3-4 Jun 2024
ICC SYDNEY, DARLING HARBOUR

Speaker Series

Hear from industry experts and leading companies on a range of the industry's hottest topics.

3 - 4 June 2024
Show Floor
10am - 5pm
Free

The Naturally Good Speaker Series is a free conference running across both days of the expo packed full of practical, tactical sessions to help you achieve your goals. Learn about key factors impacting the market, discover innovative new products with supplier spotlights, hear best practice case studies, and leave with actionable insights and tools to shape your strategies and drive success.

2024 program to be announced.

 

A glance at the 2023 agenda

If you go back to the beginning of LittleOak, you’ll find something more passionate than any business. Far more powerful than a faceless corporation. You’ll find a mum. A mum, who like every mother, wanted one simple thing: to give her children the best possible start in life. But when she read the ingredients of the infant formulas on the shelf, she thought to herself that there must be a better, more natural way to give them the nutrition they need. So she put her heart into creating a formula for babies and toddlers from only the best ingredients. What she learnt was that when you use wholesome, nutritious goat’s milk, the less you do to it the better. That’s why LittleOak is only made from fresh, nourishing ingredients. And that’s why she wants to share it with you.

Elke Pascoe is the Founder and CEO of The LittleOak Company. Today, LittleOak is the fastest growing goat milk formula company in Australia, and have firmly established themselves as industry leaders in innovation. Join Elke as she shares the LittleOak story - from becoming the first formula in the world to be certified 100 percent palm oil free, creating a revolutionary processing approach, and true collaboration with like minded retail partners. Get the insights that have seen LittleOak grow from one mum’s idea to a global success story, and learn how a true consumer focus and a commitment to doing things differently is paying dividends.


Join NielsenIQ Associate Director Neil Moody as he unpacks the current market inflationary consumer mindset and how this impacts purchase behaviour. He’ll cover consumer priorities and concerns, financial impacts to households and retail spending shifts across different segments, from Strugglers to Cautious Consumers through to Thrivers – and ultimately what it takes to get them to purchase one product over another. Packed with case studies and examples, Neil shares key strategies for increasing consumer consideration and likelihood of purchase conversion.


Discover how sustainable practices can give you a competitive advantage in today's rapidly changing marketplace. This presentation, "The Sustainable Advantage: Capturing Market Share in a Changing World," delves into the growing importance of sustainability and explores ways in which companies can implement sustainable initiatives to drive market success. Tipa will address the challenges businesses face when transitioning to sustainable practices, and how an integrated approach to sustainability can be applied across all areas of a company with Tipa's help. The presentation will also highlight the opportunities presented by sustainability and demonstrate how companies that prioritize sustainability can capture market share and achieve long-term growth. Through case studies and real-world examples, we'll showcase how Tipa has helped brands incorporate sustainable practices into their operations. Don't miss out on actionable insights and practical strategies that will enable you to leverage sustainability for market success.


Creating a brand with purpose is more important now than ever before. An exceptional product allows you to start the race, but a consistent podium finish comes from building meaningful brands that engage consumers beyond the products you sell. DJB Food Group founder David Burns discusses top ways for healthy and sustainable food brands to differentiate in today's market, the importance of being first to market, how to use trends to develop winning products with best practice case studies and examples you can apply today.


Join Pete Lynar, Country Manager for Australia & New Zealand, for an informative session about how Payoneer can help your naturally good business go global. Whether you are taking your first bold steps into a new market overseas, or are an experienced omni-channel global seller, Payoneer promises any business, in any market, the technology, connections and confidence to participate and flourish in the new global economy. We will dive into a unique opportunity to enter South Korea’s booming e-commerce market through our Partner, Popin Border, to help your business capture some of the forecast USD$214B e-commerce sales in this market by 2025.


Scrolling through social media it’s easy to be captivated by some of today’s most contemporary packaging designs. Those sleek digital-first brands are inspirational for many business owners. But are they effective, or just eye candy? How do you maintain a contemporary edge and category relevance without blending into a boring sea of the same – or worse, being known as an obvious rip-off where you’ll always be second, third or fourth best?

The dynamic founders of The Offices, Stephanie Oley and Jeffrey Oley argue why you should ignore many current packaging trends and where to focus your energy instead. This presentation is packed with examples and insights from extensive conversations with retailers including Woolworths, Harris Farm and other independents; their experience with Woolworths-backed incubator Seedlab; and mentoring food start-ups at University of Sydney’s FoodLab.

They’ll share easy, cost-effective ways start-ups can road test their ideas in situ without expensive AI. Get the inside scoop on the rise of ultra-minimal design and understand where it works – and where it’s just plain vanilla; the pitfalls of sustainable options and where your real opportunities lie; the best and worst ways to use QR codes in 2023; and the call outs that already have your customers yawning. If you want to surprise and delight with truly original pack designs, don’t miss this session!


Jesse is a First Nations business owner with a degree in Conservation Biology. Jesse's latest business project "LORE Australia" is unearthing Australia's Native Biofoods to enhance people’s quality of life and reconnect people to their food and Country. LORE Australia Facilitates the connection to the land and culture from which they are sourced.
LORE's philosophy is based on the three principles of traditional lore.
Country – Community – Spirit
Which aims to share knowledge gained over thousands of generations and promote a holistic approach to healthy living in the modern world.


Thousands of new products with natural, organic, sustainable and healthy credentials are launched into the Australian market every year all vying for the same limited shelf space. More than 40 percent of brand owners launch products to solve problems that are specific to them, such as their own gluten intolerance, their child’s nut allergies or their sensitive skin issues. And of those more than 73 percent don’t pay themselves a decent wage.

All too often they hear the common buyer response, “we don't have any room” or “we have enough of similar lines”. How do you cut through the wholesale noise, get ranged, sell through, and ultimately put more money in their pockets for every product they sell?

In this captivating keynote, Chelsea Ford illustrates the five mistakes brand owners make and what they need to do to put more money in their pocket for every product they sell. Packed with all the details you need to know to build a profitable business, Chelsea leans on deep market experience to cover finding a market beyond the typical network of 150; pricing strategy and what to do with loss leaders; focussing on velocity or value; brand building priorities in retail for maximum return; intermediaries’ margins and the one number all natural, organic and healthy product brand owners need to measure.


In today’s market for healthy, sustainable and better-for-you products, competition has never been more fierce. Every week new players and products enter the market, the lines defining categories continue to blur, and both retailers and brand owners are all vying for our shrinking budgets.

Accelerated by a perfect storm of a global pandemic, globalisation, digital adoption, high employment costs, and an increasingly budget-conscious, time-poor, and information-savvy consumer, never before has it been so crucial for businesses to have a competitive strategy to survive and thrive.

Davidson Branding founder Grant Davidson and his team guide the growth strategies of some of Australia’s top FMCG retailers and companies, including Coles, Aldi, Chobani, Slim Secrets, Carlton United, Heinz and Lacura You. Drawing on studies in Sustainable Competitive Advantage at Harvard Business School combined with 30 years of consulting with leading businesses globally, Grant shares the foundations of a successful competitive strategy every business owner needs to know.


Instagram is evolving rapidly with features changing, moving and disappearing at dizzying rates. One thing is for certain, Instagram shopping is here to stay with more and more ecommerce features launched in the last year to help brands convert followers to dollars. Almost 45 percent of Instagram users engage with shopping features on the app so if you’re not set up to sell on the platform, you’re leaving money on the table. Reels Queen & Video Marketing Expert Alisha Marfatia will share best practice tips for using Reels, Stories, social and SEO and other features to reach new shoppers, improve their shopping experience and ultimately sell more products.


Forty percent of Gen Z searchers turn to TikTok or Instagram before searching on Google and last year the average time Aussies spent on Tik Tok increased by a whopping 40 per cent with app downloads topping 3.5billion – the first non-Meta app to do so. Those three facts alone should be enough to make this a must-attend session on your expo agenda. But to have a successful Australian entrepreneur willing to open her book of tricks and share her learnings, must-do tactics, pitfalls and maybe even a blooper or two, is pure gold. Join Kristy Iervasi co-founder of Slim Mama Co as she generously shares why Tik Tok now is a must, how she grew her community to more than 35k engaged fans with 1 million+ likes, the dos and don’ts of creating authentic content, and ultimately how you turn all of that into sales.


Held before doors officially open on day two and hosted by Retail Beauty, this dedicated panel will provide invaluable insights and takeaways on getting your beauty brand into retail. Whether you are looking to improve your branding, understand more about the export market, marketing tips and more, there will be something for everyone at this exclusive session. Bookings are essential for this session, visit the Beauty Panel page on our website to RSVP.


Join Wiise's CEO, Charlie Wood, at our upcoming session to explore the challenges faced by Australia's manufacturers and distributors. Discover how Wiise's digital transformation solutions can help you achieve your FY24 priorities, such as increasing margins, reducing waste, ensuring workforce coverage, gaining supply chain visibility, and adapting to market changes. Learn from ProSeafoods, a South Australia-based seafood supplier, who experienced a remarkable 400% customer growth by leveraging Wiise cloud ERP to streamline operations.

Take a deep dive into the purchasing habits of today’s shopper, and get to know the categories, products, flavours, and ingredients driving growth. Backed by extensive research leveraging Circana’s unique data assets, including POS scan, customer loyalty, survey and shopper panel data, this fast-paced, information-rich talk paints a picture of the current retail landscape and the consumer and shopper trends shaping the future. Leave understanding the macro-economic and retail performance overview, the past year’s growth drivers and predictions for what is shaping consumer behaviour and category performance in 2023 and beyond.


Three-quarters of us are using complementary medicines regularly to manage a range of conditions in ourselves and our pets. But our $5.4 billion market continues to face supply chain challenges that impact us all. Membership Manager Natasha Flynn and Industry Development Manager Cameron Thorpe reveal the emerging ‘new normal’ after COVID-19, the impacts of evolving supply chain challenges, shifts in consumer purchasing decisions and sales channels, trending categories, export opportunities, how we’re tackling illegal imports and key campaigns critical to industry growth. They’ll share sales data across the industry, the chronic diseases driving growth, the innovations, trends and the issues that have concerned and captivated us during the last year.


The sustainability agenda is changing the way consumers buy, what they buy, and who they buy from. Seventy percent of Australian consumers expect all brands to prioritise sustainability and do everything they can to be environmentally friendly. Are you demonstrating your commitment clearly to those that matter most? Many consumers are also confused or sceptical about the veracity of sustainability claims. To add to the challenge, this year sustainability claims are an enforcement priority of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The use of accurate and substantiated claims is therefore not only important for compliance, but critical for company growth and building trust with your consumers. Join claims expert Dr Janine Curll, Regulatory Manager at Ashbury as she shares outcomes from a recent ACCC compliance sweep of sustainability claims and learn how Ashbury helps businesses evidence their sustainability credentials to promote sustainability commitments with confidence.


Come see five early-stage entrepreneurs present their ventures and innovations to a panel of judges and fellow start-ups in a friendly competition. The Pitch Fest elevates innovative start-ups with natural, organic, healthy and sustainable solutions by growing industry awareness and connections that help accelerate growth. The prize includes invaluable feedback and connections, and a prize packaged valued at more than $10,000.


Indigenous Peoples are the original stewards of the land and with that, the very first agriculturalists. Consumer and retail demand for native ingredients in food, drink and beauty products is increasing yet only 0.2 percent of Australian businesses are operated by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander women with a mere 2 percent representation across the native ag+food sector by Indigenous Peoples.

What does it really mean to work with Indigenous-owned businesses? What are the benefits for individuals, communities, our economy and the environment? What are some of the complexities and how can we work together across the value and supply chains to create opportunities? Food Futures Co-founder and CEO Christine Pitt hosts this yarn-style panel, exploring the seismic impact Traditional Knowledge can have on protecting global biodiversity, the health and wellbeing of humans, habitats and the sustainability of our overall food systems. This is a lively, inclusive and interactive conversation not to be missed.


New, novel, and functional – it’s an exciting time to be at the forefront of creating and launching new and innovative consumer products. But there’s no reward without risk. Navigating the food, medicine, and cosmetics compliance interfaces can be a minefield for both suppliers and retailers. If your product is going to be eaten or absorbed by a consumer, then a regulator is going to care about it – but who? And what do they *really* care about? A better understanding of the requirements, risks, and strategies in this in-between space can help you more confidently and successfully capture opportunities for your business. Universal Counsel’s expert F&B and Health & Beauty legal and compliance teams specialise in supporting businesses in these highly regulated industries on their path to success by providing one-stop professional services solutions tailored for you. In this practical introductory session, Amelia Edwards, Chief Counsel, Universal Counsel, will teach you how to be ‘pathwise’ in navigating the food-medicine-cosmetics regulatory cross-over space, whether you’re thinking NPD or getting your existing product range in line. Amelia will talk to current trends, risks, and need-to-know requirements in the Australian marketplace, with a focus on ‘functional’ products and ingredients, hot-topic claims, and new-frontier concepts like adaptogens, ‘nootropics’, and precision fermentation.


Growing awareness of smart drugs and demand for brain boosters is fuelling year on year in the global nootropics market - expected to exceed $29.24 billion by 2028 (USD). From the trech hubs of silicon valley to mainstream Australia, this masterclass is for retailers, brand owners and everyone wanting to understand this class of supplement and the opportunities it presents. Join Mark Curry, nutritionist and founder of Saavy Beverage for this deep dive into the world of nootropics, a class of supplements that can enhance cognitive function. He'll explain the various types of nootropics, applications of their use, the potential benefits and drawbacks. You'll gain an understanding of the science behind nootropics and how they work, who can benefit the most from using them and ultimately how you can benefit.


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