Brands I Want to Meet at Expo
This week, thousands of brands will exhibit at Expo West. I’m interested in brands with these three qualities.
Expo West is my favorite professional meeting because it’s where I get to connect with my friends from this wonderful industry we support. As the Managing Partner of Findaway Adventures, it’s also the time I get to explore and seek out the next , change-the-word brands that Findaway might want to partner with.
This year, I am going to pay especially close attention to three criteria in up-and-coming brands. All three criteria demonstrate courage. They are:
1. Impact-minded founder. I want to meet founders who are willing to share their story on their packaging and in their branding and in their booth at Expo. I want their story to be about more than just selling a product.
2. Bold founder. I’m looking for founders who don’t follow the mold or template for what private equity and investors, universities and entrepreneurial programs online or live say you should be. I’m looking for brands that don’t look like everybody else on Squarespace and who stand out in a crowded field. Read more about this here.
3. Tech forward founder. I want to talk to founders who are creatively using technology to support the consumer experience. I call it the CPGTech Convergence, which can take a number of different forms. For example, one way would be a brand that utilizes technology to enhance a consumer experience inside the home. Another might be some type of health test that recommends a supplement that gets shipped automatically to the home, or some other type of special interaction with the consumer that adds value.
Does this describe you? If so, check out Findaway Adventures’ website to round out your understanding of the criteria we’ll be looking for. These include brands that focus on social impact, brands you would typically see in a Whole Foods, products that ship easily online, and brands that are currently doing less than $200,000 a month in sales. If this still describes you, then, let’s talk in Anaheim!
See you at the show!
Sincerely,
Rob Craven, scalepassion
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All credit to my ghostwriting partner, Dave Moore, who is instrumental in getting my thoughts out in a coherent manner & into these blogs. Thanks Dave!