Nosh Live LA 2026: CEOs Map the Course from Startup to Challenger – Without Overspending
Nosh Live, taking place December 3 + 4 in Marina del Rey, CA, will feature talks from the leaders of two of the food industry’s fastest-growing brands when Ayeshah Abuelhiga and Eric Skae take the stage.
Skae, CEO of Carbone Fine Foods, will tackle a challenge nearly every ambitious food entrepreneur faces: how to accelerate growth without allowing the cost of that growth to overwhelm the business.
Under Skae, Carbone Fine Foods has grown from startup to a $100 million brand in five years while maintaining a lean organization. His experience spans nearly every stage of the food business, from driving distributor routes to leading brands through rapid growth and strategic exits.
At Nosh Live, Skae will break down the decisions behind Carbone’s expansion and what founders need to understand about capital, retail growth and organizational discipline as their businesses scale. For entrepreneurs trying to expand distribution without spending their way into trouble, his experience offers a valuable roadmap.
Ayeshah Abuelhiga, founder and CEO of Mason Dixie Foods, will address a different inflection point: what happens when an entrepreneurial company starts becoming a true challenger to the industry’s established players.
Abuelhiga has taken Mason Dixie from the back kitchen of a small biscuit restaurant to a national brand helping reshape the frozen breakfast category. Along the way, she has had to make the kinds of decisions that confront founders as their companies move beyond the startup stage: where to invest, when to add resources, what to protect and how to compete against companies with far greater scale.
In a candid conversation at Nosh Live, Abuelhiga will share how those choices have shaped Mason Dixie and how founders approaching breakout growth can align their people, capital and priorities for the next stage of the business — without abandoning the principles that got them there.
The two featured talks are part of a two-day Nosh Live program built around the decisions food entrepreneurs actually have to make as they build durable companies: how to win at retail, deploy capital, manage growth, strengthen their organizations and prepare for what comes next.
Nosh Live will be held Dec. 3-4 at the Marriott Marina del Rey. Along with two days of founder-focused programming, the event will bring entrepreneurs together with investors, retailers and other industry leaders through the Nosh Live Pitch Slam, extensive networking and direct 1-to-1 meetings.
Early registration pricing is available through Friday, October 23.
Register for Nosh Live on Dec. 3 + 4 >>
About Nosh Live
Nosh Live brings together founders, operators, retailers, investors, and industry partners across packaged food for editorial-led programming, product discovery, the Nosh Live Pitch Slam, and direct conversations around the decisions shaping food businesses.