MBArk/Expo Fest

By Liz Kennedy, MBA Class of 2019

For people who care a lot about healthy foods and sustainability and want to work for a company that does too, attending the Natural Products Expo East Conference was a dream come true. What made the experience even better was attending as part of the MBArk program. MBArk was started by a Yale School of Management graduate named Joe Dobrow. He too is interested in the natural products industry, but as an MBA and former employee of the industry, he was aware of how difficult it can be for MBA students who want to be part of this industry to get connected to their target companies and network. Since these companies do not normally recruit at business schools, Dobrow has made it his mission to bring business students to these companies.


Joseph Dobrow, MBA and CEO of MBArk.

Even without a “career fair” component, this conference provided us with the most meaningful networking experiences we’ve ever had. Approximately 30 likeminded MBAs participate in the MBArk program each year. That means that as program participants, our networks are automatically increased by approximately 29 people with fantastic experiences and insights who care about the same things we do and who are excited to share ideas.


Liz Kennedy, 2nd-year Smeal MBA (center) talking with the Global VP of Growth and Business Development for Whole Foods (left).

Dobrow arranged for participants to interact with multiple CEOs and company founders each day of the 3-day conference. On Friday morning, we had a CEO breakfast: the room held eight circular tables, and three CEOs sat at each one alongside MBArk students. A few CEOs gave brief talks at the front of the room, and then we had a “CEO speed-dating” session. We had three opportunities to sit at three different tables, each one for about 12 minutes. This allowed us to discuss their experiences, as well as our own, and gain valuable insight into their professional development in the natural foods industry.


Seth Goldman (center) and MBArk participants.

We also participated in a real life, real-time case study for a company located in Northern California that is currently trying to expand and alter its product offering before taking the next step into new market geographies. This provided the MBArk participants with an opportunity to hear some of the main struggles and expansion opportunities for a small start-up in the natural foods industries, and use the skills learned in MBA case analyses to provide suggestions for implementation moving forward.


MBArk participants providing ideas for expansion to the founder of Sunwink.

Lastly, we had multiple hours each day to walk the show floor and network with the companies that interested us most. There were over 1,600 businesses present and thousands of products for showcasing and sampling. The products ranged from eco-friendly cleaning products to health and beauty, to homeopathic remedies, to every type of organic food imaginable!

       

    

Overall, the entire experience was invaluable. The exposure to such dedicated CEOs was unlike any other. We had fantastic conversations, both with fellow MBA participants and the companies with whom we interacted on the floor.  The opportunity to try new products and understand which trends are emerging gives us a great advantage in the natural foods and natural products industries in general. And after everything, we were able to walk away with some of the best products out yet!

MBArk participants and their university pride!