Upcoming CFBN Events:

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• Making The Most of Your Membership: Networking Best Practices

  • When
    4 Apr 2025
  •  
    11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Webinar

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  Learn how to leverage CFBN’s resources to become an expert networker. Following networking best practices (and using CFBN’s Member Tools & Perks) can help you improve your communication skills, grow your business, and build your career. 

  Having the right connections can be a big advantage – that’s why networking is such an important skill, and why CFBN exists. In general, building up your networking skill set takes time and practice. Unsure how to get started?  Don’t worry –  CFBN’s list of best practices will set you on the path to networking success. The more you apply these simple guidelines to your networking efforts, the better your results will be.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Food & Beverage Supply Chain Solutions

  • When
    9 Apr 2025
  •  
    5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Perkins Coie 110 N. Wacker Dr. Suite 3400, Chicago

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  Along with our friends from Export Development Canada, The Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network will be hosting a timely conversation focused on the current challenges of managing global food and beverage supply chains. With increasing issues including rising costs of raw ingredients, labor, and now tariffs, a panel of industry experts will gather to discuss strategies for navigating these challenges and delve into key industry shifts, including how companies can build more resilient and adaptable supply chains, diversifying sourcing, utilizing technology for better visibility, and strengthening supplier relationships.

  The event will also examine critical industry shifts that are expected to shape the future of food and beverage. Participants will gain valuable insights into how to implement innovative solutions, such as enhanced traceability systems, localized production and distribution models, and predictive analytics to anticipate and mitigate potential risks.  It will serve as a forum for networking and knowledge-sharing, empowering attendees to address the evolving challenges and emerging opportunities within the global food and beverage sector.

  AGENDA

  5:00PM   Doors Open

  5:30PM   Panel Discussion

  6:30PM   Q&A

  6:45PM   Networking

  8:00 PM   Event Ends

  Panel

  

  RANDY BRIDGEMAN

  Corporate M&A Attorney

  Perkins Coie

  
  

  Randy Bridgeman represents businesses and their owners in sale transactions, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and general corporate matters throughout a wide variety of industries. He frequently serves as the client’s primary outside counsel, quarterbacking all its legal matters and utilization of legal resources. While Randy represents clients in a wide range of industries, he has worked extensively in the food and beverage sector, including beverage alcohol. He also represents companies with domestic and overseas operations in such sectors as gaming, transportation, industrial manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, waste management, and financial services.

  He has extensive experience in representing management groups in various strategic transactions, counseling them on equity liquidation strategies and issues as well as executive employment matters.

  
  

  
  

  SIMON CLARKE

  Managing Partner

  Argon & Co

  Simon Clarke is the Managing Partner at Argon & Co US a leading global management consulting firm specializing in strategy and operations transformation. He leads the supply chain planning practice and can draw on his experience both in consulting and 25 years in the food and beverage industry with The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.

  Argon & Co has a presence spanning 17 offices worldwide and a team of over 700 experienced consultants, the firm is dedicated to helping clients achieve strategic and operational excellence. Argon & Co combines deep technical expertise, operational experience, and broad business knowledge to provide comprehensive consulting services across various operational functions, including operations strategy, sustainability, operational performance, new product development, procurement, supply chain planning, manufacturing, logistics, digital and IT, finance, SG&A, human resources, and data and AI.

  
  

  

  DAVID G. FORGUE

  Partner

  Barnes, Richardson & Colburn

  
  

  David is a Customs and international trade attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn in Chicago. He has practiced Customs and international trade law for almost 30 years and represents companies across the globe. He is from Chicago and has a political science degree and a law degree from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  GEOFFREY (GEOFF) SHIVE, PMP, CPF, CSM

  Shive Supply Chain Solutions

  Geoff Shive has over 40 years of experience with food manufacturing companies. After graduating from UIC with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering he started his career at the Chicago Bakery of Nabisco on South Kedzie avenue. He has since worked for several food manufacturers in Georgia and in the Chicago area as an Industrial Engineer and in various supply chain roles. 

  For the past 10 years Geoff has been a consultant working both independently and for Demand Chain AI, inc. He focuses on Demand Planning, Sales and Operations Planning, and planning software implementation. Most recently he has worked with several multinational corporations that are importing into the US and exporting to other countries.

  
  

  
  

  More Speakers to be Announced.........

  
  

  This event is brought to you with the collaboration of: 

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

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• Innovation Breakfast Series: 'Innovation in Healthy Foods'

  • When
    1 May 2025
  •  
    7:00 AM - 9:30 AM
  • Location
    CoLaboratory, 1210 W. Lake St. Chicago IL 60607

  Register

  

  Building on the success of our recent return of our Innovation Breakfasts, the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network (CFBN) invites you to another engaging event designed to connect, inspire, and propel the industry forward. This breakfast will delve into the dynamic landscape of healthy food innovation, exploring the latest consumer insights, trends, technologies, and strategies shaping the future of consumer wellness.

  
  

  What to Expect:

  
  

  • Expert Insights: Hear from leading innovators and thought leaders who are revolutionizing the healthy food space. Discover cutting-edge approaches to product development, ingredient sourcing, and consumer engagement.

  • Networking Opportunities: Connect with fellow industry professionals, including entrepreneurs, researchers, and manufacturers, fostering valuable collaborations and partnerships.

  • Trend Spotting: Gain a first-hand look at the emerging trends driving consumer demand for healthier food options.

  • Inspiration & Innovation: Leave with actionable insights and inspiration to fuel your own innovation efforts and contribute to a healthier food ecosystem.

  
  

  Don't miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation shaping the future of healthy foods in Chicagoland and beyond.

  Agenda

  7:00AM Doors Open

  7:30AM Panel Discussion

  8:15AM Q&A

  8:30AM Networking

  9:30AM Event Ends

  
  

  PANEL

  

  EMILY STUCKER

  Vice President of Menu & Marketing

  Farmer's Fridge

  Emily is a food industry expert with nearly 15 years of experience across brand management, retail, product development, and operations. From the Fortune 500 to start-ups, she has worked across a wide variety of companies and roles focused on bringing new products to life in the food space.

  In her current role, Emily leads the menu and marketing teams at Farmer's Fridge, a Chicago-based food-tech company on a mission to make it simple for everyone to eat well. She oversees the entire product development process from innovation to commercialization at scale, to ensure the menu is full of the healthy and delicious meals, in addition to leading the organization's marketing department.

  
  

  

  JANET HELM, MS, RDN

  Food and Nutrition Consultant

  Founder of Food at the Helm

  
  

  Janet Helm is a registered dietitian and culinary professional with 20+ years PR agency experience helping food and beverage brands and agricultural commodity boards intersect with food culture, tell their story, engage stakeholders and deploy influencers.

  
  

  As the former Chief Food and Nutrition Strategist for Weber Shandwick, she has helped turn milk from a commodity to a brand with the iconic got milk? milk mustache campaign, helped tart cherries burst out of the pie shell and onto the superfruit stage, and repositioned pork as “the other white meat” and a lean, center-of-the plate star.  As an experienced food and nutrition strategist and marketer, Janet recently started her own consultancy Food at the Helm. She is a sought-after speaker on food trends at national conferences and has discussed the latest nutrition topics in the media, including segments on Good Morning America, Today and CNN.  

  
  

  
  

  

  JENNY YANG

  Owner/President

  Phoenix Bean, LLC

  Jenny's Tofu

  Jenny Yang has followed a well-traveled path with her Phoenix Bean Tofu business. The stories of immigrants achieving success by making the foods of their native lands are parts of the social landscape of the United States.

  Over the 16 years Yang has own the company, she has grown Phoenix Bean from almost exclusively serving Asian restaurants and markets, to a fast-growing company on-trend with the broader consumer market and its desire for healthy, sustainably produced alternatives to meat, packaged for ease of preparation. Her product line not only include fresh tofu, but also smoked tofu, yellow tofu (baked with turmeric), fried tofu, and flavorful tofu salads that are a customer favorite.

  Yang benefited from participating in the first cohort of entrepreneurs in FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator from November 2014 to April 2015. This helped her get her products (under the Jenny’s Tofu label) into all Whole Foods stores in the Midwest and Mariano's. As a job creator and economic engine on what had been a pretty sleepy city block, Yang drew support from Chicago officials and even federal agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration and Department of Agriculture.
  

  
  

  More Speakers to Come

  
  

  
  

  This event is in collaboration with:

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

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