Winning the Room: The Top 10 Pitch Deck Slides for Retail Success
Webinar
Now Available On Demand
Webinar description
Want to impress retail buyers and land the partnerships that level up your brand?
Watch the recording of Winning the Room: The Top 10 Pitch Deck Slides for Retail Success, hosted by NIQ’s Kate Walker and featuring special guest Katie Lefkowitz, founder of Harken Sweets and winner of the 2025 NIQ Founders Pitch Slam.
In this session, Kate breaks down the core pitch deck structure that helps brands stand out to retail buyers. She also walks you through the 10 slides that matter most, why they’re essential, and how to use data to tell a clear and compelling growth story.
You also hear directly from Katie, who shares her award-winning pitch and the thinking behind her deck – what worked, what she refined, and what she recommends to other founders preparing for retail conversations.
Whether you’re building your first pitch deck or sharpening your message for your next big meeting, this session is perfect for you!
Featured Speakers:
Kate Walker
Vice President, Emerging Brands Development
NielsenIQ
Kate leads ongoing partnerships with emerging and high-growth brands at NielsenIQ. She is dedicated to making data accessible to brands of all sizes and accelerating speed to insight for her clients and team.
Kate has 13 years of experience in market intelligence, spanning advanced analytics for trade optimization, white-space consulting, and consumer segmentation. Previously, Kate worked with Kantar, specializing in brand and creative equity measurement. She also managed the Insights function at a SaaS startup enabling repeat purchase automation technology for CPG brands and retail.
Outside of work, Kate spends most of her time chasing after her two toddlers, exploring the Western Chicago suburbs with her husband, and browsing her local Whole Foods for the next insurgent brand.
Katie Lefkowitz
Founder & CEO
Harken Sweets
Katie Lefkowitz is the founder and CEO of Harken Sweets, a better-for-you candy brand on a mission to help people love candy again. After a career in biopharma launching drugs for chronic disease, a personal health scare shifted Katie’s perspective on food and wellness, inspiring her to reimagine the candy aisle with ingredients that love you back.
Harken Sweets makes plant-based, no-added-sugar candy sweetened with dates and packed with gut-happy fiber, proving that indulgence and intention can coexist. Since launching, Harken has scaled nationally across major retailers, including Walmart, Sprouts, Kroger, and Albertsons Safeway, and was the winner of the 2025 NIQ Founders NIQ Pitch Slam.
Applications 2026 Founders Pitch Slam Are Now Open!
Our fourth annual NIQ Founders Pitch Slam will bring together some of the most innovative and transformative emerging CPG brands, challenging an elite set of founders to pitch their companies to industry insiders and business leaders as they vie for a first-place award of more than $800k including a $50,000 cash prize and in-kind prizes. This competition represents our commitment to helping grow emerging brands and fostering connections.