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Tuesday, June 9th, 2026
8:00AM – 5:00PM
Trayes Hall
100 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Register now – limited seats remaining!
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 Rajul Vyas, Anresco NJ Labs 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, Industry consultant Moderated by Djenaba Johnson-Jones, Hudson Kitchen |
| 11:55 – 12:10pm | Advancing Food Innovation and Economic Growth in New Jersey through Industry, Academia, and Government Collaboration Amy Herbold, Choose New Jersey Nolan Lewin, Rutgers Food Innovation Center |
| 12:10 – 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 Niyati Gupta, Fork & Good 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 Michael Gu, WILD MANNERED 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 |