ConsciousCPG Summit explores responsible business practices

The natural products industry is poised for a change. The CPG industry is becoming more conscious. There’s a consumer-driven shift towards corporate and social responsibility. What equates business success is changing.

Industry leaders and brand founders can learn about conscious values and business practices at the first-ever ConsciousCPG Summit, a free, two-day virtual event on June 17-18. Registration is required.

Hosted by Naturally Network and presented by NIQ in partnership with BeyondBrands and New Hope Network, the ConsciousCPG Summit aims to expand founders’ knowledge of conscious values and uncover incredible practices and strategies happening in the natural products industry.

“Expect to be inspired, expect to hear passion,” says Eric Schnell, CEO and founder of BeyondBrands. “Our industry is founded on passion, purpose and mission. This is finally coming together after a couple of decades of a lot of people talking about wanting to be a conscious business. Now there’s a model that we can all work on and learn from together.”

The summit will delve into Naturally Network's conscious business transformation framework, centered around the five Ps: passion, purpose, people, planet and prosperity.

“We believe these five Ps align with an undeniable consumer shift towards corporate and social responsibility,” Schnell says. “So much comes out of doing good. We are finding the best place to meet people is with the word conscious.”

Eric Schnell, CEO and founder of BeyondBrands

Much began, Schnell says, after the book Triple Bottom Line was published in 2006. “When that book came out, it changed our industry,” Schnell says about the book that focuses on people, profits and planet.

“We have five Ps versus three Ps, but our Ps are different,” Schnell says. “I always felt a little funny about the word profit as a conscious founder. I always thought that just means shareholders make money; I want the world to win.”

Schnell, with his wife, Marci Zaroff—founder and chairwoman of BeyondBrands, who also founded the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Under the Canopy, an organic fairtrade textile company and lifestyle brand—created and coined the term “Quintuple Bottom Line” which focuses on passion, purpose, people, planet and prosperity.

Brands that understand and operate through a Quintuple Bottom Line framework understand it offers opportunities for optimization, innovation and improvement across all sectors in the natural products industry, Schnell says.

Expand the scope of ‘a force for good’

“We came up with this concept over our career as a force for doing good in our own companies we’ve founded,” says Schnell, co-founder of the organic tea brand Steaz. “We always aspired every time we advanced our business or created a new business to keep doing more good or come up with more ways our businesses could be a force for good in the industry or in the world.”

That starts from the inside, Schnell says, by doing the right thing for the people who work in the company, with good business practices that are also good for shareholders and people in the supply chains. It’s done by thinking about where and how products and ingredients are sourced as well as considering the bigger effect on how much good a business can do if it’s also beneficial for the planet.

“Now we hope to inspire that next generation of future leaders with this next version we have all adopted,” Schnell says. “We are all five Ps. We are all conscious business leaders. That’s the dream with this panel.”

The idea for the summit came to fruition during a planning session two years ago. Schnell, who sits on the board of Naturally Network, attended a board meeting at 2022 Natural Products Expo East. There, the members carefully considered how to define the networking organization and what it stands for, Schnell says.

“We really thought about ‘Are we a nonprofit that’s also a trade organization like the Organic Trade Association or something else?’” Schnell says. “Ultimately, we decided, as a large network, we can focus on the developing future leaders of our industry, the next generation of entrepreneurs, the younger 20-year-olds who are up and coming.”

That discussion ultimately led to the creation of the ConsciousCPG Summit.

“We see this industry someday being called and maybe the name changes from natural products industry, to the conscious products industry,” Schnell says. “Just the way it was called the natural foods industry before it was called the natural products industry.”

The blockbuster roster of speakers includes Zoe Levin, CEO of Bim Bam Boo; Keith Kohler, president at CPG Financing Guide; Sherry Frey, VP Total Wellness at NIQ; Blair Kellison, CEO of Advisor; Carlotta Mast, SVP and market leader at New Hope Network/Informa; Julia Collins, founder and CEO of Planet FWD; Alyssa Vescio, senior vice president, merchandising at Whole Foods Market; Sandra Carter, founder and president of Om Mushroom Superfood; Julie Fabricant, chief marketing officer at ForceBrands; Gage Mitchell, founder of EvolveCPG; Sadie Scheffer, CEO of Bread SRSLY; Jacob Deleon, founder of Fila Manila; Svanika Balasubramanian, CEO of rePurpose Global; Emily Griffith, founder and CEO of Lil Bucks; Peetachai (Neil) Dejkraisak, CEO and co-founder of Jasberry; and more.

“Experts will all be addressing their version of the five Ps, and how they are showing up and walking the talk as conscious leaders in our industry,” Schnell says.

The June 17 discussions are Changing the World Through Passion; The Future of the Natural Products Industry is Conscious; and Building a Thriving Business with Purpose at its Core. On June 18, the topics are Creating Success for the People Your Company Impacts; Doing Well for the Planet is Doing Well for Your Bottom Line; and A New Definition for Success.

“The natural products industry supports so much good in the world, and the people in it have so much passion to create, change, grow, build and make our planet, our ecosystem and the food we eat and what we wear better,” Schnell says. “This industry is ready for this next movement, this next reframing of the word conscious as it applies to business.”