Natural Products Business School announces 2017 Pitch-Slam Semifinalists

Jasmine Santillan, Conference Coordinator

March 7, 2017

3 Min Read

Natural Products Business School announces 2017 Pitch-Slam Semifinalists

Every year at Natural Products Expo, attendees are on the hunt for the newest natural product innovation. Our Natural Products Business School Pitch-Slam is proud to highlight the best emerging brands at Natural Products Expo West 2017. We’ve outlined here how we chose the 10 semifinalists to pitch onsite.

The Process

• Applications were open from December 1, 2016 to January 27, 2017. Over 100 companies applied!

• Applicants were asked to highlight basic details about their company such as founding date, product description, management description and sales history and projection.

• We integrated two new features into the application process. This year, we asked applicants if their company integrates a focus in access, stewardship or nutrition into its core values as the Natural Products Business School is focusing on business as a force for good. We also asked every applicant to submit a video to show the personality of the brand and its founders that may not come through a written application.

• Selection Committee/Mentors reviewed every application based on the following critera: uniqueness, value proposition of product, product branding, packaging, presentation and market viability, in equal measure. The Selection Committee/Mentors watched over 200 minutes of video footage and spent numerous hours reviewing applicants. Every application was scored from one to five.

• The Selection Committee/Mentors discussed the top scoring companies and some of their standout favorites. They then decided on 10 semifinalists and decided who to mentor.

• All semifinalists were assigned a Mentor from the Selection Committee to help coach them in the three weeks leading up to the Semifinals. Ten semifinalists will give a 3-minute pitch and have a short Q&A portion.

• The Judges will choose three semifinalists and the audience will choose one semifinalist to move onto the Finals.

• Semifinals will be 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8, and closed to the public. The Finals will be 4:30 p.m.-5:45 p.m., Thursday, March 9, in the Marriott, Grand Salon F, and is open to the public.

The People

Selection Committee/Mentors:

Bob Burke, Natural Products Consulting
Eric Schnell, BeyondBrands
Mike Dobvish, Nutrition Capital Network
James Tonkin, Healthy Brand Builders
Lauren Sandberg-Clardy, NutriMarketing Group
Nick McCoy, Whipstitch Capital
Shari Wynne Ressler, SKU
Tera Johnson, Food Finance Institute
Pete Speranza, 301 INC
Genevieve Gilbreath, SKU

Onsite Judges:

Errol Schweizer, Demeter USA/Beyond Brands
Sue Heilbronner, MergeLane
Mark Rampolla, Powerplant Ventures
Allison Hagey, BraunHagey & Borden LLP/Legal
Danielle Vogel, Glen’s Garden Market

The Prizes

1st Place

Expo West 2018 booth – New Hope Network ($6,555)
Branding & Package Consultation – Interact on Shelf ($5,000)
Certification – NSF/QAI free one-year GF or non-GMO certification ($4,000)
Investment Consultation - P2Bi ($2,500)
Consulting – BeyondBrands ($2,500)
Data – Moss Adams – Personal Review of the Food & Beverage benchmarking study ($2,500)
Legal – Faegre Baker Daniels ($2,500)
Gift Pack – Burt’s Bees ($TBD)