of Nixie Sparkling Water, hitting shelves in 2019.

Kara co-founded VMG Partners in 2005 and focuses on all aspects of the Fund’s investment strategy, sourcing, execution, portfolio company oversight and exit management. Since its inception, VMG has partnered with entrepreneurs and management teams to provide a breadth of value-add resources in the areas of sales, marketing, branding, finance, operations and legal support which enable its partner companies to rapidly increase brand awareness, accelerate growth and build equity value. Kara serves, or has served, on the boards of babyganics, Bare Snacks, Drunk Elephant, Health Warrior, Humm Kombucha, KIND Snacks, Pirate Brands, Pretzel Crisps, Quest Nutrition, Solid Gold Pet, Sun Bum, Waggin’ Train and Vermont Smoke & Cure, among others. Kara has been an investor in emerging, lower-middle-market branded consumer companies for the last 18 years. Prior to her private equity career, Kara was an Analyst at the investment bank of Schroders plc and received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and German from Colgate University.

Over the last decade Rachel Krupa, founder of boutique PR firm Krupa Consulting, has launched incredible brands and discovered amazing products that share a common ethos – mindful practices, well-created natural foods and products, and a mission to do better. She has launched Thrive Market, Tastemade, Barnana, Brownie Brittle, goop Wellness, Sweetfin Poke, and Maman, also playing an integral role in the growth of Joe & the Juice’s in the U.S., Good Culture cottage cheese, Pukka Tea, MatchaBar, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream as well as West Coast expansion of Milk Bar and Shake Shack. Her reach has also extended into culinary awareness for revolutionary festivals like Coachella, Arroyo Seco, Eat Drink Vegan, and Panorama. Inspired to inspire others by the restaurants, snack brands, and wellness thought leaders that she’s worked with – all passionate about ingredient quality, ethical sourcing, and consciously created business – in 2018, Rachel opened The Goods Mart, a socially conscious convenience store. The Goods Mart has curated mission driven upgrades to standard store staples that are not only delicious but also better-for-you and the environment. The Goods is a new kind of destination where neighbors get to know each other while grabbing a sustainable coffee for $1.25, a dye-free candy bar, a tasty local artisanal sandwich, chips, or the essentials – eggs, toilet paper, and milk – all the while giving back to local charities. There are two TGM locations: Silver Lake, CA and New York, NY.

Katlin Smith is the Founder and CEO of Simple Mills, a Chicago-based company at the forefront of a clean food movement that is shaping the next generation of natural foods. Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2017, Smith launched Simple Mills in 2013 to provide a cleaner alternative to the natural baking mixes then on the market. Today, despite a crowded market space with long-established competitors, Simple Mills ranks as the #1 fastest-growing natural baking mix and cracker brand. Additionally, Simple Mills ranks as the #1 natural baking mix, the #1 natural cracker, and #2 natural cookie by dollar sales, according to SPINS syndicated data. Simple Mills products are currently distributed in more than 13,000 conventional and natural grocery stores including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Target, Kroger and Safeway as well as through Amazon and Thrive Market. All products are free of gluten, grain, dairy, soy, GMOs, excessive sugar, and artificial flavors and fillers, addressing consumer concerns about food sensitivities and the safety of the food supply chain. The current lineup includes baking mixes, frostings, almond flour crackers, sprouted seed crackers and ready to eat crunchy cookies. Smith is a former Deloitte Consulting management consultant, winner of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business New Venture Challenge, and a columnist for Inc. magazine.

Kathryn Peters has served SPINS for 10 years across numerous key areas of the growing business. Her commitment to and passion for retail inspires her work developing and sustaining valuable retail relationships at the foundation of the SPINS ecosystem. Kathryn’s insight into helping retailers succeed with SPINS is informed by her previous vice president roles in merchandising and marketing at Ahold and BI-LO, LLC. as well as years of category management and sales experience with retailers during her time with Ralston Purina.

T.J. McIntyre joined Beryl Stafford and Bobo’s as CEO in December 2015 with the mission of building the Bobo’s business and brand into a leading natural foods company that bakes simple, nourishing food. T.J. was previously the Executive Vice President over natural brands at Boulder Brands where he oversaw the acquisition and management of Udi’s, Glutino and Evol and grew the portfolio from $20M to over $400M in 6 years. Prior to Boulder Brands, he served as Brand Manager of Silk at White Wave Foods, leading up to its acquisition by Dean Foods. From 2005 through 2009, he pursued entrepreneurial endeavors in specialty tea and coffee, including co-founding Pekoe Sip House, a regional tea-coffee chain in Boulder, Colorado. Mr. McIntyre holds a BA degree from Michigan State University, and an MBA with a concentration in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Oregon.

In 2000, Andrea began her career with Kroger in Raleigh, NC, as a Management trainee. A couple of years later, she was promoted to Store Manger where she went on to manage several stores in the Raleigh area. In 2007, Andrea joined the Human Resources Team as the Division Recruiter for Management. Andrea recruited for Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic division until she was promoted to the Benefits and Administration manager. After working in this position for several years, Andrea had the opportunity to work in the Produce Department as a Sales Plan Manager. Then, in early 2012, Andrea was able to gain further knowledge of the operational side of the business when she was promoted to District Operations Coordinator. Andrea accepted a position as the District Manager in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2012. In 2016, Andrea joined the General Office team as a Division Promotional Coordinator. While working as a DPC, she worked very closely with the Louisville and King Soopers divisions. She was named to her current role in 2016.

John Durant is the founder of Wild Ventures, an influencer-based venture fund focused on consumer health. John was a pre-launch advisor to Thrive Market, Kettle & Fire, Magic Spoon, and part of the only funding round in Primal Kitchen (recently acquired by Kraft Heinz). John runs Wild Ventures out of Thrive Market's headquarters in Los Angeles, where he recruited the earliest health influencers to invest in the company’s seed round and designed an influencer strategy that drove 20k+ paid members four months after launch with $0 media spend and helped the company achieve a $100M ARR 16 months after launch. Wild Ventures deals include top health & wellness influencers, such as Wellness Mama, Melissa Hartwig Urban (Whole30), Thrive Market co-founders, and Mark Sisson (Primal Kitchen). More than just “influencers” – now a buzzword – Wild Ventures works with authentic leaders who are domain experts, have significant digital platforms, and love helping founders build a better future. John is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Paleo Manifesto and Spartan Fit! with Joe De Sena, the founder of Spartan Race. He has been featured in the New York Times and The New Yorker, interviewed on The Colbert Report and NPR Morning Edition, and has been rated one of The 100 Most Influential People in Health & Fitness. He studied evolutionary psychology at Harvard under Steven Pinker. John loves barrel saunas, ice baths, bone marrow, and thinks intermittent fasting is still underrated.