Elevator Talk showcases up-and-coming food and beverage brands to the industry, giving founders a chance to put their brand in the spotlight and share their story. Meet the founders behind the hottest brands hitting the market and hear their plans to stand out on shelves.
Each episode features a group of brand leaders, the host, and an industry expert, who asks follow-up questions and provides feedback for each entrepreneur.
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Watch previous episodes on our Elevator Talk video playlist.
Arpit Bhopalkar is the co-founder and CEO of Bhoomi, a mission-based brand that makes cold-pressed sugar cane beverages. The company hopes to change consumers’ perception of sugar cane and it’s health benefits, while supporting minority farmers in the U.S. and focusing on sustainability.
Jack Doheny is the co-founder of Bold Brew Coffee, a brand that aims to fuel active lifestyle consumers with organic coffee drinks. The company produces classic cold brew, nitro cold brew, and oat milk lattes in cans.
Lillard Anthony Wong is the co-founder of Sir Owlverick’s with his partner Amy Tang, who is a third generation coffee roaster. The brand focuses on crafting a classic medium roast with a smooth taste profile to appeal to a wide audience, while offering new and innovate SKUs like Vietnamese iced coffee and cold brewed double espresso shots.
Mike Cornwell is the CMO of Phivida, a company that launched its first foray into the ready-to-drink beverage space with OKI, a line of hemp CBD-infused teas and flavored waters. The brand is focused on using the highest quality ingredients and testing to ensure potency and purity.
Evy Chen is the founder of Evy Tea, a company that makes a line of shelf-stable cold brewed teas using organic ingredients and honey as the sweetener. The brand was one of the first to market making cold brewed teas, setting it apart from competitors.
Andrew Aussie is the president of Up to Good, a beverage company that is upcycling coffee waste to offer a unique energy drink. The beverage is brewed with cascara, the coffee cherry, which is normally disposed of in coffee processing. The brand believes its sustainable focus, direct trade practices and mission to give back to coffee farmers will resonate with millennials.
Lauren Mones is the founder and CEO of Fermenting Fairy, a company that develops a line of probiotic and fermented foods focused on healing the gut. The brand’s clean ingredient beverages include fermented ginger-based lemonades and vegan coconut milk kefir.
Jake Bullock is the co-founder of CANN, a low dose cannabis tonic designed for social drinking. The company aims to make cannabis more approachable to mainstream consumers and newcomers to the cannabis market.
Jacob Freepons is the co-founder and CEO of Lumen, a company that uses a proprietary process to press and juice whole hemp plants into Regenerative Hemp Elixirs. Lumen aims to grow awareness around the health benefits of hemp while also taking action to address environmental changes.
David Holmes is the co-founder of Plant Life Group, the producers of PLNT Blend, a brand that crafts all-natural and organic plant-based beverages aimed to evolve the way consumers hydrate. Full spectrum hemp extract is complemented by functional ingredients and sweetened with coconut nectar, making it a low glycemic beverage with unique flavor combinations.
Michael ZonFrilli is the co-founder of Bambucha, a chef crafted organic kombucha brand based in San Diego, California. Bambucha’s unique flavor offerings such as Thai Ginger and Mango Masala are inspired by the founders’ experience in the culinary field.
Garret Mccormick is the co-founder of Thirty-Two Degrees, a kefir company that has developed an innovative product by fermenting coconut water. The probiotic packed beverage is organic and naturally dairy-free, offering a unique alternative to traditional kefir.
Marin Kombucha offers a line of oak aged kombuchas that are craft brewed in small batches. CEO & Brewmaster Brian Igersheim is focused on delivering high quality kombucha that highlights the special qualities of the tea leaves.
Cadence Cold Brew President Roy Lavalley is focused on delivering the top scoring nitro-infused cold brew coffee in a convenient RTD format. With no added sugar, flavors or other ingredients, Cadence highlights its single-origin beans in each SKU, bringing a clean label energy drink to market.
