![10 brands selected to pitch at Natural Products Expo West 2019 10 brands selected to pitch at Natural Products Expo West 2019](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/blt108a75ad7aba072f/64ff1c78dbba8e068a75a131/Pitch-Slam_20West_202019-1.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Lumen is a farm-to-bottle producer of regenerative hemp elixirs using a patent-pending cold-pressed hemp juice from the entire plant. This brand stood out to us for its focus on regenerative agriculture, trend-forward ingredient innovation and strong team. CEO Jacob Freepons will be pitching in Anaheim.
Hakuna Banana makes plant-based frozen desserts and snacks using real food ingredients without any refined sugar or sugar alcohols. This brand stood out to us for its passionate leadership, ingredient innovation and holistic business model. Cofounders Mollie Cha and Hannah Hong will be pitching in Anaheim.
Picaflor Live-Culture is bringing life back to food through natural fermentation. Grown on certified organic farms in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, their pepper sauces are made with pure, whole-food ingredients. By fermenting and never pasteurizing, Picaflor sauces deliver deep, vibrant flavor with a spicy kick and good-for-your-gut probiotics. This brand stood out to us for its focus on regenerative agriculture, product innovation and storytelling. Founder and CEO Marcus McCauley will be pitching in Anaheim.
Square Baby created the first-ever "Square Meal System" that delivers 100 percent of a baby’s daily recommended servings of veggies, fruit, whole/sprouted grains and protein. Every meal is "square," balanced, organic, made fresh and quickly frozen, and delivered right to your doorstep. This brand stood out to us for its focus on organic personalized nutrition, innovative delivery system and strong team. Cofounders Kendall Glynn and Katie Thomson will be pitching in Anaheim.
Drop Water is a new way to distribute and sell bottled drinks designed from the ground up to be healthy for consumers and eco-friendly for the planet. Drop Water exemplifies tech innovation in its vending model matched with its sustainable 100 percent compostable bottles that are made not to last. This brand stood out to us for its use of innovative technology, overall product scalability and sustainability story. CEO Scott Edwards will be pitching in Anaheim.
Waykana is an energy tea company who owns its guayasa value chain working with small scale growers in direct and fair trade. This brand stood out to us for its incredible supply chain story, focus on organic and passionate founders. CEO and cofounder Juan David Gómez will be pitching in Anaheim.
Siren Snacks has reimagined the functional snack category with a line of plant-based bites that bring functional ingredients to mainstream audiences. This brand stood out to us for its strong founders, innovation in convenience and focus on nutrition and real ingredients on-the-go. Cofounder Elizabeth Gianuzzi will be pitching in Anaheim.
Sun Genomics provides a full microbiome analysis and 100 percent customized lab-crafted precision probiotics, helping consumers realize the power of their microbiota through probiotics, genomics, informatics and software. This brand stood out to us for its innovation in personalized nutrition, science-backed business model and unique packaging. CEO and founder Sunny Jain will be pitching in Anaheim.
Evo Hemp produces bars, tinctures and softgels dedicated to rebuilding underserved rural communities through the introduction of hemp farming and production. To date, they've helped nearly a dozen farmers convert their soy, wheat and corn to hemp, and are now earning four times the income while using little to no pesticides. This brand stood out to us for its social mission, farmer-centric business model and commitment to creating accessible hemp products. Cofounders Ari Sherman and Jourdan Samel will be pitching in Anaheim.
Cusa Tea is an on-the-go instant organic tea with a technology that makes instant tea taste as good, or better, than a tea bag. This brand stood out to us for its category distruption, unique differentiation and focus on organic. CEO and founder Jim Lamancusa will be pitching in Anaheim.
Cusa Tea is an on-the-go instant organic tea with a technology that makes instant tea taste as good, or better, than a tea bag. This brand stood out to us for its category distruption, unique differentiation and focus on organic. CEO and founder Jim Lamancusa will be pitching in Anaheim.
Every year at Natural Products Expo, attendees are on the hunt for the newest natural product innovation. The Natural Products Expo West Pitch-Slam is proud to highlight 10 exciting emerging brands exhibiting true innovation in their categories who will take the stage at the Expo West Pitch-Slam Semi-Finals.
The Pitch
Semi-Finals Competition: Tuesday, March 5, 2019
5-6:30 p.m. Anaheim Marriott Marquis North
Sponsored by: 301 Inc., Moss Adams
Presented by: BrandHive, Creative Alignments, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, L.E.K., Venable, Whipstich Partners
• 3-minute pitch
• 3-minute Q&A
Finals Competition: Wednesday March 6, 2019
4:30-6:30 p.m. Anaheim Marriott Grand Ballroom F
Sponsored by: 301 Inc., Moss Adams
Presented by: BrandHive, Creative Alignments, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, L.E.K., Venable, Whipstich Partners
• 3-minute pitch
• 5-minute Q&A
Judges select one grand prize winner. Both competitions are open to all badgeholders.
The Selection
The 10 Selection Committee Mentors below will be partnered up with the 10 brands leading into the show to help them perfect their pitches.
Expo West 2019 Pitch-Slam Selection Committee Mentors
Mitchell Stevko, CEO Advisors
Jenn Rosenthal, KO Firm
Todd Halpern, Venable
Keith Kohler, K2 Financing
Max Kabat, goodDog
Perteet Spencer, SPINS
Justin Perkins, Care2
Martha Sandoval, Perkins Coie LLP
Annalea Krebbs, Social Nature
Alicia Potter, Faven Creative
These five industry all-stars will select the five finalists who will compete in Wednesday's Finals Competition.
Expo West 2019 Pitch-Slam Judges
Jason Breen, Target
Alisa Williams, VMG Partners
JJ Cantrell, UNFI
Carole Buyers, BIGR Ventures
Ryan Pintado-Vertner, Smoketown LLC
The Semi-Finalists
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like