1 speaker, 1 topic, 30 minutes for the benefit of your food business
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All the recorded sessions are available on our YouTube channel. If you’d like to support our work building resources for the food community amidst the COVID-19 crisis, please help us spread word, sign up to our newsletter, and forward our resources to your friends and colleagues.
Customer-Centric Marketing: Why Understanding Your Consumer is Essential for Success
Annette Herz, Partner at Compass Marketing Innovation
Friday, June 26th, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Consumers do not have the time to find you and you have a limited budget to find them. Plus how do you make certain that a potential consumer's first encounter with your brand is successful whether online, at shelf, or otherwise? Join Annette in this session where she will cover the best practices critical for new and existing Food & Beverage brands to gain and maintain relevance in today's marketplace. By the end of the session, you will clearly understand customer-centric marketing and why it's important; learn through gold standard examples and practices; and be able to assess whether your brand is currently customer-centric and what to do about it. Annette is a Partner at Compass Marketing Innovation, a Boston-based strategic marketing agency focused on uncovering, evaluating, and developing new growth opportunities in consumer products.
How to Leverage Your Margins to Produce Better Returns - Without Spending More
Brad Ebenhoeh, Managing Partner at Accountfully
Friday, June 12th, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
It’s no secret that inventory is complicated and dynamic for the inventory entrepreneur. The small business dreamer will start to get bogged down almost immediately when all of the little pieces that turn into that product need to be tracked and have a cost associated with it. So where do you start and how should you do it? Tune in to this session to learn high level points on what to consider when accounting for inventory and COGS. Brad will also explore tools to help calculate your COGS and margins, what KPIs on the Profit & Loss you should focus on, as well as the benefits of segmenting reporting by sales channel and customers. Brad is the Managing Partner at Accountfully, a modern outsourced accounting firm that serves modern brands and businesses.
Rethinking Marketing In the Time of COVID-19
Marlo Fogelman, Founder and CEO of marlo marketing
Friday. May 29, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
The marketing world has been turned on its head since the COVID-19 crisis exploded. Consumers are behaving differently, budgets are being cut, supply chains are broken and many products are seemingly non-essential in our new reality. In response, brands are taking a variety of steps to refine and in many ways redefine how their marketing mix can continue to raise awareness with crucial audiences. In this presentation, you’ll learn specific ways in which brands have made moves to pivot their focus, create efficiencies, reassess their goals and invest in themselves in hopes of exiting into the post-Corona world a stronger brand. Marlo is the founder & CEO of marlo marketing, an integrated marketing agency specializing in the CPG, lifestyle and hospitality sectors, with experience across food and beverage with clients including Pretzel Crisps, Narragansett Beer, Cape Cod Potato Chips, Plant Snacks and Perdue.
Food Service: the Changing Landscape of Online Ordering
Scott Moraes, Co-Founder of Espressly
Thursday, May 28, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Online ordering for pickup and delivery have become necessary strategies for restaurant survival during COVID-19. Tune in to this session to learn how the food service industry has been rapidly changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to reviewing the current trends in the industry, Scott will explores unsustainable business models, potential mega-mergers, new concepts, and possible long-term changes to consumer behavior. Scott is the co-founder of Espressly where he develops custom mobile ordering apps for cafes. By democratizing mobile ordering and contactless payment technology, Scott hopes to help cafes double their revenues.
How the R&D Tax Credit Can Help Food and Beverage Companies During COVID-19
Erica Tutko, Senior Field Sales R&D Tax Consultant at Leyton
Friday, May 22, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
The food and beverage industry remains one of the most impacted during COVID-19. Many businesses are seeking financial relief and support. One frequently overlooked tax incentive for food and beverage companies is the Research & Development (R&D) Tax Credit, which allows companies to recapture a portion of their R&D investment to reduce income and/or payroll tax liability. Tune into this session to learn about the wide scope of R&D in the food and beverage industry that many companies are unaware of. Erica is Senior Consultant at Leyton, where she helps food and beverage companies leverage the R&D tax credit and accelerate growth and innovation.
How to Produce and Crowdsource Video Marketing Content with Your Phone
Rachel King, Co-Founder & CEO of EditMate
Thursday, May 21, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Smart tips for creating video marketing content with the one tool everyone has: a phone. This session will detail how businesses can produce video content that will help them interact with their customers, grow their audience, and boost their brand while everyone is social distancing. Rachel is the Co-Founder and CEO of EditMate, a software and service that modernizes video production. She help businesses create and crowdsource user-generated video marketing content with their real community of customers, employees, brand ambassadors, and fans.
Boston Public Market Association: Supporting Small New England Businesses Through and Post COVID-19
Cheryl Cronin, CEO, and Carrie DeWitt, Director of Community Engagement at the Boston Public Market Association
Thursday, May 14, 2010, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Join Cheryl and Carrie to learn more about the Boston Public Market Association and how they work to support small New England entrepreneurs by providing them with resources and retail space to launch, develop and expand their businesses. We will share how the market has adapted our operations through the current pandemic and how we will assist businesses as we come out of COVID 19, continuing to connect consumers to local producers and brands as we believe demand to support these businesses will be especially strong. Cheryl has been a leader in numerous business and nonprofit organizations, with a particular interest in those that bring others to Boston and the Commonwealth and in the vitality of the city. Carrie has extensive experience in process management and improvement, constituent relationship development and management, operations management and local produce sales and promotion.
How to Leverage Innovation and R&D for Food Startup Funding in the Time of COVID-19
Greg Wiseman, R&D Consultant to the Food and Beverage Industry at Greg Wiseman and Associates Consulting
Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
With Venture Capital and Private Equity firms getting more careful about making new or incremental investments, how can you set yourself apart from the crowd? Demonstrating that you have strong R&D elements in place to drive successful innovation will not only set you apart, but also help you prevent future problems and accelerate your success. Greg is a food and beverage innovation R&D consultant and entrepreneur with 30 years of Product Development, Project Management, and Strategy experience. He’s known for his strong expertise in food/beverage formula and process development as well as in project management and commercialization to deliver innovation and drive growth.
Going Hyper Local in Times of COVID: Support Your Community and Your Cash Flow
Sari Kimbell, Founder & CEO of Sari Kimbell Consulting and Food Business Success
Thursday, May 7, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Direct to consumer sales through e-commerce is great and allows you to reach customers all over the country, and even the world. Constraint leads to creativity and there are some new, or reinvented, opportunities for getting your much desired products into your local community. From virtual and in-person farmers markets to ad hoc food hubs with delivery systems, there has been some awesome pivoting as a result of COVID-19. Tune into this session to find out ways you can serve your community and increase your immediate cash flow. Sari is the Founder and CEO of Sari Kimbell Consulting and Food Business Success. She works primarily with early stage food brands helping them achieve their goals of becoming a profitable food business.
How Emerging CPG Companies Can Maximize Their Time During COVID-19
Jamie Borteck, Owner & President at JCB Growth Ventures
Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Are you wondering how to come back stronger and on the offense post COVID-19? Tune in to learn more about how to direct your sales efforts with category managers and brokers, explore e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Instacart, stay positive and encourage your team, and most importantly, maximize your time. During this session, Jamie will defer to a few attendee volunteers to illustrate examples and help you get the most of this engaging discussion. Jamie is a Leader in food and CPG General Management with depth in Marketing, Sales, and New Product Innovation. He is the founder of JCB Growth Ventures, which provides start-up growth leadership services, sales and marketing consulting, advising, and coaching. More information to follow.
3 Common Pitch Presentation Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make and What You Can Do to Avoid Them
Melissa DiPalma, Founder of Sparkk Brand Strategy
Friday, May 1, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Have some extra time on your hands to work on your business? Now is a great opportunity to refine (or start!) your pitch deck and help position your business for the future. In this session we will go over some of the typical things that can get in the way of a successful pitch and cover some key elements that will improve your presentation. Melissa is a presentation specialist and brand message consultant who helps people with great ideas share them better, from small food start-ups to large bio-tech organizations. She is the founder of Sparkk Brand Strategy, where she works with clients to streamline and prioritize messaging, make better use of visual communication and improve brand storytelling through presentations, digital stories and content strategy.
The Challenge of Messy Food Data - Before, During, and After COVID-19
Jonathan David Press, Food Data Advisor at Galley
Thursday, April 30, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
COVID-19 is making it harder to improve food business profitability, not to mention affecting the well-being of kitchen and production staff and making it harder to reduce wasted food. In this session, Jonathan will explore the world of food data, giving you guidance on how to have clean and transparent data to make food production planning easy and accurate. He will then explain how you can leverage that data by enabling demand-based ordering of ingredients from suppliers. Jonathan has always had a passion for transforming the food industry. At Galley, he assists food organizations in all segments to help them leverage the power of data.
Optimizing Today's Teams to Build the Food Companies of Tomorrow
Billy Bohling, Team Lead Enterprise CPG Accounts at ForceBrands
Wednesday, April 29, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Join Billy for a live discussion about building the food companies of tomorrow in today’s uncertain climate. He will discuss hiring trends and how high growth brands are pivoting their hiring strategies to build and strengthen their teams to come out stronger and more resilient after COVID-19. Billy is an Enterprise Client Strategist at ForceBrands, the leading recruitment firm and job board for consumer brands. He helps scale businesses by identifying their unique strategic needs and providing the right solutions for them.
Branchfood and Nutter Present: Using Convertible Debt and SAFEs to Bridge Through Crisis
Jeremy Halpern, Partner; Co-Chair, Emerging Companies Group; Co-Chair Food & Beverage Industry Group at Nutter Law
Friday, April 24, 2020, 12:00-1:00pm EST
In this webinar, Jeremy will discuss how convertible debt remains a key tool in the arsenal of early stage food and beverage companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. He will also address important considerations for founders and entrepreneurs as they explore the best investment vehicles in these uncertain times. Jeremy co-leads Nutter Law’s Food and Beverage group and co-chairs the firm’s Emerging Companies Group. His practice focuses on emerging companies, private equity, venture capital and angel financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, executive and team compensation matters, and general startup support for high growth companies in technology, life sciences, and the food and beverage industry.
Building More Sustainable Brands During and Post COVID-19
Mel Bandler, Retail Sustainability Manager at Fair Trade USA
Thursday, April 23, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
April 22 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, in this session Mel will explore ways food entrepreneurs can incorporate sustainability to align with their brand, the market and consumer behavior. You’ll learn how to lead with authenticity and consider the impact throughout the value chain. Mel is the Retail Sustainability Manger at Fair Trade USA. She works with retail partners coast to coast as they embark on responsible sourcing journeys and supports manufacturers as they incorporate sustainability into their brands.
Ask an Entrepreneur: Nico Enriquez, CEO of Willie’s Superbrew
Nico Enriquez, CEO of Willie’s Superbrew
Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Willie’s Superbrew is bringing real fruit to hard seltzer: the same light, refreshing body of a hard seltzer, but with tons of flavor and a beautiful, real color to back it up. The Willie's brand started in 2015 at a farmers market after Nico, a surfer, met Willie, a goat farmer, on a cape cod beach. After many years playing volleyball together Nico tried Willie's Ginger and Lemon homebrew and realized they world needed to try it. Now they are sold in 1,600 stores from across the NE and are on track to more than double sales this year. Nico's goal is to live to his values, have fun, and make Willie's Superbrew into the leader of the Hard Seltzer category by real fruit, real people, and real impact to the alcohol industry. Join him in this session to learn more about how he’s been leading this startup to success.
Evolving Consumer Food Routines in the Time of COVID
Laurie Demeritt, CEO of The Hartman Group
Friday, April 17, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
In an environment where many aspects of traditional food convenience are not available and routines and priorities are shifting, consumers are more open than ever to rethinking their approach to food and embracing new solutions that respond to evolving considerations. This session will take a high-level look at how the current crisis is impacting consumer eating habits, cooking habits and perceived nutritional needs. Laurie drives the vision, strategy, operations and results-oriented culture for the company's associates as The Hartman Group furthers its offerings of tactical thinking, consumer and market intelligence, cultural competency and innovative intellectual capital to a global marketplace.
Food Business Survival in the Time of COVID-19
Jim Verzino, Director and Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Windham Grows
Thursday, April 16, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
In this talk, Jim will go over management and decision making in times of crisis, scenario planning, and cash flow management. He will also discuss the different loan and grants programs currently available, including the CARES Act, highlighting their pros and cons to help you determine the best fit for your business. Jim is a highly visible, entrepreneurial leader with deep roots in high-tech and start-up ecosystems throughout Boston, Silicon Valley and Vermont. He currently serves as Director and Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Windham Grows, a business accelerator focused on socially responsible food and agriculture businesses.
How CPG Brands Can Navigate the Uncharted COVID-19 Territory
Paul Nardone, CEO of Better For You Brands
Wednesday, April 15, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
In this session, Paul will provide guidance for CPG brands on how to navigate the challenging COVID-19 time. Paul is a strong CPG leader with a career history of creating and executing high-growth strategies, consistently achieving superior operating results, and repeatedly delivering significant value creation for stakeholders. He is the CEO of Better For You Brands, a global, diversified, better-for-you snack manufacturer directly addressing the growing consumer trends toward healthier living and eating.
Guidance for Public Relations & Marketing Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
Samantha Bartholomew, Manager of Nutrition Communications at FRESH Communications
Tuesday, April 14, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Samantha Bartholomew, MS, RDN is a registered dietitian and Manager of Nutrition Communications at FRESH Communications, a public relations and marketing agency focused on better-for-you food brands in the CPG, retail, restaurant, and meal preparation categories. The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting all aspects of business, and therefore, significant shifts in PR and marketing must take place as consumer mindsets shift. Samantha will discuss how brands can refine their voice, add value, and remain relevant in the new, COVID-19-focused media landscape.
Self-Care 101: Eating Healthy in the Time of COVID-19
Isabel Smith, Founder & CEO of Isabel Smith Nutrition
Monday, April 13, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Self-care is crucial in the challenging times that COVID has brought upon us. Join Isabel Smith as she covers useful tips and resources to eat healthfully with more limited food availability and self-quarantine (including some of her own nutrition and wellness hacks- including supplement questions). Isabel is a well seasoned health communications specialist and Registered Dietitian with extensive clinical training. She is the founder of Isabel Smith Nutrition, a holistic, integrative nutrition and wellness practice based in New York City.
Current State of Financing for Food & Beverage Business
Nicolas McCoy, Co-Founder of Whipstitch Capital
Friday, April 10, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Nick Mccoy is the Co-founder of Whipstitch Capital a premier investment bank for emerging food and beverage businesses. In this presentation, he will discuss the latest industry trends in financing your business, valuation considerations, how best to communicate with your investors, what to do if you're mid-fundraise, and predictions on silver linings that will emerge from this volatile time.
Decoding CPG Sales and Trends in the Time of COVID-19
Tina Adolfsson, Marketing & Data Innovation Lead at survey.com
Thursday, April 9, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
The COVID-19 crisis has led to unique and potentially long-lasting changes in consumer buying habits and sales for brands big and small. Retailers are adapting quickly to serve communities and streamline shopping. In this presentation, you'll learn how to decode changes in sales, optimize merchandising and digital efforts, and how to manage retail relationships through these turbulent times. Tina Adolfsson is a VP Survey.com, an on-demand retail services platform that helps consumer brands win in brick-and-mortar retail. Tina's experience spans 20+ years of business development strategy, finance, and brand to market strategy for consumer goods companies including Procter & Gamble, Ralph Lauren, and more.
Cash Flow Management with a Focus on Cash Preservation for Food Businesses during COVID-19
Nate Berkowitz, Operating Partner at Pippett Consulting
Wednesday, April 8, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Nate is the Operating Partner at Pippett Consulting, a national consulting firm focused on development and facilities capital management within the restaurant sector. With 20+ years of experience in operations and finance, he worked with local restaurants such as Clover Food Lab and Cosi. In this talk, Nate will provide guidance on how to manage your cash flow and strategically decrease your company’s burn rate in light of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Supply Chain Dynamics in the Time of COVID-19
Colleen Zammer, Senior Director of Market & Product Development at Bay State Milling
Tuesday, April 7, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Colleen will go over creative ideas and resources to help you partner with suppliers and source ingredients in times of COVID-19. Colleen is an expert in linking consumer and market needs with technical delivery. At Bay State Milling, she’s been developing innovative, value-added solutions geared to leveraging grains as part of a healthy lifestyle.
10 Tips on Creating Engaging Content at Home
Joanna Widman-French & Sean Widman-French, Founders of Harbinger
Monday, April 6, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Consumers are currently spending more time than ever on social media. In this talk, Harbinger will provide tips and tools on how to create content at home that will continue to elevate your online presence, grow your audience and engage consumers. Harbinger is a wife-husband team that supports small, mission-driven food businesses grow through marketing and creative support.
Startup Tips For Navigating the Choppy Waters of COVID-19
Richard Lee, Head of Commercialization at IndigoAg
Friday, April 3, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
In this talk, Richard will discuss his experiences managing through previous crises - what startup leaders should be doing today to survive the current environment, and set themselves up to thrive as the situation begins to turn a corner. Richard has 25+ years operating experience with Fortune 500 companies (Gillette, P&G, Spectrum Brands) & early stage startups (Shaser, Netra, IndigoAg). He is currently the Head of Commercialization at IndigoAg.
HR Resources & Employee Morale in the Time of COVID-19
David Hughson, VP of Technology Sales & Amanda Demo, Technology Sales Consultants at TriNet
Thursday, April 2, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a lot of uncertainty and concern for everyone across the globe. As a small and medium size business (SMB) owner you are likely facing challenges that are unique to those faced by larger corporations, and it’s also likely that you may be unsure about steps to take to protect and support your employees while ensuring you’re doing all the swiftly changing laws require. David and Amanda will share insights from the front lines. TriNet is supporting 18,000 small businesses as they grapple with the realities facing employers and employees in the “new normal” due to Covid 19. Topics will include remote work policies, sick leave, employee engagement and some strategies for employers dealing with layoffs.
Developing Your Brand's COVID-19 Video Production Strategies
Tom Dodge, Founder and CEO of NewView.Media
Wednesday, April 1, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Tom will aim to inspire ideas for video content based on innovative concepts his team is currently producing for clients. He'll also overview steps to setup an easy home studio where you can create media for your brand. Most importantly, his goal is to build a conversation and answer any questions about developing authentic videos to engage, educate and encourage action during these uncertain times. NewView.Media produced 413 videos across 85 projects in 2019 and have helped clients raise ~$4.5 million through crowdfunding video campaigns.
E-Commerce & Online Offers in the Time of COVID-19
Dan White, Founder & CEO of Localvore
Tuesday, March 31, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
Dan White is the founder and CEO of Localvore, a mobile app that allows consumers to get great discounts and offers at the best local restaurants and businesses in their area. Localvore has sold over $5 million of consumer transactions on various platforms to over 20,000 customers in New England and beyond. Join him to learn more about the shifting e-commerce landscape and how to leverage online offers to drive sales.
Digital & Social Media in the Time of COVID-19
Courtney Hakanson, Independent Digital & Social consultant
Monday, March 30, 2020, 1:00-1:30pm EST
The COVID-19 crisis has led to unprecedented shifts in consumer behaviors and how businesses function in 2020. In response, digital and social media infrastructures have become the main tool for driving sales and engaging customers during the pandemic. In this presentation, you'll learn how your business can optimize and leverage digital and social platforms during these critical times. Courtney runs her own consulting firm. Her experience spans 12 years of digital strategy, working with renowned brands such as Marriott International.
