2022 March Board Book

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Jennifer Giambroni CMAB jgiambroni@cmab.net (209) 690-8244

TWELVE INNOVATIVE DAIRY BRANDS HEAD INTO VIRTUAL PITCH SEMI FINALS IN 3 rd REAL CALIFORNIA MILK EXCELERATOR COMPETITION

TRACY, Calif. (October 21, 2021) – The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) announced today the schedule for the Real California Milk Excelerator virtual semi-finals, which will be held October 26 th and 27 th from 5-7 p.m. PST. The 3rd edition of the CMAB’s dairy product innovation competition partnership with innovation consultancy VentureFuel will bring 12 entrepreneurs together to pitch their functional dairy products for a chance at a slot in the final competition. Semi-finalists will compete in four virtual events on October 26 and 27 leading to the November 18 th virtual finals where the first place Excelerator winner will receive up to $150,000 worth of additional marketing support from CMAB to accelerate their product growth in the marketplace. Second place will receive $100,000 of marketing supports from CMAB. The total value of the competition prizing is $650,000. The 2021 Real California Milk Excelerator taps into the thriving functional foods market – a market that has grown significantly over the past year and is projected to reach over $275 billion globally by 2025 1 and focused on early-stage, high-growth companies with a cow’s milk-based product that plays a critical role in personal performance and/or recovery. “This is where it all comes together. Our finalists have honed their pitches and will be putting it all on the line to showcase how their products best integrate the natural ingredients, flavor and nutritional profile of milk and other dairy products to deliver a functional benefit to consumers,” said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB. “We are excited to see any of these 12 innovative products make it to the final four.” VentureFuel, Inc., the leading corporate innovation consultancy, has partnered with CMAB to run the program and identified and recruited applicants from their global network of investors, founders, and academics. Semi-finalists received a $10,000 stipend and support to refine and scale their individual business as well as benefit group resources including the development of sales and marketing tools and have participated in a virtual master’s class of mentor and support sessions to refine products, create marketing tools, and hone their presentations for the semi-finals. The 2021 RCM Excelerator mentor team includes: