BevNET Live L.A. 2025 - AGENDA

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025
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 - 12:00 PM	1:1 Meetings, Powered by L.A. Libations -- 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 Todd Davis, Natural Foods/Multi-Cultural Category Manager, King Soopers/City Market; Nicole Dawes, Founder & CEO, Nixie Beverage Company; Nate Cooper, Founder & Managing Partner, Barrel Ventures; Giuseppe Infusino, Managing Partner, CIO, InvestBev; Ryan Fagan, Deal Partner, Gryphon Investors; Jon Halper, Owner & CEO, Top Ten Liquors; Brad Barnhorn, Board Member and Strategic Advisor, ; Kim Route, Category Manager, INFRA
8:30 AM - 9:05 AM	New Beverage Showdown Finals, Part I -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Our first three finalists face the judges!
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM	Sponsored Workshop: Verticalized AI in Action  -- Location: Palisades - Lower Level In this high-impact workshop, AisleAI CEO Kevin Senn breaks down how “Verticalized AI” is transforming the way CPG brands win in small-format retail. Unlike general-purpose AI, verticalized AI is trained on domain-specific data — SKU hierarchies, store geography, POS realities, competitive context, and category language — producing insights that directly drive revenue, distribution, and execution in the field. Attendees will learn how leading brands, distributors, and retailers are already using AI purpose-built for CPG to identify whitespace, optimize pricing, improve retail execution, predict demand, and convert fragmented data into measurable outcomes. Through real examples and applied use cases, the session illustrates why the next wave of innovation won’t come from broad AI tools, but from vertical systems designed for the nuances of CPG. with Kevin Senn, CEO & Co-Founder, Aisle AI; George Martinez, Head of Business Strategy & Co-Founder, Aisle AI; Tyler Coates, Chief Operating Officer, Ultimate Sales
9:05 AM - 10:20 AM	-- Morning Presentations -- -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
9:05 AM - 9:30 AM	Retailer Profile: Inside INFRA -- Founded in 2005 by four visionary retailers—Earth Fare, New Frontiers, New Leaf Community Markets, and Jimbo’s…Naturally!—INFRA has grown from a small network of like-minded pioneers into a vibrant cooperative of more than 380 retailers and 630 storefronts nationwide, representing a collective $3.2 billion in sales. INFRA's Kim Route and Angela Bozo will show attendees how to scale and win in the coolers of these high visibility, high loyalty accounts.  with Kim Route, Category Manager, INFRA; Angela Bozo, Director of Member Programs, INFRA
9:30 AM - 9:55 AM	The Next Stage for Spindrift -- How Spindrift founder Bill Creelman addressed key decisions on the path to a sale -- and what the future holds for the brand now that it has partnered with Gryphon Investors to take it to the next stage of growth.  with Bill Creelman, Chairman and Founder, Spindrift; Ryan Fagan, Deal Partner, Gryphon Investors
9:55 AM - 10:20 AM	Going Pro: How Founder-Led Brands Evolve -- How do you evolve from a founder-led vision into a brand that can grow? Whether you're at the wheel or handing it off, Maria Stipp shows founders how to get out of their own way. with Maria Stipp, CEO, Suja
10:20 AM - 11:00 AM	Networking, Sampling & Taste Radio Studio --
11:00 AM - 11:35 AM	New Beverage Showdown Finals, Part II -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level Our second group of finalists pitch to the judges!
11:35 AM - 12:50 PM	-- Final Presentations -- -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
11:35 AM - 12:00 PM	Why Some Beverages Just SELL: Revealing the Psychology Hidden in the Sales Data -- We’ve crunched the numbers behind the fastest-growing brands and categories, and used AI-powered psychology to reveal the three hidden forces that make products take off. with Hunter Thurman, Founder, Alpha-Diver
12:50 PM - 1:00 PM	New Beverage Showdown: Judges’ Remarks and Winner Announcement -- Location: California Ballroom - Lobby Level
12:00 PM - 12:25 PM	ANA Investing – Market Trends -- They've been one of the most innovative and widely discussed product types of the past three years, but where is the investment market for Adult Non-Alcoholic Spirit brands heading? Our panel discusses ways to generate interest in categories and companies that are still in their early days.  with Jen Batchelor, CEO & Founder, Kin Euphorics; Brandon Yahn, Partner, Convivialite Ventures
12:25 PM - 12:50 PM	Build to Flip, or Build to Last? -- What founders get wrong about building brands that buyers - and consumers - will actually want over the long haul.  with Courtney O'Brien, Founder, The Outlier Initiative

Please note that event agendas are subject to change.