Jeni Britton is a pioneering entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and one of the most original voices in American food and brand culture. She founded Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002 in an Ohio farmers’ market, transforming it into a national phenomenon with over 90 scoop shops and retail presence in thousands of grocery stores across the U.S. Known for its inventive flavors, ingredient integrity, and joyful design, Jeni’s helped define a new era of modern American food brands. A champion of sustainability and human-centered innovation, Jeni’s latest venture, Floura & Co., reinvents fresh produce trimmings—like watermelon rind and apple cores—into delicious, fiber-rich snacks that help close the fiber gap and combat chronic illness in America. As with Jeni’s, the mission is bigger than food: it’s about well-being, beauty, and reclaiming what nourishes us. Jeni is a 2017 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a U.S. Culinary Diplomat. Her leadership style blends artistry and pragmatism, intuition and data. She speaks powerfully on entrepreneurship, creativity, sustainability, brand-building, and the power of pleasure and beauty to transform lives and businesses. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, and spends as much time in the forest as possible.

Brody is the forager manager at Sprouts Farmer’s Market, an Arizona-based natural specialty store that spans across 24 states and has over 450 locations. Brody is responsible for bringing innovative and differentiated products into Sprouts to help the company lead the CPG market in innovation and to assist with the incubation of smaller brands. He prepares these emerging brands for national launches on the Innovation Center, delighting customers with unique and fun experiences they can only find while shopping at Sprouts. Brody brings 14 years of retail experience, 13 of which are in the natural specialty industry with Sprouts. Brody nurtures his strong passion for natural and innovative products by helping small brands grow into formidable competitors in an ever-expanding market. 

Becca Millstein is the CEO & Co-Founder of Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co. She co-created the company in 2020 during Covid-19, after recognizing a glaring hole in quality, sustainable tinned fish available in the U.S. market. She was recently named as one of Forbes 30 under 30 and has been interviewed by Eater, Cherry Bombe, Nylon, and more, and recently appeared on Shark Tank. She’s currently based in Los Angeles.

Eric Skae serves as CEO of Carbone Fine Food, maker of the fastest-growing national pasta sauce. The only major center-store CPG brand that bridges pop culture, tastemakers, influencers, celebrities, events and social media, Eric has led Carbone to the #2 position in Natural and #6 in Grocery in four short years since its 2021 launch. The results are 100% YOY growth and unique status as the only leading pasta sauce brand that indexes high with both Gen Z and millennials – all against Eric’s goal of making Carbone a billion-dollar brand.

Karen Ivanis-Rogers is the Sr. Director of the Albertsons Venture Group. She joined Albertsons eight years ago specifically for this role, working alongside Jim Foltz. Karen feels incredibly fortunate to be in this position.  In her role, Karen collaborates with Jim on evaluating and signing new investments and working directly with portfolio companies to accelerate their growth. She also serves as an observer on six boards.  Prior to Albertsons Ventures, Karen worked in CPG with the bigger brands at Johnson and Johnson, Clorox, Nestle Foods, Del Monte and Nature Made Vitamins.    Karen is particularly proud of the Innovation Launchpad, a program she initiated two years ago. Since its inception, Albertsons has processed applications from over 1,500 brands, set up 110 brands to compete, and awarded over half a million dollars in prizes. The Launchpad has successfully connected these brands with merchants across the company and promoted them online. The diversity statistics of the Launchpad brands, including women-owned and minority-owned businesses, are impressive.  In 2024, Karen was thrilled to be recognized as a Nosh Notable on behalf of the Launchpad work.   Karen lives in the Oakland Hills with her husband.

Joining Gelson’s in 2007 as a Dairy/Deli/Frozen Category Manager, Rich’s team is currently responsible for all Center Store product assortment, promotions and merchandising at Gelson’s. This includes products in Grocery, Dairy, Frozen, Deli, Non-foods, Liquor and Specialty Cheese. He previously spent 21 years at Vons for a total of over 39 years in the industry. During his time at Gelson’s, Rich and his team have been recognized for sourcing innovative new items and trends. This would include being First to Market with well-known brands like CVT, Health-ade, Califia, Chica’s, Caulipower and Impossible Burger’s national retail launch. Gelson’s is proud to work with small, local brands trying to start out in the industry and is willing to assist in educating brands on the right way to go to market. Rich holds his BA in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara, a Masters in Food Industry Leadership from USC and is also a graduate of the USC Food Industry Management Program.

Brad partners with leading growth-stage food and beverage companies as an active Board member working with high performance CEOs to optimize their leadership effectiveness across all business dimensions in order to build/scale dynamic brands and create high value, category winning companies effectively positioned to sustainably drive strong, profitable growth and/or exit to strategic acquirers. Current Boards: Country Archer, Gimme Foods, Biena and Barney Butter. Prior Boards from early/growth stage through to Company Exit: Kevita (Pepsi), Simple Mills (Flowers Foods), Krave (Hershey), Flying Embers (JuneShine), Health Warrior (Pepsi), RightRice (Planting Hope), Zola (Karp Reilly), Fishpeople (Bornstein Seafood), Chameleon Cold Brew (Nestle), Red’s All Natural (Bansk Group) and Aura Bora (Next in Natural) … with cumulative exit value surpassing $1.5 billion. After time spent in management consulting and investment banking, Brad’s food/bev journey began over twenty-five years ago as the Founder/CEO of the Fantasia Fresh Juice Co. which he built into a leading superpremium fresh juice/smoothie brand culminating in a merger with Naked Juice and subsequent acquisition by Pepsi. He holds an MBA from the Stanford GSB and a true passion for unlocking the power of human transformation and possibility in life and leadership.

Mollye Santulli is an investor at Springdale Ventures, an early-stage venture fund backing the next generation of consumer brands. She began her career in finance at General Mills and Simple Mills before earning her MBA from Harvard Business School. At Springdale, she leads sourcing, diligence, and investments across food, beverage, wellness, and personal care, and works closely with founders post-investment on fundraising, hiring, and go-to-market strategy. She also serves on the associate board of Naturally Chicago and Chicago Seed, supporting early-stage founders in the region.  

Will has significant experience working with small, high growth and large, global consumer companies. Prior to joining Prelude Growth Partners, Will worked on the private equity investing team at Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area, where he evaluated investment opportunities in the consumer and retail sectors. Prior to that, Will was a member of the investment team at TowerBrook Capital Partners, an international private equity firm, and began his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at J.P. Morgan. Will received a BA in Economics from Cornell University and he earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Michael Sands, Principal Consultant - The Maker Group Small Business Academy: Michael is a seasoned entrepreneur, C-suite executive, innovator, and investor with over 35 years in the food and beverage industry. He has led and scaled multiple high-growth consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, creating substantial value from start-ups to fortune 500 companies. While Chairman of Fenway LLC, a strategic consulting firm, and Fenway 2 LLC, his family office he focused on early-stage investments, Michael draws on his deep operational, marketing, and leadership expertise. He previously served as CEO of YumEarth Organic Candy and Balance Bar Nutrition and held senior leadership roles including Chief Marketing & Operations Officer at Snapple Beverage Group, Chief Marketing Officer at Ben & Jerry’s, and General Manager/SVP at B&G Foods. He also co-founded LesserEvil Snacks and held strategic marketing positions at InBev (Labatt USA) and Unilever. A Babson College graduate with a degree in marketing, Michael has been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement for executives under 40 and honored with an Inc. 500 Award for leading one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

Mason began his career with Sprouts Farmers Market in 2015, where he developed a strong foundation in the natural foods industry through roles as a Department Specialist and Merchandise Planner. During that time, Mason gained valuable experience in category management, product strategy, and the fast-paced world of natural grocery retail. Now, as a Forager Manager with Sprouts, he is focused on discovering and supporting innovative, emerging brands that bring fresh ideas and high-quality products to market. Mason loves to help small businesses grow and connect with customers on new and exciting items that make Sprouts one of the fastest-growing natural foods retailers in the country. Mason is passionate about the ability for innovation, entrepreneurship, and better-for- you foods, and is always looking for what’s next in the natural products space.

Laura Broggi is an experienced merchandising and sourcing professional with over a decade in retail operations, vendor relations, and category management. Currently serving as a Merchandising Specialist II on the Forager team at Sprouts Farmers Market, Laura specializes in discovering innovative products, onboarding emerging brands, and driving trend-forward assortments. Her background includes roles in category coordination, customer relations, and store management, giving her a comprehensive understanding of the grocery industry and consumer behavior. Laura is skilled in cross-functional collaboration, data analysis, and strategic planning, with a proven ability to execute complex projects and foster strong vendor partnerships.