BevNET Live Winter 2024 - AGENDA

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2024
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM	Registration & Breakfast -- Location: Promenade Ballroom - Lobby Level Breakfast, coffee and beverages are served from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM PT and are included with registration. Registration and badge pick up opens for the day at 8:00 AM PT.
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM	One-to-One Meetings, Powered by LA Vibrations -- Location: Outdoor Sinder Lounge - Lobby Level Prior registration is required and meeting times are sent individually. Please check in at the One-to-One Help Desk before to heading to your meeting room. Meetings will be 10 minutes each and the complete schedule is posted at the Help Desk. with Taylor Cathala, Sr. Category Merchant, Spirits, Whole Foods Market; Samantha Fletcher, Senior Category Merchant, Whole Foods Market; Stephen Jabour, Chief Sales and Operations Officer, Spec's; Kody Severson, National Category Manager, Non-Carbonated Beverages, Albertsons; Matthew Wirth, National Category Manager, Carbonated Beverages, Albertsons
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM	Sponsored Workshop: Enhance Brand Packaging Impact with Interactive, Color-Changing Technology -- Location: Palisades Room - Lower Level The workshop will showcase examples and delve into the collaborative process of developing interactive packaging using CTI Chromatic Technologies. with Ed Hortelano, Chief Technology Officer, CTI Chromatic Technologies; Maria Del Rio, Chief Marketing Officer, CTI Chromatic Technologies
9:00 AM - 9:25 AM	The Psychology Behind Sustained Beverage Brand Success -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level How do brands accelerate from interesting to obsessive? In this session, Thurman shares insights from a unique database that maps consumer psychology, reveals what drives decisions across a range of beverage categories and brands, and offers founders both the ways to assess brand position in the minds of consumers and to drive sustained growth. with Hunter Thurman, CEO, Alpha-Diver
9:25 AM - 9:50 AM	Yo, Pioneers! Tips on Framing the Development of a New Category -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level When Ben Witte launched Recess, there wasn’t a lot of relaxation of any type in the beverage business - CBD derived or otherwise. Here’s how brand architecture and systems thinking allowed him to make the case for building a new category within the existing marketplace. with Ben Witte, Founder & CEO, Recess; Jared Jacobs, Partner, CAVU
9:50 AM - 10:15 AM	Finding Financial Fitness -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Like a lot of brands, the slowdown in VC and institutional lending meant hard choices for Life Aid. The brand navigated the successful shift from “grow at all costs” to being significantly EBITDA positive this year, and its founders share how they did it, and the ways that other brands can do the same. with Orion Melehan, CEO & Co-Founder, Life Aid Beverage Co.; Aaron Hinde, President & Co-Founder, Life Aid Beverage Co.
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM	Retailer Profile: Spec’s Wines, Spirits, and Finer Foods -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Texas-based beverage specialist Spec’s has more than 200 stores, and it has eagerly plunged into the deep end of the Hemp-Based Delta-9 THC beverage movement. Jabour is in charge of developing that assortment; he’ll share his thoughts on ways retailers and brands can support each other in categories where the rules are still emerging, as well as what it takes for all beverage types to get in and succeed in Spec’s. with Stephen Jabour, Chief Sales and Operations Officer, Spec's
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM	Networking, Sampling & Taste Radio Studio --
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM	Sponsored Workshop: From Formulation to Final SipTM: Crafting the Perfect Beverage for your Brand -- Location: Malibu Room - Lower Level Join FFP for an engaging workshop designed to empower beverage developers with insights into efficiently creating customer-centric products. Our session, “From Formulation to Final SipTM,” will guide brands through the essential steps of crafting beverages that start with nature and resonate with customers, using the power of pure extracts, functional ingredients from nature, and a wide array of flavors.  The presentation will feature a lineup of FFP experts who will discuss the latest trends and practical applications for ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages and concentrates.  with Joanne Sheean, Executive Vice President Extracts, Florida Food Products; Brad Petersmeyer, Senior Vice President, Products & Solutions, Florida Food Products
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM	New Beverage Showdown Finals - Round I -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Our first three finalists face the judges!
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM	"What I’ve Learned," with Nutpods' Madeline Haydon -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level In this fireside chat, Haydon will discuss key decisions around investment, brand direction, challenges from competition, mistakes, successes, and the ways the business tested her limits and helped her understand her own definition of success. with Madeline Haydon, Founder, Nutpods
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	Sponsored Workshop: Collaborate to Elevate: Disruptive Brand Packaging from Vision to Consumer -- Location: Palisades Room - Lower Level Step into the world of BevNRG—a custom-crafted beverage developed specifically for this event and brought to life by a team of beverage trailblazers, including leaders in brand ownership, flavor formulation, package design, co-packing, and label innovation. Ideal for professionals who crave something bold, fresh, and full of personality! This dynamic team, drawn from every corner of the industry, shares a vision for shaking things up. This session highlights the power of partnership, creativity, and fast-paced innovation. Don’t miss the chance to meet the team and see how BevNRG came to life and how an unconventional, collaborative approach can drive game-changing results! with Melanie Virreira, Vice President of Marketing, Resource Label Group
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM	Lunch, Sampling & Taste Radio Studio -- Location: Bayview Ballroom - Rooftop & Hotel Lobby Lunch is served in the Bayview Ballroom on the rooftop level and in the outdoor Sinder Lounge. Lunch is included with registration. Sampling continues in the Promenade Ballroom.
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM	New Beverage Showdown Finals - Round II -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Our second group of finalists pitch to the judges!
2:00 PM - 2:20 PM	Investment Outlook: Private Equity, Strategics, and M&A -- Lane, one of the country’s leading CPG dealmakers, will discuss topics like the state of the market for strategic investment and M&A, as well as other exit options like private equity, public markets, and platform formation. with Janica Lane, Co-Head, Consumer Investment Banking, Piper Sandler
2:20 PM - 2:45 PM	Drinking Our Feelings - The Shifting Beverage Consumer -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Flavor, function, and form are driving beverage innovation, but there's an underlying trend tapping into human emotion. Why is this resonating with consumers today? With beverage lines blurring, this session explores the concept of social signaling based on what people feel versus what the industry defines as a 'category' and how this may define the future of drinks. with Brandy Rand, Founder & CEO, Thirstwell
2:45 PM - 3:10 PM	Deal Breakdown: How On the Rocks Went from Startup to Exit -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Rocco Milano co-founded On The Rocks with Halbert and Andrew Gill to bring high-end mixology into the growing ready-to-drink space, and in just five years they were able to sell the brand to Beam Suntory, in 2020. Milano will share the brand’s tale of fast growth and exit, and how that’s informing the partners’ new venture, Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop. with Rocco Milano, EVP of Sales, Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop
3:10 PM - 3:15 PM	New Beverage Showdown: Judges’ Remarks and Winner Announcement -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level

Please note that event agendas are subject to change.