Naturally Rising NorCal

Join us for an evening of live pitches, a fireside chat, product sampling, and 200+ founders, buyers, and industry pros doing what this community does best.

Naturally Rising NorCal (formerly Pitch Slam) is where Northern California’s most exciting emerging brands take the stage—and the industry and customers show up. Part high-energy pitch competition, part community celebration, this is your front-row seat to what’s next in conscious CPG. Discover rising founders, connect with industry leaders, and experience the innovation shaping our region. If you want to be where the future is happening, this is it. Secure your spot.

Fireside Chat with Albert Straus, Founder & Executive Chair, Straus Family Creamery + Lisa Curtis, Founder & CEO, Kuli Kuli Foods

28 brands. One night. This is what conscious CPG looks like. These brands represent the full range of our community: some reshaping the shelf, some just launched. All of them worth knowing. The sampling showcase is worth the price of admission alone.

Meet the brands:

Abstinence Spirits

AL's Real Goods

Ancient Sun

BAYKT Snacks

Bread SRSLY

de- tea

Dessertsndelight

DIME MSG

Gopala Foods

Hella Dac Biet Foods

Hey!Hunger

KIMPOPS The Original Kimchi Chip

KiuKiu

Kuli Kuli Foods

Mama Teav's

Mighty Chia

Mochi Love

Num Num Foods

OoMee

Papalote

Pezzy Pets

Philosopher Foods

Posana

Projo*

READYBAR

Samsara Nutrition

Tienda Salsita

unClassic

Fireside Chat Details:

Albert Straus, honored in 2025 with the Organic Trade Association’s Organic Lifetime Achievement Award, is a pioneering force in sustainable organic dairy farming. A second-generation farmer, he has spent more than three decades producing award-winning organic dairy products while transforming the food system through ecological practices, farm viability, community preservation, and climate innovation. In 1994, he transitioned his family’s Straus Dairy Farm to become the first certified organic dairy west of the Mississippi and founded Straus Family Creamery, the nation’s first 100% certified organic creamery. On the farm, he was among the first in California to install a methane digester and the first to develop a carbon farm plan on a U.S. dairy. Today, Straus Dairy Farm is advancing a carbon-neutral organic dairy farming model, aiming for net-neutral emissions—including a 90% reduction in methane from both manure and enteric sources—across all 13 of Straus Family Creamery’s supplying farms by 2030. In 2024, in recognition of his groundbreaking work in sustainable dairy, Albert represented U.S. organic dairy at the International Dairy Federation’s World Dairy Summit in Paris, France, where he joined global leaders in signing the Global Dairy Sustainability Declaration, calling for bold, coordinated climate action and regenerative farming worldwide.

Lisa Curtis Lisa Curtis is Founder & CEO of Kuli Kuli Foods, the first brand to introduce moringa to the US market. Launched after her Peace Corps service in Niger, Kuli Kuli is a Certified B Corp selling superfood powders, and gummies in 11,000 stores, while supporting women farmers globally. Previously, Lisa managed clean energy investments at Mosaic and authored political briefings in the White House. Lisa is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and an Inc. Top 100 Female Founder.“By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of SF Climate Week.”