JUNE 11+12 | NEW YORK, NY
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BevNET Live NYC 2025 Agenda
All times are subject to change.
Print the agenda for Wednesday, June 11
Please note: All times US Eastern Time
- 7:00 AM10:00 AM
Registration Opens; Breakfast + Networking
- 8:00 AM9:30 AM
Beverage School Presentations
Location: Floor 2
The morning of BevNET Live day 1, industry newcomers can learn the basics of running a beverage business and jumpstart their networking at Beverage School. Experts will present on 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. - 8:00 AM8:15 AM
Beverage School: The Beverage Entrepreneur’s Playbook
Drawing from his experience from the rapid growth of Remedy Organics — Henry Kasindorf will cover key stepping stones that have led to the brand’s dramatic success . A serial entrepreneur and active member of the entrepreneurial community, Henry brings a real-world perspective grounded in both resilience and hard-earned experience. - 8:15 AM8:30 AM
Beverage School: How The Beverage Industry Really Works
Bill Sipper of Cascadia Managing Brands presents a blunt roadmap for beverage startups, explaining why 93% fail. Success requires mastering the distribution system, retail authorization, pricing margins, and avoiding common pitfalls. Distributors demand volume and exclusivity but won’t build your brand. Retail chains have long review cycles and won’t authorize new products quickly. Profit margins shrink fast with retailer and distributor cuts. Launching smartly, focusing on velocity, and budgeting for promotions are key. Bottom line: this is a logistics game disguised as branding—know the system or get knocked off the shelf. - 8:30 AM8:45 AM
Beverage School: FDA Compliance for Beverage Brands
The beverage and specialty drink industry is rapidly evolving, driven by consumer demand for creative, non-alcoholic, and health-promoting options. Understanding regulatory obligations and how to market competitively while avoiding unwanted scrutiny from regulators and the class action bar can be challenging. In this session, Claudia Lewis will break down the latest compliance requirements impacting labeling, ingredients, and marketing claims. Whether you're launching a new product or managing an established brand, this session will provide practical guidance to help you stay compliant and avoid costly mistakes while maintaining your competitive edge in a highly regulated industry. - 8:45 AM9:00 AM
Beverage School: Brand Design That Wins On Shelf
Developing a memorable brand and getting a great product package on shelf quickly, efficiently, and without breaking the bank is one of the greatest challenges facing beverage brands. During this presentation Voicebox will share valuable brand design do's and don'ts – insights developed over two decades designing brands and packaging systems for clients ranging from some of America's most recognizable beverage brands to innovative category disruptors. Attendees will walk away with a proven brand design process to achieve speed-to-market with a brand that captures attention, inspires interest and trial, and drives repeat purchase. - 9:00 AM9:15 AM
Beverage School: Understanding Equity & Convertible Notes
Equity is the most important currency of high growth startup companies, and understanding how equity can be used to fund a company’s growth is, or should be, a prerequisite for all founders. Nutter’s Food and Beverage Co-Chair Will Bernat will lead a discussion that will introduce the basics of common stock, preferred stock, stock options, and convertible notes, and the most common ways they are used in a company’s growth, including structuring founder equity, building the team, expectations of investors, and dilution. - 9:15 AM9:45 AM
Beverage School Roundtable Networking
- 9:00 AM4:00 PM
One-to-One Retail Meetings
Location: Floor 2
Prior registration is required and meeting times are sent individually. Please check in at the One-to-One Help Desk before heading to your meeting room. Meetings will be 10 minutes each and the complete schedule is posted at the Help Desk.
Tracy Lester
David Lafferty
Joanne Neugebauer 
Jon Halper
Maxine Lopez
Lia O'Rourke
- 10:00 AM
-- Main Session Starts --
Location: Floor 1 - 10:00 AM10:15 AM
Welcome Remarks
Jeff Klineman
- 10:15 AM10:40 AM
Business, Brands, Beverages, Belsito!
Our first conversation of the day brings advice and perspective from one of the country's accomplished beverage company CEOs. - 10:30 AM11:30 AM
Sponsored Workshop: Accessing Gen Z in Beverage with NIL
Location: Floor 2
For the past four years, 98Strong has helped top food and beverage brands including OLIPOP, Orgain, and Guayaki (now Yerba Madre) drive full funnel growth through NIL, from awareness to conversion. In this workshop, we’ll explore how NCAA student athletes are reshaping Gen Z influence and how brands can connect with this powerful community in an authentic way. - 10:40 AM11:05 AM
Investment Trends: Inside Funding Collectives
Multi-member investment syndicates and shared platforms are becoming powerful value-added investors for beverage brands; our panelists discuss the best ways to partner with them. - 11:05 AM11:35 AM
Leadership Lesson: Learning from the Yerba Madre Name Change
We look at the reasons the yerba mate category leader put its brand through seismic change – and how brand leaders can think about implementing major changes at their own companies. - 11:35 AM12:00 PM
Live Nation as Brand Partner
Talk about high-visibility retail: With more than 50,000 concerts and festivals last year, Live Nation events brought in more than 150 million thirsty customers, and concert attendance keeps rising. Now, they’re investing in rising CPG brands. - 12:00 PM1:30 PM
- 12:00 PM1:00 PM
Sponsored Workshop: Building a Scalable Supply Chain for THC Beverages: High Tea with Master Mixologists and Industry Experts
Location: Floor 2
Join Templar Food Products and a panel of leading cannabis beverage experts for a live “High Tea” experience that goes beyond the basics. This interactive workshop explores the full product lifecycle from formulation and emulsion to manufacturing and mixology. Learn how to build a scalable, compliant supply chain and walk away with practical insights to launch or grow your cannabis beverage brand. Led by master mixologist Warren Bobrow (Klaus), with technical leaders from Vertosa, Abstrax, and Monarch, this session includes a live beverage demo, real-time Q&A, and sample tastings. The first 100 RSVPs receive tickets to the 7:00 PM Tall Ship Sunset Cruise: New York Tea Party, presented by @manhattanbysail. Sponsored by Templar Food Products - 1:30 PM2:00 PM
Share of Sip
The data behind key developments affecting pricing, innovation, assortment and consumer appetites for beverage brands. - 1:30 PM2:30 PM
Sponsored Workshop: Talk to Your Data, and It Talks Back - How AI is Transforming the Way CPG Brands Compete, Operate, and Win
Location: Floor 2
CPG brands know they need AI—but most don’t know where to start. In this workshop, Kevin Senn, CEO of AisleAI, unpacks the real-world challenges and breakthroughs of implementing AI across the CPG value chain. We’ll explore why 90% of executives say AI is essential to staying competitive, yet 75% admit they don’t know how to deploy it. From SKU-level insights to agentic AI that automates competitive tracking and alerts your field teams, we’ll showcase how today’s most forward-thinking brands are using AI to unlock velocity, reduce waste, and win at the shelf. Whether you're AI-curious or knee-deep in pilots, this session gives you a roadmap for making data actually work for your business. - 2:00 PM2:25 PM
Adult NA: Building the Category
Learning from NA Spirits brands as they try to create retail scale and capitalize on growing consumer interest. - 2:25 PM2:50 PM
Tackling Tough Decisions
Koia’s Chris Hunter has built brands across multiple categories; he’ll discuss key decision points for founders and share advice as both a CEO and investor. - 2:50 PM3:15 PM
The State of the Canna-Bev
Amidst massive growth online and shifting regulations at the state and local level, how can cannabis-based beverage brands find a steady state? - 3:15 PM4:30 PM
New Beverage Showdown Semifinal Round
Location: Floor 1
What innovative brands will get a pass to Day 2 from our judges? - 4:30 PM6:30 PM
BevNET Live Official Happy Hour
Location: Floor 1 Exhibit Hall
Join the official BevNET Live Happy Hour, also held on-site at the Metropolitan Pavilion, for some time chatting with each other about the day’s lessons over RTD cocktails, hemp-infused beverages, drinks and snacks, before adjourning for the day. Featured beverage brands sampling include Amrita, Brez, Bayou City Hemp Company, Zeroes Beverages and Torch.
