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Tuesday, June 9th, 2026
8:00AM – 5:00PM
Trayes Hall
100 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Register now – seats are limited!
Just announced: keynote speakers
Founder, President and CEO, BlueNalu
Head of Nestlé Product Technology Center, Nestlé Health Science
Agenda
| 08:00 – 08:55am | Registration, continental breakfast, and networking |
| 09:00 – 09:05am | Welcome Remarks and MC for the day: Sho Islam, Middlesex County |
| 09:05 – 09:15 am | Remarks: Sandy Castor, Middlesex County Nolan Lewin, Rutgers Food Innovation Center |
| 09:15 – 09:25 am | Introductory Remarks: Laura Lawson, Rutgers University Jim Oehmke, Rutgers University |
| 09:25 – 09:45am | Keynote Value that Wins: Creating Your Company’s Value Proposition and Product-Market Fit Lou Cooperhouse, BlueNalu |
| 09:45 – 10:25am | The Capital Recipe: Investor Insights and Outlook for Food and Ag Tech Industry. Who’s Investing, How, and Why Tom Mastrobuoni, Big Idea Ventures Jay Bhatti, 49 Alpha Robert Grey , Plug and Play Steven Finn, Siddhi Capital Moderator: James Barrood, Innovation+ |
| 10:25 – 10:35am | Morning break |
| 10:35 – 11:15am | Food Safety, Regulation, and Traceability: Building Trust in a Changing Food System Helen Kor, Food Regulatory and PD Consultant Konstantin Paradizov, Eukodyne Valerie Consaga Bober, Pret A Manger Moderator: Don Schaffner, Rutgers |
| 11:15 – 11:55am | What Makes or Breaks a New Product Launch: Perspectives on Velocity, Promotions, and Consumer Engagement John Lawson, Whole Foods Market Vetchay Vilvert, Naturalvert Rebecca Dengrove Moderated by Nolan Lewin, Rutgers University |
| 11:55 – 12:50pm | Lunch and networking |
| 12:50 – 01:10pm | Keynote Strategic Partnerships to Accelerate Nutrition Innovation: Translating Science into Market Opportunities and Regulatory Success for Startups and Innovators Eugenia Oton, Nestlé Product Technology Center, Nestlé Health Science |
| 01:10 – 01:50pm | Nutrition for a New Era: Forward-looking Insights on How Food Technology and Innovation Will Influence Nutrition, Wellness, and Global Systems, Including Alternative Ingredients Dillon Friday, PhD, Symrise David Benzaquen, Mission Plant Marc Oshima, Oshima Good Food Moderator: Kalindi Bakshi, PhD, Middlesex County, NJ |
| 01:50 – 02:30pm | Clicks to Forks: How Brands Are Using Social Media Trends, AI Marketing tools, Immersive Experiences, and Analytics to Connect with Consumers Kun Yang, Pricklee Gonca Esendemir, Thumbread Joseph Chen, Joey Seed Crisps Moderator: Brian Choi, The Food Institute |
| 02:30 – 02: 40pm | Afternoon break |
| 02:40 – 03:30pm | Roundtable breakout sessions led by Joseph Liberato, Middlesex County, NJ Session 1: Natural Food Dye Trends and Insights by PHYTOLON Session 2: A Model for Global Open Innovation: Scouting and Scaling External Technology by CJ Foods Session 3: What’s Next on the Label: Emerging Ingredient Trend by The Food Institute |
| 03:30 – 03:35pm | Closing Remarks Nolan Lewin, Rutgers University |
| 03:35 – 05:00pm | Networking reception |