Organizers for Cannabis Products Exchange have announced the keynote speakers for the 2022 event, slated for April 28-29 at the Hilton Denver City Center.

Jake Bullock, co-founder and CEO of Cann, will open the event with the first keynote address. His passion for cannabis products’ potential to reduce abuse of alcohol and prescription drugs led him to co-found Cann, a cannabis-infused social beverage company based in California. Cann offers a range of micro-dosed beverages with simple, all-natural ingredients.

In his presentation, Bullock will cover the state of play in the cannabis beverages segment, growing consumer interest in microdosed social products, product differentiation through values and distribution challenges for growing brands.

Prior to Cann, Bullock was an associate at Bain Capital’s North American Private Equity fund, evaluating potential investment opportunities across a variety of industries with a specific focus in the consumer space. He also worked at Bain & Company in San Francisco, focused on strategy and due diligence projects across technology, healthcare, private equity, and hedge funds. Bullock has also worked as an investment banking analyst at Allen & Company in New York, providing M&A advisory services to companies in a variety of industries.

Stephanie Gorecki, VP of product development, Cresco Labs, will present the keynote address on April 29.

Gorecki leads R&D for food and beverage and blower-based development at Cresco Labs. She co-developed the Stage Gate process for new product introductions and ensures best-in-class product launches for Cresco Labs. She also helps build and launch food and beverage manufacturing operations in legal cannabis states and uses existing manufacturing equipment to accelerate time to market and reduce the need for additional capital investments.

Gorecki will discuss the competitive edibles market and how science and technology is evolving in order to get ahead of cannabis product innovation.

Prior to serving at Cresco Labs, Gorecki worked as senior food scientist, innovation and new technology, at Newly Weds Foods, where she developed a breakthrough new product category using existing manufacturing equipment technology. She also developed new product formulations using co-extrusion food manufacturing technology that was owned and implemented by many of the organization's customers. Before Newly Weds Foods, she spent six years in flavor R&D and applications roles, working for Prinova Group and Flavorchem Corporation.

The agenda for Cannabis Products Exchange 2022 includes:

• Jessica Lukas, SVP, commercial development, BDSA - “Cannabis Edibles and Beverages Market Update”
• Justin Singer, CEO, Caliper Holdings - “What We Talk About When We Talk About Quality”
• Peggy Moore, owner and CEO, and Hope Frahm, corporate chef, Love’s Oven, LLC - “Cannabis Baked Goods Industry Growth”
• Steve Schain, Esq., senior counsel, Smart Counsel - “Legal Insights into the Cannabis Edibles & Beverage Industry”
• Travis Tharp, president and CEO, Keef Brands - “Establishing Consistent Products and Brands in a Diverse and Developing Landscape”
• Allison McKillop, senior operations manager, Wana Brands - “Leveraging Compliance as a Selling Point Across Diverse State Marketplaces”

Backed by Cannabis Products Magazine, along with Prepared Foods, Food Engineering and Food Safety Magazine, CPX22 will lay the groundwork for merging the federally regulated food and beverage industry with the fragmented legal cannabis edibles and beverages industry.

For more information or to register, preparedfoods.com/CPX.

Want more legal cannabis market news and information?
Join Cannabis Products on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn today!