Increasing demand for healthy, sustainable and personalized food is dramatically transforming the CPG industry. Startups are rethinking the status quo to make food more nutritious, delicious and accessible. Join us to learn about the business models, technologies and strategies of some of the game-changers who are rethinking CPG.

John Foraker, co-founder and CEO of Once Upon A Farm, will be doing a deep dive into how the company achieved WIC approval for its organic, cold-press baby food bowls. Larissa Russell, co-founder and CEO of Pod Foods, will talk about creating a B2B marketplace and distribution network to connect emerging food and beverage brands to retail stores. And Livio Bisterzo, founder and CEO of Green Park Brands and co-founder of Buddy Nutrition, will talk about Buddy Nutrition’s approach to building a D2C personalized nutrition brand.


We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from AKUA, Blue Evolution, Burlap & Barrel, Kaibae, Kuli Kuli, The Teff Company and more.

Technology promises to transform the restaurant industry. From talent management and personalization platforms to ghost kitchens and corporate catering marketplaces, startups are aiming to help restaurants improve operations and increase revenue. How do these technologies and new operational models work? What do they actually mean for restaurants?

Join us at What’s Next in Restaurant Tech at WeWork HQ for a deep dive into Zuul, Harri and HUNGRY's business models, technologies, challenges and lessons learned. You'll also be able to network with the community, demo cutting edge restaurant technologies and sample innovative food & beverages.

Explore cutting edge technologies, including OpenTable, The.Fit, Plate IQ, ItsaCheckmate, BentoBox and more. Enjoy tasty bites and drinks from Hella Cocktail, Element Farms and more.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms promise to transform the food industry. Innovative startups are leveraging these technologies to change the way we produce, distribute and consume food — from early plant disease detection to streamlining product development and consumer insights. What is A.I.? How does it actually work? How are companies leveraging it and why?

Join us to hear from CEOs and COOs of companies that are building intelligence platforms from the farm to plate at our March Food+Tech Meetup, A.I. in Food. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models and technologies. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Bad Apple Produce, Artisan Revere, Silly Chilly Hot Sauce, Element Farms + More

Just 12 plants and 5 animals make up 75% of the world’s food supply. Almost half of our plant-derived calories come from just three foods: wheat, corn and rice. While estimates vary, it is believed that there are over 30,000 edible plants, and we only eat 150 of them. This is harmful to our planet, health and the communities that rely on them. While the conversation around sustainability typically focuses on how we grow our food, it’s time to focus on what we’re growing.

Biodiversity is crucial to the health and safety of our food supply. But to us, biodiversity in food means something even more. Biodiversity sits at the intersection of taste and sustainability, where we can simultaneously satiate an eater’s desire for new, interesting foods, while supporting a more diverse cornucopia of foods being cultivated in the world. As an industry, consolidation puts our food supply at risk and leaves a lot of opportunity - new flavors and food experiences - on the table.   

From building out supply chains with farming cooperatives abroad to partnering chefs and breeders to develop delicious plant varieties, companies are increasingly launching products and developing supply chains that support agrobiodiversity.

Join us to hear how game-changing startups are creating a more biodiverse food system at our February Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, technology and supply chains. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Yolele, Kuli Kuli, Tender Greens, Kaibae, Rebbl + More

As 2019 unfolds, nascent trends and paradigm-shifting innovations continue to rock the food industry. Fast-growing demand for plant-based alternatives are eating out sales of dairy and animal-based products. Recent trend reports claim 2019 is said to be the year plant-based meat goes mainstream. Functional foods have taken a more prominent role in the American diet. From personalization to direct-to-consumer models, startups are radically rethinking how food products are developed, packaged and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are rethinking CPG at our January Food+Tech Meetup. Speakers will do a deep dive into their business models, growth and technology.

The Future Market's biodiversity exhibit tells a story about how food biodiversity sits at the intersection of taste and sustainability. You’ll see content that lays out the key issues and benefits of food biodiversity as well as an exploration of what a world with more food biodiversity might look like in your average grocery aisle.

In addition, the entire catalogue of the Future Market’s 40 conceptual food products that illustrate what we might eating in the next 5-25 years will be on display.

It's not easy being a food innovator. There's no road map for reinventing an industry.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with ForceBrands to celebrate failure in all its glory at Fail Friday (on a Thursday). Join us to hear stories of failure and lessons learned from top food entrepreneurs Erin Patinkin of Ovenly and Start to Sale, Ben Conniff of Luke's Lobster, Chitra Agrawal of Brooklyn Delhi and Nicole Nice of Pomp & Whimsy.

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the food industry. Ten of the world’s biggest food companies have already joined forces to transform how the industry tracks food worldwide through this network. At the same time, new companies are emerging to introduce these technologies into the supply chain, demonstrating the potential it has to improve food system operations in several ways - from preventing foodborne illnesses to combating hunger.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are deploying blockchain technology in our food system at our November Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, technology, challenges and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Ginjan, 82 Labs, Bowery Farming, Believe in Bambara, Scraps, Burlap & Barrel, Amazi Foods + more!

The gender gap is pervasive across the food industry. Women make the majority of food-purchasing decisions and represent nearly half the entry-level workforce in the food industry, yet less than a fourth of executives are women and even fewer are women of color. Women are less likely to raise capital and start food companies than men. Beyond the lack of financial support is a widespread lack of recognition and respect, which at times can go so far as sexual harassment and abuse. What can be done to move forward and uplift the women who are transforming our food system?

Join us for a discussion on the unique ways women are transforming our food system with Elly Truesdell of Canopy Foods, Valerie Christy of Almanac Insights, Jessamyn Rodriguez of Hot Bread Kitchen and Kimberly Chou of Equity at the Table & Food Book Fair.

Increasing demand for healthy, sustainable and personalized options has disrupted the CPG space. Big food companies are losing market share to startups with more nimble business models, greater consumer focus and faster innovation cycles. Since 2013, food and beverage startups have raised $9.5 billion across 2,100 deals globally. From direct-to-consumer functional foods to plant-based ingredient innovations, startups are radically rethinking how food products are developed, packaged and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are rethinking consumer packaged goods at our August Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, approaches to product development and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from, RIND Snacks, Dafero, Freville Farm, Lavva, The Worthy Company, Masienda, Egunsi Foods, Seek Food and DIRTY LEMON.

It’s no secret that food waste is a massive problem. Every year, $218 billion is spent on food that is never eaten--amounting to 52 million tons sent to landfills annually. Another 10 million tons is discarded or left unharvested on farms. In response, a number of companies have emerged to tackle this issue. From repurposing food waste into added-value products to recovering nutrients from food that is thrown away, join us to hear from innovators in the space at our June Food+Tech Meetup. Presenters will do a deep dive into their business strategies, technologies, challenges and lessons learned.

Come network with the community and get a taste from emerging F&B startups: Ancolie, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine x Breads Bakery, ReGrained, Misfit Juicery, Gotham Greens, Local Roots NYC, Food for All and Toast Ale USA! 

It's not easy being a food innovator. There's no road map for reinventing an industry.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with ForceBrands: FoodForce | BevForce to celebrate failure in all its glory at Fail Friday (on a Wednesday). Join us to hear stories of failure and lessons learned from top food entrepreneurs.

We will also have food from emerging brands Seek Food, Lavva, HavenRow and PetPlate and more. And, as always, there will be lots of networking.

SCHEDULE:
7:00 - 7:45: Networking, Snacks & Drinks
7:45 - 8:45: Failure Stories & Q&A
8:45 - 9:30: More Networking

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Rita Hudetz, CEO, Hu Kitchen & Products
Rita M. Hudetz is a 2009 Yale FES/SOM Joint Degree Graduate. Rita was recently promoted to CEO of Hu Kitchen/Hu Products, a high quality/ultra unprocessed restaurant and CPG business located in NYC. She joined Hu Kitchen as Chief Commercial Officer of Hu Products in 2016, to drive expansion of their retail product line. Since 2016 she has expanded the products business nationally, launched an ecommerce platform, increased sales by 5x and introduced new products following Hu's "no weird ingredients" mantra.

Camilla Marcus, Founder, west~bourne
west~bourne, is a healthy-minded café and takeaway shop in SoHo founded by Camilla  Marcus, an artist and cook at heart with a background in business development, law, and investing. Camilla has helped bring to life some of New York’s beloved neighborhood restaurants, including dell’anima, Riverpark, and the reopened Union Square Café.  Formerly the Director of Business Development for Union Square Hospitality Group, Camilla has also worked in real estate investing for Colony Capital and CIM Group. With west~bourne, she is now both the investor and the entrepreneur, committed to rethinking what it means to be a good neighbor through the lens of hospitality. a portion of every purchase made at west~bourne will benefit a neighboring non-profit, The Door, to fund hospitality job training for youth in our community, and we are hiring from that very program to build our team.

Renaldo Webb, Founder & CEO, PetPlate
Renaldo Webb is Founder and Chief Product Officer at PetPlate. Inspired by his dog Winston, Renaldo founded PetPlate after deciding that he did not want to feed his dog anything less than real food. After making hundreds of batches of home-cooked dog food for Winston and his pup pals, Renaldo decided to launch a pet food brand that he could proudly call his own. Prior to PetPlate, Renaldo worked at LCatterton and McKinsey & Company as a lean manufacturing consultant, where he led operational turnarounds for public and private companies. He launched PetPlate as a nationwide subscription service in early 2017, following an appearance on the hit TV show Shark Tank.

Ravi Jolly, Co-Founder & President, I Heart Keenwah
Ravi Jolly, founded I Heart Keenwah, a brand that makes delicious, nutritious, plant-based food products using top quality quinoa. In doing so, he has made a mark on the world by making organic and Fair Trade quinoa accessible, introducing many to a health-supporting protein source and sourcing quinoa in a way that is equitable to farmers.

Ocean life is at risk of collapse, yet the demand for seafood is increasing. More than 90% of seafood in the US is being imported from overseas, and 30% is sourced through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing operations. Now, companies are cropping up to build a more sustainable, traceable and profitable seafood supply chain. From live tracking technology to converting pollution into fish feed, join us to hear from innovators in the space at our April Food+Tech Meetup. Presenters will do a deep dive into their business strategies, technologies, challenges and lessons learned in the aquaculture and seafood space.

Agriculture is undergoing a digital revolution. The demand for information along the food supply chain is driving the evolution of digital-based solutions for growing food and increased agtech adoption. From precision farming to biotechnology, there is a growing crop of startups using data and technology to make food production more sustainable, efficient and profitable.

Join us to hear how food innovators are advancing the way we farm at our January Food+Tech Meetup in partnership with AgFunder. Presenters will do a deep dive into their business strategies, technologies, challenges and lessons learned.

It's not easy being a food innovator. There's no road map for reinventing an industry.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with ForceBrands: FoodForce  | BevForce to celebrate failure in all its glory at Fail Friday (on a Thursday). Join us to hear stories of failure and lessons learned from top food entrepreneurs.

We will also have food from Cook Space Brooklyn, Zaro's Bakery, Banza, Good Spread, Victory Garden and Mama O's Premium Kimchi as well as festive drinks from Deep Eddy Vodka and Teavore. And, as always, there will be lots of networking.

The $800 billion dollar restaurant industry is evolving amidst shifting consumer preferences, labor costs and shortages. Technology is also changing the way we operate and experience restaurants.

Join us to hear how food innovators are rethinking restaurants at our November Food+Tech Meetup. Presenters will do a deep dive into their business strategies, technologies, challenges and lessons learned.

The retail industry has undergone unprecedented change over the last 5 years, driven in large part by e-commerce, eater demand for convenience and better products, and narrowing margins. Now, Amazon’s $13.7 billion dollar acquisition of Whole Foods is forcing retailers and brands to innovate even faster.

Is the future of retail online? What role will bricks and mortar play? How do we increase accessibility to underserved communities? Are meal kits a fad? How do we support small emerging brands? What will it take to cater to the rapidly evolving needs of modern eaters?

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are changing the way we shop for food at our October Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business and technology models, challenges and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great emerging food and drink startups to sample including Rise Brewing Co, Bon Harvest, The Brooklyn Kitchen, Yumami, mēle, Good Stock Soups, The Better Fish, Casa de Sante and Urban Leaf!

Eater demand for healthy, sustainable and convenient food is spurring a whole new generation of CPG concepts.

From greens and value added products grown in city rooftop greenhouses to direct-to-consumer frozen foods that are both healthy and delicious, startups are radically rethinking how food products are developed, packaged and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are re-engineering food at our September Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, approaches to product development and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Beyond the Shoreline, Gotham Greens, Zesty Z, Bushwick Kitchen, Daily Harvest + More!

We're thrilled to be a presenting partner for FoodBytes! by Rabobank, happening on Thursday, June 15 in NYC at SECOND floor. This pitch competition-meets-networking event brings together the game-changing startups, investors and industry leaders pioneering the future. Since FoodBytes! launched in 2015, more than 1,000 companies have applied to pitch to over 1,400 attendees at events around the world.

Eater demand for healthy, sustainable, convenient food is spurring a whole new generation of food brands.

From turning chickpea waste water into tasty mayo, to using e-commerce to sell direct to consumer, to insect-based palm oil alternatives, startups are radically rethinking how food products are developed and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are re-engineering food at our April Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, approaches to product development and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food and drinks to sample from Apiterra Honey, Burlap & Barrel, Sir Kensington's, Four Sigmatic and more.

From delivery to POS (point of sale) and CRM (customer relationship management) tools, startups are developing new technologies to help restaurants streamline operations and improve margins.

Join us for a deep dive into some these innovations at our February Restaurant Tech Meetup. You'll get an inside look at the business models, products, challenges and lessons learned from 4 up-and-coming startups. You'll also hear from a restaurant operator who will share their experience testing new technologies.

It's not easy being a food innovator. There's no road map for reinventing an industry. So, in partnership with Force Brands: FoodForce | BevForce, we cooked up the Fail Friday series to celebrate failure in all its glory.

At our seventh installment of Fail Friday (on a Thursday), we'll hear from Green Seed Group, Heritage Radio, BRAMI, Be Mixed and Metcalfe's Food Company. Startups will share their stories of failure and lessons learned from growing their businesses, followed by audience Q&A.

There will be holiday-themed snacks from Matt's Kimchi, Brooklyn FoodWorks, Auria's Malaysian Kitchen, Wangs and more, festive drinks from Swig + Swallow, Woodward Extracts and REBBL, plus lots of networking.

Eater demand for healthy, sustainable, convenient food is spurring a whole new generation of food brands.

From startups employing cellular agriculture to develop dairy alternatives that taste just like the real thing to e-commerce platforms that help brands get consumer insights, new companies are radically rethinking how food products are developed and sold.

Join us to hear from some of the game-changing startups who are re-engineering the future of packaged food at our September Food+Tech Meetup. Founders will do a deep dive into their business models, approaches to product develop and lessons learned. We will also have networking with the community and lots of great food to sample.

Working on an innovative food product? Interested in presenting or sampling at the Meetup? We have left one presenter spot open for the community and are also looking for a few startups to sample their food products.

Please email nina[at]foodtechconnect[dot]com with more information about your company if you're interested in either opportunity.

The future of dining is here. Fresh concepts melded with operational innovations and new technologies are furthering the relationship between diner and food in ways never before experienced.

Join us and hear how a few innovative startups are shaking up dining and causing us to re-think our relationships with chefs, farmers, and communities at our second LA Food+Tech Meetup. Presenters will do a deep dive into their business models, challenges and lessons learned.

We'll have seasonally inspired salads from sweetgreen, the first taste of newly minted concept, Everytable, and additional bites from local food makers.