To hear a pitch done entirely in rhyme or to learn about the world’s healthiest alternative to Hamburger Helper, watch this on-demand recording of the 2014 Natural Products Expo East Pitch Slam. You'll nosh on tasty insights from competitors and judges and be guaranteed to work up an appetite after hearing about delicious new natural food products.     

This year's Pitch Slam took place on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The fast-paced competition is held every year at both Natural Products Expos East and West and features three companies competing for a chance to win a prize package of goods and services.

Moderator:

Grant Ferrier, Nutrition Capital Network

Judges:

Duane Primozich, Boulder Brands

Eric Schnell, MetaBrand

Chris Bradley , Mistral Equity Partners/Abe’s Velocity Fund

Mark Donavon, Nestlé Purina

And the winner is...

Cooksimple

Cooksimple makes meal kits designed with the everyday consumer in mind—inexpensive, appealing, easy to prepare—to prove that home cooking can be simple, that healthy food can taste great and that buying nutritious ingredients can be affordable.

www.cooksimplemeals.com

Runners up are...

Dang Foods

Dang Foods makes energy-packed snacks from the nutrient-rich copra, or meat of the coconut. The meat is sliced out of mature coconuts then gently toasted until golden brown with a dash of sugar and salt. The toasting process brings out the natural sweetness of the coconut meat and turns it from white to golden brown. Dang Coconut Chips are vegan, gluten free, non-GMO, contain no cholesterol, and are high in fiber and lauric acid.

www.dangfoods.com

Fig Food Co.

Pitch-Slam Runner Up: Fig Food Co. offers several 100 percent organic ready-to-eat and condensed soups made with real food for ingredients. The company sources most of its ingredients from farms in North America and presents its healthy lineup of soups in BPA-free pouches.

Fig Food actively addresses three vital and controversial issues we face in America: health care, reducing dependence on fossil fuel and reducing greenhouse gases.

www.figfood.com