Industry Voices

Plant-Based Market Update - Accelerated Sustainable Growth Within the Plant-Based Foods Industry

April 27 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Julie Emmett, Senior Director of Retail Partnerships, Plant Based Foods Association

The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) represents nearly 200 of the leading plant-based brands doing business in the United States. Julie Emmett works closely with manufacturers and large-scale retailers such as Walmart, Target, Kroger, Hannaford, etc. to help advance business for PBFA member companies. This session will address the latest trends in consumer behavior in retail and highlight success stories for retailers to increase sales in the plant-based category.

Julie Emmett is senior director, retail partnerships for the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA). Julie collaborates with retailers and industry partners on behalf of PBFA members by leading a multitude of groundbreaking initiatives to grow plant-based foods, including merchandising research, creating industry landscape reports published annually, and retailer specific marketing and culinary events. Julie previously held leadership roles with Kraft, Albertsons, MARS Advertising and SPINS. Julie earned her master’s in business administration at St. Mary’s College, is certified in nutrition education and is passionate about human health, animal welfare, and the environment, hence also about driving growth within plant-based foods, which remains at the epicenter of grocery retail sales growth.

 

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Plant-Based Menu Makeover

May 4 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Alison Rabschnuk, Business Development Director – Plant Protein, Kerry

Looking to add plant-based items to your menu but don’t know where to start? Do not fear, as solutions are easier than they appear. Alison Rabschnuk recently joined Kerry, a global ingredients supplier with leading plant-based solution technologies, after over 3 years of directing corporate engagement for the Good Food Institute. This session will offer ideas for satisfying consumer demand for plant-based options without overhauling your entire menu. Transforming some of the top menu items into delicious plant-based dishes can be achieved with simple ingredient substitutions. From plant-based burgers, breakfast items, to the next big plant-based menu addition, restaurateurs can learn how to meet this demand with easily accessible and creative solutions.

Alison works as Business Development Director Plant Protein at Kerry, a global $8b ingredients supplier, where she leverages the plant-based Radicle portfolio of clean-label ingredients to help food manufacturers make excellent alternative protein products. Prior to Kerry, she was the Director of Corporate Engagement at the nonprofit Good Food Institute, where she was a thought leader, working with investors, suppliers, restaurants, grocery stores, food manufacturers, and foodservice companies to accelerate the growth of the alternative protein ecosystem.

 

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Keeping the Momentum Growing in Retail

May 11 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Ann Beaty, Ecommerce Strategy Manager, Kroger

2020 was a landmark year for the grocery business, boasting Thanksgiving-level sales all year long. As the world returns to a more normal state in 2021, how do retailers keep the momentum going? Join Ann Beaty as she taps into her wealth of knowledge working in shopper marketing and E commerce for Kroger. This session will address conventional, independent and natural grocery and offer solutions to keep sales moving in a post-2020 world.

Ann Beaty is an Ecommerce Strategy Manager at Kroger Co., the United States’ largest supermarket chain by revenue. Her current role is to help shape Kroger’s Ecommerce strategy, using customer insights and analytics. She is a Merchandising professional with over 15 years of experience at retailers like Target and Gander Mountain. She is passionate about promoting a plant-based diet, especially within the mainstream Grocery industry, and has completed both the Rouxbe Professional Plant Based Cooking Course and the Plant Based Nutrition Certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.

 

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Supplier Diversity as a Business Opportunity

May 18 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Michael Alexander, Supplier Diversity Business Lead, Target

Target and other major retailers are setting Supplier Diversity goals as a commitment to stock items made by companies with leaders from minority communities. In this session, Michael Alexander will discuss the opportunity for retailers to tap into this marketplace from both a financial and social impact standpoint.

Michael leads the Food and Beverage strategy for Target’s Supplier Diversity Team.  With more than 15 years of experience in business development he specializes in connecting and supporting diverse owned businesses as they navigate opportunities to gain business at the right place and right time, ensuring that they can increase their odds of success. When Michael is not saving the world one diverse vendor at a time, his primary passion is helping young men and women reach their potential.  Michael was recently awarded the Outstanding Volunteer Award by Target for his work at schools in Minneapolis and St. Louis.

 

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Masterminding Plant-Based in Food Service

May 25 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Richard Fox, Consultant Chef and David Mulcahy, Culinary Director, Sodexo

In this session, Sodexo chef director and general culinary mastermind, David Mulcahy, unearths the how's why's and wherefores of the plant-based challenges facing the food service sector. From procurement to training, logistics to costs - as well as road-mapping the future, this session offers a unique opportunity to cut through to the real issues facing food service in relation to the exponential growth of the plant-based sector. 

 

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The Plant-Based Retail Revolution - a UK Insider Insight

June 1 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Richard Fox, Consultant Chef and Guest TBA

This session get to grips with real issues facing UK retail, and particularly, the supermarket sector with the current plant-based revolution. From current trends, supplier issues and insight to the future of this multi-billion pound category in the context of plant-based demand. This is a must attend for anyone in the plant-based retail food sector, product development or start-up.  

 

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Understanding Pricing for Plant-Based Products and Menu Items

June 8 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Marcel Goldenberg, Head of Proprietary Pricing, Mintec Global

Mintec Global has taken a proactive approach to addressing the need for pricing data for the plant-based food market. How much does it really cost to develop a plant-based burger or milk alternative? How do these prices compare to their animal-based counterparts and which ingredients can be substituted to save on costs and increase your bottom line? This session will break down the recent pricing data and discuss how this research can be utilized to advance your business.

Marcel Goldenberg joined Mintec in 2019 as Head of Proprietary Pricing. He is responsible for developing and executing an integrated, long term strategy to extend Mintec’s position as the leading independent provider of proprietary prices and information in the food commodity industry. Marcel fronts Mintec’s Plant-Based Protein footprint, launching the world’s first Plant-Based Protein price assessment for pea and soya concentrates, texturized concentrates, and isolates. Marcel has spoken at commodity events across the globe; hosts the ‘Mintec Knowledge Podcast’ focusing on market moving events in the Food Commodity industry and has appeared on TV as an industry expert.

 

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Addressing Emerging Markets and Global Buying Needs

June 15 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Michelle Adelman, Founder and CEO, Infinite Foods. Josh Tetrick, CEO & Co-Founder, Eat Just, Inc. 

When introducing plant-based products to markets in South Africa and beyond, creativity and outside-the-box thinking is a necessity. What is the product shelf life? Will it best suit grocery or foodservice operations? How do you educate consumers about new products so that the products can be sold in time to be enjoyed? This session will address challenges and creative solutions facing the global supply chain in an effort to make plant-based products accessible around the world.

Michelle Adelman is a seasoned strategist, recognized business leader and committed mission-driven investor.  She is the founder and CEO of Infinite Foods, Africa’s leading plant-based food go-to-market platform, enabling leading plant-based food brands such as Beyond Meat, Miyoko’s and Oatly reach African consumers, while fostering local brands, developing manufacturing opportunities and sourcing ingredients. In 2017, Michelle was named by CEO Global as Africa’s Most Influential Woman – Business & Professional Services in 2019, and Forbes Africa’s “20 New Wealth Creators” list in 2020.

Josh Tetrick is CEO & Co-Founder of Eat Just, Inc., a food technology company with a mission to build a healthier, safer, and more sustainable food system in our lifetimes. Eat Just created America’s fastest-growing egg brand, made entirely of plants, and the world’s first-to-market meat made from animal cells instead of slaughtered livestock. Tetrick has been named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business,” Inc.’s “35 Under 35” and Fortune’s “40 Under 40.” Eat Just has been recognized as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies,” Entrepreneur’s “100 Brilliant Companies,” CNBC’s “Disruptor 50” and a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.

 

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Food Security in the Global Supply Chain - Impact Investment and the Plant-Based Ecosystem

June 22 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Amit Grover, Managing Partner, Grover & Company

Grover & Co has taken a leadership role in advancing the global market for plant-based foods by launching a 50 million dollar investment fund targeting brands that are actively impacting the food system. Amit Grover will discuss the current landscape for plant-based products across a variety of defined categories and offer creative solutions for bringing these products to consumers through ethical and sustainable marketplaces.

Amit is the Founder and Managing Partner at Grover & Company Impact Ventures, an aspiring Venture Capital Fund Manager building a $50m impact fund. Amit has over 23 years of professional experience in international business and organisation growth strategy. Distinguished with an MBA degree from the University of Wellington, New Zealand, Amit took a plunge into the world of entrepreneurship in 2007. Amit founded Grover & Company, a management consulting practice that advises Australian and New Zealand companies on international business strategy.

 

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Increase Sales and Protect Consumer Interests with Honest Labeling 

June 29 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Carissa Kranz, Founding Attorney & CEO, BeVeg International

Imagine a world where all vegan products were consistently and accurately labeled, across all borders and product categories. This is the mission of BeVeg, who is bringing the first globally accredited, and therefore, recognized vegan label to the plant-based foods market. Founding attorney Carissa Kranz will discuss the importance of trustworthy "free from animal material" labeling and the opportunity it presents for retailers to better serve their shoppers along with the implications for the global supply chain. BeVeg is the world's first and only ISO 17065 accredited vegan standard, built as a conformity assessment program with ISO 17067 recognition, making it the most reliable benchmark for vegan claims on the global marketplace.

Carissa, a former professional ballet dancer-turned Super Lawyer, is founding attorney and CEO of BeVeg International, a vegan certification firm. BeVeg is an ISO 17065 accredited vegan in scope standard that provides consumers with transparency in labeling laws. A regular legal expert for major media networks like Fox, CNN/HLN, NBC and CBS, Carissa is currently an anchor on Jane Unchained News with her weekly show Laws that Matter: Veganism & Law. Carissa earned her law degree from U.C. Berkeley and her master’s in journalism from Medill at Northwestern University before founding the Law Offices of Carissa Kranz.

 

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China and Beyond: Tapping the Untapped Marketplace

July 6 2021. 09:00 PT, 12:00 ET, 17:00 BST

Albert Tseng, Co-Founder, Dao Foods International

The leading plant-based meat companies still make up only a tiny fraction of the global meat market. That means there is still nearly 99.98% room for growth for plant-based food brands to gain market share. The Chinese market in particular presents a massive opportunity based on population and present-day eating habits. This session will highlight the untapped potential of the plant-based market and the need for retailers and food service operators to build their catalogues now to stay ahead of the game. Join us for a glimpse of what's to come!

Albert is co-founder of Dao Foods International, a cross-border impact venture established to help talented entrepreneurs introduce exciting new plant-based meat and alternative protein products in China. With rapidly rising incomes and increasing meat consumption in China, our aim is to introduce alternative products into the China market to reduce the consumer demand for animal products which has had growing negative climate, environmental, food safety and health impact. Leveraging 20+ years of experience as a business operator/ entrepreneur, Albert is now focused on PE/VC impact investing.

 

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