Webinar description

Join a GFI-hosted seminar with experts Emilie Fitch, AnnaMaria White, and Nico Westermann to learn about developing an effective marketing and communications strategy for your alternative protein startup. Communications contribute to your success in recruiting top talent, generating investor interest, and securing your first customers. Developing and executing a sound communications strategy is critical to accelerating your early wins. This seminar is targeted towards B2B alternative protein startups, but will have insights for all alternative protein companies. 

Topics discussed will include: 

  • The role of the founder/CEO in building your companies brand 
  • Understanding your unique go-to-market challenges and how to overcome them 
  • How to test, learn, and create feedback loops 
  • Owning your channels – where to spend time to have the most impact 
  • How to maximize conferences, industry events, and tradeshows to build your brand and reach your audiences 
  • How to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls 
  • Meeting them where they’re at: the importance of deeply knowing your customer
  • How much does brand-building matter for B2B?
  • Building personalized relationships at scale
  • And, how to do all of the above on a scrappy startup budget

Meet the speakers

Annamaria white

AnnaMaria White

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT, WHITE STAR COMMUNICATIONS

Founder and principal at White Star Communications, AnnaMaria brings over twenty years of strategic communications experience, spanning a variety of tech and product industries. She was the first in-house communications leader at Relativity Space, and oversaw all aspects of the company’s brand leading into a $500M Series D. Currently, AnnaMaria serves as a fractional communications partner and advisor for early stage climate tech companies and funds, including Aigen, which recently celebrated a successful Series A. Her work focuses on helping funds and companies hone compelling branding to reach investors, customers, and employees. AnnaMaria received her BA from Columbia University, and currently lives in the rainforests near Seattle with her husband, two children and their dog, Wash.

Emilie fitch

Emilie Fitch 

Emilie brings over 20 years of marketing, brand building, and commercial leadership experience spanning multiple industries, company growth stages, and business models. Along with building and leading marketing and brand teams, she has held general manager roles with cross-functional team leadership and P&L responsibility for businesses up to $600 million in annual revenue.

Emilie is currently leading the development of People for Better Food, a new non-profit focused on helping consumers reflect more consciously on our culture’s deep-seated relationship with meat to make more informed and intentional decisions about their eating behavior for their health and the planet.

Previously, Emilie was the Chief Growth Officer and employee #1 at Nowadays, a clean label plant-based meat company. Before that, she served as Head of Growth at Ginkgo Bioworks, where she created and built out their marketing and growth functions, led commercial strategy initiatives, and helped create multiple spin-off companies. She also worked as a brand lead at Kraft Heinz holding marketing leadership and general management roles on multiple brands. 

Emilie holds a BA from the University of Richmond and an MBA from Kellogg.

Nico westermann

Nico Westermann

Ex-Meta/Facebook Strategic Marketing Consultant & Advisor; currently with Food Systems Innovation, Climax, Every Co; Co-Founder of People for Better Food.

Nico has spent his career helping many of the world’s biggest brands, most innovative businesses, and fastest-growing disruptors across all consumer categories toward creative effectiveness and marketing success. Along this journey, he has envisioned and built teams uncovering the future of people-inspired, data-empowered creative marketing. He combines deep expertise in strategy with broad experience across all levers of marketing to help brands and businesses thrive. 

Upcoming events

View all events
An illustration of the globe with two hands reaching towards one another.  third party event featured image.
Indiana Convention Center

National FFA Convention & Expo

Event description The National FFA Convention & Expo is all about growing the next generation of leaders—and so is GFI. That’s why Jeremy Eltz, Ph.D., GFI’s Education and Workforce Development…

Https://gfi. Org/wp content/uploads/2025/10/sci25054 pulse canada x gfi webinar graphics header featured
Virtual Event

Sustainability from farm to fork: pulse grower practices

Join GFI and Pulse Canada for The Pulse Chain, a three-part webinar series spotlighting Canadian and U.S. pulse growers at the heart of sustainable protein innovation. Hear firsthand how pulses…

Cell growth modeling review for cultivated meat production
Virtual Event

Cell growth modeling review for cultivated meat production: Recommendations to improve techno-economic models

Join report authors to learn what current data reveal, where critical gaps remain, and the research priorities shaping more accurate and scalable techno-economic models for cultivated meat production.

Plate of chicken with pasta and mushrooms on ripple background

COP30: United Nations Climate Change Conference

COP30 Belém brings the world together at a critical moment for global transformative climate action. Join GFI and other alternative protein experts at this historic event!

Https://gfi. Org/wp content/uploads/2025/10/sci25054 pulse canada x gfi webinar graphics header featured
Virtual Event

Supporting growers and rural communities: resilience through protein diversification

Event description This fall, GFI and Pulse Canada are partnering to launch The Pulse Chain: From Growers to Global Protein Markets, an interactive webinar series that brings growers and food…

Https://gfi. Org/wp content/uploads/2025/10/sci25058 soap webinar graphics november header featured
Virtual Event

The Science of Alt Protein: Application-driven design of plant protein gels

Discover how application-driven design of plant protein gels can unlock new possibilities in texture, mouthfeel, and nutrition.

An illustration of the globe with two hands reaching towards one another.  third party event featured image.
Virtual Event

New Proteins webinar

From pulses and fungi to fermentation and marine innovations, new protein sources are transforming product development. Join GFI’s Abby Sewell for a look at what’s shaping the future of protein.

An illustrative graphic of a microscope on a stack of books

The 7th Industrializing Cultivated Meat & Seafood Summit

GFI’s Elliot Swartz, Ph.D., will share insights at the 7th Industrializing Cultivated Meat & Seafood Summit in Boston. Join Elliot and other experts as they discuss R&D innovations that can…