March 13, 2026 (FI Newswire) – The Well Network, a membership-based community committed to empowering the consumer industry, hosted over 300 guests across the food, beverage, beauty, wellness, supplements, tech-enabled and consumer ecosystem at its inaugural Summit West on March 3 during the Natural Products “Expo West” show at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.
“It was such a pleasure to participate in the Summit West program as I have witnessed the Well Network’s programs expand over the past two years. My team and I from GNC met some promising brand founders and other innovators in the supplement, snack, beverage and wellness space. It was also such a great experience to be a judge on the Pitch Slam which was my first time as a judge after taking on many roles in the CPG industry as an operator, advisor and investor,” said Michael Costello, CEO of GNC, who was featured in a fireside chat and was a judge on the RodeoCPG Pitch Slam.
The RodeoCPG Pitch Slam judges recognized Two River Gourmet Mushrooms, a Millstone, New Jersey based company which grows USDA organic mushrooms and produces a mushroom broth as the winner, after hearing presentations from other companies that pitched including Fave Mixes, The Lucky Ox, Realm Snacks and The Conscious Bar. Judges included Michael Costello, CEO, GNC, Kelly Landrieu, Global Director, Whole Foods Market’s Local & Emerging Accelerator Program (LEAP), Andrew Reynolds, Co-Founder, RCV Frontline, Jacqueline Kalina, Senior Director, Chex Finer Foods and Dr. Sebastian Dreher, Venture Manager North America, DoehlerGroup.
“We’re incredibly honored to have won the Pitch Slam at Expo West. The judges were impressed by the evolution of our 10 year old organic mushroom farm and the origin of our functional mushroom broth. We continue to believe that real food, like broth, is the best way to deliver functional mushrooms. And what sets us apart from the others in the space is that our broth is not only good for you, but tastes amazing. We’re honored to be invited into the Well Network as part of our prize package, as they represent the best of CPG and wellness brands,” said Kurt Cavano, Co-Owner of Two River Gourmet Mushrooms, who presented to the judges.
This year’s event was sponsored by Stage Sponsor Shopline and lead sponsors Ito En North America, Morrison Foerster, Glimpse and Happy Wellness Group and partners including RodeoCPG, SecureCPG, SnoBase and media platforms The Food Institute and ConsumerVC.
The programming included panels on: “Investment and Financing Solutions,” “International Expansion to the US Market,” “Fueling Commercial Innovations,” “Ingredient Transparency and Integrity in CPG,” “Expanding Direct to Consumer (DTC) Sales,” “Where CPG Brands Get Sued – Lessons from Better-For-You Labeling Litigation,” and “The State of Physical Retail.”
“We were pleased to share timely lessons about labeling for CPG brands so they can try to avoid the pitfalls of possible litigation over ingredients and claims about their products. In fact, we already have follow-up discussions scheduled with brands who attended that are facing labeling challenges for their products,” said Claudia Vetesi, Partner, Food + Ag Group, Morrison Foerster LLP.
The museum’s Sculpture Garden was transformed into an immersive Wellness Garden experience featuring five partners: Eat Play Balance, Luminous Lite, Radiance, Concierge MD and Cell2N.
“The concept behind the Wellness Garden was to create a restorative wellness environment within the Summit West experience. In the middle of a busy conference setting, it offered attendees an opportunity to pause and reconnect with their well-being while exploring different pathways to health. Throughout the afternoon, guests participated in both group and one-on-one activations blending science and wellness through movement, sensory engagement, cellular energy experiences, and conversations around health optimization and emerging therapies,” said Kathy Hoss, founder of Eat.Play.Balance, who also ran a Women’s Health Optimization & Longevity Lab experience during the event.
The event included a reception with over 20 exhibitors including Ito En, Glimpse, Lark Ellen Farm, Luba Libations, Jöey Nordic Seed Crisps, Kombucha Culture, The Tea Book, Baked By Sticky, Hazelicious, Scott’s Protein Balls and Supermouth; Happy Wellness Group brands: SleepEQ, Fun Guy and Elixir Distribution; Shopline brands: Seattle Gummy Company, Climate Candy, Ales Gray, Granolaful, Pep Cubes, Empress, Pricklee, Cleaner Standards, CO Creative Cartel, UNIQC-II, Corn Next and Nuleep brands, along with the Vietnamese Organic Agriculture Association.
In addition, brands shared their products in a Marketplace setting including It’s That Simple, B.T.R. Nation, Betty Buzz, Lemongrass Farms, Karma Nuts, Chimes, Groundwork Coffee, Culturi Coffee, Jas and San Diablo Artisan Churros.
“We had a wonderful experience exhibiting and sharing our delicious, sophisticated and alcohol-free Luba cocktails that are crafted with clean, all-natural ingredients. We met many people that we wanted to connect with including retailers, distributors and those that can help a growing beverage brand like Luba. We’re also excited to have joined as a new member of The Well Network, who we initially met last fall at their event at Pop Up Grocer in New York City. We look forward to many more events and opportunities,” said Christiana Trapani, Co-Founder of Luba Libations.
Photos from event photographer Todd Westphal are available at this link.
“We were so grateful to all the Well Network members, partners, guests and production team for their incredible support with the launch of Summit West. It was a great opportunity for guests to share knowledge, promote brand awareness and facilitate global business leading up to Expo West. We plan to launch Summit East in NYC in September, and have upcoming programs on May 6 in Washington, DC for InvestCPG with Union Kitchen, on May 18 with Naturally Chicago during the National Restaurant Association show, in early June as part of NY Tech Week, and on June 29 during the Summer Fancy Food show in NYC. We also plan to host other in-person and online programs that will be announced soon,” said Mark Nguyen, Co-Founder and CEO of the Well Network.
The Well Network is a membership-based organization committed to empowering the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) in food, beverage, consumer tech and wellness communities. The Well Network’s mission is to build a dynamic, engaging, curated ecosystem where members prosper through intentional introductions and the ability to leverage the necessary resources for business advancement. The Well Network welcomes applications to their community of founders, investors and advisors in the consumer, consumer tech and wellness space at this link.
Co-founders of The Well Network include professionals at BWE Consultancy LLC, The Food Institute, Happy Wellness Group, IEQ Capital, Planet LA Records, Poe Law PLLC, Roadmap Advisors, Rppl Design, SMC Consulting, Two Shes Productions, US Veg Corp, Vierra Ventures and other companies.
Updates at www.thewellnetwork.com and @followthewell on Instagram
For more information about this news release or upcoming programs, please contact: Rob Rinderman (rob@smcconsulting.biz)
