DESCRIPTION
Perhaps you're making a move to Boston to launch your new food venture? Or maybe you've been working here a while but you've never engaged in the food community? Or you simply see the flaws in our food system and want to know what solutions are at the forefront of sustainable change?
Join Branchfood for an immersive walking tour of Boston's food startup ecosystem. Meet leaders in the food innovation community, discover emerging companies disrupting the food system, and talk directly with fellow entrepreneurs.
With Boston's 1st Food Innovation Startup Tour, Branchfood aims to set your bearings and empower you to make the most of the Boston food startup ecosystem.
Featuring:
Branchfood seeks to promote food entrepreneurship and support the community of founders launching and scaling transformative businesses as the largest community of food innovators in New England. By uniting the community of entrepreneurs, mentors, advisors, investors, industry professionals, and mission driven organizations passionate about food, Branchfood aspires to create a sustainable food system.
Spotlight: Lauren Abda, Founder and CEO
Lauren's work is focused on connecting the community of food innovators and also aggregating resources for food entrepreneurs to help their businesses launch and grow in Boston. Prior to Branchfood, she consulted for foodtech companies in Boston and San Francisco and worked as an analyst for a venture capital firm focused on early stage foodtech investment.
Red's Best @ The Fish Pier
You probably know your dentist and your accountant but you may not know your fishermen even though they feed you. Meet Red’s Best, a Boston based seafood wholesaler, who aggregates catch directly from over 1,000 small, independent New England fishing boats annually. Their mission is to sustain the livelihoods of American fishermen and their families while sustaining fisheries for harvest.
Spotlight: Jared Auerbach, CEO & Owner
Throughout his nine years experience in the seafood industry, Jared has held positions in every aspect of the supply chain including three years as a commercial fisherman in Alaska and New England. He started Red’s Best in 2008 and has grown it from scratch.
Freight Farms addresses the needs of the changing food landscape by providing the physical and digital tools to create local produce ecosystems on a global scale. With the right tools, infrastructure, and support anyone can become a freight farmer, regardless of their background or geographic location.
Spotlight: Caroline Katsiroubas, Director of Marketing
Caroline began as a Community Manager at Freight Farms and became the Director of Marketing after 4 years, further supporting the company's mission to change the global food system. Prior to rising up the ladder at Freight Farms, Caroline served Community Outreach Intern for the National Park Service and as a Project Assistant at the Environmental Health Fund.
Clover Food Lab is a fast casual chain founded and run in Boston. The company seeks to decrease the ecological footprint of the food industry by offering a simple menu that changes day to day and with the seasons based on what is available from local farmers and includes a large mix of organic ingredients. Despite Clover Food Lab's focus on local, sustainable and vegetarian food, the restaurant consciously avoids branding it's food as such in order to appeal to a wider audience.
FAQ:
How much walking is involved?
By walking just 2 miles, we will get to explore the city's food startup scene from the ground up. We'll traverse a handful of locations in the historic Downtown Boston. We encourage all attendees to wear comfortable shoes.
Will any food or drinks be provided?
Of course! Fruit, protein bars, chips, and (of course!) Swoffle'swill be available in the Branchfood workspace, and you can fill up your water bottle with juice or in Branchfood's Bevi machine with a seleciton flavored & sparkling waters. Additionally, most of our stops will offer a sample of their product!
