Plant-Based Investor Summit 2020

PlantBased Solutions is proud to partner again with GlassWall Syndicate for the second annual Plant-based Investor Summit at Natural Products Expo West. During the summit qualified selected plant-based brands will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with multiple pre-selected investors and pitch their company.

Brands are invited to APPLY HERE to be a part of the event.

Applications are due by February 14, 2020. We welcome and encourage you to share the survey link with those you think might be interested in applying. (Brands that are selected will need to pay a $50 registration fee to attend.)

Qualified mission-driven investors can register via Eventbrite below.

Highlights of last year's event at Expo West 2019.

Last year's sold out event, which was the biggest plant-based investor event of its kindwas a great success. Over one hundred plant-based brands from five countries applied for the event, and through an intensive vetting process, thirty-nine brands were selected to participate. Forty investors signed up to meet with these groundbreaking plant-based companies. We are thrilled to report that 55% of the brands chosen to participate in the event were founded by women. In an industry that is often male-dominated, it is heartening to see women founders at the forefront of innovation and growth in this space.

Natural Products Expo West 2019 Recap

Last year’s Natural Expo West conference boasted over 86,000 attendees from 136 countries. There were a staggering 3,600 exhibitors at the show, 600 of which were first-time exhibitors. (More 2019 show stats here.) We were also excited last year to see a plant-based brand, Hakuna Banana, win the Natural Products Business School’s Pitch-Slam competition. At the Pitch-Slam, Chef Chew (winner of the 2018 Expo East Pitch-Slam, where CEO Daniel Karsevar served as his mentor) discussed the opportunities that come with winning the Pitch Slam, as well as his advice for new entrepreneurs.

Natural Products Expo West is a fantastic place for trend spotting, and New Hope Network’s content and research team tracked 9 emerging trends at last year’s show. Our favorite was – you guessed it – the Eat More Plants trend. And given the incredible growth we are seeing in plant-based – with sales of plant-based alternatives up 20% in 2018 – it is no surprise that companies are capitalizing on this opportunity. New Hope says of the trend, “As more consumers begin to understand the benefits of eating plants, natural brands offer delicious solutions to trim meat consumption and boost the attractiveness of plants ranging from fruits and vegetables to legumes, mushrooms, nuts, and more.” Also on the sustainability front, we were glad to see that “Responsible Sourcing” and “Responsible Packaging” made the list as well.

CEO Daniel Karsevar Spoke on “Growing the Plant-Based Market”

Last year CEO Daniel Karsevar gave an illuminating talk on Growing the Plant-Based Market, which focused on the trends in plant-based food and beverage. Daniel spoke about these trends and innovations we are seeing through a culinary lens with a focus on biodiversity of ingredients and whole-foods, which offered clear and actionable insights into the direction in which plant-based food is headed and how to get ahead of the curve. The speech was well received as an insightful look at the rapidly growing plant-based industry.

Other speakers at the event included Leilani Münter, Michele Simon of PBFA, and Melissa Cash of Kellogg (speaking for Morningstar Farms). The event offered a wide array of perspectives on the plant-based space – from vegan race car driving, to policy updates related to plant-based foods, to Morningstar’s plan to go totally plant-based by 2021. Thank you to Jenna Blumenfeld, Network Senior Editor at New Hope, and the rest of the New Hope team for organizing the event.

We hope to see you at Expo West 2020!