2025 Annual Meeting

Sep 10, 2025

Register Now

Date: Wednesday, September 10th, 2025
Location: Mountain Top Inn & Resort | Chittenden

Learn, connect, and grow

Each year the VSFA community comes together for a daylong networking and business education event, a valued opportunity for members to connect with each other while learning ways to sustain, grow, and manage their business.

We’re excited to share that the focus of this year’s VSFA Annual Meeting will be Sales & Revenue Growth! Join us on Wednesday, September 10th at the beautiful Mountain Top Inn in Chittenden, Vermont for a day designed to help you sharpen your sales strategies, understand your customers, and boost your bottom line.

This is a can’t-miss opportunity to gain actionable tools, connect with peers, and strengthen your sales approach.

Tentative Schedule:

Sales & Revenue Growth

8:30 AM REGISTRATION, REFRESHMENTS & NETWORKING

9:15 AM OPENING REMARKS

9:30 AM MORNING SESSION

Market Overview

Kick off the day with an insightful look at current trends shaping the specialty food and beverage industry. This session will provide a high-level overview of consumer behavior, emerging product categories, and evolving market dynamics to help you better navigate today’s competitive landscape.

Speaker: Steve Crafts - Place Creative

10:00 AM BREAK | NETWORKING

10:15 AM SESSION 1

Part 1 & 2: Demystifying Your Marketing and Simplifying Your Sales Process Funnel – How Clear Messaging and Effective Customer Engagement Will Enhance Business Growth

What You'll Learn:

Branding as a means of shaping the public perception of your business and its products or services

Product: Market Fit – How Your Product Meets A Specific Need

Unique Value Proposition – Differentiating your product offering in the marketplace, which is key to revenue growth

Understanding Your Target Audience – Creating Customer Personas

The Buyer’s Journey – Awareness, Consideration/Evaluation, Decision

Building Your Sales and Marketing Plan – Buyer’s Journey, Sales Funnel, Sales Process, Marketing Tools

Speaker: Kathy Murphy Moriarty - Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund

12:30 PM LUNCHEON & ANNUAL MEETING

Board Elections

1:00 PM KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Ted and Anne Castle started making ice cream in the 80s, as Chessy’s, a frozen custard shop. They have since grown the company to include even more inclusion innovation.

Speaker: Ted Castle - Rhino Foods

1:45 PM BREAK | NETWORKING

2:00 PM AFTERNOON SESSION

Buyers Panel

A panel of buyers representing three key sectors — tourism, institutional, and coop/local — offering insider insights on what influences their purchasing decisions and how best to approach them.

Panel: Dan Snyder, Owner - Cold Hollow Cider | Nicole Reilly, Manager of Sustainability & Campus Partnership - UVM Dining | Jacob Vincent, Associate Director of Merchandising - Hanover Co-op Food Stores

3:00 PM CLOSING REMARKS

3:15 PM COCKTAILS | NETWORKING

Thank You to Our 2025 Sponsors!

NETWORKING SPONSORS

EDUCATION SPONSORS

Become an Event Sponsor

Receive recognition for your support of Vermont Specialty Food and Beverage producers. Reach out to karin@vtspcialtyfoods.org to or claim your sponsorship here.