The second week of the Specialty Food Association’s Fancy Food 24/7 educational programming kicks off this afternoon with a session on early-stage investment. Following is the complete educational lineup.
Monday, October 4
1 p.m. Scaling Your Business with Strategic Angel Investment
The investors you bring into your business, and the tenor of the relationships you build with them, can accelerate the achievement of your business goals in meaningful ways. In this session, industry experts and investors including Lauren Abda, founder and CEO of Branchfood, Marcia Hooper, partner at Branch Venture Group, LLC, Suzanne Angello, senior vice president at Devonshire Investors, Russell Evans, operating principal, Porchlight Equity Partners, and Nicolas Warren, co-owner and director of community investment at ReVision Energy, share their approach to early-stage investment consideration including deal identification, startup evaluation, conducting due diligence, valuations, and best practices in working with investors.
Tuesday, October 5
11 a.m. SFA Research: Today’s Specialty Food Consumer
Join the team behind SFA’s newly released Today’s Specialty Food Consumer annual research, including David Browne, market research retail and brand consultant, and research consultant David Lockwood. They will discuss who makes up the core specialty food consumer, their buying habits, preferences, and drivers, and how the pandemic has changed and influenced their behaviors.
1 p.m. How do European Quality Labels Answer Consumer Trends?
At a time when customers crave healthier, better foods and more authentic flavors, retailers need to understand what it means for a more travelled palate. Europe has already addressed this need for authenticity: to better inform and protect consumers and buyers alike, the EU has created a system of quality labels highlighting regional specialties and organic products. How does a PDO Comté cheese compare to a Kentucky whisky? Are PGI asparagus similar to Georgia peaches? What’s a Neapolitan pizza to a New-York style one, and what does the organic EU label cover in comparison to the American one? Learn more about these quality labels, their definition, advantages and how they can offer more appealing alternatives to your customers from Jason Stemm, founder of The Stemm Group.
Sponsored by European Taste Experience
Wednesday, October 6
11 a.m. Sourcing With a Focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The retailers and e-tailers on our panel, which includes Jeremiah McElwee, chief merchandising officer, Thrive Market; Rachel Krupa, founder of The Goods Mart and Krupa Consulting; and Kate Weaver, supplier diversity manager for Peapod Digital Labs, are committed to sourcing from vendors who provide the best products for their customers while following the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Join this lively discussion on how buying decisions are made at some of the most interesting and important specialty outlets.
Thursday, October 7
11 a.m. Will Foodtech Change What We Know About Making Food?
Join three leading experts in the food world as they discuss how our everyday staples - eggs, sugar, milk - are radically changing, and what that means for the new wave of products coming to market. Whey protein just like a cow produces in their milk, but not from a cow? Larissa Zimberoff, author of "Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley's Mission to Change What We Eat," will lead a discussion with Oregon State University's Food Innovation Lab and CPG expert Sarah Masoni and Jonathan Deutsch, upcycling evangelist and professor at Drexel to tease out what this means for our favorite foods, and the foods yet to be dreamed up.
Friday, October 8
11 a.m. Trends from the 2021 Fancy Food Show: Trendspotter Panel
SFA’s Trendspotter panel of buyers, writers, researchers, and industry watchers explore the aisles of the Fancy Food Show, seeking out patterns and predicting shifts in food and beverage categories. Listen in to be among the first to learn about the hottest trends that will take us to 2022 and beyond, from Kantha Shelke, a principal at Corvus Blue LLC, a food science and research firm that expedites development and commercialization of new food products, and Lisa Schwartz, chef, journalist, and cookbook author.
Related: Learn The Basics With SFA's 2-Day Virtual Workshop; Young, Female Entrepreneurs Launch Despite COVID.