Naturally Chicago Pitch Slam and
Financing & Innovation Forum
TUESDAY, MAY 21, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. CDT
Review the 2023 Highlights Reel!
Pitch Slam 2024
The Naturally Chicago Pitch Slam is the centerpiece of our Pitch Slam and Financing & Innovation Forum, to be held May 21 at Chicago’s beautiful Epiphany Center for the Arts. The Pitch Slam prize package of business-building services has a value of nearly $200,000!
Tickets are now on sale for the natural products industry event of the year in Chicago. This is your best opportunity to meet established and emerging brands, investors, service providers, lenders, potential business partners and more. Speakers include luminaries such as John Foraker, CEO of Once Upon a Farm, Carlotta Mast, Market Leader of New Hope and Producer of Natural Products EXPO, leading retailers, and other industry leaders.
ITINERARY
12:00-12:50 pm registration and visit innovation showcase
1:00-2:40 pm Retailer panel, Innovation Presentations and Keynote
2:40-4:20 pm Pitch Slam
4:20-4:40 pm Building the Natural Products Ecosystem
4:40-5:00 pm Pitch Slam Winners announced
5:00-7:00 pm Innovation Showcase and Fabulous Cocktails Reception
Financing & Innovation Forum Program
The Naturally Chicago Pitch Slam will be preceded on the event’s program by the Financing & Innovation Forum, which features the following industry expert speakers.
Speakers
Keynote and a Conversation
Master of Ceremonies
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John Foraker, Keynote
CEO
Once Upon a Farm
Former CEO Annie’s -
Carlotta Mast
SVP and Market Leader
New Hope Network/Producer of Natural Products Expo -
Ryan Pintado-Vertner, Master of Ceremony
Founder
Smoketown
How Retailers Approach Innovation
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Katie Paul, Moderator
Senior Vice President of Merchandising, KeHE
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Jonathan Lawrence
VP of Center Store
Fresh Thyme Market -
Margaret Omastiak
Senior Forager for Local and Emerging Brands, Whole Foods
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Amanda Puck
Director, Strategic Brand Development, Mariano's
Growing the Chicago Natural Products Ecosystem
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Adam Falkof
Partner
Quarles & Brady LLP -
Ashley Hartman
Managing Partner
Bluestein Ventures -
Greg Keller
Senior Strategist
Naturally Chicago -
William Madden
Co-founder
Whole Brain Consulting -
Jason Mercer
Principal
Cleveland Avenue -
Jim Slama
Managing Director
Naturally Chicago
Pitch Slam Judges
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Rashid Ali
Co-Founder and Co-CEO
CHOMPS -
Joe Fulco
President
Fruitful Yield -
Tracey Halama
CEO Emeritus
Vital Proteins -
Evan Hyman
Vice President, Regional And Emerging Accounts
Kerry -
Jeffrey Sanfilippo
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Perteet Spencer
Co-Founder
Ayo Foods -
Zack Strange
Attorney
Polsinelli -
Noelle Wagner
Market Ready Manager
Presence -
Brad Wasz
Founder and COO
CPG.IO
Nearly $200,000 in Prizes
Await the Winner.
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Prize Donor: 1o8 Agency
Total Prize Value: $30,000
Brand Strategy package from this leading CPG agency, where creative meets commerce in driving omni-channel growth.
The 1st place finisher in each of the Pitch competitions will receive services valued at $15,000 including a brand strategy package with discovery; four C’s analysis; pricing and SKU recommendations; consumer and buyer recommendations; package design recommendations; and channel strategy recommendations. -
Prize Donor: Amin Talati Wasserman
Total Prize Value: $2,500
Intellectual property protection or regulatory compliance counseling from a leading law firm in the Natural Products industry.The 1st place winner in the over $1 million in annual revenue category will receive FDA labeling/packaging compliance deep-dive review followed by a 30 min call to discuss questions and risk assessment for the winner’s top-selling product.
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Price Donor: Brandjectory
Total Prize Value: $1,598
The winner of each pitch slam will receive a full free year on the Brandjectory Thrust plan, valued at $799/each.
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Prize Donor: Conlon Public Strategies
Total Prize Value: $10,000Consulting package from a leading Chicago strategic advising and government relations firm.
The 1st place finisher in each of the Pitch competitions will have the opportunity to choose one of the following two options: two executive coaching leadership sessions or an exploration of opportunities in the public sector, which is a $5,000 value.
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Prize Donor: CPG.IO
Total Prize Value: $36,000
The industry's leading eCommerce fulfillment, marketing, growth strategy, and omnichannel account management services by CPGIO.
The 1st place finisher in the under $1 million revenue Pitch Slam will receive services over 12 months valued at $24,000.
The 1st place finisher in the over $1 million revenue Pitch Slam will receive services over six months valued at $12,000. -
Prize Donor: Hummingbirds
Total Prize Value: $6,000Hummingbirds is female founded marketing tech platform that enables you to leverage the influence of everyday people who are natural, social media enthusiasts - a.k.a "hummingbirds" to harness word of mouth marketing in a city specific way. They're currently in 15 cities across the Midwest and launching 15 more in 2024.
The winning brands in each category will have the opportunity to use the Hummingbirds platform to grow their business with hyperlocal creators. 20 hummingbird credits will be awarded to the winning brands, valued at $3,000, garnering them 40 pieces of UGC to use as they like.
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Prize Donor: KeHE
Total Prize Value: $5,000
A brand assessment and strategy session with KeHE Distributors, the largest distributor of natural & organic, specialty and fresh products throughout North America. The session will take place with KeHE’s Category Management leaders who will support the brand in developing their launch plan and distribution go-to-market strategy.
The 1st place finisher in each of the Pitch competitions will receive a brand assessment and strategy session valued at $2500. -
Prize Donor: Kerry Group
Total Prize Value: $30,000
An innovation session with this leading taste and nutrition partner for the Natural Products industry.
The 1st place finisher in each of the Pitch competitions will get an innovation session at Kerry’s Beloit, Wisconsin headquarters. Each prize is valued at $15,000. -
Prize Donor: New Hope Network
Total Prize Value: $4,000
The 1st place winner in the over $1 million pitch is eligible to receive one a la carte 5x10 booth at Newtopia Now. The event will be held Aug. 25-28th in Denver, Colorado. Winning company can select which neighborhood best fits their needs. A member of the New Hope Sales Team will work with the winner to determine the location.
The 1st place finisher in the over $1 million revenue Pitch Slam will receive the opportunity to compete in the national Pitch Slam in August. -
Prize Donor: New Nexus Group
Total Prize Value:1 hour of consultation centered around how to prepare to call on Walmart and Sam's Club.
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Prize Donor: Polsinelli
Total Prize Value: $6,000
Legal services from this premier full-service national law firm with expertise in representing Food, Beverage and Consumer Product brands and investors.
The 1st place finisher in each of the Pitch competitions will receive services valued at $3,000. -
Prize Donor: Sikich
Total Prize Value: $10,000
Accounting or business advisory services from this leading natural products accounting, finance and technology consulting firm.
The 1st place finisher in each of the Pitch competitions will receive services valued at $5,000. -
Prize Donor: SPINS
Total Prize Value: $15,000+
Naturally Chicago Pitch Slam Prize – OVER $1 Million RevenueFirst Place Prize Overview for Over $1 Million
SPINS Insight Sprint – A SPINS consultant will schedule one scoping meeting to provide the winner with presentation-ready PowerPoint or Excel reports for buyer meetings, sales briefings, or commercial plans. Following the session, the SPINS consultant will spend time working on the brand’s custom project/deliverables.
Naturally Chicago Pitch Slam Prize – UNDER $1 Million Revenue
First Place Prize Overview for Under $1 Million
SPINS Sell Story & Category Insights Consultation – A SPINS consultant will schedule one meeting to help the winner better understand their category, review their pitch deck, and make their sell story shine with data for future retailer meetings in real-time. Following the session, the SPINS consultant will share the meeting recording.
**Important Notes About These Prizes
Prizes do not apply to current SPINS customers.
Prizes do not represent a cash value and cannot be used toward another SPINS offering or towards a current SPINS contract.
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Prize Donor: Spool
Total Prize Value: $10,000Spool is a David in a sea of Goliaths. We embrace a challenger mindset by design because, as underdogs, we work smarter to make an impact.
Our best work shines when partnering with like-minded challenger brands who share our commitment to breaking conventions and thinking differently in collaboration with clients.
Each winner gets 10 hours of PR and communications support from Spool which could be used as follows:
Drafting a press release and distribution
Pitch and media outreach
A PPT template and/or branding refresh
A PR strategy and planning session
Spool will work with the two winning brands to align on timing and fulfillment of these services.
Spoolmarketing.com
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Prize Donor: SRW
Total Prize Value: $16,500
Social Media Content and strategy sessions from this leading Natural Products digital agency.
The 1st place finisher in the over $1 million revenue Pitch Slam will receive a single-day shoot in Studio 660, the production studio at SRW Agency. The SRW production team will shoot the winner's product in multiple environments, with an output of up to four assets for use on social media and beyond. This prize is valued at $15,000.
The 1st place finisher in the under $1 million revenue Pitch Slam will go tete-a-tete for an hour with the co-founders of SRW to talk business strategy. Share your biggest problems, dreams and goals and learn from the lessons they cultivated while launching brands such as Simple Mills and Vital Proteins. This prize is valued at $1,500. -
Prize Donor: Whole Brain Consulting
Total Prize Value: $9,000
Services from this natural products industry leader in food safety compliance, co-manufacturing strategies, operations, and logistics management.
The 1st place finisher in each of the Pitch competitions will receive services valued at $4,500.