March 21, 2024 – On March 12, The Well, a professional membership network in the CPG and wellness space held a successful launch event at the Bowers Museum in Southern California with over 250 guests including brands, investors, advisors, and partners focused on enabling a brand’s life cycle, which coincided with Women’s History Month and the Natural Products Expo West.
The event featured a panel of women innovators including the founders of Chakra Chai, Vertage Foods and Zolli Candy, CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms, the creators of The Tiny Chef Show an Emmy Award-winning show on Nickelodeon and a senior executive with TiNDLE Foods. The panel was moderated by Joy Stoddard, who was honored for her impactful work empowering women and entrepreneurs globally while at the Whole Planet Foundation, a Whole Foods Market non-profit dedicated to poverty alleviation through microcredit loans around the world where the company sources products.
“We had an amazing experience sharing Wynn’s Kitchen’s healthy, all-natural Asian flavors and condiments in partnership with Son Fish Sauce, which is a savory ingredient in our Sate Asian Chili Sauce,” remarked Wynn Austin, the founder of Wynn’s Kitchen. “We sampled these sauces at the event and had such great feedback from guests, potential partners and for brand discovery.”
Featured panelists include women innovators of all ages including Alina Morse, the 18-year old Founder & CEO of Zolli Candy, the #1 selling delicious zero sugar candy, which she started when she was nine years old. “My Gen Z peers pay close attention to what they consume, and the brand’s impact and values,” said Morse. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned and hear from other incredible founders at the event!”
Other sponsors that shared their products at the event include Andalou and Mineral Fusion, Butter Baked Cake Co, Betty Buzz, BUYO, Chakra Chai, Hawaiian Vinegar Company, Jöey Nordic Seed Crisps, Optimist Drinks, Topo Chico, UrbanStems, Vertage Foods and Zolli Candy.
“Many elements came together that day to nurture collaboration and engagement in an impressive cultural space. The aesthetics of the Bowers Museum helped set the tone for an elevated event, where guests could network with intention and share their honest perspectives on the industry. That is the spirit of what we hope to achieve with our programming,” said Cara Moore, New Business Accounts-NY at Blossom, an international creative and strategic agency headquartered in Milan, and founding member of The Well.
The event was also sponsored by leading financial, investment, accounting, brand development, insurance, logistics and other advisors who are integral to the life cycle of a brand’s success including Anchin, Capital One, Innvotec and SWOTA Inc., Jump Rope Innovation, Merchant Financial Group, Musuka Group, Newlin Ventures and ShipBob.
“We go to bat for promising founders on Day Zero and met many incredible founders at the event. We can’t wait to learn more about their businesses and how we can potentially enable their success,” said Rish Sharma, General Partner of Rish VC a new syndicate launching soon, who attended the event as a sponsor.
“We were excited to be part of supporting The Well event, which brought us face-to-face with incredible entrepreneurs who share our passion for the CPG space. Merchant Financial Group is not just about offering capital; our goal is to be strategic partners for businesses at every growth stage. We understand that each client has unique demands, and our priority is to offer tailored working capital solutions to meet these varying needs.” Maura Kent, the VP of New Business at Merchant Financial Group. She, alongside Joshua Goodhart, Executive Vice President and National Sales Manager, represented Merchant Financial Group at the event, a company with a deep commitment to the growth and success of businesses in the CPG industry.
“As companies grow in their distribution, we can support their logistics needs at every stage as the leading e-commerce fulfillment service for DTC and B2B brand. By leveraging our 50+ global fulfillment network, industry leading WMS, and vast partner ecosystem, we can help brands unlock new revenue possibilities,” said Margaret Glavey, Senior Partner Manager at ShipBob who attended the event with her team.
“Together with our industry partners and founding team, we look forward to guiding CPG companies through accelerated growth, helping entrepreneurs develop strong foundations for their businesses, and ultimately developing exit strategies where we can lend our expertise as M&A advisors to later-stage companies“, said Max Prilutsky, founder of Roadmap Advisors. He and his colleague Jeremy Smith, are both founding members of The Well.
Other donors who shared their products with guests include A’Bev More, Atlantic Sea Farms, Bitchin’ Sauce, eeze Natural Health, Ito En, Karma Nuts, Lemongrass Farms, LOVE CORN, LOVO Chocolate, MaryRuth’s Organics, MIKUNA, nutpods, Pzaz, The Tea Book, UNiTE Food, Weleda and friends.
The Well will host more relevant programming and bespoke events with partners throughout the country. The next event is on May 16, 2024 in New York City and will feature insights on “Food, Fashion & Finance” in partnership with Hugo Boss at its flagship store in Columbus Circle.
For partnership opportunities, please contact: Nira: nira@two-shes.com, Mark: mark@planetlarecords.com, and Brian: brian.choi@foodinstitute.com.
About The Well
The Well is a membership-based organization committed to empowering the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and wellness community. Our mission is to engage with CPG and wellness companies to enhance the growth stages of their brand lifecycle, leveraging our network of members to connect them with the resources necessary for their business advancement.
Co-founders of The Well include professionals at Blossom.it, Cream of the Crop, The Food Institute, Force Brands, Happy Wellness Consulting, Planet LA Records, Poe Law PLLC, Roadmap Advisors, Narwhal Network, SMC Consulting, Two Shes Productions, US Veg Corp, Vierra Ventures, Vertage Foods and other companies.
Updates: #FollowTheWell and at www.followthewell.com
