Resources for Small Food Businesses

Hoping to start a new small business or take your business in another direction?
Join our panel of experts to learn about resources that can help you grow your business, expand your product line, or take things in a new direction.

• Lauren Abda is the Founder and CEO of Branchfood, the largest community of food entrepreneurs and startups in New England, and Co-founder at Branch Venture Group, an angel network that invests in emerging food-related startups. Prior to Branchfood, Lauren consulted for foodtech businesses in Boston and San Francisco, worked as an analyst for Salt Venture Partners LLC, a venture capital firm, focused on food startups, targeting content, commerce, and technology, and wrote reports on international food safety development initiatives on behalf of the Agriculture and Commodities division at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. She has a Masters in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition from the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Science from the University of Vermont.

• Kevin Mannering is a Partner and the Chief Development Officer at RodeoCPG. Kevin started his CPG career as one of the first employees at Quinn Snacks (then Quinn Popcorn) in 2011 where he led sales efforts for the first several years of the brand. He moved on to an outsourced sales agency, FDM Sales, in 2015 broadening his experience across categories. While there he started a program called FDM RampUp, focusing both on growing very early-stage brands and making sure they were prepared financially for growth. He spun this off into a small consulting firm, which he merged into Rodeo joining as a partner in January 2019. Today, Kevin leads go-to-market strategic planning engagements directly with clients, while also working behind the scenes on new initiatives to automate complex CPG workflows.

• Omar Melon is Relationship Manager, VP on the Business Banking team at Citizens Bank. He joined Citizens in 2005 and supports businesses throughout the greater Raynham, Wellesley, and Framingham areas. Omar specializes in helping small to medium-sized businesses manage their money, finance growth, protect against fraud, and plan for the future. He presents weekly workshops on financial business management to business owners. Omar is a graduate of the University of UNAB with a master’s degree in Financial Engineering, and holds certificates in Business Credit, Commercial Contract Management, and Project Management.

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