NYC Grocery Run with Rainforest Distribution - November 2026

Congratulations: you've been accepted to sample at the Grocery Run with Rainforest Distribution this Fall!

This will be a tremendous opportunity for networking with your favorite CPG community and making deals happen!

Please purchase a ticket to this event for each person who will be attending this event. All attendees need a ticket.

We’ll have food and refreshments available.

Come meet these VIPs:

• Amaury Schoon – VP of Sales @ Rainforest Distribution
• John Lawson – Senior Local Forager (Northeast) @ Whole Foods Market
• Rachel Krupa - Founder @ The Goods Mart
• Javier Intriago - Category Manager @ America's Food Basket
• Lauren Katz - Owner @ Naturally Good Foods and Cafe
• Jullian Goncalves - Category Manager, Dairy @ FreshDirect
• Olivia Tarantino - Senior Commerce Editor, Bon Appétit & Epicurious @ Condé Nast
• Glenn Cunningham - Senior Director of Center Store @ Wakefern - Village Supermarkets, Fairway, Gourmet Garage, ShopRite
• Fedele Stella - Center Store Merchant @ Wakefern - Village Supermarkets, Fairway, Gourmet Garage
• Tara Campbell - Vice President @ Imaginary Ventures
• Luba Safran - VC Lead @ Mondelēz International
• Elizabeth Yang - Senior Associate @ Vanterra Ventures
• Tanya Seber - Director of Center Store @ Wakefern
• Bozhena Kulchyckyj - Senior Associate @ Alumni Ventures
• Ryan Perry - Investor @ Great Circle Ventures
• Roger Brady - Vice President of Supply Chain & Merchandising @ Farm to People
• Marc Joaquin - Merchandise Manager @ Wakefern - Village Supermarkets, Fairway, Gourmet Garage, ShopRite
• Brandon Alster - Founder @ Sling Ventures
• Molly Barrett - Merchandising Intern @ FreshDirect
• Katie Andrew - Director of Merchandising, Non-Perishables @ FreshDirect
• Elsemieke Vriend - Category Manager, Deli & Cheese @ FreshDirect
• Amber van den Deijssel - Category Manager, Grocery, Snacks @ FreshDirect
• Fatoumata Barry - Associate Category Manager- Grocery/Snacks @ FreshDirect
• Joe LaRose - Director of Business Development @ Dora's Naturals
• Grace Verrier - Associate @ Manna Tree Partners
• Nina Roberts - Writer & Editor @ Various Publications (The Guardian US, Fortune, Marketplace, etc.)
• Charlotte Jenkins - Senior Associate @ Alumni Ventures
• Abby Giannuzzi - M&A Manager @ PepsiCo
• Vienna Buscher - Investment Associate @ Cult Capital
• Abby Wizel - Category Manager, Freezer @ FreshDirect
• Nicole Atamian - Vice President @ Scoop Ventures
• Gregory Atamian - Managing Director @ Scoop Ventures
• Maurice Ng - Managing Director @ Tings Capital
• Uday Ahuja - CIO @ Magnolia Holdings
• Gary Benerofe - General Partner @ Mu Ventures
• Kaylee Tao - Investor @ Stripes
• Lisa Li - Senior Investment Associate @ Rocana Venture Partners
• Josh Mandell - Director of Marketing, Sales, Analytics @ Key Foods Mandell & Holiday Farms Gemstone
• Jimmy Shen - Vice President @ Cutting Horse
• Allie Harris - Senior Associate @ Melitas Ventures
• Hayden Kim - Associate @ Sidekick Partners
• Dylan Schuler - Investor @ Sidekick Partners
• Hayden Williams - Partner @ BrandProject
• Kevin McCarthy - Vice President @ Patricof Co

More to be added, but confirmed brands include:

• Aayur Organic are Brooklyn based Ayurveda-inspired functional beverages crafted using Indian generational recipes for balanced gut.
• Beck's Broth creates nourishing, protein-packed versions of your favourite comfort drinks by infusing grass-fed pasture-raised bone broth into rich hot chocolate, smooth coffee, and creamy matcha, delivering 15 g of protein per cup while supporting gut health and wellness.
• Big Dog Sauce Company creates premium, all-natural sauces and seasonings that deliver bold flavor without artificial fillers, preservatives, gluten, or high fructose corn syrup.
• BON Better Snacks reimagines the world's best flavors as whole-ingredient, high-protein snacks, proudly made in the USA.
• Brook37 exists to save humanity from mediocre tea.
• Confetti Snacks is a mission-led company that crafts delicious, award-winning, crunchy snacks from ugly produce, that are nutrient & fiber-dense and packed with bold, globally inspired flavor.
• Cotto is a whipped cottage cheese dip brand offering high-protein, clean-label dips in three classic flavors: French Onion, Buffalo, and Garden Ranch.
• Croots are croutons designed for snacking, made with bold flavors, artisan sourdough and 100% olive oil.
• Croutinis is transforming the least nutritious part of your salad into the most powerful bite, offfering a high-protein, low-carb, and gluten-free crouton that you can feel good about.
• Curd is a high-protein pudding made from cottage cheese, no isolates, no artificial sweeteners, no gums, just real food with real macros.
• Droosh provides high quality Indian-inspired spice blends and hot sauces: The Icon, Everyday, Tikka Masala and Chaat Party, and Jalapeno Green Chutney and Sweet & Sour Mango Chutney, that instantly adds flavor to any dish.
• drybox crafts freeze-dried fruit snacks made from 100% real fruit, delivering clean, delicious nutrition with no added sugar, preservatives, or artificial ingredients.
• Esspritz makes espresso tonic in a can.
• Evie's Snacks makes a downright delectable snack with 1/3 the sugar and all the crunch - using Texas pecans grown on our family farms.
• Feelz is a women-owned brand crafting plant-based functional products designed to support cognitive function and mood through modern, needs-based wellness solutions and social connections; powered by nootropics, adaptogens, and botanicals.
• Gigantic makes Candy Deluxe—a candy bar that actually grew up.
• Elephant Green Chili Chutney (Sofi Award Finalist for top 3 condiment 2026) was born from a mother-daughter family recipe and inspired by generations of vibrant home cooking. It transforms fresh green chilies, herbs, and bright spices into a bold, versatile chutney that has grown from a small kitchen passion project to shelves in over 100 stores nationwide in just 20 months.
• HEYDOH makes single-origin soy sauce with whole black soybeans. We are so good you can sip.
• KACE Tea is a premium iced tea infused with real fruits like passionfruit and lychee.
• Kolkata Chai brings delicious, better-for-you chai to the Western world with authentic ingredients, less sugar and more flavor.
• Krack'd Snacks makes real candy bars with under 1g of sugar and naturally sweetened with Monk Fruit and Allulose.
• Moka Energy transforms real coffee into a clean label, chocolate like bar that delivers the caffeine of a cup of coffee anytime, anywhere.
• Motif makes clean-label syrups that elevate the daily ritual of coffee and tea at home—naturally flavored, free from artificial ingredients, and made with 70% less sugar than leading brands.
• My Neighbor’s Co makes regenerative tallow skincare.
• Nusa modernizes Indonesia’s traditional herbal drinks into instant, shelf-stable jamu mixes for consumers looking for a caffeine-free alternative to tea, coffee, and wellness shots.
• Nymbl Ice Cream is an indulgent high-protein French ice cream made with clean ingredients.
• OOSO Iced Tea makes café-quality iced tea in a ready-to-drink format.
• Party Of was founded by 4 Thai-American sisters that wanted to put a better, bolder spin on snacks—like Pad Thai & Thai Chili Lime popcorn.
• Pulpito Fruit Bites makes 100% natural fruit snacks, delivering bold, authentic flavor with no fillers or preservatives, where heritage meets modern, better-for-you snacking.
• RINGA makes consciously crafted, multi-functional beverages boosted by one of nature's most nutrient dense plants - Moringa.
• Roaring Fork Mill makes regenerative organic certified cookies, baking mixes and heritage grain flour. Vertically integrated family run business.
• Rodeo Snacks makes synthesized product positioning into one cohesive marketing sentenceWe make steak chips — thin, crispy slices of beef with 22g of protein, four ingredients, and no sugar, nitrates, or seed oils.
• Shinzo Matcha makes seriously good matcha, seriously easy.
• Shufu is an Asian oatmeal that is good for your skin.
• Suívie Jabuticaba brings one of Brazil’s most antioxidant-rich superfruits - jabuticaba - to the world through delicious, all-natural beverages with no added sugar or artificial ingredients.
• tea facto brings 2,000 years of Chinese herbal medicine to your daily cup — real herbs your body actually recognizes, not synthetic supplements made in a lab.
• The Bagelverse is reinventing pizzabagels, America's favorite childhood snack!
• The Cycle - The first functional beverage brand built entirely around women’s cycles — one drink for every phase.
• The Purple Drop was born from a family recipe and inspired by Peruvian culture: they're on a mission to help more people discover chicha morada, one sip at a time.
• Unrefined Foods makes frozen muffins with stone-milled, regenerative whole grains: bakery quality, zero effort, for families who expect more from packaged food.
• Yah Yah Yah™ is a premium RTD latte brand bringing bold Middle Eastern-inspired flavors like cardamom, baklava, and Dubai Style Mocha to the coffee aisle using clean, all natural ingredients sweetened with real honey.

Thank You to Our Incredible Sponsors:

Presented by Spring

Spring provides growth capital to emerging CPG brands through invoice factoring, PO financing, and demand-plan financing — helping brands grow despite long payment terms, step into larger POs, and fund forward-looking growth. Our AI agent integrates directly with brand operations to deliver cash flow forecasting, insights, and actionable intelligence.

Co-Sponsors

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