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Specialty Food Business Summit 2019
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Agenda

Join us for powerful group sessions designed to inform and inspire. Then, select your own breakout sessions to customize your Summit experience. 

 

Breakout Option 1: Spark Growth

Learn how to scale up your business with breakout sessions on marketing, entering new markets, opportunistic selling strategies, and more. You’ve planted the seeds, it’s time to watch them grow.

 

Breakout Option 2: Manage Change

How can you take your business from good to great? Work from the inside out. Attend sessions on managing your brand and cultivating a positive company culture, unlocking profit, managing risk, and more.

    • Sunday, April 7, 2019
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      1:00 PM  -  6:00 PM
      Finance 101 Short Course (Optional Add-On to Summit Registration)

      How to read your General Ledger: Debit and Credit Basics

      Financial Statements: How to read a P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement

      Strategies for Raising Capital: Equity, Debt, Crowdsourcing, and more

      Managing Relationships with Banks, Lenders, and Investors

      Speakers:
      6:00 PM  -  7:00 PM
      Opening Reception
      7:30 PM  -  10:00 PM
      Optional Off-Site Dinner
      Please contact Sara Kay at skay@specialtyfood.com for information on how to sign up for dinner on April 7.
    • Monday, April 8, 2019
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      7:30 AM  -  8:30 AM
      Breakfast
      8:30 AM  -  9:30 AM
      Start with a Great Story: How to Leverage Your Strength as an Entrepreneur
      Clayton Christopher understands what it’s like to launch a small business. He started his entrepreneurial journey at Sweet Leaf Tea, a company he started in 1998 with $12K in savings and a recipe from his grandmother. Now he uses the lessons he learned as a founder of Rhythm Super Foods and Deep Eddy Vodka to help best-in-class food and beverage brands scale up. In this opening keynote session, Clayton will share stories on navigating growth and change as a specialty food and beverage producer and provide perspective on the path to success.
      Speakers:
      9:45 AM  -  10:45 AM
      Map Your Strategy: Prepare for the Next Steps Toward Growth
      In order to grow, your business needs a clear roadmap. In this tactical session, you'll work through the steps needed to build a three-year strategic plan, set priorities, and ensure that your plan is in concert with your vision.
      Speakers:
      10:45 AM  -  11:00 AM
      Networking Break
      11:00 AM  -  12:00 PM
      Hack It: How to Use Technology to Transform Your Business
      Growth hacking is a hybrid of marketing and science. By using experimentation, creative approaches, and automation, your business can create viral buzz that leads to true growth. Learn the basics of this fast-growing discipline and explore how you can connect with consumers more efficiently and have a greater impact on your bottom line.
      Speakers:
      12:00 PM  -  1:15 PM
      Lunch
      1:15 PM  -  2:15 PM
      Breakout # 1 - New Market Exploration: E-Commerce
      Learn about how to succeed on Amazon, Jet, and more. Determine the best opportunity for you right now and build a plan for growth into online channels.
      Speakers:
      1:15 PM  -  2:15 PM
      Breakout #2 - Unlocking Profit: Using Freight and Logistics to Save Money
      This informative panel will explore the freight and logistics metrics you need to be tracking to save money and how to work with vendors to ensure that you’re making the right decisions as you grow.
      Speakers:
      2:30 PM  -  3:30 PM
      Breakout #1 - Identifying and Activating Shopper Moments that Matter
      Learn about insight-driven shopper media, how the new definition of shoppers -- and store -- means a condensed purchase journey, and how to prioritize the right out-of-store vehicles, including social, ads, and influencers, to drive in-store and online purchases.
      Speakers:
      2:30 PM  -  3:30 PM
      Breakout #2 - Managing Risk: Minimize, Monitor, and Control
      This informative panel will present everything you need to know about insurance, certifications, testing, and more.
      Speakers:
      3:30 PM  -  4:00 PM
      Networking Break
      4:00 PM  -  5:00 PM
      The Great Transformation: How to Manage Change
      As your organization transforms, you’ll face new challenges: coping with scale, leading your employees, distributing resources, and more. Learn how to work with change in your company as you prepare to grow.
      Speakers:
      5:00 PM  -  6:00 PM
      Happy Hour
      7:00 PM  -  10:00 PM
      Optional Off-Site Dinner
      Please contact Sara Kay at skay@specialtyfood.com for information on how to sign up for dinner on April 7.
    • Tuesday, April 9, 2019
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      7:15 AM  -  8:00 AM
      Breakfast
      8:00 AM  -  9:00 AM
      What’s Your Story: How to Position Your Brand for Growth
      How is your brand unique? What’s your brand story? How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors? In this session, Cindy Hsiao, strategy director for March Brand, will get you in the mindset for growth: how to focus and prioritize, how to define your purpose, how to differentiate yourself, and how to get clear on who your audience is and how to get to know them better.
      Speakers:
      9:15 AM  -  10:15 AM
      Get Noticed: How to Generate Free Publicity for Your Brand
      Opportunities to grow your business through earned media coverage are plentiful: local/national, social, video, print, online, influencers and more, yet the media landscape continues to evolve and most businesses don’t know the tools to get it for themselves. This session is the insider’s guide to gain attention for your brand and staying on the radar.
      Speakers:
      10:15 AM  -  10:45 AM
      Networking Break
      10:45 AM  -  11:45 AM
      Change the Game: Creating a Healthy Company Culture
      How do you recruit and retain the best people? Managing growth starts with the people who work with you and the environment you provide for them. This session will help you understand how to find the best people for the job and how to create a top-notch company culture.
      Speakers:
      11:45 AM  -  12:45 PM
      Lunch
      12:45 PM  -  1:45 PM
      Breakout #1 - New Market Exploration: Club Stores and Alternate Channels
      Learn how specialty foods are moving into new markets and how you can sell more product by taking advantage of these opportunities.
      Speakers:
      12:45 PM  -  1:45 PM
      Breakout #2 - Investment or Sale: Preparing Your Company for the Next Step
      Understand the strategy and vision – and the financials – that investors are looking for as you think about potential next steps.
      Speakers:
      1:45 PM  -  2:45 PM
      Breakout #1 - New Market Exploration: Foodservice
      Explore this profitable channel and discover how relationships with chefs and foodservice buyers can help grow your business and increase profits.
      Speakers:
      1:45 PM  -  2:45 PM
      Breakout #2 - The Best of the Best: Benefits & Compensation Plans that Attract & Retain Top Talent
      Learn about the best practices for creating compensation plans, bonus structures, and equity offerings for employees.
      Speakers:
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