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Food Industry Analysis & Advice Plus the Partners to Make it Happen

Name: NOSH Live Winter 2020
Start: 2020-12-14T00:00:00-05:00

In a year of uncertainty and struggle, it’s hard to find steadiness and positivity. That’s why we are bringing NOSH Live Winter 2020 straight to you. On Dec. 14, 15 and 16, the natural food industry will gather virtually to touch base, share energy and impart advice.

The virtual event will run from 12 PM to 3 PM EST each day, and will mix high-profile speakers and informative panels with special networking opportunities, including interactive breakout discussions and Speed Dating. NOSH will maintain our mission to offer the community the opportunities it needs to build together, to learn together, and to succeed together.

NOSH Live Winter 2020 Main Stage Speakers

Tara Bosch

Founder, SmartSweets

Tara Bosch

Founder, SmartSweets

Tara is the founder of SmartSweets, where they are on a global mission to Kick Sugar, and Keep Candy. Tara dropped out of university at 21 to begin recipe testing in her kitchen on a quest to innovate the first delicious candy- Without the sugar. Launching nation-wide on store shelves less than a year later, SmartSweets can now be found in 30,000 doors across the USA & Canada, with partners including Target, Kroger, and Whole Foods. Today, SmartSweets has helped people kick over 1 Billion grams of sugar. SmartSweets is the recipient of several entrepreneurial awards, including being named a Peter Thiel Fellow and featured in Forbes 30 under 30, among others.
Jeff Dunn

Chairman and CEO, Bolthouse Farms
Ami Desai Mathur

Chief Commercial Officer, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
Sam Kass

Partner, Acre Venture Partners

Sam Kass

Partner, Acre Venture Partners

Sam Kass is the former Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition in the Obama administration, Executive Director of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign and the Obama family chef. He is a Partner in Acre Venture Partners. After cooking for the Obamas in Chicago for two years, Sam joined the White House kitchen staff in 2009. During his White House tenure, he took on several additional roles including Executive Director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and Senior White House Policy Advisor for Nutrition. Sam is the first person in the history of the White House to have a position in the Executive Office of the President and the Residence. As one of the First Lady’s longest-serving advisors, he helped the First Lady create the first major vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden. Currently Sam is a Partner at Acre Venture Partners. Acre is a venture capital fund investing in the future of food with a mission to improve human and environmental health in the food system. The fund focuses on early stage, highly disruptive impactful companies in the food system focused on agriculture, supply chain and consumer. In 2011, Fast Company included Sam in their list of 100 Most Creative People, and in 2012, he helped create the American Chef Corps, which is dedicated to promoting diplomacy through culinary initiatives. He is an MIT Media Lab fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago. Sam is the author of Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World, which was published by Clarkson Potter on April 17, 2018.
Chris Kerr

Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Unovis Asset Management

Chris Kerr

Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Unovis Asset Management

Chris has over thirty years of leadership experience with start-ups and venture capital investing. He has spent the last decade focused on impact investing with a concentration on food markets and the plant-based foods sector. As CIO, Chris manages portfolio strategy, leads the co-investor coalition building efforts, and serves as a strategic advisor to most portfolio companies. Chris is co-founder and Chair of Gathered Foods Corp (Good Catch), director of Cultivated Food Labs, co-founder and director of Wicked Foods, and serves as an independent director of The Livekindly Company.
Kristy Lewis

Founder and CEO, Quinn Snacks

Kristy Lewis

Founder and CEO, Quinn Snacks

Kristy Lewis is the Founder/CEO of Quinn Foods LLC, based in Louisville, CO. Kristy, mom of three little boys, launched Quinn Foods with no prior food industry experience just three days after her first son, Quinn, was born. Disappointed by the chemicals and artificial flavors in her favorite childhood snack, microwave popcorn, Kristy invented and patented a Pure Pop® microwave popcorn bag, which is the first bag without chemical or plastic coatings, such as PFOAs and PFCs. Kristy continued her mission of making better-for-you classic snacks (that never ever compromise on flavor) by launching a line of gluten-free and grain-free pretzels. Since starting Quinn ten years ago, Kristy has been a pioneer in agriculture and ingredient transparency. Quinn’s ‘Farm-to-Bag’™ Policy connects consumers directly to the source where the ingredients come from and their ‘Be Better. Do Better.’™ mission takes these ‘Farm-to-Bag’ relationships a step further by encouraging growers to improve agricultural practices that will not only benefit them, but also the planet. ?Kristy was chosen by Whole Foods as one of the 'Women Makers: Raising the Bar' highlighting women and industry leaders who inspire and motivate others to create new and better products. She was honored as one of the ‘Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs’ by Fortune Magazine, and Quinn Snacks was named ‘Snack Producer of the Year’ by Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery.
Seth Monette

Chief Customer Officer, Lily's Sweets

Seth Monette

Chief Customer Officer, Lily's Sweets

Seth Monette has over 20 years of CPG experience that spans Emerging Brands, big CPG, and private label/contract manufacturing. Seth is currently Chief Customer Officer at Lily’s Sweets, a VMG Partners portfolio company, where he has established best in class Business Insights and Trade Marketing practices and built the Customer Sales team from 1- 10 employees. Seth’s “data into insights into results” approach has led to 5x revenue growth of Lily’s over the last three years. Prior to Lily’s Sweets, Seth was VP of Sales for two emerging brands, was VP of North American Retail for Weston Foods, and spent 10 years in a variety of customer sales, trade finance, insights and cross-functional marketing roles at General Mills. Seth’s exceptional results and leadership has been recognized with five Vendor of the Year awards for his teams across Dollar, Mass, and Grocery customers. Seth also currently serves on the advisory boards for Bitsy’s and Good Citizens. Seth has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and an MBA from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary. He lives in Richmond, Virginia where he and his wife Allison (co-founder/CEO of O’MY Dairy Free Gelato) raise their two sons and their prized border collie Doc.
Alex Cole

Director of Talent, VMG Partners

Alex Cole

Director of Talent, VMG Partners

Alex Cole is the Director of Talent at VMG Partners, a consumer private equity firm passionate about building iconic brands. Prior to joining VMG, Alex worked at True Search, an executive search firm focused on c-suite hiring for high growth brands. Alex lives in San Francisco with her better half and their and very cute dog.
Janica Lane

Managing Director, Consumer Investment Banking, Piper Sandler & Co.

Janica Lane

Managing Director, Consumer Investment Banking, Piper Sandler & Co.

Janica Lane is a managing director at Piper Sandler focused on providing investment banking and M&A advisory services to consumer companies in healthy, active and sustainable living industries, with a focus on food and beverage, as well as nutritional supplements. Prior to joining Piper Sandler, Lane was a partner at Partnership Capital Growth, a boutique investment bank providing M&A and private placement services to health and wellness-oriented businesses. Prior to investment banking, Lane was a researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Environmental Science and Policy (CESP) and an equity research associate on Prudential Securities’ energy team. Lane has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She received dual bachelor's degrees (international relations and Spanish) with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Stanford University. She spent six months living in Santiago, Chile, as part of her undergraduate education and is fluent in Spanish.
Heidi Krauss

COO, Base Culture

Heidi Krauss

COO, Base Culture

Heidi Krauss is the Chief Operating Officer at Base Culture, an emerging gluten-free and paleo baked goods and snack brand with distribution in natural, grocery and e-commerce channels. Prior to joining Base Culture, she was the Chief Marketing Officer at siggi’s yogurt for over three years, and helped the company achieve significant over the course of her tenure. She was also an Associate Partner with McKinsey, where she focused on marketing growth strategy, including portfolio strategy and innovation for food and personal care clients. Her 20+ years of consumer products experience additionally includes a Senior Marketing Director role with Dannon and leadership roles in Warner Lambert / Pfizer. She is currently a Board Member for the Ancient Harvest/ Pamela’s business. Heidi holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from The Wharton School.
Heather Cox

President, Clio Snacks

Heather Cox

President, Clio Snacks

Heather MacNeil Cox is the President of Clio Snacks, the makers of the first refrigerated Greek yogurt bar, where she leads sales, marketing, finance, and human resources. Under Heather’s leadership, Clio has experienced triple digit growth with expansion into over 9,000 doors across the natural, grocery, mass, and ecommerce channels, establishing itself as a leader in the growing fresh snacking segment. Prior to Clio, Heather was the Chief Marketing Officer at Suja Juice where she led all aspects of marketing and brand strategy. She earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Currently residing in Maine, Heather adores being a mom to her two strong and curious daughters.
Sarah Foley

Partner, SWAT Equity Partners

Sarah Foley

Partner, SWAT Equity Partners

Sarah Foley is a senior finance and operating professional with over 20 years of experience investing in angel- to leveraged buyout-stage companies across a variety of industries. She has held corporate executive, investment and board of director positions assisting companies from early growth to turnaround stages of development. Currently, Ms. Foley is a Partner at SWAT Equity Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on consumer-branded products, services and technology, since inception and has built a portfolio of 19 companies. Prior to SWAT Equity Partners, Ms. Foley served as CFO of Eleni’s New York, a food brand. Ms. Foley also spent over 11 years in private equity at Chartwell Investments and Deutsche Asset Management. Ms. Foley began her career at Morgan Stanley and Greenhill & Co. She graduated from Northwestern University with a dual BA degree with honors in Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences and Economics.
Franklin Isacson

Founding Partner, Coefficient Capital

Franklin Isacson

Founding Partner, Coefficient Capital

Franklin is a Founding Partner at Coefficient Capital. Franklin has over a decade of investing experience in consumer products and retail and has worked in the sector for twenty years. Franklin lead deal sourcing in the US and select European countries for Verlinvest, the Brussels-based investment firm backed by the founding shareholders of Anheuser-Busch InBev. He set-up the New York office and led growth investments within the branded consumer and retail sectors, deploying equity checks of $5m to $150m. Prior to joining Verlinvest, Franklin worked in the consumer products investment banking group at UBS, in M&A and strategy at Diageo and in brand marketing at LVMH. He started his career at The Boston Consulting Group where he served clients in consumer products and retail. Franklin received an MBA from Columbia Business School, a BA from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, and a Diploma from Sciences Po. in Paris. Franklin is Dutch, grew up in Europe where he learnt to speak four languages and has lived and worked in New York since 2005.
Kathryn Peters

Executive Vice President of Retailer Services, SPINS

Kathryn Peters

Executive Vice President of Retailer Services, SPINS

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.
Sean Conner

Co-Founder & Chief Progress Officer, Force Brands
Heather Smith Thorne

Partner, TPG Growth

Heather Smith Thorne

Partner, TPG Growth

Heather Smith Thorne is a Partner with TPG Growth based in San Francisco, where she leads consumer investing and strategy across the TPG Growth and The Rise Fund platforms. Prior to joining TPG, Heather was a Managing Director and Partner with Swander Pace Capital, a private equity firm focused on consumer products investments. She previously held roles at Thoma Bravo and Robinson Humphrey. Heather received a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Bob Burke

Founder, Natural Products Consulting

Bob Burke

Founder, Natural Products Consulting

As a consultant since 1998, Bob Burke provides assistance in bringing natural, organic and specialty products to market across most classes of trade. This includes work in strategic planning, growth strategies, writing sales, marketing and business plans, budgeting, pricing, building distribution, broker selection and management, organizational development, strategic options, financing, branding, trade spending management and assistance around M&A, due diligence and venture strategy groups. He is also the co-author and co-publisher of the Natural Products Field Manual, Ninth Edition. Prior to consulting, Bob was with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt for 11 years as Vice President, Sales & Corporate Development and Vice President, Marketing & Sales. He has held marketing positions with Colombo, Inc. and Sperry Top-Sider. He received an MBA from Babson College.
Carol Ortenberg

Editor, NOSH

Carol Ortenberg

Editor, NOSH

Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
Jeff Klineman

Editor in Chief, BevNET.com
Erin Cabrey

Reporter, NOSH, BevNET.com

The Agenda: Live Presentations, On-Demand Content & Virtual Networking

We’ll open NOSH Live Winter 2020 with our traditional Boot Camp for early stage food entrepreneurs on Dec. 14, with expert-led education seminars and opportunities to interact with our instructors and the NOSH team.

NOSH Live’s programming on Dec. 15 and 16 will look to the coming year with presentations and discussions with key industry leaders on innovation, investment, retailing, and the key opportunities and trends that will enable growth within the food business.

Print the agenda for Monday, December 14

Please note: All times US Eastern Time

ON DEMAND
Event Welcome and Platform Introduction

We hope everyone will start by watching the introductory video when you first enter. It’s the best way to find out how to make your way around and find content and people who can help you take your business next-level.
ON DEMAND
Legal Issues for Food Makers

From finance to formulas, contracts to corporate structure, here are some of the legal basics that food entrepreneurs need to know when they're making key decisions. Like operations, having a firm legal foundation can keep your new empire from crumbling.
- Rick Jordan
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Rick Jordan
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Rick is the co-founder of DFW CPG, a community that supports the Dallas-Fort Worth area CPG ecosystem, starting with food and beverage. Rick also is an attorney whose practice focuses on representing high-growth companies and investment funds, primarily in the food/bev/consumer sector. His experience covers a broad spectrum of corporate and governance matters, including early-and late stage venture capital financings, growth equity investments, and exit transactions. Rick serves as Co-Chair of Polsinelli’s national Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Group.
- Adam Hull
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Adam Hull
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Adam Hull is the Co-Chair of Polsinelli’s Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Group. Adam’s practice focuses on representing investment funds and emerging companies throughout the venture capital life cycle, with a particular focus on later stage venture capital and growth equity financings, strategic corporate relationships, securities regulation, and complex mergers and acquisitions.
- Rick Jordan, Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
- Adam Hull, Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
ON DEMAND
An Investor's View

In this session, we’ll go inside the mind (and pocketbook) of an investor, learning what they look for when considering companies for investment. We’ll also hear the best ways to approach investors and what to make sure you have prepared to discuss in initial meetings.
- David Levinson
  
  Principal, AF Ventures
  
  David Levinson
  
  Principal, AF Ventures
  
  David is a Vice President where he supports the investment activities of the Fund, including sourcing and due diligence. He also works with the founders of our investments building their financial plans. Prior to joining the Fund, David worked at Incentrum Group in a strategic advisory role for select life sciences & healthcare corporate clients and pursued private equity and venture-oriented investing. Before that, David worked at BNP Paribas in both their M&A and capital markets groups. David holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Bucknell University.
- David Levinson, Principal, AF Ventures
ON DEMAND
Working with Copackers

For many brands, your route to market will include working with a copacker. Having the right relationship will make this process smoother, and in this session we’ll cover key points you’ll want to discuss with any copacker, from the initial contracts through production.
- Brandon Hernandez
  
  Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting
  
  Brandon Hernandez
  
  Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting
  
  After earning a B.S. in biology from Colorado State University, Brandon began his career in food safety at Zateca Foods (now Teasdale Latin Foods). Today he is the co-founder of Whole Brain Consulting—a robust team of experienced food industry experts that provide a wide range of services, from co-manufacturer sourcing and contract negotiation to R&D, food quality, food safety and supply chain, logistics and operations management services.
- Brandon Hernandez, Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting
ON DEMAND
Designing for Ecommerce and Brick and Mortar

For many brands, your packaging and label are your best chance to convince a customer to give you a try. But with the rise of D2C, it’s not just about standing out on shelf. This presentation will show you how to make a product that stands out on shelf and on screen and give you advice on the visual cues that establish your brand.
- Becky Nelson Dahl
  
  Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands
  
  Becky Nelson Dahl
  
  Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands
  
  Coming from Wisconsin but living in Southern California, Becky has an understanding of consumers on the coast and in Middle America. At BexBrands, she leads a team of designers and communication visionaries that find unique and authentic ways to connect brands with their tribe, no matter where they live or what their lifestyle. Mostly food drink and beauty, all clients have an aligned vision to make the world’s community healthier and happier. Experience includes: Suja Organic Juice, Chameleon Cold Brew, Dr. Praeger’s, Once Upon a Farm, Back to the Roots, Barnana, Bumble Bee, Lily’s
- Becky Nelson Dahl, Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands
ON DEMAND
Brand Finance: Market Trends in Deal Flow
- Nick McCoy
  
  Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital
  
  Nick McCoy
  
  Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital
  
  Nick McCoy is a Co-Founder and Managing Director with Whipstitch Capital, the largest independent investment bank in the U.S solely focused on the better-for-you consumer sector. Nick has over 20 years of investment banking experience and has worked with Whipstitch co-founder Mike Burgmaier since 2008 at a previous investment bank that Nick also co-founded. Previously Nick was in the Investment Banking Group at First Albany (now Jeffries), Director of M&A at Allmerica Financial Corp, and a Senior Associate, Corporate Development at Wheelabrator Technologies. Nick often speaks and is quoted on various investiture and acquisition-related topics. Personally, Nick is an avid road cyclist and thinks it’s ok to cross country ski in below-zero temperatures. He’s a health-focused foodie, cooks frequently and has an extensive knowledge of wine and whiskey (just ask him). Nick is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has an MBA from Wake Forest University and an undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire.
- Nick McCoy, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital
ON DEMAND
PR Strategies for Emerging Brands

It doesn’t matter how great your product is, if consumers and the industry doesn’t know about it, you might not go as far. In this session we’ll hear some of the key ways you can amplify your brand and message from a PR firm who works with some of the top emerging brands.
- Monica Guzman Escobar
  
  CEO, Startr Co.
  
  Monica Guzman Escobar
  
  CEO, Startr Co.
  
  Monica Guzman Escobar is the CEO of Startr Co., a modern public relations partner and champion for startups and emerging businesses. Utilizing her almost 15 years of experience, Monica oversees the execution of high impact PR campaigns for CPG brands in the food and beverage, health & wellness, and family/children arenas. Acting as a resource for brands amidst meteoric growth, and providing high level strategy for all agency work, Monica is on a mission to provide inventive solutions that enable businesses to reach their full potential. Under Monica’s leadership, Startr Co. works in partnership with today’s leading companies including, RightRice, SmartSweets, Bobo’s, Beanfields and Cappello’s, to name a few. Prior to Startr Co., Monica was one of the founding members of Konnect Agency in 2009. Acting as COO of Konnect, she helped grow the business from a handful of clients, to more than 60, all while growing a team of 3 to more than 50. At Konnect, she was crucial in bringing on and leading campaigns for brands including Lyft, Dave & Buster’s, Rhythm Superfoods, The Goddard School, Nuna, Attune Foods, Nautica, and others. Previous to Konnect, Monica held positions with PMK•BNC and Rox United Public Relations (previously RLPR), where she supported campaigns for brands including Nike, Got Milk?, Cheerios, Delta and Heineken.
- Monica Guzman Escobar , CEO, Startr Co.
ON DEMAND
Scaling in Retail Responsibly

It can be tempting to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way, but this can result in a situation where your company moves too fast. In this session we’ll learn how brands can think about creating a sustainable growth plan that sets them up for long term success.
- Andrew Lema
  
  Founder, Off The Ground Consulting
  
  Andrew Lema
  
  Founder, Off The Ground Consulting
  
  Andrew founded Off The Ground Consulting in 2016. His experience in the Food & Beverage industry began at Celsius Beverage while attending The University of Rhode Island. In 2013, he took the lead in introducing Celsius to the Northeast. Andrew brings a fresh perspective while managing many aspects involving the overall growth of the brand. Following working with Polar Beverages, Andrew chose to help incubate a local iced tea company from Rhode Island. It was at this time that he fell in love working with emerging brands. From that moment on, Andrew gradually cultivated the OTG concept. His areas of concentration are distribution management, grocery retail expansion, and CPG retail alignment on social media. Andrew is a proud CSA member and enjoys educating on the importance of sustainability-minded family farming.
- Andrew Lema, Founder, Off The Ground Consulting
12:00 PM
-
1:00 PM
Q&A: Legal Issues for Food Makers
- Rick Jordan
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Rick Jordan
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Rick is the co-founder of DFW CPG, a community that supports the Dallas-Fort Worth area CPG ecosystem, starting with food and beverage. Rick also is an attorney whose practice focuses on representing high-growth companies and investment funds, primarily in the food/bev/consumer sector. His experience covers a broad spectrum of corporate and governance matters, including early-and late stage venture capital financings, growth equity investments, and exit transactions. Rick serves as Co-Chair of Polsinelli’s national Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Group.
- Adam Hull
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Adam Hull
  
  Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
  
  Adam Hull is the Co-Chair of Polsinelli’s Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Group. Adam’s practice focuses on representing investment funds and emerging companies throughout the venture capital life cycle, with a particular focus on later stage venture capital and growth equity financings, strategic corporate relationships, securities regulation, and complex mergers and acquisitions.
- Rick Jordan, Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
- Adam Hull, Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli
12:00 PM
-
1:00 PM
Q&A: An Investor's View
- David Levinson
  
  Principal, AF Ventures
  
  David Levinson
  
  Principal, AF Ventures
  
  David is a Vice President where he supports the investment activities of the Fund, including sourcing and due diligence. He also works with the founders of our investments building their financial plans. Prior to joining the Fund, David worked at Incentrum Group in a strategic advisory role for select life sciences & healthcare corporate clients and pursued private equity and venture-oriented investing. Before that, David worked at BNP Paribas in both their M&A and capital markets groups. David holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Bucknell University.
- David Levinson, Principal, AF Ventures
12:00 PM
-
1:00 PM
Q&A: Working with Copackers
- Brandon Hernandez
  
  Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting
  
  Brandon Hernandez
  
  Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting
  
  After earning a B.S. in biology from Colorado State University, Brandon began his career in food safety at Zateca Foods (now Teasdale Latin Foods). Today he is the co-founder of Whole Brain Consulting—a robust team of experienced food industry experts that provide a wide range of services, from co-manufacturer sourcing and contract negotiation to R&D, food quality, food safety and supply chain, logistics and operations management services.
- Brandon Hernandez, Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting
1:00 PM
-
2:00 PM
Q&A: Designing for Ecommerce and Brick and Mortar
- Becky Nelson Dahl
  
  Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands
  
  Becky Nelson Dahl
  
  Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands
  
  Coming from Wisconsin but living in Southern California, Becky has an understanding of consumers on the coast and in Middle America. At BexBrands, she leads a team of designers and communication visionaries that find unique and authentic ways to connect brands with their tribe, no matter where they live or what their lifestyle. Mostly food drink and beauty, all clients have an aligned vision to make the world’s community healthier and happier. Experience includes: Suja Organic Juice, Chameleon Cold Brew, Dr. Praeger’s, Once Upon a Farm, Back to the Roots, Barnana, Bumble Bee, Lily’s
- Becky Nelson Dahl, Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands
1:00 PM
-
2:00 PM
Q&A: Brand Finance: Market Trends in Deal Flow
- Nick McCoy
  
  Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital
  
  Nick McCoy
  
  Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital
  
  Nick McCoy is a Co-Founder and Managing Director with Whipstitch Capital, the largest independent investment bank in the U.S solely focused on the better-for-you consumer sector. Nick has over 20 years of investment banking experience and has worked with Whipstitch co-founder Mike Burgmaier since 2008 at a previous investment bank that Nick also co-founded. Previously Nick was in the Investment Banking Group at First Albany (now Jeffries), Director of M&A at Allmerica Financial Corp, and a Senior Associate, Corporate Development at Wheelabrator Technologies. Nick often speaks and is quoted on various investiture and acquisition-related topics. Personally, Nick is an avid road cyclist and thinks it’s ok to cross country ski in below-zero temperatures. He’s a health-focused foodie, cooks frequently and has an extensive knowledge of wine and whiskey (just ask him). Nick is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has an MBA from Wake Forest University and an undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire.
- Nick McCoy, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital
2:00 PM
-
3:00 PM
Q&A: PR Strategies for Emerging Brands
- Monica Guzman Escobar
  
  CEO, Startr Co.
  
  Monica Guzman Escobar
  
  CEO, Startr Co.
  
  Monica Guzman Escobar is the CEO of Startr Co., a modern public relations partner and champion for startups and emerging businesses. Utilizing her almost 15 years of experience, Monica oversees the execution of high impact PR campaigns for CPG brands in the food and beverage, health & wellness, and family/children arenas. Acting as a resource for brands amidst meteoric growth, and providing high level strategy for all agency work, Monica is on a mission to provide inventive solutions that enable businesses to reach their full potential. Under Monica’s leadership, Startr Co. works in partnership with today’s leading companies including, RightRice, SmartSweets, Bobo’s, Beanfields and Cappello’s, to name a few. Prior to Startr Co., Monica was one of the founding members of Konnect Agency in 2009. Acting as COO of Konnect, she helped grow the business from a handful of clients, to more than 60, all while growing a team of 3 to more than 50. At Konnect, she was crucial in bringing on and leading campaigns for brands including Lyft, Dave & Buster’s, Rhythm Superfoods, The Goddard School, Nuna, Attune Foods, Nautica, and others. Previous to Konnect, Monica held positions with PMK•BNC and Rox United Public Relations (previously RLPR), where she supported campaigns for brands including Nike, Got Milk?, Cheerios, Delta and Heineken.
- Monica Guzman Escobar , CEO, Startr Co.
2:00 PM
-
3:00 PM
Q&A: Scaling in Retail Responsibly
- Andrew Lema
  
  Founder, Off The Ground Consulting
  
  Andrew Lema
  
  Founder, Off The Ground Consulting
  
  Andrew founded Off The Ground Consulting in 2016. His experience in the Food & Beverage industry began at Celsius Beverage while attending The University of Rhode Island. In 2013, he took the lead in introducing Celsius to the Northeast. Andrew brings a fresh perspective while managing many aspects involving the overall growth of the brand. Following working with Polar Beverages, Andrew chose to help incubate a local iced tea company from Rhode Island. It was at this time that he fell in love working with emerging brands. From that moment on, Andrew gradually cultivated the OTG concept. His areas of concentration are distribution management, grocery retail expansion, and CPG retail alignment on social media. Andrew is a proud CSA member and enjoys educating on the importance of sustainability-minded family farming.
- Andrew Lema, Founder, Off The Ground Consulting
3:00 PM
-
4:30 PM

Product Development Speed Dating

Print the agenda for Tuesday, December 15

Please note: All times US Eastern Time

12:00 PM
-
12:05 PM
Welcome Remarks
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
12:10 PM
-
12:45 PM
The Entrepreneurial Journey: Quinn Snacks

Celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, Quinn Snacks has been through ups and downs while working to scale its platform of salty snacks, raise capital and launch new products. Hear from founder and CEO Kristy Lewis about what she’s learned from the good (and bad) and, most importantly, what she learned about listening to her gut.
- Kristy Lewis
  
  Founder and CEO, Quinn Snacks
  
  Kristy Lewis
  
  Founder and CEO, Quinn Snacks
  
  Kristy Lewis is the Founder/CEO of Quinn Foods LLC, based in Louisville, CO. Kristy, mom of three little boys, launched Quinn Foods with no prior food industry experience just three days after her first son, Quinn, was born. Disappointed by the chemicals and artificial flavors in her favorite childhood snack, microwave popcorn, Kristy invented and patented a Pure Pop® microwave popcorn bag, which is the first bag without chemical or plastic coatings, such as PFOAs and PFCs. Kristy continued her mission of making better-for-you classic snacks (that never ever compromise on flavor) by launching a line of gluten-free and grain-free pretzels. Since starting Quinn ten years ago, Kristy has been a pioneer in agriculture and ingredient transparency. Quinn’s ‘Farm-to-Bag’™ Policy connects consumers directly to the source where the ingredients come from and their ‘Be Better. Do Better.’™ mission takes these ‘Farm-to-Bag’ relationships a step further by encouraging growers to improve agricultural practices that will not only benefit them, but also the planet. ?Kristy was chosen by Whole Foods as one of the 'Women Makers: Raising the Bar' highlighting women and industry leaders who inspire and motivate others to create new and better products. She was honored as one of the ‘Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs’ by Fortune Magazine, and Quinn Snacks was named ‘Snack Producer of the Year’ by Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery.
- Kristy Lewis, Founder and CEO, Quinn Snacks
Watch Video
12:55 PM
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1:30 PM
Ready to Rebound: Strategic Prep for 2021

We’re ending the year on high note, with what looks like an end to the pandemic in sight. Still, the future for 2021 is unclear. In this session we’ll hear from three executives about how they are preparing their teams and companies for the upcoming year from sales strategies to budgeting to new product launches.
- Seth Monette
  
  Chief Customer Officer, Lily's Sweets
  
  Seth Monette
  
  Chief Customer Officer, Lily's Sweets
  
  Seth Monette has over 20 years of CPG experience that spans Emerging Brands, big CPG, and private label/contract manufacturing. Seth is currently Chief Customer Officer at Lily’s Sweets, a VMG Partners portfolio company, where he has established best in class Business Insights and Trade Marketing practices and built the Customer Sales team from 1- 10 employees. Seth’s “data into insights into results” approach has led to 5x revenue growth of Lily’s over the last three years. Prior to Lily’s Sweets, Seth was VP of Sales for two emerging brands, was VP of North American Retail for Weston Foods, and spent 10 years in a variety of customer sales, trade finance, insights and cross-functional marketing roles at General Mills. Seth’s exceptional results and leadership has been recognized with five Vendor of the Year awards for his teams across Dollar, Mass, and Grocery customers. Seth also currently serves on the advisory boards for Bitsy’s and Good Citizens. Seth has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls and an MBA from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary. He lives in Richmond, Virginia where he and his wife Allison (co-founder/CEO of O’MY Dairy Free Gelato) raise their two sons and their prized border collie Doc.
- Heidi Krauss
  
  COO, Base Culture
  
  Heidi Krauss
  
  COO, Base Culture
  
  Heidi Krauss is the Chief Operating Officer at Base Culture, an emerging gluten-free and paleo baked goods and snack brand with distribution in natural, grocery and e-commerce channels. Prior to joining Base Culture, she was the Chief Marketing Officer at siggi’s yogurt for over three years, and helped the company achieve significant over the course of her tenure. She was also an Associate Partner with McKinsey, where she focused on marketing growth strategy, including portfolio strategy and innovation for food and personal care clients. Her 20+ years of consumer products experience additionally includes a Senior Marketing Director role with Dannon and leadership roles in Warner Lambert / Pfizer. She is currently a Board Member for the Ancient Harvest/ Pamela’s business. Heidi holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from The Wharton School.
- Heather Cox
  
  President, Clio Snacks
  
  Heather Cox
  
  President, Clio Snacks
  
  Heather MacNeil Cox is the President of Clio Snacks, the makers of the first refrigerated Greek yogurt bar, where she leads sales, marketing, finance, and human resources. Under Heather’s leadership, Clio has experienced triple digit growth with expansion into over 9,000 doors across the natural, grocery, mass, and ecommerce channels, establishing itself as a leader in the growing fresh snacking segment. Prior to Clio, Heather was the Chief Marketing Officer at Suja Juice where she led all aspects of marketing and brand strategy. She earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Currently residing in Maine, Heather adores being a mom to her two strong and curious daughters.
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Seth Monette, Chief Customer Officer, Lily's Sweets
- Heidi Krauss , COO, Base Culture
- Heather Cox, President, Clio Snacks
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
Watch Video
1:40 PM
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2:25 PM
The Consigliere: Bob Burke's Advice for 2021

With January comes the time for New Year’s resolutions and promises of a new year done the “right” way. We’ll hear from noted advisor Bob Burke about the resolutions he believes smart brands will embrace for the year to come.
- Bob Burke
  
  Founder, Natural Products Consulting
  
  Bob Burke
  
  Founder, Natural Products Consulting
  
  As a consultant since 1998, Bob Burke provides assistance in bringing natural, organic and specialty products to market across most classes of trade. This includes work in strategic planning, growth strategies, writing sales, marketing and business plans, budgeting, pricing, building distribution, broker selection and management, organizational development, strategic options, financing, branding, trade spending management and assistance around M&A, due diligence and venture strategy groups. He is also the co-author and co-publisher of the Natural Products Field Manual, Ninth Edition. Prior to consulting, Bob was with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt for 11 years as Vice President, Sales & Corporate Development and Vice President, Marketing & Sales. He has held marketing positions with Colombo, Inc. and Sperry Top-Sider. He received an MBA from Babson College.
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Bob Burke, Founder, Natural Products Consulting
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
Watch Video
2:35 PM
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3:05 PM
Investors' Outlook

While some investors have slowed the pace of their investments in 2020, still others have used the year to place capital into brands that have shown the potential to succeed, even during turmoil. In this session we’ll hear from three dealmakers about how they have approached the year and what they are looking for from brands in the year to come.
- Franklin Isacson
  
  Founding Partner, Coefficient Capital
  
  Franklin Isacson
  
  Founding Partner, Coefficient Capital
  
  Franklin is a Founding Partner at Coefficient Capital. Franklin has over a decade of investing experience in consumer products and retail and has worked in the sector for twenty years. Franklin lead deal sourcing in the US and select European countries for Verlinvest, the Brussels-based investment firm backed by the founding shareholders of Anheuser-Busch InBev. He set-up the New York office and led growth investments within the branded consumer and retail sectors, deploying equity checks of $5m to $150m. Prior to joining Verlinvest, Franklin worked in the consumer products investment banking group at UBS, in M&A and strategy at Diageo and in brand marketing at LVMH. He started his career at The Boston Consulting Group where he served clients in consumer products and retail. Franklin received an MBA from Columbia Business School, a BA from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, and a Diploma from Sciences Po. in Paris. Franklin is Dutch, grew up in Europe where he learnt to speak four languages and has lived and worked in New York since 2005.
- Sarah Foley
  
  Partner, SWAT Equity Partners
  
  Sarah Foley
  
  Partner, SWAT Equity Partners
  
  Sarah Foley is a senior finance and operating professional with over 20 years of experience investing in angel- to leveraged buyout-stage companies across a variety of industries. She has held corporate executive, investment and board of director positions assisting companies from early growth to turnaround stages of development. Currently, Ms. Foley is a Partner at SWAT Equity Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on consumer-branded products, services and technology, since inception and has built a portfolio of 19 companies. Prior to SWAT Equity Partners, Ms. Foley served as CFO of Eleni’s New York, a food brand. Ms. Foley also spent over 11 years in private equity at Chartwell Investments and Deutsche Asset Management. Ms. Foley began her career at Morgan Stanley and Greenhill & Co. She graduated from Northwestern University with a dual BA degree with honors in Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences and Economics.
- Chris Kerr
  
  Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Unovis Asset Management
  
  Chris Kerr
  
  Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Unovis Asset Management
  
  Chris has over thirty years of leadership experience with start-ups and venture capital investing. He has spent the last decade focused on impact investing with a concentration on food markets and the plant-based foods sector. As CIO, Chris manages portfolio strategy, leads the co-investor coalition building efforts, and serves as a strategic advisor to most portfolio companies. Chris is co-founder and Chair of Gathered Foods Corp (Good Catch), director of Cultivated Food Labs, co-founder and director of Wicked Foods, and serves as an independent director of The Livekindly Company.
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Franklin Isacson, Founding Partner, Coefficient Capital
- Sarah Foley, Partner, SWAT Equity Partners
- Chris Kerr, Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Unovis Asset Management
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
Watch Video
3:10 PM
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4:00 PM
Networking: Meet the Editors of NOSH
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Erin Cabrey
  
  Reporter, NOSH, BevNET.com
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
- Erin Cabrey, Reporter, NOSH, BevNET.com
4:05 PM
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5:00 PM
Networking: Pitch Tuneup

Whether it's investors, distributors, retailers or media, as an entrepreneur, you will always be pitching. Talk to BevNET CMO Mike Schneider about how to make your pitch more creative, more intentional and about the importance of knowing your audience. Mike answers your questions and offers his two cents on how to craft a great pitch.
- Mike Schneider
  
  CMO, BevNET.com
  
  Mike Schneider
  
  CMO, BevNET.com
  
  Mike Schneider is a seasoned executive who lives at the collision of brand, experience and product. A long-time blogger and thought-leader, Schneider got his start drinking and evaluating craft beer and co-wrote Location Based Marketing for Dummies.
- Mike Schneider, CMO, BevNET.com
4:00 PM
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6:00 PM

Designer Speed Dating

This round of 1:1 Speed Dating meetings opens up the opportunity to have virtual meetings with designers who have experience creating brands, packaging and messaging for top food companies.

Print the agenda for Wednesday, December 16

Please note: All times US Eastern Time

12:00 PM
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12:35 PM
Crafting a Growth Focused Innovation Strategy

Thinking strategically about innovation is key to the success of any company. In this session we’ll hear from Bolthouse Farms CEO Jeff Dunn about how he approaches this process, using the launch of his new sub brand Wunderoots as a case study, as well as his advice for where brands make mistakes with this process.
- Jeff Dunn
  
  Chairman and CEO, Bolthouse Farms
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Jeff Dunn, Chairman and CEO, Bolthouse Farms
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
Watch Video
12:45 PM
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1:20 PM
Team, Culture and Hiring for the New CPG Landscape

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people who can support you, and your business, through good times and hard times. In this session we’ll hear from three experts about what they’ve learned about team building and culture in 2020 and how they plan to approach hiring efforts in 2021 in light of both a global pandemic as well as a cultural awakening to larger societal and cultural issues.
- Alex Cole
  
  Director of Talent, VMG Partners
  
  Alex Cole
  
  Director of Talent, VMG Partners
  
  Alex Cole is the Director of Talent at VMG Partners, a consumer private equity firm passionate about building iconic brands. Prior to joining VMG, Alex worked at True Search, an executive search firm focused on c-suite hiring for high growth brands. Alex lives in San Francisco with her better half and their and very cute dog.
- Sean Conner
  
  Co-Founder & Chief Progress Officer, Force Brands
- Ami Desai Mathur
  
  Chief Commercial Officer, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Alex Cole, Director of Talent, VMG Partners
- Sean Conner, Co-Founder & Chief Progress Officer, Force Brands
- Ami Desai Mathur, Chief Commercial Officer, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
Watch Video
1:30 PM
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2:00 PM
Navigating the Path Ahead

There’s no arguing with hard facts! For this session go inside the data with research firm SPINS, looking at what the past year has held, where the industry is headed and what trends could have staying power.
- Kathryn Peters
  
  Executive Vice President of Retailer Services, SPINS
  
  Kathryn Peters
  
  Executive Vice President of Retailer Services, SPINS
  
  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.
- Erin Cabrey
  
  Reporter, NOSH, BevNET.com
- Kathryn Peters, Executive Vice President of Retailer Services, SPINS
- Erin Cabrey, Reporter, NOSH, BevNET.com
Watch Video
2:10 PM
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2:40 PM
Deal Breakdown: The Sale of SmartSweets

Get an inside look into one of the most talked about deals of the year, TPG’s acquisition of low-sugar candy brand SmartSweets. We’ll hear how this confectionary couple came together and what the future holds for candy land.
- Tara Bosch
  
  Founder, SmartSweets
  
  Tara Bosch
  
  Founder, SmartSweets
  
  Tara is the founder of SmartSweets, where they are on a global mission to Kick Sugar, and Keep Candy. Tara dropped out of university at 21 to begin recipe testing in her kitchen on a quest to innovate the first delicious candy- Without the sugar. Launching nation-wide on store shelves less than a year later, SmartSweets can now be found in 30,000 doors across the USA & Canada, with partners including Target, Kroger, and Whole Foods. Today, SmartSweets has helped people kick over 1 Billion grams of sugar. SmartSweets is the recipient of several entrepreneurial awards, including being named a Peter Thiel Fellow and featured in Forbes 30 under 30, among others.
- Janica Lane
  
  Managing Director, Consumer Investment Banking, Piper Sandler & Co.
  
  Janica Lane
  
  Managing Director, Consumer Investment Banking, Piper Sandler & Co.
  
  Janica Lane is a managing director at Piper Sandler focused on providing investment banking and M&A advisory services to consumer companies in healthy, active and sustainable living industries, with a focus on food and beverage, as well as nutritional supplements. Prior to joining Piper Sandler, Lane was a partner at Partnership Capital Growth, a boutique investment bank providing M&A and private placement services to health and wellness-oriented businesses. Prior to investment banking, Lane was a researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Environmental Science and Policy (CESP) and an equity research associate on Prudential Securities’ energy team. Lane has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She received dual bachelor's degrees (international relations and Spanish) with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Stanford University. She spent six months living in Santiago, Chile, as part of her undergraduate education and is fluent in Spanish.
- Heather Smith Thorne
  
  Partner, TPG Growth
  
  Heather Smith Thorne
  
  Partner, TPG Growth
  
  Heather Smith Thorne is a Partner with TPG Growth based in San Francisco, where she leads consumer investing and strategy across the TPG Growth and The Rise Fund platforms. Prior to joining TPG, Heather was a Managing Director and Partner with Swander Pace Capital, a private equity firm focused on consumer products investments. She previously held roles at Thoma Bravo and Robinson Humphrey. Heather received a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Tara Bosch, Founder, SmartSweets
- Janica Lane, Managing Director, Consumer Investment Banking, Piper Sandler & Co.
- Heather Smith Thorne, Partner, TPG Growth
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
Watch Video
2:50 PM
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3:20 PM
Pragmatism Marries Possibility: A Formula for Lasting Change

A cornerstone of the natural products industry is its mission of making the food industry, and our word, a better place. But how to do this and have a successful business at the same time? And is one half of this equation more important than others? Hear from White House nutrition policy advisor, Chef, and investor Sam Kass about what he has learned about marrying mission and business to effect change.
- Sam Kass
  
  Partner, Acre Venture Partners
  
  Sam Kass
  
  Partner, Acre Venture Partners
  
  Sam Kass is the former Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition in the Obama administration, Executive Director of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign and the Obama family chef. He is a Partner in Acre Venture Partners. After cooking for the Obamas in Chicago for two years, Sam joined the White House kitchen staff in 2009. During his White House tenure, he took on several additional roles including Executive Director of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and Senior White House Policy Advisor for Nutrition. Sam is the first person in the history of the White House to have a position in the Executive Office of the President and the Residence. As one of the First Lady’s longest-serving advisors, he helped the First Lady create the first major vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden. Currently Sam is a Partner at Acre Venture Partners. Acre is a venture capital fund investing in the future of food with a mission to improve human and environmental health in the food system. The fund focuses on early stage, highly disruptive impactful companies in the food system focused on agriculture, supply chain and consumer. In 2011, Fast Company included Sam in their list of 100 Most Creative People, and in 2012, he helped create the American Chef Corps, which is dedicated to promoting diplomacy through culinary initiatives. He is an MIT Media Lab fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago. Sam is the author of Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World, which was published by Clarkson Potter on April 17, 2018.
- Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol Ortenberg
  
  Editor, NOSH
  
  Carol is the Editor of NOSH, BevNet’s media property focusing on Natural, Healthy, Sustainable and Organic food products. Carol previously worked and consulted for several consumer goods companies, many within the food space. She also was on the marketing team for Whole Foods Market in the North Atlantic region. Prior to focusing on the food industry, Carol worked at several tech companies, including HubSpot, and served as a consumer researcher at AMP Agency. A graduate of Brandeis University in Journalism, Cultural Anthropology and Theater Arts, Carol is passionate about the food, agriculture and beverage industries.
- Sam Kass, Partner, Acre Venture Partners
- Carol Ortenberg, Editor, NOSH
Watch Video
3:30 PM
-
4:30 PM
Networking: Engaging with NOSH

BevNET and NOSH are big platforms. Pop in and find our how you can make the most of the opportunities your subscription presents you.
- Jon Landis
  
  Senior Brand Specialist, BevNET
- Jon Landis, Senior Brand Specialist, BevNET
4:00 PM
-
6:00 PM

Retail Speed Dating

This round of 1:1 Speed Dating meetings will match up retailers and brokers with brands who are looking to get on shelves and expand their footprint.

Boot Camp on Day 1: Industry Experts Teach You the Ropes of the Industry

NOSH's Boot Camp is a special session for early-stage entrepreneurs and industry newcomers. It is held the first day of the virtual event and is included for all NOSH Live Winter 2020 attendees. Early stage food entrepreneurs get up to speed, identify keys for growth and initiate critical conversations.

Nick McCoy

Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital

Nick McCoy

Managing Director & Co-Founder, Whipstich Capital

Nick McCoy is a Co-Founder and Managing Director with Whipstitch Capital, the largest independent investment bank in the U.S solely focused on the better-for-you consumer sector. Nick has over 20 years of investment banking experience and has worked with Whipstitch co-founder Mike Burgmaier since 2008 at a previous investment bank that Nick also co-founded. Previously Nick was in the Investment Banking Group at First Albany (now Jeffries), Director of M&A at Allmerica Financial Corp, and a Senior Associate, Corporate Development at Wheelabrator Technologies. Nick often speaks and is quoted on various investiture and acquisition-related topics. Personally, Nick is an avid road cyclist and thinks it’s ok to cross country ski in below-zero temperatures. He’s a health-focused foodie, cooks frequently and has an extensive knowledge of wine and whiskey (just ask him). Nick is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has an MBA from Wake Forest University and an undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire.
Monica Guzman Escobar

CEO, Startr Co.

Monica Guzman Escobar

CEO, Startr Co.

Monica Guzman Escobar is the CEO of Startr Co., a modern public relations partner and champion for startups and emerging businesses. Utilizing her almost 15 years of experience, Monica oversees the execution of high impact PR campaigns for CPG brands in the food and beverage, health & wellness, and family/children arenas. Acting as a resource for brands amidst meteoric growth, and providing high level strategy for all agency work, Monica is on a mission to provide inventive solutions that enable businesses to reach their full potential. Under Monica’s leadership, Startr Co. works in partnership with today’s leading companies including, RightRice, SmartSweets, Bobo’s, Beanfields and Cappello’s, to name a few. Prior to Startr Co., Monica was one of the founding members of Konnect Agency in 2009. Acting as COO of Konnect, she helped grow the business from a handful of clients, to more than 60, all while growing a team of 3 to more than 50. At Konnect, she was crucial in bringing on and leading campaigns for brands including Lyft, Dave & Buster’s, Rhythm Superfoods, The Goddard School, Nuna, Attune Foods, Nautica, and others. Previous to Konnect, Monica held positions with PMK•BNC and Rox United Public Relations (previously RLPR), where she supported campaigns for brands including Nike, Got Milk?, Cheerios, Delta and Heineken.
David Levinson

Principal, AF Ventures

David Levinson

Principal, AF Ventures

David is a Vice President where he supports the investment activities of the Fund, including sourcing and due diligence. He also works with the founders of our investments building their financial plans. Prior to joining the Fund, David worked at Incentrum Group in a strategic advisory role for select life sciences & healthcare corporate clients and pursued private equity and venture-oriented investing. Before that, David worked at BNP Paribas in both their M&A and capital markets groups. David holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Bucknell University.
Becky Nelson Dahl

Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands

Becky Nelson Dahl

Founder and Creative Director, Bex Brands

Coming from Wisconsin but living in Southern California, Becky has an understanding of consumers on the coast and in Middle America. At BexBrands, she leads a team of designers and communication visionaries that find unique and authentic ways to connect brands with their tribe, no matter where they live or what their lifestyle. Mostly food drink and beauty, all clients have an aligned vision to make the world’s community healthier and happier. Experience includes: Suja Organic Juice, Chameleon Cold Brew, Dr. Praeger’s, Once Upon a Farm, Back to the Roots, Barnana, Bumble Bee, Lily’s
Adam Hull

Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli

Adam Hull

Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli

Adam Hull is the Co-Chair of Polsinelli’s Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Group. Adam’s practice focuses on representing investment funds and emerging companies throughout the venture capital life cycle, with a particular focus on later stage venture capital and growth equity financings, strategic corporate relationships, securities regulation, and complex mergers and acquisitions.
Rick Jordan

Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli

Rick Jordan

Co-Chair, Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Practice; Shareholder, Polsinelli

Rick is the co-founder of DFW CPG, a community that supports the Dallas-Fort Worth area CPG ecosystem, starting with food and beverage. Rick also is an attorney whose practice focuses on representing high-growth companies and investment funds, primarily in the food/bev/consumer sector. His experience covers a broad spectrum of corporate and governance matters, including early-and late stage venture capital financings, growth equity investments, and exit transactions. Rick serves as Co-Chair of Polsinelli’s national Venture Capital and Emerging Growth Companies Group.
Brandon Hernandez

Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting

Brandon Hernandez

Co-Founder, Whole Brain Consulting

After earning a B.S. in biology from Colorado State University, Brandon began his career in food safety at Zateca Foods (now Teasdale Latin Foods). Today he is the co-founder of Whole Brain Consulting—a robust team of experienced food industry experts that provide a wide range of services, from co-manufacturer sourcing and contract negotiation to R&D, food quality, food safety and supply chain, logistics and operations management services.
Andrew Lema

Founder, Off The Ground Consulting

Andrew Lema

Founder, Off The Ground Consulting

Andrew founded Off The Ground Consulting in 2016. His experience in the Food & Beverage industry began at Celsius Beverage while attending The University of Rhode Island. In 2013, he took the lead in introducing Celsius to the Northeast. Andrew brings a fresh perspective while managing many aspects involving the overall growth of the brand. Following working with Polar Beverages, Andrew chose to help incubate a local iced tea company from Rhode Island. It was at this time that he fell in love working with emerging brands. From that moment on, Andrew gradually cultivated the OTG concept. His areas of concentration are distribution management, grocery retail expansion, and CPG retail alignment on social media. Andrew is a proud CSA member and enjoys educating on the importance of sustainability-minded family farming.
John Kaufmann

Snacking EUM Lead / Sr. Director RD&A - Savory Snack, Kerry
Courtney Schumacher

Marketing Manager - Food, Kerry

The Venue

Designer Speed Dating

On Tuesday, December 15th from 4:00PM to 6:00PM ET, emerging brands will have the opportunity to have 1-on-1 virtual meetings with design firms who specialize in CPG packaging. Brand slots are first-come, first-served. The below agencies are participating, with more to be announced.

The Venue

Retail Speed Dating

NOSH Live Winter 2020 will feature Retail Speed Dating on Wednesday, December 16th from 4:00pm ET to 6:00pm ET. This round will match up retailers and brokers with brands who are looking to get on shelves and expand their footprint.

If you’re a food brand interested in 1:1 retail meetings, you must be registered for NOSH Live Winter 2020 to participate. The below retailers are participating.

The Venue

Food Industry Decisions Makers Attend NOSH Live

Registration is Included for BevNET & NOSH Subscribers.

Subscribing gives you access to all virtual events, articles, original series, educational content and our live events on both BevNET and NOSH.

Already a Subscriber: Simply register.

Non-Subscriber: Subscribe to access a year of virtual events and content that will drive your business forward. Subscription start at $375 / year. If you’re not ready to subscribe, you can register for $275.

* Individual monthly subscriptions are not included

Food Industry Analysis & Advice Plus the Partners to Make it Happen

NOSH Live Winter 2020 Main Stage Speakers

Tara Bosch

Jeff Dunn

Ami Desai Mathur

Sam Kass

Chris Kerr

Kristy Lewis

Seth Monette

Alex Cole

Janica Lane

Heidi Krauss

Heather Cox

Sarah Foley

Franklin Isacson

Kathryn Peters

Sean Conner

Heather Smith Thorne

Bob Burke

Carol Ortenberg

Jeff Klineman

Erin Cabrey

NOSH Live Winter 2020 Sponsors

The Agenda: Live Presentations, On-Demand Content & Virtual Networking

Event Welcome and Platform Introduction

Legal Issues for Food Makers

An Investor's View

Working with Copackers

Designing for Ecommerce and Brick and Mortar

Brand Finance: Market Trends in Deal Flow

PR Strategies for Emerging Brands

Scaling in Retail Responsibly

Q&A: Legal Issues for Food Makers

Q&A: An Investor's View

Q&A: Working with Copackers

Q&A: Designing for Ecommerce and Brick and Mortar

Q&A: Brand Finance: Market Trends in Deal Flow

Q&A: PR Strategies for Emerging Brands

Q&A: Scaling in Retail Responsibly

Product Development Speed Dating

Welcome Remarks

The Entrepreneurial Journey: Quinn Snacks

Ready to Rebound: Strategic Prep for 2021

The Consigliere: Bob Burke's Advice for 2021

Investors' Outlook

Networking: Meet the Editors of NOSH

Networking: Pitch Tuneup

Designer Speed Dating

Crafting a Growth Focused Innovation Strategy

Team, Culture and Hiring for the New CPG Landscape

Navigating the Path Ahead

Deal Breakdown: The Sale of SmartSweets

Pragmatism Marries Possibility: A Formula for Lasting Change

Networking: Engaging with NOSH

Retail Speed Dating

Boot Camp on Day 1: Industry Experts Teach You the Ropes of the Industry

Nick McCoy

Monica Guzman Escobar

David Levinson

Becky Nelson Dahl

Adam Hull

Rick Jordan

Brandon Hernandez

Andrew Lema

John Kaufmann

Courtney Schumacher

The Venue

Designer Speed Dating

The Venue

Retail Speed Dating

The Venue

Food Industry Decisions Makers Attend NOSH Live

Registration is Included for BevNET & NOSH Subscribers.

The Venue

You Have Questions. We Have Answers.