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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
In October, we gathered for the seventh annual Food. Ag. Ideas (FAI)—a premier event where food, health, and innovation converged. Over two days of fireside chats, panels, immersive experiences, and high-impact networking across iconic Minneapolis venues, FAI spotlighted the future of nutrition and wellness.
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That year’s theme, “Food as Health,” explored how the food industry was 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 was a must-attend event for anyone shaping what we eat and how we live. Together, we took steps toward building a healthier, more sustainable future.
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The first day of events took place at the Walker Art Center, as well as Puris Protein HQ. While the main day of content was held on Tuesday, October 14th, at the Machine Shop in NE Minneapolis, ending with a networking event with Reuters Transform Food at The Mill City Museum.
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10/13: MONDAY
The Future of Plant-Based
11:30 AM – 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​
Food is health—but nourishment doesn’t stop on the plate. True health begins within, in the way we ground ourselves, care for our bodies, and lead from presence. Join Kate LaBrosse and Carlotta Mast for an experiential breakfast session that weaves together the FAI theme Food as Health with the inner practices of conscious leadership. Through guided grounding, reflection, and journaling, you’ll explore how presence and self-awareness not only strengthen personal well-being but also ripple out to shape the culture of your organization. This isn’t about chasing perfection or performance. It’s about recognizing that you have both the agency and the privilege of your process—and that nourishing yourself first is what makes you a stronger leader for others.
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. This panel will feature doctors and policy leaders sharing their perspective and current work towards the need for systems-level change in food policy, healthcare, and industry collaboration. Additionally, we will hear what are some of the federal versus state initiatives in regards to MAHA policy in this administration.
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)
DIAMOND PARTNERS
