Jess Caven
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
Jess is a veteran of the CPG industry who has had the pleasure of serving as a senior operations leader for various food and personal care brands, in addition to having consulted with more than 40 brands across multiple categories. Jess has also enjoyed her own entrepreneurial venture as the owner and operator of a successful food & retail business. She brings a level of care and understanding to the brands she works with at Generation and treats them as if they were her own, making her a sought-after partner in the CPG space. Jess is passionate about the food and wellness industries and received her Culinary Baking Certificate from Cambridge School of Culinary Arts (MA) and is a licensed Holistic Health Counselor. Jess received her MBA from Clarkson University (NY) with a focus in entrepreneurship, and she holds an economics degree from SUNY Potsdam (NY).
Current Favorite Snack: Ithaca Hummus Everything Bagel Flavor
Current Favorite Beverage: Spindrift Orange Mango Seltzer
Current Favorite Wellness Product: Salt & Stone Natural Deodorant
Luke Penney
CO-FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
Luke has consulted with more than 40 brands across the food, beverage, and wellness spaces, on everything from contract manufacturing searches to full product launches to outsourced operations advisory. In addition, he brings more than a decade of experience as a hands-on entrepreneur himself, as the founder of plant-based skin care & wellness brand Leap Organics, along with a passion and empathy for helping other emerging and high-growth brand leaders. Luke also leverages his pre-CPG work experiences as an investment analyst to bring an informed perspective to the unique financial challenges that CPG brands face with regards to costs, margins, and pricing. Luke has been an Adjunct Professor of Sustainable & Socially-Responsible Business at Colby College (ME), where he attended as an undergrad, and he received his MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell University (NY).
Current Favorite Snack: One Mighty Mill Whole Wheat Everything Bagel
Current Favorite Beverage: Culture Pop Watermelon Probiotic Soda
Current Favorite Wellness Product: Maine Medicinals Elderberry Syrup
Sarah Casagrande
SENIOR SALES ADVISOR
With 17 years of CPG sales experience in conventional, natural, and specialty channels, Sarah has built an exceptional industry reputation as a passionate and sought-after sales advisor to emerging and high growth brands for her deep industry knowledge and strong direct relationships with retail buyers, distributors, and brokers. Sarah has helped more than 100 food, beverage, and wellness companies and provides brands with an extensive expertise in navigating pricing, promotional strategies, submission guidelines, and delivering winning sales pitches. Having worked at some of the industry’s leading sales, brokerage, and consulting agencies, Sarah offers brands a distinctive mix of both strategic vision and hands-on execution, which she leverages to help brands build a sustainable and successful retail footprint. Sarah is a graduate of Keene State College (NH) where she was a member of the women’s soccer team, and in her spare time, she now continues her active pursuits by chasing her young daughter around and beating her husband at pickleball.
Current Favorite Snack: Mi Niña Jalapeño Agave Chips
Current Favorite Beverage: Pop & Bottle Vanilla Oat Milk Latte
Current Favorite Wellness Product: Cocokind Matcha Moisture Stick