BevNET Live Winter 2021 - AGENDA

MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2021
7:30 AM - 8:00 AM	Breakfast & Registration -- Breakfast, coffee and beverages are served from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM PT and are included with registration. Registration and badge pick up opens for the day at 7:30 AM PT.
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM	New Beverage Showdown Semifinals -- The New Beverage Showdown is the leading business pitch competition for the beverage industry. Designed to support and showcase new products and promising founders, it focuses on the innovators and entrepreneurs designing the products of tomorrow.
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM	Networking Break & Livestream Studio --
10:00 AM - 10:05 AM	Welcome Remarks -- with John Craven, CEO & Founder, BevNET.com; Jeff Klineman, Editor in Chief, BevNET
10:05 AM - 10:30 AM	Introductory Panel: Resilience and the Return -- We’ll dive right into a panel on the state of the beverage business, chopping it up through the eyes of individual entrepreneurs, investors, dealmakers and distributors, with folks like Mark Rampolla, Nick Giannuzzi, Eddie Simeón and more sharing experiences and expectations, providing a touchpoint on the climate for the beverage business from store aisles to the boardroom. with Eddie Simeón, Co-Founder & CMO, Hella Cocktail Co.; Mark Rampolla, Co-Founder & Managing Partner; Founder, Zico, PowerPlant Partners; Nick Giannuzzi, Managing Partner, The Giannuzzi Group, LLP; Nicole Bernard Dawes, CEO, Nixie; Brian Barr, Account Executive, DPI Specialty Foods
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM	Sarah Frey: Inspiration, Negotiation, and Tenacity -- Sarah Frey, CEO of Frey Farms, will discuss both her personal story in beating the odds to create one of America’s most vibrant agricultural businesses, as well as her thoughts on negotiation and hiring. with Sarah Frey, Founder & CEO, Frey Farms
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM	Nik Sharma: The D2C Formula -- The online/in-store world will again be discussed, but from a more tactical view: first, a special session with D2C brand builder, investor, advisor and writer Nik Sharma will give brands straight advice on the life-cycle and staffing needs of their online sales operations, both for startups and for established companies looking to grow that channel. with Nik Sharma, CEO, Sharma Brands
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM	Authentic Appeal: Deploying Talent and Building Brands -- Shaun Neff, founder / investor of Neff, Orro, Sun Bum, Pattern, Beis, Moon, and Beach House, will talk through his career and offer lessons in matching the right breakthrough product to the right influential personality, as well as the ways companies can foster authentic relationships between brands and talent. with Shaun Neff, Founder / Investor / Advisor, Neff, Sun Bum, Orro, Pattern, Beis, Moon, Beachhouse
12:00 PM - 12:15 PM	Best Of 2021 Awards + New Beverage Showdown Finalist Announcements -- We’ll take a break from discussion to celebrate: BevNET’s Best of 2021 and New Beverage Showdown Finalists will be presented right before lunch.
12:15 PM - 1:45 PM	Lunch, Sampling & Livestream Studio --
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM	Breakout Session I: Inclusive from the Start: Incorporating DEI in Beverage Brands -- Location: Arcadia TaChelle Lawson, a DEI and brand consultant, will present ways entrepreneurs can build or incorporate cultures of inclusivity early on, and the ways that companies can benefit and profit from diversity. with TaChelle Lawson, President, FIG Strategy Consulting
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM	Breakout Session I: Supply Chain Pain: Surviving the Bullwhip Effect -- Location: Palisades Beverage companies are worried about raising prices, increasing costs, the potential margin impacts that will roll into fundraising valuations and more. A highly experienced panel, including manufacturing consultant Will Madden, Neil Kimberly of Essentia Water, and Encore Consumer Capital’s Kate Wallman will explain best practices for avoiding the “Bullwhip Effect” and some ideas on how brands can roll through the supply chain crisis. with Kate Wallman, Managing Director, Encore Consumer Capital; Will Madden, Senior Partner, Whole Brain Consulting; Neil Kimberley, CSO, Essentia Water
1:45 PM - 2:30 PM	Sponsored Breakout Session I: Making "Good for You" Beverages Taste Great -- Location: Catalina Ballroom Over the last two years, consumers have been heavily focused on improving their overall health. Thisheightened interest has trickled into everything we consume across all categories of food and beverage.From functional ingredients to more natural selections, each decision comes with its own challenges tomake sure your product performs while still tasting great. Join Beck Flavors as their marketing and R&Dteams discuss the latest health & wellness trends in food and beverage, along with ways that flavorsandcustom formulations can help to overcome any challenges that these health-driven trends may bring. with Adam Berge, Application Technology, Beck Flavors; Nick Viriyasir, Flavor Scientist, Beck Flavors; Megan Gibson, Marketing Manager, Beck Flavors; Messina Truttman, VP, Sales & Marketing, Beck Flavors
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM	Networking Break --
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM	Breakout Session II: Diversifying Funding and Opportunity -- Location: Arcadia TaChelle Lawson will join experienced entrepreneurs like Madeline Haydon (Nutpods), Todd Carmichael (La Colombe) and Mark Feinberg (OTHERSource), as well as investor Maxi Kozler (LDR Ventures) for an important discussion: how to reshape the capital flows within the CPG industry to allow for greater investment in women and minority-owned brands, as well as create a panel’s worth of advice for gaining and growing capital access for those companies. with TaChelle Lawson, President, FIG Strategy Consulting; Maxine Kozler, Co-Managing Director, LDR Ventures Partners LLC; Mark Feinberg, CEO, OTHERSource and OTHERStore.com; Madeline Haydon, Founder & CEO, Nutpods; Amit Pandhi, CEO, Velocity Snack Brands
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM	Breakout Session II: Redbud Brands: What Entrepreneurs Miss -- Location: Palisades Experience can be a great teacher, and that leaves the founders of RedBud Brands ready to open the classroom. Founded by investor Brian Goldberg, RedBud’s staff of brand co-founders includes Arthur Gallego (SunDaze) and Laura Brooks (Napjitsu), the RedBud team has worked with, worked for, invested in, and helped start and grow legendary entrepreneurial brands -- and they’ll bring advice that has come from helping founders throughout their careers. with Brian Goldberg, Founder, Redbud Brands LLC; Arthur Gallego, CEO & Co-Founder, SunDaze; Laura Brooks, CEO & Co-Founder, Napjitsu
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM	Sponsored Breakout Session II: Trends & Challenges in Functional Beverage -- Location: Catalina Ballroom Consumers have higher expectations for functional beverages now, as the breadth and depth of the category continues to grow. The impact of the pandemic has shifted consumer’s priorities in beverage, giving brands further opportunities to exceed expectations. Understanding the trends and challenges in this new, important market will set up your company for long-term success. Join Kerry as they highlight the trends and challenges that have shaped the functional beverage category in recent years, and how to implement those moving forward. with Rajesh Potineni, VP, RD&A Taste, Kerry; David DiVirgilio, Business Development Director, Kerry
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM	BevNET Live Tabletop Expo & Livestream Studio -- Location: Venice Salon (4th floor) Following the panel discussions and presentations we’ll work our way downstairs to the Venice Salon for the BevNET Live Expo, which is the only table-top exhibit exclusively showcasing beverage-specific industry supplier and service companies. Also at the Expo will be Sarah’s Book Club, a special opportunity to discuss entrepreneurship with Sarah Frey while having her sign a complementary copy of her book, “The Growing Season”.
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM	BevNET Live Official Party Presented by ForceBrands -- Location: Museum of Flying @ 3100 Airport Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90405 After the Expo attendees are invited to continue their conversations over drinks at the BevNET Live Official Party Presented by ForceBrands. The networking event will take place from 6 PM to 8 PM PT at the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica, CA. Only registered attendees with a valid badge will be allowed entrance.

Please note that event agendas are subject to change.