10 moments we’re still thinking about from Highlight Spark 2025

This past June, over 300 registrants joined us for Highlight’s virtual event for product innovators and renovators: Highlight Spark. At Spark, guest speakers from top consumer brands shared their insights to building better products, including brands like:

• LOLA
• De Soi
• Spindrift
• Once Upon a Farm
• Frida
• Suja Life
• Nova Naturals

If you weren’t able to join for the live event, here’s your chance to catch up. We’ve compiled ten notable moments from Highlight Spark to give you a taste of what you missed. (And links to all of the full recordings!)

Moment #1: Jon Silverman, VP at Spindrift: Nothing convinces a retailer like consumer data

Before Jon Silverman began his successful run at Spindrift, he spent many years at the Grove Collective and Williams-Sonoma. That means he’s seen both sides of the coin, and brands looking to win distribution with new retailers can learn a lot from his experience.

“Leveraging insights into getting on shelf should also be a core part of anyone's work,” said Jon in his interview with Highlight Research Director Alex Maxwell.

“Walking into that buyer, category, manager, whatever it may be, and saying, ‘Hey, this is the work that we've done with consumers and we have a great deal of confidence that this is gonna resonate with consumers. I'm showing you Version 26 of this product, and you know what? I put the last few versions in front of consumers, both packaging, designs, the concepts, the reasons to believe the liquid or the food–whatever it is–and so you know that I've gotten signal from consumers that this is gonna work. And by the way, I got signal on the three previous prototypes and that signal wasn't great. And so we optimized, and we're now in front of you with this one because we feel we are now ready.”

But, as Jon also mentioned, “Once you get that shelf space secured, that's really when the work does begin.”

You can find all of Jon’s invaluable advice for beverage and CPG brands in the on-demand webinar session.

Moment #2: Kelly Murphy, GM at LOLA: The best kind of growth is sustainable

Setting out to expand your distribution is often top of mind for emerging brands, but what happens as your business grows and matures? 

“We had to spend a lot of time thinking–who is our core customer? And where are we going to generate the most profit and revenue?” explained Kelly Murphy, GM at personal care brand LOLA.  

“I think my advice is: get really rigorous about those unit economics in place and adhere to them,” said Kelly. “Adhere to your ideal kind of EBITDA margin, across omnichannel. And if it's too hard, consider if that is the right channel for you and your business.”

“ The shift is really toward profitability and away from growth at all costs,” continued Kelly, “and I think that's ultimately good because we're all being forced to find ways to get our unit economics right from the beginning. And I think that's going to allow a lot of brands that are trying to do good and trying to disrupt to be more sustainable.”

“[The advice] used to be: move fast and break things. Now it's go slow and be strategic.”

Watch the full keynote session How Women-Led Brands Are Shaping Conscious Consumption on-demand.

Moment #3: Kwame Wireko, Strategy & Insights at Suja Life: Balance the cost & profitability of better-for-you products

Better-for-you beverage brand Suja Liife has led the way in the pressed juice space, offering fresh bottled beverages that taste as good as they are for your health. But even as the entire beverage category booms and consumers actively seek out better-for-you options across aisles,  the path to better-for-you innovation is easier said than done.

That’s just one of many insights shared by Kwame Wireko, who leads strategy and insights at Suja Life, for Highlight Spark’s special edition of the Highlight Reel: Brewing Up Better Beverages. 

“The beverage world constantly tests your ability to deliver on both ends of the P&L,” explains Kwame. “On one hand, you really have to develop and market a compelling value proposition, that not only resonates with consumers, but also wins in this hyper competitive, fast-moving, landscape. But then on the other hand as well, you've gotta make it all work financially, right? That's navigating complex operations, especially in refrigerated and better for you segments where we work.”

Said Kwame: “I’m trying with best efforts to really craft exceptional products while also driving sustainable long-term business impacts." And it’s a good thing brands like Suja Life and professionals like Kwame are, because whatever the operational challenges, consumers deserve products made from fresh, healthy ingredients.

You can learn more about better-for-you beverage innovation and renovation in this on-demand session from Highlight Spark.

Moment #4: Jon Silverman, VP at Spindrift: Take a proactive approach to building a more sustainable supply chain

There’s a perception that building products more sustainably is difficult. And there’s some truth to that–if you decide as a company or as a brand to hold yourselves to higher standards than the rest of the industry, it can feel like setting up obstacles for yourself.

But luckily for consumers seeking products that are better for you and the planet, Spindrift proudly makes their products the hard way. 

Building sustainable products isn’t necessarily more difficult, but it does require educating yourself on a better approach. As Jon explains, the popular choice to purchase carbon offsets is not the solution many companies are hoping for.

“[Carbon offsets] are just doing something outside of the scope in which you work, like sponsoring a wind farm,” said Jon. “Insets are really what you want to think about. An inset operates within the world that you are impacting. If you're impacting the world through the purchase of fruit, that fruit needs water, and it needs fertilizers in order to help it grow. So how do you give back within that space? You make the land as healthy as possible.”

Jon and Spindrift’s fresh and proactive perspective on corporate sustainability means actively engaging with farmers, supporting regenerative agricultural practices (through partnerships like Kiss the Ground), and working to sustain the land from which their core ingredients come. Learn more about how this directly benefits their product quality and supply chain resilience–and what lessons you can take for our own brand–from this on-demand Spark session.

Moment #5: Janette Villalobos, R&D Director at Frida: Know when to pivot

As any software developer can tell you: Under ideal conditions, you catch every bug before you ship. 

And as any software developer can also tell you: There are always bugs to fix in production.

The same goes for physical product development. As Janette Villalobos, Senior Director of R&D at parent & baby care brand Frida put it–”there’s no better way to learn than in-market.” 

In the Spark session Kid-Tested, Parent-Approved: Building Better Products for Kids & Parents, Janette offered the example of a recent product launch, a new line of instant breast warmers for breastfeeding parents.

“Clinical research shows if you warm your breasts prior to breastfeeding, it can encourage the let down and boost milk production. But after launch, through social listening and some of our own testing here in the office, we found out that moms were having a hard time resetting it because you have to boil water, put them in there, and wait until they dissolve again. And who has time for that when you have a little baby at home?” explained Janette.

That wasn’t the only new data that came to light. “Paired with the changing guidance from the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine on how to treat mastitis and engorgement to cold therapy, we combined the changing guidance with consumer feedback from our own product in the market, and we completely redeveloped the product."

An iterative approach is necessary–whether you catch the bug before product launch (testing early and often can mitigate this risk of waste!) or after launch, because it’s better late than never to build a better product.

Learn more lessons about the dual challenge of building products that satisfy kids and parents in this on-demand Spark session. 

Moment #6: Mike Fransz, Marketing Director at Nova Naturals: …and know when not to change

Don’t change a thing before validating with consumers. Take it from Mike Fransz at Nova Naturals. 

”We've been in the coconut water game now for 14 plus years,” said Mike who oversees brands like this one: C2O coconut water. “We're the number two coconut water brand in the United States,” said Mike. And yet, they had a little bit of self-consciousness. Their long-loved coconut water has a track record of success with loyal consumers, but with the coconut water space growing, there was also growing concern that their packaging may not be keeping up with the category.

“It's not sleek and sexy and all these things,” explained Mike. But if you’re considering changing your product, there's only one way to get clarity on questions like that: Ask your consumers.

And it's a good thing they did, too, because a quantitative and qualitative survey of their consumers revealed there's a lot of love for their can's signature ridges. 

Watch Mike's full session, Brewing Up Better Beverages, with fellow panelist Kwame Wireko of Suja Life to hear all their insights.

Moment #7: Emma Steele, Disruptive Brand Lead at Highlight: Leverage your brand equity to expand

In the Spark session Predicting the Beverage Flavor of the Summer, Highlight’s Senior Manager of Content Chelsea Stone and Disruptive Brand Partnerships Lead Emma Steele revealed original research conducted with Highlight’s community of product testers. We wanted to know:

• What flavor or flavor combination do consumers most want to try?
• Which brands have consumers already tried?
• Which brands are consumers most looking forward to trying?

The results surprised us–and they might surprise you, too. While category leaders like Poppi and Olipop have already achieved a high degree of familiarity amongst consumers nationwide, it was especially interesting to see which up-and-coming brands were most attracting consumer interest.

The brand that topped that list? Bloom Pop.

According to Emma, we shouldn’t be surprised that brands like Bloom are attracting attention as they expand into gut-healthy sodas and energy drinks. 

“When there’s a product that [a consumer] trusts in one category, they're more likely to try it in another. That’s something across CPG, not specific to beverage, how brands are using their brand equity to jump across aisles... and so familiarity with a brand is really driving trial."

Bloom knows that lesson well. Look for their new energy drinks as well as their gut-healthy soda coming to refrigerator shelves everywhere. And see the full list of beverage brands attracting shopper trial in Predicting the Beverage Flavor of the Summer on-demand.

Moment #8: Emily Sutton, Senior Product Manager at Highlight: Phased testing leads to real-world results

In Highlight Spark’s Product Keynote session, Highlight’s Product team debuted the platform’s latest concept testing capabilities. These features open up a world of new possibilities to Highlight customers conducting monadic concept testing, but furthermore, in combination with Highlight’s in-home usage testing (IHUT) expertise, customers now have the ability to determine on-shelf success like never before.

As Senior Product Manager Emily Sutton explained, "When you're asking survey questions during concept testing like, ‘Would you purchase this item for $3.99?’ and then following up with the same question after they've experienced the physical product in the organic environment of their own homes, you can assess whether you've nailed product concept fit, and unlock a leading indicator of future product performance from multiple perspectives."

You can watch the full 15 minute demo of the new concept testing features on-demand, and learn more about phasing concept testing and IHUT together in this explainer.

Moment #9: Sydney Perotti, Consumer Insights at Once Upon a Farm: Take the privilege of representing your consumer seriously

Yes, working in consumer insights is a job. But when done well, it can make a real impact on people’s lives. 

“The reason why I have really fallen in love with this function of insights and why I've driven myself down this path is because you really get to give the consumer a seat at the table,” explains Sydney Perotti, who joined Highlight Spark for our session Kid-Tested, Parent-Approved. “I feel so passionate about elevating the consumer voice and making sure that the things that they're saying about our product or to our brand really make their way to our meeting rooms.” 

“It's so easy for brands to get caught in an echo chamber of how they want the products to be used in our consumers’ lives, and the way that they wanna be positioned on shelf or against competitors,” said Sydney. “Making sure that we have a wide view of all of these consumers and we're able to highlight things that they're saying and what's resonating with them across all different income levels, generations, or number of kids in the household, I think is really important."

Sydney’s point is an important reminder that the role of Consumer Insights isn’t just a job, it’s a responsibility. Her concern about brands falling into an "echo chamber" is a vital warning for any company, regardless of industry. True consumer insights involve not just collecting data, but actively challenging internal biases and ensuring that product development serves the real, diverse needs of a brand’s consumer base.

You can watch the full Kid-Tested, Parent-Approved session on-demand.

Moment #10: Scout Brisson, CEO at De Soi: Don’t act your age

If you’re looking for living proof not to “act your age,” look no further than De Soi CEO Scout Brisson. By 2025, this Forbes 30 Under 30 winner had already raised $13M in additional funding for De Soi and expanded the beverage brand’s distribution to more than 5,000 locations. 

How was Scout able to accomplish so much on such an incredible timeline? She didn’t consider what she “deserved” or did not.

“I was always seeking growth, and I was always seeking more responsibilities than I deserve to have at my age,” recalled Scout. “I was 21 years old when I started working at McKinsey, and put into rooms with clients that had decades of experience. And I was expected to speak. I was expected to have an opinion and have a voice.”

For Scout at De Soi, this experience has influenced their hiring philosophy. “I was put into this position as CEO and didn't have the experience. You have to do something for the first time, always. And I really believe in people who are hungry, ambitious, who want to be super scrappy, like to learn new things, want to be challenged, and live outside their comfort zone.”

As Scout can attest, early exposure to challenging environments and taking on responsibilities beyond one's "deserved" level is an effective strategy to supercharge your career growth. Learn more from both Scout and Kelly Murphy’s career paths in Highlight Spark’s Keynote session, How Women Led Brands Are Shaping Conscious Consumption on-demand.

Catch up with all the latest advice and insights from the CPG and retail world's thought leaders with more ebooks, on-demand webinars, and more from Highlight.