NOSH Live

Nosh Live Winter 2024 kicked off on Thursday in Marina Del Rey, Calif., with panels, presentations and conversations that pieced together fundamental components of successful CPG businesses and offered brands advice on how to navigate current economic headwinds, shifting consumer habits and prepare for an uncertain landscape in the years to come.

At NOSH Live Day Two, industry leaders discussed the power of disruption, how the struggle of being an emerging brand’s founder is part of the growth and why setting realistic goals can lead to long-term success.

On day one of NOSH Live Winter 2023 in Marina Del Ray, California, natural food industry leaders offered their insights into the fast-changing modern era of business, in which the rules of investment, merchandising and leadership look vastly different than even just a year ago.

As senior director at design and innovation firm IDEO, Meija Jacobs understands how brands work visually. But the journey toward building a brand, she said, begins with comprehending human needs — and by using the “superpower” of empathy to build products that matter. During a presentation at NOSH Live Winter 2019 in Santa Monica, Jacobs explained how IDEO uses design thinking to create “supercharged” brands.

With alternative rice brand RightRice, Keith Belling, the company’s founder and CEO (and snack brand Popchips’ co-founder and chairman) saw a fresh opportunity to shake up a center store staple. At NOSH Live Winter 2019, Belling shared tasty takeaways on moving from crunchy snacks to a better-for-you take on an ordinary pantry item — and seeing rapid first-year growth.

In a presentation at NOSH Live Winter 2019, Talia Halperin, head of brand management at BuzzFeed, explained how an online experiment became BuzzFeed’s Tasty — dubbed the “Internet’s favorite kitchen” — and evolved into a thriving e-commerce business as well.

In a presentation at NOSH Live Winter 2019, Abe Minkara, Founding Partner/CIO of investment firm Legacy Knight Multi Family Office (and former managing director at Mark Cuban Companies), explained how entrepreneurs should prepare to leverage investors.

In a session at NOSH Live Winter 2019 in Santa Monica, Bentley Hall, CEO of online grocery service Good Eggs, explained how a focus on quality took the platform to new heights — from near bankruptcy to a $50 million raise.

The word “wellness” is a buzzy term in the food industry, but what does it really mean? At NOSH Live Winter 2019, Elizabeth Stein, founder and CEO of Purely Elizabeth; Neda Daneshzadeh, co-founder and partner at Prelude Growth Partners; and Colleen Wachob, co-founder and co-CEO of mindbodygreen, explored the world of the wellness consumer.

In a presentation at NOSH Live Winter 2019, Jessica Lukas, research firm BDS Analytics’ SVP of commercial development, addressed the state of cannabis, “a major disruptor across the CPG industry, across every consumer product category,” she said, with edibles playing a major role.