April 30, 2015
Chicago, IL
A One Day Educational Event for Food & Beverage Entrepreneurs
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FBU Chicago: Bill Weiland’s Advice to Entrepreneurs

Attendees at FBU’s Chicago event will have the opportunity to hear from food and beverage broker extraordinaire Bill Weiland, one of the country’s most influential gatekeepers on the road to successful launch and growth of new products. As the founder of the only national, independently owned natural foods brokerage, he brings the experience of reviewing nearly all of the entrepreneurial brandscape for potential distribution.

Weiland will offer his take on the key characteristics of companies that help small food and beverage companies grow and move into the big leagues of retailing, as well as some of the most important practices they have demonstrated to stay there. He will also talk about his own turf — a devoted native of Chicagoland, Weiland will provide his take on the growth pattern and key accounts for brands incubating in the Midwest.

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Bill Weiland Speaking at BevNET Live ’14

Weiland, who is a member of the investment committee at Boulder Brands Investment Group, is a noted pundit and trendsetter who has a long history of selling and promoting brands within important retail sets. Attendees of the full-day FBU event will benefit greatly from hearing about what the traits and characteristics they can seek to develop for their brands as they seek to grow and find their place in the entrepreneurial marketplace.

Tickets are going fast for the event, which will take place on April 30 at the Moonlight Studios in Chicago. With speakers covering a range of topics from initial product development to investment, distribution, sales and marketing, and more, FBU Chicago attendees will have the opportunity to learn many of the best practices of successful food and beverage companies.

Register Now for FBU Chicago 2015 >>

Discounted opportunities exist for active BevnetFBU.com subscribers, please contact Jon Landis at (617) 231-8834 or jlandis@bevnet.com to learn more.

Interested in gaining exposure with up-and-coming food and beverage brands? Sponsorship opportunities for FBU Chicago 2015 are still available, please direct all inquires to John McKenna at (617) 231-8825 or jmckenna@bevnet.com.

About BevNET FBU:

FBU one-day events are designed to provide a full-day kick-start for early-stage food and beverage entrepreneurs; The Chicago event will take place at Moonlight Studios, 1446 W. Kinzie St. in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. It will take entrepreneurs and their teams through the key decisions and challenges that accompany early growth, including: commercialization, co-packing, product design structuring a company and a sales force, reaching key distribution and retail decision-makers, marketing products, and attracting growth capital. Always friendly, timely, and well-managed, FBU events feature opportunities to maximize both learning opportunities through interaction with speakers and entrepreneurs, as well as the chance for entrepreneurs to sample their products for the audience.

About Bill Weiland:

He started working in a natural food store when he was 16 and began reading books on nutrition and healthy living at a fervent pace. Paavo Airola, Norman Walker and Paul Bragg were some of the early natural food enthusiasts who influenced his lifestyle choices, along with the inimitable Dr. John R. Christopher, an early pioneer in herbal medicine. After nearly a dozen years of working in the Natural Products Industry, in varied roles within the sales and retail sectors, he launched Presence Marketing in January, 1990. He is surrounded by a dedicated cast of creative and intelligent people who carry out the mission of bringing healthy products to consumers, with great energy, passion, and resolve. With nearly 35 years of industry experience, he is uniquely qualified to lead Presence Marketing/Dynamic Presence during booming as well as unstable economic times. His passion for sustainable agriculture, healthy foods and integrated medicine are key drivers behind his commitment to continue building Presence Marketing/Dynamic Presence, the only independently owned, national – natural products brokerage in the United States.