CT Food Launchpad’s Post

Heads up! The deadline for food & beverage brands to submit an application for The Big Connecticut Food Event has been extended to 11:59pm on Sunday January 5. See below or visit ctfoodevent.com for more information about the participation process for Connecticut food & beverage brands and the event overall. ### ABOUT The Big Connecticut Food Event is an annual one-day event that gathers CPG/wholesale-focused food & beverage brands and other key stakeholders spanning the Connecticut food entrepreneurship ecosystem to network, share ideas, and showcase products and services. The upcoming Big Connecticut Food Event will take place on Saturday 3/1/25 at the Yale School of Management in New Haven. CONTENT 💰 $50k+ pitch competition for 5 finalist emerging Connecticut brands 🥫 Sampling and tabling from 30+ emerging Connecticut brands and solutions providers 🤝 One-on-one coaching sessions between brands and industry experts 🎤 Panel discussions with industry leaders FOOD & BEV BRAND PARTICIPATION PROCESS * Please note that the pitch competition and tabling/sampling are only available for CPG/wholesale-focused brands (e.g. a product sold in a grocer). * Submit an application at https://lnkd.in/eFBCt-2M. * Applications are initially scored by our planning team. * Finalists: The top 5 scoring brands will be invited to participate in the pitch competition and set up a table at the event. * Semi-finalists: The next 25 highest-scoring brands after the finalists will also be invited to set up sampling tables at the event. * We will respond to you by 1/20/25 with the results of your application. JUDGING CRITERIA FOR FOOD & BEV BRANDS * Target market -- Addressable target market is large and/or growing, or is a high-priced niche. Customer is well-defined. * Solution -- Product is differentiated vs. competition: better, faster, cheaper, quality, efficient, convenient, focused. * Team/board/advisors -- Evidence of more than just founder-led and -run. Relevant industry knowledge, skills, leadership experience, key relationships, prior successes and/or failures. * Traction -- Stated planned milestones, minimal viable product built, market validation, key success metrics, revenue growth, partners * Impact on the company -- Would this company stand to gain significant advancement and opportunities by being featured at our event? Will an award help them move their stated project along and help take the company further? * Women- or BIPOC-owned -- Business owners represent one or more sytemically disadvantaged identities (race, gender, etc..) * Sustainable or regenerative -- Sustainable/regenerative practices are a significant component of product and business (ingredient sourcing, packaging, energy use..)

Streamlining supply chains and boosting efficiency through Direct store delivery. Making business operations smoother, one delivery at a time. #dsd #dsddistribution #wagonjobbers #directstoredelivery https://lnkd.in/ez2ygR9Z

In this week's article, we explore the SupplySide Food & Beverage Journal as Audarshia Townsend does coverage of an exciting new event held in Denver, Colorado. Known as "Newtopia," this neat event is a valuable resource for the CPG market. It is tailored for buyers seeking innovative brands that offer purposeful products and also aims to shift the buying experience from transactional to relational. Check out the article below to discover what makes Newtopia unique and why you might want to attend the next one! ⬇ https://lnkd.in/g8BNXSeR For more information about how MSI Express is charting a path for success, reach out to Chuck Woods or Rob Carstens. MSI Express has 14 locations in 6 states to provide you with operational excellence & world class speed to market. MSI Express is a strategic, innovative contract manufacturing and packaging company. Our growing breadth of capabilities and trusted team of problem solvers are a perfect match for the challenges of today’s CPG and Emerging Brands world. #manufacturing #supplychainmanagement #innovation #MSIExpress #foodindustry #foodmanufacturing #packagingsolutions #foodandbeverage #sustainability #packaginginnovations #petfood #petfoodindustry #inc5000list #snackfood #gummies #supplements #consumerbehavior #packaging #foodbusiness #foodandbeverageindustry #food #foodandbeveragemanufacturing #innovation #supplychain #contractpackaging #contractmanufacturing #copack #copackager #packaging #cpg #cpgindustry #comanufacturer #brand #energy #compliance #foodsafety #quality

I am soooo excited about this! We named L.A. Libations after Lauren & Annika, our daughters! So launching this brand is very personal, YES the 🌴 turns green when our Alkaline Water is cold! Thank you to ALL our retail partners for supporting it! No better way to announce our investment in CTI - Chromatic Technologies, Inc. (which was consummated at The Beverage Forum - A place to do deals!). Watch the below mind blowing 🤯 technology that can differentiate your brand! Reach out to Maria Del Rio & Daniel Wachter if you want to explore it! Manhattan Beach, CA – The Beverage Forum 4/29/24 L.A. Libations makes Strategic Investment in Colorado-based Ink Tech Company CTI - Chromatic Technologies, Inc. as the companies join forces to drive brand innovative differentiation in the Beverage & Food Industry. Beverage Innovator L.A. Libations adds CTI's innovative consumer-engaging chromatic technologies to its strategic portfolio of partners to help established and emerging beverage brand owners differentiate their brands through packaging innovation. For over 16 years, CTI's color-changing temperature-activated (thermochromic) technology has transformed Coors Light's iconic mountain on its packaging blue when the beer is as cold as the Rockies. This is probably the "best-known unknown" consumer engagement example showcasing what CTI's proprietary chromatic technologies can generate: On any packaging substrate and highly customizable to the specific needs of any brand owner. "This is the best-kept secret in beverage and food packaging innovation, and I am blown away by the technology that Lyle Small, CTI's founder, and his team have created. Their patented technologies can unlock breakthrough innovation and differentiation in beverage and food brands. L.A. Libations is uniquely positioned to bring this secret to bigger life with our strategic partners, retailers, our own brands, and the entire CPG industry." Says Danny Stepper, Co-Founder and CEO of L.A. Libations. Beyond Molson Coors Beverage Company, various other beverage and food brand-owners have trusted CTI to help engage consumers pre-, during- and post consumption, increase consumers' purchase intent, and ultimately lift sales: AB InBev, Constellation Brands, The Coca-Cola Company, PRIME Hydration drinks, General Mills, The Hershey Company's and Mondelēz International among many others. "L.A. Libations is the ideal partner to help us shine a light on the breakthrough innovative and differentiating power CTI - Chromatic Technologies, Inc. has been delivering for brands. As we approach a key moment in our company history by changing gears and scaling globally, Danny Stepper, Dino Sarti, Patrick Bolden and the L.A. Libations team, with their position in the marketplace, are the ideal strategic investor and partner for CTI. “Says Daniel Wachter, CEO of CTI.

“Think about yourself as part of an ecosystem,” says Jesse McMullin, LPK’s Chief Growth Officer and an expert in CPG strategy, with experience leading seed-to-shelf journeys for brands across functional food & beverage. “Your brand is working in concert with suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers—all of whom have different interests. And that’s all before your product even makes it in front of a consumer who’s shopping.” Read more: https://okt.to/8Y0lok #foodandbev #cpgstrategy #consumerstrategy #customerstrategy #cpgsuccess

Are food brands still on the run from private labels? 🤔 Over the past few years, we've seen the impressive rise in private-label market share. Enhancements in quality have narrowed the gap between branded and private-label food products. 🚀 In the last 12 weeks alone, US private-label volume market share hit nearly 27%. Here in the UK, private labels account for almost half of food sold, challenging established brands across categories. Despite this success, brands aren't out of the game. While private labels offer great value and even premium lines, the upper premium segment often remains the realm of branded products. Brands hold a competitive edge in innovation and quality, sometimes outshining private-label alternatives. 🌟 As cost-of-living pressures ease, some consumers might shift back to their favourite brands. The question is whether brands can effectively respond to the challenge posed by private labels and reclaim lost market share. With ongoing innovation and a focus on premium quality, brands have a compelling opportunity to make a comeback. 💡 #FoodIndustry #MarketTrends #BrandIdentity

More than three in four (76%) of food and beverage brands are planning to invest more in new product development (NPD) this year, in order to stay competitive (51%), manage cost increases (46%), and meet consumer demand (42%). #productdevelopment #foodindustry #foodtech https://hubs.ly/Q02rbrVY0

One of the most crucial steps in product development today is considering the ingredients to use in a new product, including the impact of those ingredients on your Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and your company's overall sustainability mission. In this article shared by the @food-industry-executive, they share hard survey facts that support what we offer our clients: Food & Beverage brands are looking for technology solutions to aid in: 1) Selecting better and more sustainable ingredients 2) Reducing and lowering their carbon impact 3) Sourcing sustainable packaging As leaders in Carbon Reporting for Food & Beverage brands in Canada, our simple, easy-to-use platform lets companies R&D their products with sustainability and a lower PCF in mind. DM me for more info or to book a demo. #carbonreporting #netzero #sustainablepackaging #productdevelopment #foodindustry #foodtech

Product innovation in the FMCG world can be a tough business, with many industry reports stating that only about 10% of new product launches make into year 2 post launch, the other 90% get discontinued. 😟 The Coca-Cola Company plans to discontinue Coca-Cola Spiced, which it rolled onto store shelves just six months ago, after the drink failed to bring in customers. The news is especially noteworthy as, in February, Coke held a splashy launch for the product, declaring it to the first new permanent flavor added to its North American portfolio in over three years. Despite the name, Coca-Cola Spiced was not a spicy drink. Instead, it offered a burst of raspberry flavors with spices. It’s unclear if the product’s name led audiences to believe the taste was something more heated. “Coca-Cola Spiced is not spicy but is our boldest tasting brand innovation yet,” the company said at launch. Aimed at a Generation Z audience, Coca-Cola Spiced opted for a raspberry flavor based on data from the Coke Freestyle drink machines. In 2022, that flavor was selected more than 5 million times by customers. “We’re always looking at what our consumers like and adjusting our range of products,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson told Fortune. “As part of this strategy, we’re planning to phase out Coca-Cola Spiced to introduce an exciting new flavor in 2025.” #cocacola #innovation #npd #taste #spiced Romel Doshi, MBA Jean Noel Ortal Nina Riggins Carol Dunne Gwyneth Kelly Michelle Osagie Farrah Gilsenan David Deeley Brian Short Andrew Wardlaw Marc LEJEUNE Erlon Pereira Sheelagh Pentony Romel Doshi, MBA Sam Choucha Elizabeth Horvath Scott Glennon Simon Bellchambers Richard Heapes

Are food brands still on the run from private labels? 🤔 Over the past few years, we've seen the impressive rise in private-label market share. Enhancements in quality have narrowed the gap between branded and private-label food products. 🚀 In the last 12 weeks alone, US private-label volume market share hit nearly 27%. Here in the UK, private labels account for almost half of food sold, challenging established brands across categories. Despite this success, brands aren't out of the game. While private labels offer great value and even premium lines, the upper premium segment often remains the realm of branded products. Brands hold a competitive edge in innovation and quality, sometimes outshining private-label alternatives. 🌟 As cost-of-living pressures ease, some consumers might shift back to their favourite brands. The question is whether brands can effectively respond to the challenge posed by private labels and reclaim lost market share. With ongoing innovation and a focus on premium quality, brands have a compelling opportunity to make a comeback. 💡 #FoodIndustry #MarketTrends #BrandIdentity