Rethinking CPG 2018

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, Lavva, The Worthy Company, Masienda, Egunsi Foods, Seek Food, DIRTY LEMON, Makku and Yolélé Foods.

SCHEDULE:
6:30 – 7:15pm: Networking
7:30 – 9:00pm: Presentations + Q&A
9:00 – 9:30pm: Networking

PRESENTERS:
Zak Normandin, Co-Founder & CEO of DIRTY LEMON
In 2015 Normandin launched DIRTY LEMON, the world’s first direct-to-consumer beverage brand that sells exclusively by text message. Backed by A-List celebrities and business leaders alike, DIRTY LEMON is recognized nationally by media leaders such as Vogue, Forbes and Fast Company. In developing this proprietary technology, Normandin built a conversational commerce platform that provides effortless transactions, bypassing existing distribution inefficiencies, to improve the customer’s experience.

Victor E. Friedberg, Executive Chairman, Lavva; Co-Founder, Seed 2 Growth Ventures (S2G); Founder and Chairman of FoodShot — MoonShots for Better Food
Victor has been at the forefront of innovation, global development and sustainability for over 20 years. As Co-Founder of S2G Ventures he has been a principal force in developing the S2G mission, culture, strategy and team. Through his work, he has pioneered system investing as a strategy for investing into food and agriculture and applied this approach in building the S2G portfolio. As Managing Director, Victor lead the S2G investments into Beyond Meat, sweetgreen, Ripple, Maple Hill Creamery, Apeel Science, Ataraxis, FishPeople and Lavva. As Executive Chairman at Lavva, Victor guides forward-looking business strategy to establish pathways to brand aligned sourcing, manufacturing and new product development. He works collaboratively with the management team at Lavva to provide support for key opportunities and needs for the day-to-day execution of the business as needed.

Santiago Proaño Gómez, Brand Manager at Innovation Lab Tyson Foods
¡YAPPAH! is a new brand from Tyson Innovation Lab that exists to help fight food waste and address other sustainability challenges. ¡YAPPAH! products incorporate ingredients like upcycled proteins, and rescued vegetables and grains. These Protein Crisps are crunchy, tasty snacks that also provide the good stuff like chicken and veggies. It’s a snack that helps fights food waste AND delivers the flavor nuance of a meal.”

HOST:
Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. We are an independent, founder-controlled company of 132 people working together in an old pencil factory in New York City. Over 10 million people, from every continent on earth, have backed a Kickstarter project from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. To date, tens of thousands of creative projects — big and small — have come to life with the support of the Kickstarter community.

SPONSORS:
Like our namesake borough, the Brooklyn Brewery is made up of a rich collection of characters from all over the world. In our Williamsburg home, these characters are dedicated to brewing and selling great beer and enriching the communities we serve. Together, these Brooklyners have assembled the skills needed to transform a home brewing hobby into an independent brewery with a brand that has become an international beacon for good beer.