The SKU Fall '24 Showcase was an overwhelming success. Each of the seven brands crushed their pitches in front of the standing-room only crowd in Rowling Hall at the Texas McCombs School of Business. CPG leaders and investors flew in from around the country for the event.
The event kicked off with an inspiring and heart-felt keynote address by SKU co-founder Clayton Christopher. Clayton is a serial entrepreneur and respected CPG investor known for founding Sweet Leaf Tea Co.(acquired by Nestlé), Deep Eddy Vodka (acquired by Heaven Hill Distilleries NZ Ltd), and Waterloo Sparkling Water (acquired by Flexis Capital), CAVU Consumer Partners and Astō Consumer Partners.
Congratulations to Dr. Arash Aftabi and Dr. Farnoush Fadavi, the founders of Bala Enzyme, Jenn Brown, founder of Foraged & Found, Caroline Brain, founder of Kif & co, Samuel Taylor, founder of Long Table, LLC, Eric Wentworth and JD Mitchell, founders of Modica, Maddie M., founder of Peace Love Hormones and Buddy Jordan and Joey Kindred, founder of The Bloody Buddy. Their decks were created by the talented Kelly Stevens at Seven Creative.
Congratulations to Samuel and Long Table for winning both the Judge's Choice and the Fan Favorite. A big thank you to our judges: Ann Frazier, founder of 731 MGNT, Christopher Cain, Co-Chair Transactions Practice Group of Foley & Lardner LLP, Alex Bodney, Co-founder of Midnight Venture Partners and Karen Howland, managing director of Rose Park Advisors.
Thank you Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs for hosting us. And a special thanks to the sponsors of the prize package: Proof Advertising, TikTok, , eBusiness Solutions, Inc., Balanced Business Group, 1Q, Wonderkind Co and Foster Garvey PC.
As the Fall Track comes to a close, we are preparing for the Spring '25 Track. If you are a dedicated and creative founder with a disruptive product with the potential and passion to successfully scale, we invite you to apply to the Spring '25 SKU Track. Learn more here: https://sku.is/apply/
Michelle Breyer Brooke Wilson Buff Greebe Maddie S. Adrien Petersen