Velocity Institute announces private label pitch competition
Velocity Institute, formerly known as the Retail Brand Institute, has announced a new initiative: the Velocity Fast Track pitch competition. The private brand contest will be part of the 2022 Velocity Conference + Innovation Expo, which will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina from May 16-18.
“The competition is an unprecedented opportunity to present new ideas to retail leaders that can accelerate private label innovation,” said Velocity Institute. “A select group of retail brand manufacturers, agencies, brokers, service providers, software companies, printers, ingredient manufacturers, researchers, etc. will get their chance to pitch directly to retail senior executives on the Velocity main stage. If it all sounds a bit like ABC’s Shark Tank, that’s because the TV show helped inspire Velocity Fast Track.”
Competitors will submit a five-minute pitch video for the private label product they want to highlight. Five finalists will then be selected and invited to present live on stage at the Velocity Conference. Each finalist will have five minutes to pitch directly to a panel of leading retail executives from the three retailers, including Juan De Paoli, VP of Our Brands at Kroger, Brenda Lord, VP of private brands & quality assurance at CVS Health and Brandon Wehmeyer, private brands category business manager at Family Dollar.
“We encourage participants to focus on innovative new products that are ready to go to market in the retailer's brand, partnerships that develop differentiation and increase shopper affinity, and services or solutions that help retailers grow and manage their brands,” said Velocity Institute.
The main benefit for finalists is exposure in front of the retailer panel and the global retailer audience of Velocity Institute. Finalists are innovation leaders, and their participation improves the chances that a retailer will become aware of their pitch and consider working with them. In addition to the benefit of exposure, the five finalists will each receive a 10x10 booth at the Velocity Innovation Expo and two passes per finalist to the Velocity Conference + Innovation Expo.
Finalists are also in the running to win the People’s Choice Award, picked by Velocity attendees using mobile voting technology. The award winner gets big benefits: Participation in a Velocity Talk interview that will run on the Velocity Institute website, and the executive of the winning company will be interviewed by Christopher Durham, president of Velocity Institute. The People’s Choice Award winner will also win an Innovation Expo booth and two passes for next year’s Velocity 2023 conference.
The deadline to enter the contest is March 31, and finalists will be announced on April 29. There is a $99 contest entry fee. Registration for the 2022 Velocity Conference + Expo can be found here.