The brand-new Emerging Brands Summit, produced by PMMI Media Group, will launch at PACK EXPO International 2022 (Oct. 23-26; McCormick Place, Chicago). This one-day event will feature educational content and tabletop exhibits aimed to assist startup manufacturing companies grow their operations.

Taking place October 23, 2022, at Chicago’s McCormick Place, this new program is for founders and leaders of startup manufacturing companies looking to scale their brand to larger production through either in-house facility build out or outsourced relationships with contract manufacturers and packagers. Exhibitors will include suppliers of packaging machinery, packaging materials, processing equipment, and contract manufacturing and packaging services. The agenda and speakers will be announced soon. Attendees can sign up for event updates and be notified as speakers are added.

Event content is specifically designed for:

• Companies evaluating in-house and outsourced manufacturing and packaging solutions
• Founders of high-growth emerging brands looking to scale operations
• Leaders of product development, operations or finance

“With so much change in the industry over the last few years and the increase in e-commerce and consumer demand in every industry vertical, we felt that it was important to launch a program that can serve as a roadmap to help companies take their operations to the next level,” says Kim Overstreet, director, Emerging Brands Community. “Now more than ever, brands need support and adequate resources to keep up with the rapidly growing demands they are facing.”

Emerging Brands Summit registrants will be granted full access to PACK EXPO International 2022, produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging & Processing Technologies, including:

• Packaging and processing
• Automation and robotics
• Materials and containers
• Digital printing and labeling
• Supply chain solutions

“The Emerging Brands Summit could not have come at a better time for our industry and PACK EXPO International offers the perfect platform to launch this critical program,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI. “We are excited to reunite the industry in Chicago for the first time in four years and the Emerging Brands Summit is a great value-add as we continue to provide as many resources to the industry as possible.”

Emerging Brands Marketplace 

The Emerging Brands Marketplace will consist of tabletop exhibits and will be open to attendees throughout the program and during the networking reception. By participating in the Emerging Brands Summit, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with preferred vendors across processing equipment; packaging machinery; packaging materials and containers; and contract manufacturing and packaging services.

Product + Solution Showcase 

Emerging Brands Summit attendees are also invited to display a sample of their product – or a prototype or similar product – at the Product + Solution Showcase located adjacent the Emerging Brands Summit Marketplace. The Showcase offers a destination for sharing physical product details with peers, solution providers, and experts who can help solve manufacturing and packaging challenges.

Additionally, registrants to the Emerging Brands Summit have free access to Braindate – a web-based meeting platform that facilitates knowledge sharing between attendees and/or solution providers. Braindate makes it easy to schedule in-person conversations on specific topics between relevant professionals.

Emerging Brands Alliance

The Emerging Brands Alliance; a year-round resource for the emerging brands community will also launch this fall. As part of this initiative, the Emerging Brands Grants program can help growing CPG companies scale their operations by providing funds for operational expenses. Grants can be used to enable a variety of projects and resources, such as prototype creation, market research, legal and consultant services, creation of pitch materials for investors, exhibiting fees, custom packaging for e-commerce, and much more.

To be eligible for an Emerging Brands Grant, applicants must produce and distribute a packaged consumer product in the U.S. and/or Canada and have annual revenues of at least $100,000 USD but not more than $20 million USD.

A total of three $20,000 grants will be awarded, one each in the following categories:

• Certified minority or women-owned company
• Self-manufacturing company
• Any eligible company

The grant application, review, and award timeline is as follows:

• June 15 – Sept. 15, 2022 - Applications accepted
• Sept. 15 –25, 2022 - Applications reviewed
• Sept. 25, 2022 - Finalists notified
• Oct. 23, 2022 - Grants awarded at the Emerging Brands Summit

The Emerging Brands Summit will take place in tandem with the PACK EXPO International trade show. Registration for the Emerging Brands Summit is within the PACK EXPO International registration site. By purchasing a registration for the Emerging Brands Summit, attendees will automatically receive a complimentary registration for PACK EXPO International and can attend all four days of the trade show (Oct. 23 -26).