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FROM RETAILERS TO CONSUMERS: HOW TO BUILD A REGEN BRAND THAT RESONATES Building a climate smart brand can be daunting – how do you translate the value proposition and the premium price point to both the retailers carrying your brand and the consumers picking your product up off the shelf? Understanding the consumer pull, which consumer values translate to sales, and what motivates those retailers and consumers to understand how to market to both. Hear from retailers, data providers, and brands on how they have tackled this challenge, what lessons were learned from the roll out and adoption of organic that can be applied here, and what value and positioning will resonate the most as you build that brand. Speakers: Ryan Pintado-Vertner - Smoketown Strategies Alyssa Vescio - Whole Foods Laura Kuykendal - Frontier co-op Suzanne Senglemann - Lundberg Brittany Moore - SPINS
2025 WEEK AT A GLANCE
This October, join us for the seventh annual Food, Ag, Ideas (FAI) Week, a premier gathering where food, health, and innovation converge. Over two days of fireside chats, panels, immersive experiences, and high-impact networking across iconic Minneapolis venues, FAI will spotlight the future of nutrition and wellness.
This year’s theme, “Food as Health, ” explores how the food industry is reimagining its role in personal and planetary health, from functional foods and ultra-processed labeling to plant-based proteins and personalized nutrition.
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With top speakers from major brands, healthcare, and startups, FAI 2025 is a must-attend for anyone shaping what we eat and how we live. Let’s build a healthier, more sustainable tomorrow—together.
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The first day of events will happen at the Walker Art Center, as well as Puris Protein HQ. While the main day of content will take place on Tuesday, October 14th, at the Machine Shop in NE Minneapolis, followed by a networking event with Reuters Transform Food at The Mill City Museum. Lastly, FAI will wrap up with a collaborative event with Cascaid on Wednesday, October 15th, at Empower Performance.
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10/13: MONDAY
The Future of Plant-Based
11:30 PM – 1:30 PM
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Join local chef and public health nutritionist Jenny Breen as we explore the art and science at the intersection of cooking and nutrition, while recognizing how our food choices and food literacy are fundamental in the long term sustainability of people and the planet. This will be a hands-on, interactive session, and will include serious discussion about the role of chefs, food professionals, and health and nutrition professionals in re-creating our food system so it not only feeds, but nourishes people while regenerating the planet. The session will end with a delicious lunch (mostly) prepared by participants!
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
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CHECK IN AND NETWORKING
An intimate conversation with pioneering leaders in plant-based innovation and what they see as the next evolution of the industry.
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
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3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
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NETWORKING
4:30 PM - 4:45 PM
CHECK IN AND NETWORKING
Deep dive into the way plant-based proteins will impact personal, public, and planetary health.
4:45 PM - 5:30 PM
Deep dive into the way plant-based proteins will impact personal, public, and planetary health. 4:30-4:45pm: Check In 4:45-5:30pm: Fireside Chat featuring Dr. Sue Klapholz, Former Vice President of Nutrition, Health and Food Safety, Impossible Foods, and Armetha Pihlstrom, founder of PCG-Pihlstrom Consulting Group, LLC. 5:30-7:00pm: Tours, Tasting, Innovation Showcase, Networking!
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
10/14: TUESDAY
A Full Day of Food is Health
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM​
CHECK IN
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM​
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This keynote panel will illuminate the critical need for comprehensive, interconnected change across America's food ecosystem to realize the full potential of food as medicine as a path forward. While current institutional leaders will highlight the incremental progress they are making within existing constraints, they will discuss how true transformation requires nothing short of a complete reimagining of how we approach food policy, healthcare delivery, and corporate responsibility, and what some of those future milestones could be. Potential Organizations on the Panel: - Mayo Clinic - Optum - USDA - Major food brand executive Moderator: Local Journalist e.g. Ali Kaplan
10:20 AM - 11:20 AM
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Longevity and better nutrition are not a fleeting fad in the 24-hour news cycle. The impact of food and nutrition on holistic health is rapidly becoming top of mind for consumers, and the brands that serve them. Learn what are the major trend developing in CPG, how are they showing up in longevity and wellness and dovetailing with lifestyle and routine. And more importantly, how a brand will need to show up and leverage these trends.
11:20 AM - 1:20 PM
LUNCH + INNOVATION SHOWCASE
1:20 PM – 2:20 PM
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The session will discuss what's happening now and what's on the horizon for the standard around Ultra Processed Foods. How will standards impact labeling, and what should the average consumer know about UPFs and navigating the grocery store shelves? The implications will be felt across the industry, but are particularly potent for CPG brands in the center of store.
2:40 PM - 3:40 PM
CPG brands occasionally get a bad wrap when it comes to supporting better human health - instead how can it be part of the solution? A leading example, Step One Foods has research validating claims made for their products improving human health. What can brands learn about supporting better for you options through functional food formulation?
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
In a TED-talk style session learn about some of the latest development in how food and nutrition affects multiple aspects of your life including the gut microbiome, gene expression, mental health, physical performance, longevity, and should you splurge on that personalized nutrition plan or not!
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Extended networking opportunity connecting FAI attendees with participants from the Reuters Transform Food conference, happening simultaneously in Minneapolis. (At Mill City Museum)
10/15: WEDNESDAY
Food is Health: Cascaid Pop-Up Experience
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
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What to Expect Compelling Panel: Hear from Cascaid’s world-class think tank of doctors and performance experts as they discuss the future of healthspan: covering brain, heart, and body health. Interactive Stations: Step into Cascaid’s model with hands-on assessments like grip strength, balance testing, and cognitive screens. Discover the surprising correlations between these simple measures and your long-term vitality. Practical Insights: Learn how 10-year risk factors can be modified with clear, actionable strategies—and what that means for your future. About Cascaid Cascaid is redefining what it means to stay healthy and perform at your best. We are the only health navigation model built to play both defense and offense, protecting your years ahead while powering your best days now. Through elite diagnostics, expert clinicians, and high-performance coaches, Cascaid delivers clarity on hidden risks and hidden potential. More than data, we give you a strategic roadmap forward—helping you make smarter choices, adapt in real time, and unlock lasting performance. Their mission is simple: help you live at your best. For longer.
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