![Meet the 8 guest judges for the Natural Products Expo West 2023 NEXTY Awards Meet the 8 guest judges for the Natural Products Expo West 2023 NEXTY Awards](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/blte59af75f5ab20fb5/64f23e9aaa76faa455ec418b/Artboard_2.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Emily Kanter
Second Generation Co-Owner and CEO
Cambridge Naturals
Emily Kanter is the second-generation co-owner and CEO of Cambridge Naturals, a 49-year-old natural wellness retailer with two locations in Cambridge and Boston. Originally from the Boston area, Emily spent several formative years in Portland, Oregon with her now husband (and fellow co-owner) Caleb, where she received her MBA from Bainbridge Graduate Institute. Emily currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of INFRA, the Independent Natural Foods Retailers Association, and as an advisor to several organizations, including Real Pickles, Protect Our Breasts and Walden Mutual Bank.
Holly Adrien
Natural and Organics Strategy and Innovation Manager
Kroger
Holly Adrien, the Natural and Organic Strategy and Innovation manager for The Kroger Company, is a strategic and passionate leader with over 18 years of analytic, merchandising and retail experience. She began her journey with The Kroger Co. within custom analytics at dunnhumbyUSA. She held various roles working with CPGs and Kroger to utilize customer data to inform strategy at dunnhumbyUSA and 84.51° before transitioning to Kroger Merchandising to oversee the Baby department in 2016. She was promoted to lead the Health/Beauty/Baby/Non-Edible Household Digital Merchandising team for Kroger.com and Vitacost.com before her promotion to manage strategy and innovation for natural and organic in November 2020. Holly’s deep background in customer insights, analytics and merchandising is used to develop The Kroger Co.’s strategic focus to meet customers’ evolving needs in natural and organic across the entire store. She has the privilege of collaborating with all Kroger banners, insight providers and established and emerging brands to continuously innovate in terms of assortment, promotion, best practices and communication to customers in-store and online.
Scott Dicker
Market Insights Director
SPINS
Scott Dicker is the Market Insights director for SPINS, a leading wellness-focused data company and advocate for the natural products industry. With a background in nutrition, he believes in the importance of making wellness options more accessible to everyone and that demystifying data can make that happen. By delving into omnichannel, comprehensive, market-wide data, he identifies emerging trends and explores shifting consumer behavior, helping retailers and brands better understand the market and their audience. Scott has spoken at many leading industry events, including the Natural Products Expo, SupplySide, and Plant Based World shows, plus many more. He has been published in top industry resources such as Natural Products Insider, Nutritional Outlook, and Whole Foods Magazine. In addition, he has a longstanding involvement in nutrition and wellness, working as a sports nutritionist and starting multiple entrepreneurial businesses in the field.
Audarshia Townsend
Content Director
Food & Beverage Insider
A lifelong Chicagoan, Audarshia Townsend is a veteran food and beverage journalist who serves as content director for Informa Markets’ Food & Beverage Insider. She also appears regularly on local and national television news programs to discuss restaurant, bar and cocktail trends.
Tina Owens
Co-Lead, Nutrient Density and Regenerative Agriculture
COP Snowehaven Regeneration
Tina is a systems leader, strategist and futurist within the organic, regenerative agriculture and triple bottom line movements in the United States. Her background spans two decades within the world’s largest food companies, most recently at Danone North America, where she was the senior director of Food & Agriculture Impact and developed one of the first stacked financing programs within the regenerative agriculture movement and designed work regarding the Carbon Positive program. During her nearly18 years with the Kellogg Company, she served as director of sustainability and developed programs to support conversion of land from conventional to organic farming practices as well as farm profitability. In 2022, Tina began developing supply webs for perennial crops at scale within a de-carbonized food system. She is the co-leader of a Nutrient Density Community of Practice with partners at Green America’s Soil and Climate Alliance, the Non-GMO Project, and the Bionutrient Institute. The community aims to set a standard for nutrient density tied to the regenerative movement where the science is already evident that soil health, human health, and nutrient density are all inextricably linked. Tina and her family raise heritage, pastured animals for nutrient-dense outcomes and to regenerate the land on their farm in Michigan.
John Grubb
Managing Partner
Summit Venture Management
John is managing partner of Summit Venture Management, where he consults with and invests alongside entrepreneurs and private equity firms in the growth of purpose-driven brands and businesses. Early in his career, he worked extensively in innovation and strategy with many of the world’s largest CPG brands. In the last 15 years, John has focused more on smaller disruptive brands in the natural and organic world, including work on novel bioactive ingredients and emerging food technology platforms. He was also founding board chair of the non-profit organization Naturally Network – now with entrepreneurial ecosystems in nine cities around the country.
Ben Fenton
Managing Partner
BFG Partners
Ben has worked at BFG Partners since the firm’s inception in 2014. Ben sits on the board of Quinn Snacks, MALK Organics, Herbivore Botanicals and Zitsticka. Ben previously sat on the board of Curlmsith through the sale to Helen of Troy in April 2022. In addition, Ben has served on the board of Boulder-based non-profit Naturally Boulder since 2017. Ben began his career in investment banking at UBS in their Mergers & Acquisitions group. Ben then went on to spend just under two years at The Yucaipa Companies in Los Angeles, California. He then returned to New York City, where he worked primarily in high-yield and distressed credit for Morgan Stanley, Oak Hill Advisors and Hutchin Hill Capital. Ben was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. Ben received his BA from Duke University. Ben lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and son and their two dogs. In his free time, he enjoys long-distance running, biking, and swimming. Ben is also an avid plant-based chef and landscape photographer.
Kyle Garner
Maty’s Healthy Products, CEO
Bayer Consumer Health, Vice President and General Manager
Kyle Garner is the CEO of Maty’s Healthy Products and vice president/general manager of the Naturals Portfolio at Bayer Consumer Health. Kyle joined Maty’s in July 2019 following a four-year tenure as CEO of ORGANIC INDIA USA. At ORGANIC INDIA, he scaled up all facets of the operation, including sales, marketing, scientific research, certifications and innovation. Kyle also led the process for ORGANIC INDIA to achieve B Corp certification. Prior to moving to Boulder, Kyle was the CEO of New Chapter for three years following the acquisition by Procter & Gamble. Kyle began his career with P&G working in Consumer and Market Insights for the Fabric Care business in 1998. He subsequently served in various roles on both the consumer and retail sides of the P&G business. He moved into P&G Health Care in 2009, where he played a leadership role in developing a Joint Venture with Teva Pharmaceuticals and acquiring the New Chapter business. Kyle lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Kyle Garner
Maty’s Healthy Products, CEO
Bayer Consumer Health, Vice President and General Manager
Kyle Garner is the CEO of Maty’s Healthy Products and vice president/general manager of the Naturals Portfolio at Bayer Consumer Health. Kyle joined Maty’s in July 2019 following a four-year tenure as CEO of ORGANIC INDIA USA. At ORGANIC INDIA, he scaled up all facets of the operation, including sales, marketing, scientific research, certifications and innovation. Kyle also led the process for ORGANIC INDIA to achieve B Corp certification. Prior to moving to Boulder, Kyle was the CEO of New Chapter for three years following the acquisition by Procter & Gamble. Kyle began his career with P&G working in Consumer and Market Insights for the Fabric Care business in 1998. He subsequently served in various roles on both the consumer and retail sides of the P&G business. He moved into P&G Health Care in 2009, where he played a leadership role in developing a Joint Venture with Teva Pharmaceuticals and acquiring the New Chapter business. Kyle lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Judging the NEXTY Awards is no easy task, which is why New Hope Network's in-house team gets invaluable help from some of the industry's most experienced professionals in selecting the winners.
This year will be no different, thanks to a cadre of guest judges comprised of natural product retailers, industry investors and experts in CPG product development, regenerative agriculture and more.
From 850 nominations to 100 finalists
Natural Products Expo West, an education and trade show that starts March 7, is the biggest event in the natural products industry, so its NEXTY Awards program is no stranger to large numbers. This year, New Hope Network received 850 nominations across 19 categories.
The judges will review 100 finalists, which New Hope has whittled from 850 nominated products during the preliminary round of NEXTY judging.
The NEXTY Awards spotlight the best of the natural products industry and recognize brands taking the lead in terms of innovation, inspiration and integrity.
For each round of judging, the judges gather to discuss, sample and debate how each product best demonstrates these attributes. These debates can get lively—particularly when trying to select a winner.
The industry knowledge our guest judges bring to the table, combined with New Hope's expertise, ensures that the products with the greatest potential for impact are awarded.
Click through the gallery to see the guest judges for this exciting Expo West 20223 edition of the NEXTY Awards.
About the Author(s)
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