On-Demand Educational Presentations
Please note: All times US Pacific Time
-
ON DEMAND
Capital Efficient CPG
Learn how to set up a business that is always poised for growth because it’s always healthy from a capital standpoint.
-
Elliot BegounCEO, TIG Brands
-
Elliot Begoun, CEO, TIG Brands
-
-
ON DEMAND
Best Practices for Changing Grocery Industry Logistics, Sponsored by Zipline Logistics
You can’t sell your products if you can’t get them there.-
Andrew LynchPresident, Zipline Logistics
-
Andrew Lynch, President, Zipline Logistics
-
-
ON DEMAND
Meeting and Pitching Investors
Get an investor’s view of early funding options for CPG brands.-
Arif FazalFounder and Managing Director, Blueberry Ventures
Arif Fazal
Founder and Managing Director, Blueberry Ventures
Arif invests in and works with innovative brands and companies led by inspiring entrepreneurs and management teams, and collaborates closely alongside similarly focused co-investors and value chain partners. Bringing two decades of consumer and retail experience to the table, Arif partners with teams building the next generation nutrition landscape by providing early & growth stage capital and operational support to help empower growth and build great businesses. Select investments and board responsibilities include Vive Organic, Flying Embers, REBBL, 4th & Heart, High Brew Coffee, Ripple Foods, Barnana, Revive Kombucha (acquired by Peet’s Coffee), Rhythm Superfoods, Fishpeople Seafood, Biena Snacks, Sufferfest Beer Company (acquired by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company), Bonafide Provisions, Nutriati, Austin Eastciders, Pique Tea & RightRice.
-
Arif Fazal, Founder and Managing Director, Blueberry Ventures
-
-
ON DEMAND
Getting Products Made
How to turn a recipe into a ready-for-sale product.-
Dana PeckCo-Founder & CEO, Pilot R&D and Render Foods
Dana Peck
Co-Founder & CEO, Pilot R&D and Render Foods
Dana Peck is a Co-Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Pilot R&D and Render Foods. Pilot R&D is a leading culinary innovation and product development lab that collaborates with brands across the industry to craft the next generation of food and beverages. Render Foods seeks to build a new model of CPG brand focused on experiential products. Dana has a diverse background with expertise in food, business and law. Prior to co-founding Pilot R&D and Render Foods, Dana was a corporate lawyer focused on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and joint ventures, and, prior to that, a retail buyer for Williams-Sonoma Inc. Dana has also spent time cooking in pastry kitchens under prestigious chefs such as Claudia Fleming at Gramercy Tavern, Larry Hayden at Union Square Café, Elizabeth Falkner at Citizen Cake and Orson, and Alex Stupak at WD-50. Dana has a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.
-
Dana Peck, Co-Founder & CEO, Pilot R&D and Render Foods
-
-
ON DEMAND
CPG Branding & Design Best Practices, Sponsored by GRO Agency
Making your products look as good as they taste is a key to successful growth.-
Kelly CriswellChief Creative Officer, The GRO Agency
-
Kelly Criswell, Chief Creative Officer, The GRO Agency
-
-
ON DEMAND
Getting Hold of COGS
If you know your costs, you know your company’s strengths and weaknesses.-
Rob LeichmanFounder/CEO, The Lyric Group
Rob Leichman
Founder/CEO, The Lyric Group
Rob has been involved in the specialty food trade for over twenty years, with a proven record of success in global sales, strategic planning, packaging, team-building, new product development, distribution, procurement and import/export management. He has deep and established relationships with buyers in every major distribution channel: specialty retail, grocery, club stores, foodservice, direct to consumer, drug and export. His long-standing sales relationships include retailers such as Whole Foods Market, Williams-Sonoma, Target, Walmart, Publix, The Fresh Market and Dean & DeLuca.
-
Rob Leichman, Founder/CEO, The Lyric Group
-
-
ON DEMAND
Understanding Channel Strategy, Sponsored by Cascadia Managing Brands
The stores and distributors who will sell your products say a lot about your brand.-
Bill SipperManaging Partner, Cascadia Managing Brands, LLC
Bill Sipper
Managing Partner, Cascadia Managing Brands, LLC
BILL SIPPER is a food and beverage industry leader who has guided numerous brands from concept to commercialization to category leadership. He held senior and C Level positions at leading brands including Evian, Nantucket Nectars, Fresh Samantha/Odwalla, Naked Juice and Clearly Canadian. Bill’s strategic expertise and executional focus helped those brands succeed and can help your brand succeed, too.? Consulting closely with client leaders as they consider a sale or acquisition, Bill has supported several brands through the process. (Naked Juice was sold to Pepsico, Fresh Samantha/Odwalla was sold to Coca Cola, and Nantucket Nectars was sold to Ocean Spray). Bill has significant international experience, and works with clients in Asia, Europe, South America and the Middle East. He draws on this expertise to help international brands establish presence in the US and to help US brands expand internationally.? Bill is active in philanthropic causes: He served as president of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s clean water charity, Tear of the Clouds; was an advisor to The Walden Woods Project; and served on the Board of Directors of the National Osteoporosis Foundation.? Bill has been featured on Food Network’s “Unwrapped” and in the PBS documentary “The Water Wars.” He has been a featured speaker at Columbia University School of Business, The Bottled Water Congress (Torino, Italy), the Pan Arab Congress on Osteoporosis (Tunisia), and at virtually every major US food and beverage show, including Natural Products Expo, BevNet, Nosh Live and more. His articles have appeared in leading trade publications, and he is frequently quoted in media including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and the New York Times.
-
Bill Sipper, Managing Partner, Cascadia Managing Brands, LLC
-
-
ON DEMAND
Key Marketing Skills for an Audience-First Approach
Your audience contains your consumers, both present and future. Here’s how to build it.-
Kate WeidnerFounder & CEO, SRW
-
Kate Weidner, Founder & CEO, SRW
-
-
ON DEMAND
Successfully Scaling Your Brand
You know how to make it — but here’s how you make a lot of it.-
Amy UsiakBusiness Partner, JPG Resources
Amy Usiak
Business Partner, JPG Resources
Amy Usiak is a Business Partner and Product Development lead for JPG Resources. With 20+ years industry experience, Amy understands product creation from concept through commercialization. She is the choreographer of the product development practices, building customized teams for each project, and ensuring the right expertise and perspective are working on your product. Because Amy has experience across the grocery store footprint, she understands the technical and strategic needs unique to each category, product platform and form factor. Her strong communication skills and compassion for clients leads to winning solutions for each new product launch. ? Amy received her Bachelors in Food Science from Michigan State University and Master's Degree in Food Science & Nutrition from Cornell University. Before JPG Resources, Amy worked for Post Foods and Kraft Foods Group.?
-
Amy Usiak, Business Partner, JPG Resources
-