SoCal Grocery Run powered by Baker Tilly - October 2025

We're back with another distributor-style Grocery Run this fall! Join us for the biggest Grocery Run yet! We expect 60 sampling brands, 50+ buyers, and over 300 in attendance at this event. You will NOT want to miss this one – it's going to be beyond epic!

Thank you to HiTouch Libations for hosting this event – you're going to love their Santa Ana warehouse!

This Grocery Run is a very unique opportunity to connect with all the top Southern California distributors, retailers, and buyers. Come sample, network, and meet these featured guests:

• Czar Daniolco - Founder @ HiTouch Libations
• Chuck Casano - CEO @ HiTouch Libations
• Lisa Tosun - Senior Local Forager @ Whole Foods Market
• Patrick Wyman - Local & Emerging Brands Forager (CA and HI) @ Whole Foods Market
• Cassandra McAlister - Natural Foods @ Ralph's
• Matt Reis - Grocery Category Manager @ Gelson's
• Richard Gillmore - VP Center Store @ Gelson's
• Nick Sokolovskiy - Director of Merchandising Operations @ Gelson's
• Sam Vasquez - Center Store Sales Manager @ Gelson's
• Gretchen Johnson - Category Manager @ Gelson's
• Kristin Alas - Category Manager @ Gelson's
• Colin Thompson - Category Manager @ Gelsons
• Eddie Rojas - Grocery Category Manager @ Gelson's
• Brody Burk - Foraging Manager @ Sprouts
• Lauren Castro - Lead Director, Healthy Consumables @ CVS
• Julie Scorsatto - Chain Drug Review @ Mass Market Retailers
• Dan Frommer - Founder and Editor in Chief @ New Consumer
• Joshua Lassen - Buyer Natural Foods & Vitamins @ Lassen's
• Michael Blumfield - Senior Director of Sales and Marketing @ Sunset Distributing
• Mark Rodriguez, Director of Grocery @ Frazier Farms
• Daria Jackson - Snack Category Manager @ FruitGuys
• Rachel Shemirani - SVP @ Barons Market
• Judy Mcdonald - CEO @ Pint Size Hawaii
• Bryan Reed - Sr Director of Grocery @ Mother's Market
• Paola Rivera - Senior Category Manager - Grocery @ Mother's Market
• Eric Winston - Category Manager - Dairy, Frozen & Grocery @ Lazy Acres
• Michael Gregory - Dairy Deli and Grocery Category Manager @ Lazy Acres
• Jason Murrell - Perishable Buyer @ Jimbo's
• Billy Jackson - Grocery Buyer @ Jimbo's
• Colin Johnson - Jimbo's
• Russell Heiman - Director of Category Management @ Erewhon
• Cary Miller - Purchasing & Distribution Manager @ UCLA
• Nick Breslin - Account Manager @ UNFI
• Joshua Blevins - Account Manager @ UNFI
• Kiva Dickinson - Founder @ Selva Ventures
• Ariell Ilunga - Founder & CEO @ Carla's Fresh Market
• Connie Lee - Catering Manager @ Yummy
• Hilary Brammer - Grocery Category Manager @ Bristol Farms
• Cory Del Nigro - Grocery/Dairy Buyer @ Bristol Farms
• Lauren Arribas - Investor @ Greycroft
• Abel Meza - Superior Grocers
• Jose Garcia - Superior Grocers
• Arianett Tenorio - Northgate Market

Interested in sampling at this event and getting direct access to all of Southern California's buyers? Apply here! (applications are closed)

Brands Sampling:

Austin Pretzel Co: You'll never look at another Pretzel the same.....

Baobest Baobab Superfruit Bites: We're on a mission to share the wonders of baobab, from the Tree of life in Africa, with the world

Better Sour: Culinary-inspired candy celebrate tart, fruity flavors from around the world.

BEZI: BEZI makes non‑GMO, all‑natural labneh—a Mediterranean spreadable cheese/dip —in Plain, Everything, Red Pepper, and Hot Honey, offering a clean, flavorful alternative to cream cheese and hummus.

BobaBam: BobaBam is a fun, flavor-packed brand bringing cafe-quality boba drinks to your home in just seconds—no barista required.

Brause: Brause is a premium, health-conscious take on German Craft Sodas. 100% proudly made in the US.

B Sweet: Delicious coffee and tea beverages that are way lower in sugar, vegan/dairy free and represent flavors of the world.

Desert Dust: Desert Dust crafts bold, all-natural seasonings made with California dates and clean ingredients—born in the desert, made for kitchens everywhere.

Dry Brew: Dry Brew is the world’s first patented waterless coffee in a bite - a grab-and-go energy product designed for modern, convenient caffeine consumption.

Eat Happy Kitchen: Eat Happy Kitchen is a premium pantry and snack item company with no sugar added, clean formulas, and gluten free sauces, spices, and cheese bites.

Evie's Snacks: Crunchy, sweet-roasted Texas pecans with only 1/3 the total sugar of leading brands, and sourced from my family's farm in South TX.

Fresh Fizz Sodas: Fresh Fizz Sodas are an award-winning line of organic sodas, made with ingredients you have in your kitchen!

Frozen One: With 40 grams of protein packed into each pint and only a fraction of the calories, sugar, and fat of traditional ice cream - Frozen One delivers all gains, no guilt.

Goldenroot: We aim to redefine refreshment by establishing Goldenroot as the first nationally distributed premium, handcrafted soda brand using only the freshest ingredients.

Harken: LOVE CANDY AGAIN: Harken reimagines classic candy with date caramel magic—no sugar added, low-calorie, dairy-free, prebiotic fiber bliss.

Hawaiian Soda Co: Hawaiian Soda is the Real Fruit Soda made from tropical fruits paired with a crisp fizz, with no added sugar and no artificial junk. Enjoy a taste of paradise in every sip.

Huxley: At Huxley, we’re reimagining what an energy drink can be—delicious, hydrating, and made with real ingredients to give you a balanced boost.

I Eat My Greens: I Eat My Greens crafts chef-made, nourishing soups that are as flavorful as they are functional. Made with fresh, real ingredients and no shortcuts, our refrigerated soups make healthy eating easy, joyful, and accessible—proving that nourishment and convenience can go hand in hand.

In Good Faith: Chocolate candy bars reimagined with clean, simple, wholesome ingredients.

KACE Tea: KACE Tea is an Asian-inspired iced tea brand.

Kelsi's: We are a mom-founded snack brand crafting decadent, nostalgic Brownie Batter Bites that Kelsi, a raw food chef, spent over a decade perfecting and that are sold at premium retailers like Whole Foods and Erewhon.

Kif: Kif is small-batch brewed with only all natural ingredients, no artificial sweeteners, and less than 6g of sugar, delivering 12B+ probiotics per can to make gut health easy and accessible—this is soda, mother nature’s way.

Kloo: Kloo is a Q Grader coffee sommelier-founded brand on a mission to decode the complexity of craft coffee. Kloo’s “Craft Coffee Concentrate” is a single-origin concentrate that is 12x more concentrated than normal coffee, roasted and hand-brewed using rare beans.

Krack'd Snacks: Krack’d Snacks recreates your favorite candy bars with clean ingredients, 1g sugar, and a taste that satisfies like the real thing.

Laurel's Coffee: Laurel’s makes canned lattes with 100% A2 dairy for gut-friendly indulgence.

Leisure Hydration: Leisure is a super refreshing, better-for-you hydration beverage with benefits for the mind and body, and packaged in a 100% recyclable can.

LENTIL TELEPATHY: LENTIL TELEPATHY® reimagines nature’s superfood with Crunchy Toasted Lentil Snacks, Toppers, and ready-to-eat Breakfasts made from whole lentils in delicious flavors like Cheddah, Peri-Peri, Chocolate, and Smoky Marshmallow – all oil-free, gluten-free, non-GMO Project Verified, 100% plant-based, and naturally packed with protein!

le zette: We're on a mission to fix gut health the ancestral way: we make sheep's milk yogurt goods that are gut-friendly and tastebud-happy. Offering creamy, tangy, inherently nutritious dips, dressings and frozen yogurt.

Lottie's Meats: Lottie’s Meats is a sister-founded pork sausage brand bringing chef-crafted, all natural pork products back to consumers in a new & meaningful way.

Lucky 22 Spice Co: Lucky 22 Spice Co. crafts organic, all-purpose seasoning blends rooted in a secret family recipe, using the finest locally grown California ingredients.

The Lucky Ox: The Lucky Ox is a Asian beverage brand grounded in culture, flavor, and hustle.

MARIMIX Crunch-Baked Snackmix: Award-winning MARIMIX Crunch-Baked Snackmix delivers bold, globally inspired, better-for-you flavors in a gluten-free, whole-grain, plant-based mix—recognized by Good Housekeeping (2x), SELF Pantry Award, and Startup CPG Shelfie Finalist.

Masala Gossip: Masala Gossip strives to bring the vibrant flavors of Indian home cooking to every table, making real and flavorful meals easy, fun, and accessible for all.

MILKish: MILKish is the world's first Watermelon SeedMilk- a healthy alternative made with a superfood ingredient that's good for you and our planet.

Millie's Sipping Broth: Help Satisfy Snack Cravings, Stay Comforted & Achieve Your Daily Wellness Goals with Millie's Sipping Broth

Mochi Love: Mochi Love is redefining mochi with Crème Clouds—served fresh, not frozen, and filled with light, airy crème instead of ice cream.

Mooski: Inspired by my mom’s muesli recipe, Mooski chilled oat bars are a fresh spin on granola bars - made with Swiss-style overnight oats and creamy nut butter covered in a dark chocolate shell, and made without the seed oils, preservatives and high amounts of sugar typically found in shelf-stable granola bars.

Myles Comfort Foods: Real Food That's Frozen. Not Frozen Food.

The NA Beverage Company: We’re on a mission to redefine how we drink, connect, and celebrate — with alcohol-free alternatives that taste great are genuinely good for you

Nowhere Bakery: Nowhere Bakery makes nostalgic desserts with clean, real ingredients — indulgence without compromise:.

Nourish Cold Pressed Juice: Nourish Your Body, Heal The Earth

Pablo's Mate: Alchemy in a can. RTD yerba mate designed to ignite the energy within.

Philosopher Foods: Our sprouted almond butters and Gut Nuts™ fermented and sprouted snack nuts are Regenerative Organic Certified® plant-based proteins that support gut health.

pi00a: pi00a is a Deaf & CODA family owned business that handcrafts premium, frozen globally inspired neapolitan pizzas ready in under 10 minutes.

Pisqueya: Pisqueya is a bold, flavor-forward brand on a mission to elevate Latin Caribbean culture through food.

Pitaya Foods: Hottest Superfruit Brand in the frozen set!

Pulpito Fruit Bites: 100% natural fruit snacks.

PWR-UP: PWR-UP is the first ready-to-eat, multi-use, gut-friendly collagen snack with electrolytes, rich chocolate flavor, clean ingredients, and two-thirds less sugar to power your day.

Raan: Raan is the first unbleached 100% cotton cleansing wipe made in the USA

Rif Care: Rif Care is an innovative and toxin free period care brand loved by thousands of women.

RINGA: Consciously crafted, plant powered, holistic hydration inspired by one of the most nutrient dense and climate friendly plants on the planet - Moringa.

Sabai Creamery: Premium ice cream rooted in Asian cultures

San Diego Bar: The freshest SoCal Nutrition Meal Bar inspired by America's finest city healthy living and active lifestyle!

Sidekick Soda: Honey-sweetened fruit sodas with a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar

Smash Foods: A line of superfood Jams & Jam Packed Snacks built around simple real ingredients, no refined sugars & flavor the whole family will love!

Spade: Spade offers a line of healthy sodas made with all-natural ingredients, zero sugar, and electrolytes for a delicious, guilt-free experience.

Sweetkiwi: Sweetkiwi makes the best tasting treats that deliver functional nutrition while satisfying a sweet tooth.

Thirst Trap: Wine cocktails built to break hearts... and sales records.

Truffle Brothers Inc: Sourcing, importing and production of the very finest ingredients for food service and retail stores.

Two Spoons Creamery: Two Spoons makes the world’s most award-winning, high-protein ice cream—30g of protein, no added sugar, GLP-1 friendly, and packed with nostalgic, delicious mix-ins. It's Ice Cream that Loves You Back™—premium indulgence without compromise.

UNLIMEAT: Healthy Korean Food Innovation

About HiTouch Libations:

HiTouch Libations is Southern California's Premier Direct Store Distributor servicing all SoPac Whole Foods Locations and all of the best local Natural Food Supermarkets (Mothers Market, Lassens, Jimbos Naturally, Bristol Farms, etc). We specialize in perishable fresh foods that require high service levels, and strive to exceed both our retailer and brand partner expectations. We service all of our retailers multiple times a week to ensure that our brands are properly merchandised, stocked and constantly flowing. Our eco-friendly refrigerated fleet of Mercedes Sprinter Vans ensure that your customers are always getting the freshest product possible. We are a truly employee-owned company that takes pride in helping brands grow and keeping our retail partners smiling.

Sponsors:

About Moss Adams x Baker Tilly

Moss Adams and Baker Tilly have come together to form the nation’s sixth largest CPA advisory firm, dedicated to assisting clients with growing, managing, and protecting prosperity. With more than 11,000 professionals across more than 100 locations, they work with many of the world’s most innovative companies and leaders. Their strength in the middle market enables them to advise clients at all intervals of development—from start-up, to rapid growth and expansion, to transition.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions leads from the heart of commerce as the unifying force connecting brands, retailers, and people - shaping every way people shop. As the strategic advisors for brands and retailers, they deliver the best returns and create momentum in the marketplace by leading with a people-first, purpose driven, performance-focused approach to grow sales, transform businesses, and enrich lives.

FDM, an Advantage Solutions company, is the leading brokerage agency providing headquarter sales representation for emerging, insurgent, and mid-sized clients for conventional, natural/specialty and independent brands. As experts in the industry, their unique service structure provides clients with a single point of contact allowing for their team to provide dedicated one to one connection that drives distribution growth across channels. They are a people-first, performance-focused organization with a passion for preparing emerging brands for successful retail entry.

About Opply

Opply is the end-to-end operations autopilot for F&B manufacturers - you focus on growth, they handle the order management, extended payment terms, and ingredient savings. Opply streamlines operations through consolidating all supplier invoices into 1 easy-to-pay monthly invoice, improves cash flow with 60-90 day extended payment terms on your existing ingredient & packaging suppliers, and reduces costs through cost effective ingredients via access to their group procurement organisation.

About Toast

Toast is the technology at the heart of community businesses, purpose-built to superpower the humans behind every transaction. Toast is obsessed with getting the details right, building an all-in-one platform jam-packed with 1,000 little hyper-specific features, each solving a real problem. From point of sale hardware and payment processing to digital ordering and employee management software, they connect your entire business in one place. They learn from millions of weekly users in some of the industry’s best businesses, giving restaurateurs and retailers unprecedented access to data and insights so they can stay ahead of rapid change.

About Instacart

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,800 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands – from category leaders to emerging brands – partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase.

About Frontline Builders

Frontline Builders is a free nonprofit program founded by Daniel Lubetzky (KIND Snacks). They help food, beverage, and personal care brands donate in-kind – included excess and short-dated product, helping your brand do good, sample, and support those who care for us.

About Cin7

Cin7 is the industry leader in inventory management software for food and beverage companies. Designed for SMBs, Cin7 Core provides inventory, warehouse, and order management as well as integrations to ecommerce platforms, retailers, Quickbooks, and more. Plus, with new advanced features such as forecasting and access to financing through Cin7 Capital, Cin7 aims to provide food and beverage companies with the competitive advantage they need to thrive.

About Crstl

Crstl is the modern B2B commerce network—powered by EDI, API, and AI—designed for today’s sellers, buyers, and logistics providers. From vendor compliance to financial and supply chain operations, they help businesses unlock growth by automating the manual, mission-critical workflows. Their mission is simple: to make life easier for the people who make and move the products we all rely on every day.

Table Sponsors:

Trinet: Trinet provides SMBs with full-service HR solutions tailored by industry. They offer access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation and compliance, payroll, all enabled by industry leading technology. They empower SMBs to focus on what matters most – growing their business and enabling their people. For more information, please contact michaela.toohey@trinet.com.

If you're a service provider / non-CPG brand interested to sponsor & participate in the event, please email partnerships@startupcpg.com

About Startup CPG

Startup CPG is the biggest community in the world for emerging brands. We have 25k+ Slack members, produce the #1 podcast in CPG, host 100+ events per year, and are the #1 education hub for brands trying to improve our CPG ecosystem. It’s free — join today!

Instagram: @startupcpg