New Hope Natural Media Unveils Cooksimple as the NEXT Accelerator Natural Products Pitch-Slam Winner

BALTIMORE, Sept. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- At an awards ceremony at Natural Products Expo East, New Hope Natural Media unveiled that Red Lodge, Montana-based Cooksimple won the NEXT Accelerator Natural Products Pitch-Slam competition.  Pitch-Slam is a fun, fast-paced event that lets entrepreneurs pitch their natural product businesses to a panel of six leading natural products investors and branding experts, as well as receive immediate feedback and expert suggestions for improving and refining their companies. 

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Cooksimple is a line of all-natural meal kits designed to make healthy home cooking simple and delicious.  After learning that better eating begins at home, founder and CEO Keith Lauver created a simple solution for nutritious home-cooked meals that works for today's hectic schedules.

"Entrepreneurial manufacturers are the backbone of the natural products industry. This program reinforces our commitment to entrepreneurs and the industry as a whole," said Diana Mercer, NEXT Accelerator Community Manager, New Hope Natural Media.  "The judges chose Cooksimple because of the company's potential to disrupt and revitalize the 'dormant' category of boxed meals and also attract consumers who might not be already buy natural foods.  We congratulate Cooksimple on their achievement and wish them success in their future endeavors."

Cooksimple won a prize package of goods and services valued at more than $22,000, including branding and marketing consulting services from MetaBrand Corporation and Interact on Shelf, social media consulting services from VOCO Creative, a copy of Bob Burke's Natural Products Field Manual, an invitation to present at Nutrition Capital Network's Investor Conference, a free booth at Expo East 2015 and a copy of NEXT: The Natural Products Industry Forecast 2015.

The Pitch-Slam competition will be available to be viewed on www.nextaccelerator.com after Natural Products Expo East.

Prior winners of the NEXT Accelerator Natural Products Pitch-Slam have gained significant business momentum from the consulting services and awareness building provided as part of the awards program. The NEXT Accelerator Natural Products Pitch-Slam winner from Natural Products Expo West 2014 is SoapBox Soaps. "All the support from the Pitch-Slam awards allows us to increase our awareness in the industry, raise new capital, extend our regional availability of our products and ultimately expand our business," said Dan Doll, co-founder and COO of SoapBox Soaps. "Water-related disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Every time SoapBox is able to expand, it brings us a step closer to eradicating the possibility of this happening, both in the US and around the world."

Pitch-Slam is part of New Hope Natural Media's NEXT Accelerator, an online tool for entrepreneurial manufacturers in the natural products industry. Analogous to a tech incubator, NEXT Accelerator connects manufacturers with the information, expertise, advisors, service providers and partners they need to ensure their product launch success, and provides year-round mentoring and education.  To become a NEXT Accelerator member, visit www.nextaccelerator.com.

The NEXT Accelerator Pitch-Slam Competition and Networking party is generously sponsored by 9 Square Ventures, Boulder Brands Innovation Group, Abe's Market Velocity Fund, MetaBrand Corporation and Nutrition Capital Network. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information contact [email protected].

About New Hope Natural Media
New Hope Natural Media is the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry, with print, in-person/event, and e-business products and services.

Media Contact:
Heather Smith
New Hope Natural Media
(303) 998-9232
[email protected]

SOURCE New Hope Natural Media