Having heard from speakers discussing retail, investment and sales strategies on Day One, Day Two of NOSH Live Summer 2022 will see more entrepreneurs and investors take to the stage to provide attendees with strategies for the upcoming year ahead.

For these sessions, we’ll turn our eyes to shoppers themselves, understanding how brands can best serve their needs and delight them with in-stock, innovative products.

The morning will kick off at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York, NY at 9 a.m. Lu Ann Williams, the Co-founder & Global Insights Director at Innova Market Insights and a frequent guest on our Category Closeup videos, will discuss current consumer behaviors and trends, which can in turn be used for more robust brand building.

We’ll next hear how these consumer insights are used by one brand in particular, with a look inside the social media machine that is MidDay Squares. The Canadian chocolate brand has blasted into the U.S. market with a brash, no-holds-barred approach to social media. At NOSH Live the brand’s three co-founders will discuss how showing consumers the good, the bad and the ugly of running an emerging business on social media has paid off in terms of building a customer base.

Telling your story is only one part of the equation – sometimes it needs an edit. Sweet Loren’s founder and CEO Loren Castle’s battle with cancer inspired her to start the cleaned-up cookie brand. But it took Castle looking at the key differentiators in her product line, and rebranding to make them more defined, that caused the business to truly take off. Brill’s advice will help attendees take a deeper look at their own brands, finding out what part of their strategies truly resonate with shoppers.

We’ll then break for a quick coffee klatch before heading back into the hall for part one of the Nosh Live Pitch Slam finals.

Returning to the lessons of the day, Jason Karp, the co-founder of Hu Kitchen and a former hedge fund manager, will take to the stage. Following the sale of Hu Products to snack giant Mondelez in 2021, Karp started HumanCo, a holding company that acquires, incubates and reinvents brands in “sleepy categories.” At NOSH Live he’ll provide attendees with an inside look at how his experience as an investor has influenced how he creates, develops and runs brands, including Snow Days, Cosmic Bliss and Against the Grain.

For any brand, landing on the shelves of natural products retailer Whole Foods Market is a great way to build an audience, and at NOSH Live we’ll have insight into how to get it done. Two of the category executives from the brand’s center store set, David Lafferty and Dan Epley, will share with attendees what they are looking for in brand partners and how even during challenging times, win/win partnerships can be achieved for all parties.

After a relaxing lunch and more time to catch up with fellow CPG community members, the NOSH Live Pitch Slam will come to its thrilling conclusion, with the last group of finalists taking to the stage.

While the judges deliberate offstage, Saffron Road CEO and Founder Adnan Durrani will share with attendees how he, and his team, worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to fight against supply chain, operations and labor struggles, ultimately growing the brand even during that a tumultuous time. Durrani will then turn his attention to the future, providing insight into some struggles he believes the industry may face in the near future, and how brands can best prepare.

Last but not least, the day will end with a presentation by John Becker, the CEO of Pamela’s and Ancient Harvest. After the quinoa company acquired the baking and pasta brand in 2020, Becker and his team had to decide how each brand should push ahead, and what it could offer consumers. Fresh off a rebrand of Pamela’s, Becker will share with the audience how they can turn a critical eye to their own portfolios, building an array of products that can lead them into the future.

Finally the day will end with the announcement of the NOSH Live Pitch Slam winner before we adjourn for another year in New York City, looking forward to continuing the discussion this December at NOSH Live Winter in Santa Monica.

Register for NOSH Live Summer 2022 >>

We can’t wait to see you there, so sign up. Sponsorships are still available for NOSH Live Summer 2022 as well: connect with our sales team.

About NOSH Live

NOSH Live is a two-day business event for the natural food industry. The cutting-edge conference drives valuable industry connections and promotes the exchange of strategies and ideas. Specific to CPG food companies, the program explores growth strategy, sales, marketing, investment, and more through case-based presentations and panels by an all-star roster of speakers.