Rise & Hatch with The Hatchery Team
Nourishing Industry Discussions and Inspirations
Take a break from these tough times and tune into a weekly discussion with The Hatchery team. Every Wednesday at 11 AM we will host a late morning digital meet up with industry leaders, innovative thinkers, and inspirational entrepreneurs. Kick off your day with some positivity, motivation and assurance that you have a powerful, supportive community of like-minded entrepreneurs alongside you.
Find us online via Zoom on Wednesday from 11 AM – 12 PM
This series is free to Hatchery Members, please use code to register. We kindly ask for a suggested donation of $10, as these funds directly support our mission to continue providing resources and tools to small businesses, budding entrepreneurs, and job seekers.
About the Hosts:
Natalie Shmulik, CEO, The Hatchery Natalie Shmulik is The Hatchery’s CEO, and the go-to resource for everything food business related. Along with an M.L.A. in Gastronomy from Boston University, she has a wide range of experience working with supermarkets, culinary publications, consumer packaged goods companies, and foodservice establishments. After successfully operating her own restaurant, Natalie was hired as a specialty consultant for one of Ontario’s largest supermarket chains where she enhanced consumer experiences through educational initiatives. Discovering her passion for innovation, Natalie was brought on as a brand strategist for the first cold brew tea company and later moved to Chicago to run The Hatchery Chicago. With over five years of food incubation experience, Natalie has gained a unique perspective on the industry and what it takes to launch and grow a successful business. She was recently featured in Forbes and continues to play a valuable role in branding and marketing for food businesses around the country, with her specialty in trend forecasting.
Dani Zuchovicki, Program & Curriculum Coordinator, The Hatchery Alongside The Hatchery team, Dani works to support entrepreneurs with providing them the tools and guidance to continue forging through the food and beverage industry. After developing a love for all things food at an early age, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Food Studies and an associate’s degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America. Beginning her journey with food, Dani began cooking at a local farm to table restaurant in Red Hook, NY followed by shifting a local farm into a retail store producing their own takeaway meals. Fascinated by the burgeoning food space happening in Chicago, she took a position at Girl and the Goat, teaching her about exceptional fine dining techniques with high volume production and efficiency. Leaving the restaurant industry behind her, Dani moved to a small culinary school to help create a cooking curriculum for children, instilling her love for sharing food knowledge.
Guests:
Megan Klein is a founder and strategic business leader with experience building brands in the plant-based food and beverage industry. A long-time sustainability advocate, Megan started her career as an energy and environmental attorney, fighting fracking and factory farms in support of sustainable farming. In 2014, Megan launched a new career in the local food business as an early contributor to and later President of FarmedHere, the one-time largest vertical farm in the United States. In 2017, together with the FarmedHere team, Klein founded Field + Farmer, the first brand to bring local produce to packaged juices, dips and dressings at scale. Committed to supporting farmers and promoting women within the CPG industry, Megan serves on the board of Tomen Botanicals, the Fresh Factory, Naturally Chicago and MJ Unpacked, a cannabis trade show targeting cannabis brands. Klein received her BA from Boston College and her JD from Fordham University School of Law, and currently pursuing an Executive MBA student at the Kellogg School of Management, expected graduation 2020. Klein has significant experience in launching brands, fundraising and handling legal matters.
Anne Owen is an experienced entrepreneur and innovative thought leader in the wellness industry. Owen earned her reputation as an expert marketer, leader and brand builder in the luxury industry through over a decade in publishing, having launched and served as publisher of Miami magazine, Modern Luxury Brides, Modern Luxury Interiors and The Men’s Book. In 2013 Owen made the jump to socially conscious entrepreneurship opening Owen + Alchemy, a plant-based food and juice concept, garnering accolades and devoted cult-like customer base. While overseeing brand development for Field + Farmer, a company dedicated to utilizing locally grown produce in packaged products, Owen was inspired to build her second business in the wellness space. In February of 2020 Owen founded Tomen, a line of functional botanical tinctures formulated with the intention of harnessing time-tested botanical remedies and modernizing for daily use. Owen received her BS from Miami University and Certificate of Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University.
