• Founder // Lead Facilitator

    Ryan Evans is a lifelong food and beverage professional who worked his way up from dishwasher to restaurant owner, gaining experience in catering, retail management, marketing, and public relations along the way.

    As director of Hatch Kitchen, one of the region’s largest food and beverage incubators, he designed and implemented the policies and systems that supported hundreds of emerging food businesses.

    Today, he serves as the Food & Beverage Specialist in Residence at VCU’s da Vinci Center for Innovation and as treasurer of the Virginia Specialty Food Association.

    Ryan is Acidified Foods Manufacturing Certified and holds certifications in food business model optimization and financial packaging through the Food Finance Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

  • Branding & Marketing Specialist

    James Moffitt is a seasoned content strategist and creative director with more than a decade of experience shaping brand stories across industries. He is the founder of TrailHead Creative, where he leads strategy, messaging, and creative direction for organizations looking to sharpen their voice and connect with their audiences.

    His career includes senior roles in agencies and corporate environments, including work as a Sr. Copywriter at Capital One and Sr. Content Strategist at Release the Hounds, where he developed and executed campaigns across digital, social, broadcast, and print. In addition to his client work, James has taught storytelling, copywriting, and brand strategy as an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University, helping the next generation of communicators strengthen their craft.

    James holds both a BA and an MA in English and Rhetoric & Composition from VCU. His background as a writer, editor, and strategist informs every project he leads, balancing creativity with research-driven insights to produce content that resonates and drives results.

  • Sustainability Director

    It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more.

LET’S TALK

We’d love to hear from you, no matter what stage of the journey you’re on. Our goal is to support and grow the food and beverage industry, and that means helping however we can. If we’re not the right fit for your needs, we’ll do our best to connect you with someone who is.