NOSH Live Winter 2023 — Agenda
Nov 30 + Dec 1 2023
Pacific Time
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2023
- 7:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Breakfast & Registration
Breakfast, coffee and beverages are served from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM PT and are included with registration. Registration and badge pick up opens for the day at 7:00 AM PT.
- 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Boot Camp Presentations & Networking
Location: Promenade Ballroom - Lobby Level
Boot Camp is a fast dive into the basics of launching a food brand with hand-chosen CPG experts and entrepreneurs. All Boot Camp Presentations are 15 minutes, starting at 8 a.m.; as soon as all speakers are finished, attendees join them at round tables for individual Q and A.
Cybele Pascal: Commercialization and Co-packing
Rob Leichman: Understanding Retail Channels
John Maggiore: Prepping for the Sales Call
Kaitlin Morgan & Joanie Merriman: Finding and Using Data
Bob Burke: Financial Survival for Entrepreneurial Brands- Cybele Pascal, Founder & CEO (Cybele's Free-to-Eat)
- Rob Leichman, CEO (Lyric Group)
- John Maggiore, CEO (Maggiore Sales & Marketing)
- Kaitlin Morgan, Client Insights Manager (SPINS)
- Joanie Merriman, Client Insights Manager (SPINS)
- Bob Burke, Principal (Natural Products Consulting LLC)
- 8:00 AM – 2:30 PM
One-to-One Meetings with Retailers & SPINS
Location: Outdoor Sinder Lounge - Lobby Level
Prior registration is required and meeting times are sent individually. Please check in at the One-to-One Help Desk before to heading to your meeting room. Retail meetings will be 10 minutes and SPINS consultations will be 30 minutes. The complete schedule is posted at the Help Desk. - 9:15 AM – 10:00 AM
Networking Break, Boot Camp Round Tables & Sampling
- 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM
Welcome Remarks
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level- Carol Ortenberg, Editor (NOSH)
- 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM
The State of the Food Industry: Reflecting on 2023 and Looking Ahead to 2024
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level- Wayne Wu, General Partner (VMG Partners)
- Dan Epley, VP of Dry Grocery (Whole Foods Market)
- Katie Eshuys, Chief Sales Officer (That's It)
- Matt Parry, CEO and Co-Founder (The Good Crisp Company)
- 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Sponsored Workshop: Predicting Palates – Leveraging AI (Almond Intelligence) to Innovate for Tomorrow’s Tastes
Location: Palisades - Lower Level
How can artificial intelligence be harnessed by food professionals to inspire new product introductions and marketing ideas? The Almond Board of California (ABC) and AI-powered platform Tastewise will host a panel discussion followed by a deep dive into trends for almonds, and a demonstration with Chef Henry Hill (Hill’s Research Kitchen) showcasing recipe concepts inspired by AI— or “almond intelligence”— derived from Tastewise. A live Q&A will close the session. - 10:45 AM – 11:15 AM
The Immi Story: From Inception to Investment
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level- Kevin Lee, Co-Founder (Immi)
- 11:15 AM – 11:45 AM
What's On the Mind of The Next Generation of Investors
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
When doing due diligence, these Gen Z and Millennial angel investors and VC team members are still looking at balance sheets, but they evaluate a brand’s potential for success with their own special lenses as digital and online natives – so their views on social media presence and D2C strategy are highly relevant. For those brands looking to raise capital now, or in the future, understanding how to pitch these investors will be an absolute must.- Patrick Schwarzenegger, Co-Founder & CEO (MOSH)
- Elizabeth Brown, Investor (Vanterra Ventures)
- Mel Li, Investor (Offline Ventures)
- 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
Inside the TruFru Deal: Product, People and Position
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
The trio will discuss Trü Frü’s business strategy, growth, and the factors of its story that made it appealing to an acquirer such as Mars. Exploring both the early stages of the brand and its expansion, the group will help the audience understand how a deal could be proposed that revealed to Mars and other companies Trü Frü’s potential as an acquisition target, and the process that it took to accomplish the sale.- Osher Hoberman, Former VP of Global Business Development, Mars Snacking; Chief Marketing Officer (KIND North America)
- Brian Neville, CEO & Founder (Trü Frü)
- Brandon Ng, Vice President, Consumer, Food, and Retail Investment Banking (Houlihan Lokey)
- 12:15 PM – 12:30 PM
NOSH Best of 2023 Awards Announced
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
The winners of the NOSH Best of 2023 Awards will be announced live on the NOSH Live stage. We will also be interviewing one of our winners! - 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Lunch Break, Sampling & Elevator Talk
Lunch is served in the Bayview Ballroom on the rooftop level and is included with registration. Sampling continues in the foyer of the main ballroom and Taste Radio Studio livestream interviews take place in the Peninsula room on the lower level.
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Digging into Digital and Getting Ahead At GoPuff
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
How do brands get in the hands of consumers – and investors? Increasingly it's through fast-delivery services like GoPuff. During the event, the retailer’s VP of Merchandising, Max Crowley, will sit down to discuss the burgeoning sector and the role emerging brands can play when they’re stocked at GoPuff.- Max Crowley, Vice President of Merchandising (Gopuff)
- 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
How Insurgent Brands Win
Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
Brands identified as insurgent in years past include Ithaca Hummus, Kevin’s, Real Good Foods, Caulipower and Once Upon a Farm. While they might be different from other companies in their categories, they have characteristics in common and have grown as insurgent brands by applying a common growth model. Charlotte Apps will offer brands, investors and other executives a playbook for how insurgents grow and scale based on years of research on these brands.- Charlotte Apps, Global EVP, Consumer Products (Bain)
- 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
NOSH Live Happy Hour, Presented by ForceBrands
Location: Sinder Outdoor Lounge - Lobby Level
At the end of Day 1, continue the day’s conversations at the NOSH Live Happy Hour. Watch a live folk singer perform while networking and enjoying beverages and passed appetizers.
Please note that event agendas are subject to change.