Southeast Grocery Run with Whole Foods Market - Sept. 2026

Grocery Run is a national event series connecting relevant retailers to emerging brands. Join us to meet buyers, sample, and network!
About this Event

Get ready, Sunshine State: Startup CPG is hosting a Southeast Grocery Run with Whole Foods Market! 🎉

The Southeast is home to some of the most exciting emerging CPG brands in the country — and we're bringing them together with buyers and retailers from across the Southeast for an afternoon of mingling and sampling in sunny Miami.

Confirmed featured guests:

• Dustin Kennedy - Senior Forager Local and Emerging Brands Southeast Region @ Whole Foods Market
• Parker Brody - Manager, Local & Emerging Brands @ Whole Foods Market

• Amaury Schoon - Vice President of Sales @ Rainforest Distributors
• More coming soon!

Here are the amazing brands sampling at this event:

• Backyard Buffalo makes your everyday Indian food.
• BunnieCakes makes ready to bake cupcake batter.
• CODITOS is a Miami-born crunchy macaroni snack brand transforming one of America’s favorite comfort foods into a bold, clean-label, Cuban-inspired crunch built to cross over from Hispanic nostalgia to mainstream America.
• Dô Asian Cocktails brings authentic Asian fruit flavors to premium ready-to-drink cocktails—grown in Asia, made in Florida.
• Dona Nona makes better bread, with better ingredients!
• Feelz is a women-owned brand crafting plant-based functional products designed to support cognitive function and mood through modern, needs-based wellness solutions and social connections; powered by nootropics, adaptogens, and botanicals.
• Fressh is the upgraded arepa flour reinventing a Venezuelan kitchen staple for the modern table — founded at 17 by a Miami entrepreneur on a mission to make culture and performance food the same thing.
• Good Mood Foods, inc. are high protein vegan adaptogenic bites from my grandmothers cookie recipe!
• Guacamodip is a fresh food brand creating protein-forward dips made with Greek yogurt and avocado that inspire people to enjoy fresh food in new ways.
• It's Island Time Snacking Co. brings bold, tropical flavors straight to your hands—no baggage, no borders, just good vibes and great snacks.
• Keya's Snacks are built on flavor, backed by culture. Leveraging heritage on beloved American snacks.
• Kruda offers premium Argentine-style, clean-label full size empanadas made in the USA, convenient comfort food, ready in minutes from freezer to plate.
• Moo'd Up brings back the nostalgic taste of chocolate milk, strawberry milk, and hot cocoa with dairy-free mixes made with less sugar, added protein, and better ingredients.
• Olivea is a health and longevity brand making the benefits of Mediterranean olive polyphenols accessible through lab-tested olive oils and supplements.
• PALM WTR makes 100% Belizean coconut water bottles in glass.
• Pisqueya is a premium line of sauces and seasonings celebrating authentic Latin flavors from the Caribbean.
• Roast'd makes globally inspired, air-fryer-ready frozen vegetables that are crispy, craveable, and never soggy like today’s steamed frozen options.
• Rootsy makes clean-label cassava waffles rooted in real ingredients.
• Santa Gula makes snackable Spanish charcuterie.
• SAUCY YAY! solves the 'What's for Dinner?' problem with gourmet cooking sauces that turn your favorite proteins into crave-worthy meals in minutes.
• Sierra Madre Tortilla Co. is a small-batch tortilla mill crafting traditional nixtamal tortillas and tortilla chips from organic corn using time-honored methods and simple ingredients.
• SIPSOPA makes authentic Latin soups instant: high-protein, real ingredients, and all the love of Abuela's kitchen.
• SPARKLiNUTS is a function-forward coconut water
• Stanky Sauce is a Florida-based, family-friendly craft hot sauce brand creating award-winning, flavor-forward sauces that take everyday meals on an adventure — from sweet and mild to somewhat wild — under our motto “Feed Adventure.”
• Surfsnax makes salmon snack sticks!
• Verdura Chips are small-batch plantain chips cooked in beef tallow.
• West Indies Peppa Sauce (WIPS) is dedicated to bringing flavors of the Caribbean worldwide by using a four-generation-old family recipe to craft its award winning premium pepper sauces, which are featured on Hot Ones Caribbean, Season 4, committed to authenticity and cultural preservation, and with a mission to share West Indian culinary heritage, offering its products online, on Amazon, at events in Florida, and in select stores.
• Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co is a regenerative organic tea company crafting smooth, naturally caffeinated blends from America’s only native tea for clean, sustained energy without the crash.
• YLD is redefining athletic performance with the world’s first premium, savory recovery bone broth. Utilizing whole-food ingredients to deliver 20g of protein and clean electrolytes that optimize muscle repair, joint integrity and gut health without the sugar crash.

Want to sample at this event? Apply here!

Space is limited! You must apply to sample. A ticket to the event does NOT grant you a sampling table.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email [email protected]

About Startup CPG

Startup CPG is the biggest community in the world for emerging brands. We have 36k+ Slack members, produce the #1 podcast in CPG, host 100+ events per year, and are the #1 education hub for brands trying to improve our CPG ecosystem. It’s free — join today!

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