Name: BevNET Live Summer 2023
Start: 2023-06-14T08:00:00-05:00
End: 2023-06-15T15:00:00-05:00
Location: The Metropolitan Pavilion

The Leading Beverage Industry Event Returns to New York City

For more than a decade, the CPG industry has turned to BevNET Live to discover the latest trends and network with the beverage community. Our signature two-day event for the beverage industry brings together thought leaders, trailblazers, and the next generation of brand founders to help beverage industry professionals thrive.

On June 14th and 15th, the beverage industry will gather in-person in New York City to learn and take action.

Register

BevNET Live Summer 2023 Agenda

All times are subject to change.

Print the agenda for Thursday, June 15

Please note: All times US Eastern Time

7:00 AM9:00 AM
Registration & Breakfast, Presented by Matchako
Breakfast, coffee and beverages are served from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM ET and are included with registration. Registration and badge pick up opens for the day at 7:00 AM ET.
7:30 AM9:00 AM
Women in Beverage Breakfast
Join Women in Beverage founders Michelle Cordeiro Grant and Madi Lieber for breakfast at the venue. The networking event is for all attendees of BevNET Live and no RSVP is required.
9:00 AM9:30 AM
Functional Beverage or Drinkable Supplement? Mapping the Path to Placement in Whole Foods
How should brands navigate the line between nutritional supplement and traditional beverage when they’re pitching Whole Foods? What are the hottest functional trends that are crossing over from supplement into beverage and how should founders incorporate them for best performance? Our panel talks through getting retail placement at Whole Foods – in the retail set that best fits the brand.
Watch Video
9:30 AM10:00 AM
When Soft Drinks Become Mixed Drinks: The Significance of Category Convergence
Convergence is a rising trend in which brands are becoming multi-category properties, straddling the soft drink and beverage alcohol categories for new revenue streams and increased visibility. This panel will lead founders through the strategic opportunities – and potential growth disruptions – that this category redefinition creates.
Watch Video
10:00 AM10:30 AM
Distributor Briefing: In from the Cold
We bring together West Coast and East Coast beverage distributors to talk about the state of play between brands and distributors, particularly in the high-cost, high-risk world of the cold chain. At a time when customers are reactivating promotions and category change is rampant, what can brands and DSDs do to support each other as partners?
Watch Video
10:30 AM11:00 AM
Networking Break & Taste Radio Studio
Watch Video
11:00 AM11:30 AM
New Beverage Showdown Finals - Round 1
Our first three finalists make their pitch.
11:30 AM12:00 PM
The Growth Formula: Fixing Margins, Profitability, and the Other Things You Stink At
Veteran beverage company CEO Miller teaches founders to look inward and figure out what they are bad at to help their companies move forward, offering strategies and habits for effective organizations and the ways to foster an attitude that overcomes obstacles. Not to mention tactics for maintaining solid margins.
Watch Video
12:00 PM12:30 PM
The Story of My Raise
Three new beverage entrepreneurs who’ve closed or are raising financing rounds over the past year discuss their experiences pitching and working with angel investors and institutional capital in an inflationary environment, how they’ve considered their path to profitability and operations, and how they’ve worked with their existing connections to find startup financing.
Watch Video
12:30 PM2:00 PM
Lunch, Presented by Saint James Iced Tea, Sampling & Taste Radio Studio
Watch Video
2:00 PM2:30 PM
New Beverage Showdown Finals - Round 2
2:30 PM2:55 PM
Wal-Mart for the Win
Inside the massive retailer’s shift to incorporate up-and-coming brands into their sets at an earlier stage, and the ways to pitch and succeed without getting lost within the nation’s largest retailer.
Watch Video
2:55 PM3:20 PM
The State of Growth Capital
Growth capital is the fuel for beverage companies seeking to accelerate and transform – but how are growth equity investors evaluating the brands and founders who are pitching them? Our panel discusses dealflow, valuations, boards and their expectations for future funding trends.
Watch Video
3:20 PM3:45 PM
Swoon’s Partnership Strategies: Tale of Two Collaborations
The co-founders of this fast-growing lemonade brand share lessons from two high-profile partnerships, one with Chamberlain Coffee and the other with Barbie, as brands look for deals that can help them increase signal amidst a panoply of marketing strategies.
- Jennifer Ross, Co-Founder, Swoon
- Cristina Ros Blankfein, Co-Founder, Swoon
Watch Video
3:45 PM4:00 PM
New Beverage Showdown: Winner Announcement, Judge’s Review & Closing Remarks
Watch Video

Recent Event Updates

Posted 6/13/2023 at 11:06 PM
BevNET Live Summer 2023: Taste Radio Studio Schedule; Watch the Free Livestream
It’s almost time for BevNET Live Summer 2023! If you’re unable to join us in-person, you still have the opportunity to listen to the important conversations happening on the main stage and in the Taste Radio Studio - we will make a free livestream available on June 14th and 15th.
Posted 6/12/2023 at 4:52 PM
BevNET Live Summer 2023: Hidden Agenda Highlights on Distribution, Marketing Partnerships
View the complete agenda for BevNET Live Summer 2023, held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York, NY on June 14 and 15.
Posted 6/8/2023 at 2:46 PM
BevNET Live Summer 2023: New Beverage Showdown Semifinalists + Judges Announced
It’s time to reveal the semifinalists and judges for BevNET’s signature pitch competition, the New Beverage Showdown, taking place at BevNET Live in NYC on June 14 + 15.

Gold Sponsors

Sponsor

Retailer One-to-Ones: Meet with Sprouts & Walmart

Sprouts and Walmart are offering beverage brands attending BevNET Live the opportunity to schedule 1-to-1 meetings with them on Wednesday, June 14 and Thursday, June 15.

Interested brands must meet the retailers' product sourcing standards and be meeting with them for the first time. Please note that signing up does not guarantee a meeting - final meetings are up to the retailers' discretion.

Learn More

BevNET Live Summer 2023 Speakers

Cristina Ros Blankfein
Co-Founder, Swoon
Jennifer Ross
Co-Founder, Swoon

New Beverage Showdown: Put Your Brand in the Spotlight

Pitch your brand and your product to a panel of expert judges in front of our audience of retailers, investors, distributors, and other influential industry partners. New Beverage Showdown participants are the celebrities of BevNET Live. Be the center of attention among hundreds of industry executives and decision makers, receive instant feedback from an expert panel of judges, and compete for a prize valued at $10,000.

Learn More

Women in Beverage Breakfast at BevNET Live

Join Women in Beverage founders Michelle Cordeiro Grant and Madi Lieber for breakfast at BevNET Live. The networking event is for all attendees of BevNET Live and no RSVP is required.

Details:
Thursday, June 15th
7:30am - 9:00am ET
Metropolitan Pavillion
New York, NY

Sample the Latest Beverage Innovations

Pitching your product is great, but sometimes taste just speaks for itself. To move conversations forward and set you up for potential partnerships, beverages from attending brands are showcased in sampling fridges throughout the event. This makes it easier for brands and industry executives to connect and do business. Go beyond your pitch and form more meaningful relationships with industry investors, retailers, suppliers and service providers.

You must be a registered attendee of BevNET Live Summer 2023 to sample.

Learn More

Supporting Sponsors

Beverage School: Education to Get You Started

The day 1 morning of BevNET Live, industry newcomers can learn the basics of running a beverage business and jumpstart their networking at Beverage School. Experts will present on the 5 topics early-stage beverage brands need to know, including finance, sales, marketing, design, and operations.

Following the presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to sit down with the experts and ask them their toughest questions.

Beverage School helps lay the foundation for success. If you're just getting started in the natural packaged food industry, we recommend you attend the segment.

Learn More