ICYMI
Not that we are intentionally creating a little FOMO ( or maybe we are ), here are just seven moments from CONVERGENCE ‘26 , CRN’s annual executive conference earlier this month in Carlsbad, CA, that made ( or should make ) headlines.
- During a panel on strategic acquisitions and private equity investments in dietary supplement brands, David Thibodeau of WellVest Capital revealed the most important thing for a successful acquisition to work is “not to lose the soul of the brand.” And he gave advice for avoiding those mistakes.
- During that same panel, Harvey Kamil offered the most valuable advice when meeting the staff of a newly acquired company. He said, everyone in the company, from top executives to the janitor, need to be reminded that they are making products that are keeping people healthy.
- FDA’s Cara Welch shared what concerns her most about self-GRAS is when firms specifically use regulatory pathways to avoid FDA review both on the conventional food supply and dietary supplement sides, such as making a self-affirmed GRAS determination for a novel ingredient, introducing it nominally into the conventional food supply and then relying on the exemption to avoid filing a new dietary ingredient notification. “I would prefer that new ingredients, where the intended use is to be in dietary supplements, come into the dietary supplement program and get reviewed by the dietary supplement reviewers against the dietary supplement safety standard.”
- Jonathan Martin , senior political columnist at Politico , handicapped the upcoming elections, and revealed what he thinks is the bellwether race to watch. He gave some candid advice about how to conduct business in this fraught political climate and shared his insider perspective how we recover from this hyper-partisan time.
- A panel on “ Persistent & Increasing Threats: The Rise of State Efforts to Regulate Dietary Supplements ,” explored how the MAHA Movement is accelerating state legislatures to enact their own laws on supplement regulation and the effort to enact federal pre-emption to curb these assaults on uniform standards of commerce for dietary supplements.
- CRN’s Jeff Ventura unveiled the results of CRN’s 2026 Consumer Survey , with answers to such questions as:
- What consumer use as the most common basis for judging supplement effectiveness;
- The leading barriers against supplement use; and
- Who is most influential when consumers are deciding whether to start or continue taking supplements.
- Kelly Monahan , author and organization behaviorist with stints at Accenture and Deloitte, captivated the audience with her advice on how organizations can leverage AI’s potential while protecting the human judgment, trust, and connection their organizations depend on.
And that just scratched the surface.
If you were there—you know!
If you weren’t at CRN’s CONVERGENCE ‘ 26, yes, you did miss out.
Make plans now to attend next year : CONVERGENCE ‘27 taking place at the Grand Hyatt Scottsdale Resort & Spa, September 27–30, 2027.
Mark your calendars now so you don't miss out next year!
