This session begins with a guided tour of CSU Spur's food innovation and incubator space (CSU Spur Terra Building), offering a firsthand look at how research, product development, and small food businesses move from concept to market.

Following the tour, Rafaela Gontijo, Founder & CEO of NUU Alimentos (Brazil), will share opening remarks on scaling traditional, ancestral ingredients into regenerative, retail-ready food brands, followed by a roundtable discussion. (CSU Spur Vida Building)

The conversation will explore how food businesses can grow from origin to shelf without losing the sourcing integrity, cultural meaning, and farmer relationships that make traditional ingredients valuable in the first place — examining branding, exports, retail strategy, and the health case for traditional foods.