The Alternative Protein Show: A different kind of conference
It is a truth universally acknowledged…
…that the connections made at a conference are the salsa to the chip that is conference programming. The Alternative Protein Show—”a great big networking event” on January 15-17 for “all the entities on the New Protein Landscape” —takes this to heart:
The emphasis is on networking and making connections. All sessions are optional, and attendees are encouraged to pick and choose the ones that are the most directly relevant to them.
Your permission has officially been granted to linger longer by the coffee or stay late at lunch and meet the entrepreneur/investor/co-founder/supplier/distributor/mentor of your dreams.
That said, the programming will be pretty darn spectacular.
The San Fransisco-based event comprises three action-packed days with influential leaders and rising stars in the plant-based and clean meat, eggs, and dairy industries. It simultaneously carves out space to network, hone fundraising skills, and meet Silicon Valley venture capital firms.
Starting with a fundraising workshop by Olivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack, attendees will learn how to navigate the Silicon Valley investing scene. Cabane is the former Director of Innovative Leadership for Stanford StartX and current Chair of the International Alliance for Alternative Protein, and Pollack is a former faculty member of Stanford StartX and current lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Day two will offer insights from vanguards of our evolving of the food system. GFI Executive Director Bruce Friedrich will deliver an opening keynote about opportunities for innovation in the plant-based and clean meat industries. Breakout sessions will spotlight leaders across the “New Protein Landscape,” including Seattle Food Tech’s Christie Lagally (a GFI alum!) on replacing meat processing infrastructure with plant-based meat production, as well as New Age Meats’ Brian Spears on “the secrets of successful automation.”
Finally, day three will give attending startups the chance to meet with select VC firms around the bay, including Blue Horizon, Khosla Ventures, and New Crop Capital.
The landscape
With companies like Tofurky, Wild Earth, and Spero representing at the conference expo, it’ll be a full house. Feast your eyes on the attendee landscape:
Kick off the 2019 evolution of the food system with The Alternative Protein Show this January. See you there!!
Author
Mary Allen
Mary Allen is a science writer, creative strategist, and GFI alum focused on the intersection of sustainability and emerging technology. Find more of her work at mary-allen.com.
