Bright lights, big city, and thousands of buyers: every year, the Summer Fancy Food Show brings the industry together in New York City for three days of discovery and deal-making.
You are invited to join VEGPRENEUR at a relaxed happy hour on the Summer Fancy Food show floor. This is an opportunity to connect with founders, buyers, and operators from across the better-for-you and plant-forward ecosystem while enjoying a casual networking moment during the show.
Newtopia Now is the destination for new product innovation and a can't-miss discovery opportunity for retailers and industry leaders. It connects CPG brands. Get yourself a booth in the VEGPRENEUR pavilion!
The California Restaurant Show has been the premier industry gathering for the West Coast Foodservice Market for over 80 years (formerly the Western Foodservice and Hospitality Show).
The FitExpo isn’t just an event—it’s where the community shows up. Thousands of lifters, athletes, and fitness fanatics connecting, competing, and leveling up together. Whether you’re deep into the grind or just starting your journey, this is the place to be.
CHFA NOW is Canada’s leading trade show for natural, organic, and specialty food products, bringing together retailers, distributors, and buyers from across the country. VEGPRENEUR is curating a group of emerging plant based and better for you brands to exhibit together inside a dedicated VEGPRENEUR Pavilion at CHFA Toronto.
If you have food and beverage products targeted for the health conscious shopper, this session is for you! Suppliers of Natural, Organic, Plant-Based Foods, Vegan, High Protein, Keto, Gluten Free and GLP-1 Friendly Foods will present to buyers across all channels looking to capitalize on these growing trends.
Start your journey at Florida’s premier hospitality event for restaurants, foodservice, and lodging. Join us October 25–27, 2026, at the Orange County Convention Center—co-located with The Pizza Tomorrow Summit
Get ready to taste the future at the Miami Beach Food and Beverage Expo! An intimate show dedicated to the food and beverage industry with a primary focus on USA born and made CPG brands. Florida is a budding startup hub and this will be the premier show for everything CPG related. It’s the perfect discovery show for the latest in snacks, beverages, functional wellness, frozen goods, better-for-you innovations and more.
You can have the right mission, the right supply chain, and the right retail partner—but if the taste doesn't land, consumers won't return.
NECTAR's large-scale sensory research program tests alternative protein and dairy-free products with real omnivore consumers, and the findings offer practical implications for brands determining where to invest limited R&D dollars.
In this session, Caroline Cotto shares what the data says about where alt protein categories are succeeding, where they're falling short, and how early-stage founders can use sensory insights to build better products from day one.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Hosted by Matt Feldman, VEGPRENEUR mentor. A monthly virtual gathering for founders building in food service. Connect with fellow founders, hear from an industry expert, and bring your toughest questions.
Each session focuses on one topic like corporate dining, universities, hotels, airports, vending, distribution, pricing, and scaling, with real operator insights and open discussion throughout.
Free to attend, with recordings available for VEGPRENEUR members.
Special Guest: John Stoner
He is Partner and Head of Foodservice & Alternative Channels at FOH Sales, where he provides fractional sales leadership to emerging brands breaking into emerging channels. He cut his teeth in the industry at Vistar (a PFG company) and Clif Bar & Company, then went on to lead channel sales for high-growth brands including Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Over Easy, and Coalition Foods. Based in Atlanta, John brings more than a decade of experience helping challenger brands scale beyond traditional grocery.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
A monthly virtual gathering for founders selling online. Swap strategies with other founders, dig into expert insights, and bring your questions. About an hour, with time for open discussion. Free to attend. Recordings are exclusive to paying VEGPRENEUR members.
This Huddle includes featured guest Jeannie Andolena. Jeannie is an e-commerce business leader with experience launching and growing food, lifestyle, and technology companies, including Reckitt, Jet.com, Walmart, and S.C. Johnson. With foundational expertise in marketing and CPG brand management, Jeannie brings an analytical, customer-first approach to driving online sales, while always keeping an eye on the bottom line.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
In this session, we'll challenge everything you think you know about building decks.
You'll get:
• A clear, measurable way to assess your deck
• Four essential sections that go into every successful deck
• Four storytelling mistakes that are killing your deck
• Two life-changing tricks you can use make your deck instantly better
The first half of the session is an interactive workshop, followed by the second half, which is open for feedback on your deck.
Bio: Mike Lightman joins us with 15 years of startup ecosystem experience. He’s been a founding member of a $50M fund, run NYU's climate accelerator program, been a startup program builder for the World Bank, and advised government groups on investing in and supporting entrepreneurs (he was also a Peace Corps volunteer, but that’s a different story for a different day).
Since launching Hate Your Deck a few years ago, Mike has taught over 1,000 entrepreneurs and 300 fund managers, and partnered with groups like the Black Innovation Alliance, Tory Burch Foundation, SOSV, Columbia and SUNY universities, Recast Capital (a Melinda Gates backed accelerator for diverse fund managers), and the Canadian Consulate.
Mike has become a secret weapon, as his superpower is helping you extract your differentiation and make it a story your audience wants to hear (and can remember).
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Hosted by Matt Feldman, VEGPRENEUR mentor. A monthly virtual gathering for founders building in food service. Connect with fellow founders, hear from an industry expert, and bring your toughest questions.
Special guest: Justin Block. He’ll share practical insights on selling into major chains, growing brands, and navigating successful exits, along with lessons from working with industry leaders. Justin, a fifth-generation entrepreneur and CEO of Block Ventures, brings experience from partnerships with companies like McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Campbell Soup Company, and Danone.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
College students follow plant-based diets at more than three times the rate of the general adult population. They're vocal, they're loyal, and when they find a brand they love, they bring everyone around them with them. The problem is most brands have no idea how to reach them.
This is a 60-minute session from a brand owner who has launched brands on campuses across the country. You'll walk through the exact campus strategy, social positioning, and social media tactics proven to work with Gen-Z.
You'll learn how to activate student ambassadors, show up at the right campus moments, how to hire the right students, make content that connects with Gen-Z, and turn college market presence into something that actually scales. This works whether you're just getting started or you've tried campus before and it didn't land.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Los Angeles—dynamic, diverse, and trend-setting—offers an unmatched environment for learning and collaboration. Hosted at LA LIVE, with the NACUFS Showcase and a venue reflecting both creativity and elevated hospitality, this conference promises inspiration and connections that will shape campus dining’s next chapter.
The 2026 Spring Conference Showcase in Philadelphia is your opportunity to experience campus dining’s most collaborative marketplace — a space designed for discovery, networking, and real conversations that spark progress.
The NY Restaurant Show is the premier industry gathering for the Northeast foodservice market and is heading into its 33rd year. The event brings approximately 10,000 owners, operators, and professional chefs to the trade show floor across three days, from Sunday March 8 through Tuesday March 10.
Join VEGPRENEUR at Coffee Fest in NYC. Coffee Fest is more than a tradeshow, it is an immersive experience where the specialty coffee community comes together, driving thought leadership & stimulating business growth.
Join VEGPRENEUR and our member partner WISEcode for a relaxed happy hour on the Expo West show floor. This is an opportunity to connect with founders, buyers, and operators from across the better-for-you and plant-forward ecosystem while enjoying a casual networking moment during the show. Whether you are a brand, retailer, investor, or service provider, we would love to see you there.
For CPG founders, investors, service providers, and professionals. Join us Eric's roof for yummy tastes and outstanding people Co-hosted by VEGPRENEUR (CPG community). If you want a table for your brand, hit us up: hello@vegpreneur.org
In this live, interactive webinar, VEGPRENEUR and Shopline will review real ecommerce stores submitted by founders and give candid, expert feedback in real time. From homepage clarity to product pages, checkout flow, messaging, and conversion strategy, nothing is off limits.
This is not a theory session. This is practical, actionable critique you can apply immediately to increase sales.
Selected participants will have their stores “torn down” live by a panel of ecommerce and CPG experts who will highlight:
• What is working well
• What is confusing customers
• Where you are losing conversions
• How to improve trust, clarity, and purchase intent
• Simple changes that can materially increase revenue
Even if your store is not selected, you will walk away with a checklist of improvements you can apply to your own site.
If you run a plant based or wellness ecommerce brand, this session will show you exactly how experts evaluate stores and what separates high converting sites from the rest.
Submit your store for a chance to be reviewed live and learn how to turn more visitors into customers.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
In this live webinar, you’ll learn a clear, repeatable PR playbook to help your CPG brand land real media coverage in as little as a month.
Whether you’re launching, scaling, or trying to reignite momentum, this session will break down exactly how founders are getting featured in digital media, newsletters, podcasts, and industry publications right now.
How media outlets actually decide which brands to cover
The biggest PR mistakes CPG founders make (and how to avoid them)
How to craft a story journalists want to open, read, and reply to
A step-by-step 30-day PR action plan you can implement immediately
How to pitch yourself without sounding salesy or desperate
How to turn one piece of press into multiple growth assets
CPG founders and brand operators
Early-stage to scaling brands looking for visibility and credibility
Founders who don’t have a PR agency (or don’t want one yet)
Anyone tired of “spray and pray” pitching that doesn’t convert
PR isn’t just about vanity. Done right, it builds trust, momentum, partnerships, and sales.
This webinar is designed to give you practical tools you can use the very next day – not theory, not fluff, and not outdated PR advice.
Come ready to take notes and leave with a plan.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Join the VEGPRENEUR section at Winter FancyFaire, the first industry event of the year. Connect, sample, and spark your 2026!
VEGPRENEUR has teamed up with leading global e-commerce platform Shopline to help consumer brands scale smarter, faster, and more profitably
VEGPRENEUR has teamed up with leading global e-commerce platform Shopline to help consumer brands scale smarter, faster, and more profitably with the resources, knowledge, and funding they actually need.
✅ Up to $12,000 in cash grants (zero-equity)
✅ Rolling applications
✅ In-person events
✅ Limited spots available!
Learn more and apply: https://www.vegpreneur.org/accelerator
In this session, we'll challenge everything you think you know about building decks.
You'll get:
• A clear, measurable way to assess your deck
• Four essential sections that go into every successful deck
• Four storytelling mistakes that are killing your deck
• Two life-changing tricks you can use make your deck instantly better
The first half of the session is an interactive workshop, followed by the second half, which is open for feedback on your deck.
Bio: Mike Lightman joins us with 15 years of startup ecosystem experience. He’s been a founding member of a $50M fund, run NYU's climate accelerator program, been a startup program builder for the World Bank, and advised government groups on investing in and supporting entrepreneurs (he was also a Peace Corps volunteer, but that’s a different story for a different day).
Since launching Hate Your Deck a few years ago, Mike has taught over 1,000 entrepreneurs and 300 fund managers, and partnered with groups like the Black Innovation Alliance, Tory Burch Foundation, SOSV, Columbia and SUNY universities, Recast Capital (a Melinda Gates backed accelerator for diverse fund managers), and the Canadian Consulate.
Mike has become a secret weapon, as his superpower is helping you extract your differentiation and make it a story your audience wants to hear (and can remember).
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Join us to discover how food product developers can be your strategic partner in bringing your idea to life.
Duration: 45 minutes + 15-minute live Q&A
Who Should Attend:
• This webinar is for anyone with a food product idea that they would like to make available for sale. • You may have a starting recipe, the early stages of a formula, or just an idea.
• This session is perfect for those who need professional expertise on creating and scaling a food product, but don't know what that looks like in terms of experience, capabilities, and budget.
What You'll Gain:
• A clear understanding of the food product developer's role – Learn what functions they perform and how they fit into your commercialization journey
• Defined responsibilities – Know what you're responsible for and what your developer will handle, ensuring a smooth collaborative process
• Realistic timelines and budgets – Set proper expectations for how long development takes and what it costs
• Best practices for finding the right partner – Get actionable tips for vetting and selecting a food product developer who's the perfect match for your project
• DIY strategies to reduce costs – Discover what groundwork you can complete yourself to lower expenses, strengthen your intellectual property, and make your project more attractive to top-tier developers
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Come learn how to navigate the retail industry without a middleman. Say goodbye to brokers and hello to direct relationships with retailers. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, this event is perfect for anyone looking to streamline their business. Don't miss out!
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Celebrate World Plant Milk Day with a free cup of cold brew in Times Square with the CEO of milkadamia!
It may not feel like it, but in the world of PR, the holiday season is already here.
If you want your brand to land a coveted spot in top-tier gift guides, the time to act is now.
Join PR Maven Jess Windell as she shares proven strategies for getting your products in front of editor and onto holiday wish lists.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Curious how AI can help your CPG brand streamline operations, improve decision-making, and unlock new growth?
Join us for a special VEGPRENEUR webinar featuring Bryan Dennstedt, AI strategist and Fractional CTO at AI with Bry. With years of hands-on experience helping brands leverage emerging technologies, Bryan will walk you through how founders can implement AI tools across marketing, operations, inventory, and customer engagement—without needing a full tech team.
You’ll learn:
How to assess whether your brand is ready for AI
The most effective AI tools for CPG brands—and how to start using them
Where AI can save you time and money in day-to-day operations
How to use AI for marketing, forecasting, and customer retention
Common mistakes to avoid when integrating AI into your business
Whether you’re AI-curious or ready to start building systems today, this session is packed with practical advice for plant-based, wellness-focused, and purpose-driven CPG founders looking to stay competitive and future-proof their business.
Let me know if you’d like a shorter version for Eventbrite or social media as well.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Please join us for networking and snacks on a rooftop by the beach!
Join on Eric's roof Thursday (June 19th) 5-8pm for yummy tastes, outstanding people, & hopefully a beautiful sunset.
Brought to you by Hawke (a leader in marketing services) and VEGPRENEUR (CPG community).
WHAT TO BRING
*🙌A colleague as +1.🙌
*🤤Your product to taste/share/show.🤤
*💛A non-perishable food to donate.💛
*🥶Jacket as outdoors & near beach (gets chilly/windy once sun sets).🥶
*🐶Sadly can *not* allow dogs except in a bag/backpack. 😢
Interested in being a sponsor, partner, or exhibitor? Email us at hello@vegpreneur.org or contact us here!
Curious how to break into food service and get your plant-based products onto college campuses, into cafés, or in corporate kitchens?
Join us for an exclusive VEGPRENEUR webinar featuring Jenna Cameron, a seasoned sales leader who’s led food service strategy at top plant-based brands including JUST, Alpha Foods, and SIMULATE. With over a decade of experience in the space, Jenna shares a practical roadmap for CPG founders looking to navigate food service sales—from pack size strategy and distributor relationships to pricing structures and campus partnerships.
You’ll learn:
How to know when you’re ready for food service
Packaging, pricing, and formats that operators actually want
How to build relationships with chefs, distributors, and institutions
What distributors like Sysco, DOT, and regional players expect
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Why Gen Z-focused branding and product versatility give you an edge
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale your food service presence, this conversation is packed with actionable insights for founders of plant-based, better-for-you, and mission-driven brands.
A recording is available after the event for VEGPRENEUR members in the video library.
Please join us for an eclectic evening of music, comedy, and art in one of New York's most stylish underground lounges.
This is not just an event - it's a celebration of conscious culture!
Whether vegan or vegan-curious, this evening invites our community to come together and celebrate compassionate living. Join us for a vibrant night with captivating art displays, live jazz, stand-up comedy, and a DJ set — all brought to life by talented local vegan performers.
The evening runs from 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. filled with connection, creativity, and celebration.
Vegan food and drinks will be available for purchase, with several vendors offering plant-based samples and products.
Ticket Price: $25 (Early Bird) | $35 (beginning May 1st)
A portion of all ticket proceeds will be donated to Chilis on Wheels, an organization dedicated to making veganism accessible to communities in need through services such as meal shares, food demos, clothing drives, and mentorship.
Hosted by: Ajay Arora, Saurabh Dalal, Raizzi Stein, and Reetika Kathuria
In collaboration with: Noah Hyams, David Benzaquin, Rachel Atcheson, and Emily Teague
Featuring performances by:
Risa Branch and Jack Glottman ~ Alexis Carabaño ~ Sebastian Czernek
Art displays by: Lisa Goldberg Illustrations and Von Wong
Special thanks to our Partners: Vegpreneur, Food Policy Pathways, Vegan-Friendly, EarthPass, and V.H.O.T
Interested in being a sponsor, partner, or exhibitor? Email us at hello@vegpreneur.org or contact us here!
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