Outsmart the Hype: How Awards Give Brands a Competitive Edge

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Anna Wilhelmsen, PR Specialist

Anna Wilhelmsen is a seasoned communications professional with over a decade of expertise in food, beauty, wellness, and lifestyle PR. She leverages PR as a tool for positive change to drive meaningful results while aligning with her client’s business objectives. 

Anna has represented renowned figures in the restaurant industry such as Wolfgang Puck, and food CPG brands including McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream and Vital Farms. Her corporate communications experience in-house at leading consumer brands like The Bouqs Co and Beautycounter honed her skills in navigating the complexities of high-growth environments. She works with clients to provide strategic PR and communications planning, media relations, corporate communications, brand partnerships, brand positioning, and more. 

Josephine Agrawal, Social Media Strategist and Trainer

Josephine Agrawal, our Social Media Strategist and Influencer Marketing Manager, is a grammar-obsessed marketing conference nerd who brings 6+ years of digital marketing experience in social media, content strategy and brand voice development to the table.

Josephine loves the challenge of conveying brands’ personalities and real-life passion through their social media channels.

Josephine entered the world of social media marketing while working with MerleFest, one of America’s most renowned and oldest Bluegrass music festivals. With a passion and ear for music, Josephine moved to Nashville, Tenn., and became a go-to social media marketer for local restaurants, renowned musicians, and the Nashville Public Library system. She specialized in event promotion for some of Nashville’s most beloved events, helping to draw crowds that exceeded 100,000. Josephine has also worked extensively in the media world, handling social media for publications like Ed Helms’ The Bluegrass Situation, Edible Nashville, Nashville Scene and the Nashville Post.

She left Music City in 2018 to become the Digital Marketing Manager at Lucky’s Market in Niwot, Colo, where she orchestrated social media strategy for more than 15 new store openings, strategically implemented all paid digital advertising, and taste-tested lots of tasty (and not-so-tasty) veggie chips.

These days, Josephine handles social media strategy for businesses of all sizes, as well as social media training to empower businesses to effectively handle their own social media. When she’s not hashtagging, she can be found cooking Indian food, doing yoga or watering her plants.

Her favorite healthy meal to make is a fresh arugula salad with toasted pine nuts, lemon, olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Emily Tracy, Senior Account Manager

Senior PR Account Manager Emily Tracy has more than a decade of experience in food, beverage and hospitality PR. Emily was drawn to PR from her desire to support the small businesses who create the foundation of strong communities. She creates and implements award-winning PR campaigns with a heavy focus on strategic media relations and compelling content.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a dual major in journalism (PR sequence) and political science, she was the lead content specialist and an account manager for a full-service communications firm in Atlanta. During her time there, she managed two PRSA winning campaigns, one in content marketing and one in crisis management.

Today, she’s fulfilling her dream in Colorado by representing some of the finest good food businesses in the U.S. and beyond, including Bubbies Fine Foods, The Plant Based Seafood Co., Savory Spice, Table22, Birdcall, Motherlove Herbal Company, Boulder County Farmers Markets, Naturally Boulder and others. Through her work at ROOT, she has won a silver or gold award every year she’s applied from the Public Relations Society of America (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 – so far!)

Kristine Root, Marketing and Brand Strategist

Kristine Root is a branding and marketing authority with over a decade of experience leading market research, positioning, brand development, and planning for food, beverage and wellness brands.

Kristine’s unique approach blends creativity and innovation allowing her to build holistic marketing plans that level up to business objectives and deliver measurable results. Her 14+ years of experience in marketing strategy and consumer insights is coupled with an unmistakable passion for delivering impact.

Kristine currently manages brand and marketing strategy for ROOT Marketing & PR where she designs growth marketing programs and directs strategic initiatives for the agency’s growth minded clients looking to position for market expansion.

Having held positions in the agency and brand side, Kristine understands the complexity of marketing from both perspectives. She started her career at Whitney Morse, a prominent advertising and branding agency in Minneapolis, MN where she learned the ropes of brand strategy and the value of great design. Kristine was the co-founder of Purple Bamboo, lead the 200% growth initiative for Biodentist, and served as the Director of Business Development and Marketing for The Pineapple Agency — an experiential marketing agency focused on creating raving loyal fans for clients like Noosa Yoghurt, Outdoor Industry Association, Hansen’s Soda, and Under Armor.

Kristine holds a BA in Marketing Communications from Gustavus Adolphus College and digital marketing nano degree from Udacity.

After-hours, you will find her reading cookbooks and books on marketing strategy with equal vigor. She enjoys going to the market, playing with new recipe ideas, camping, biking, skiing, and practicing soccer skills with her family.

Her favorite healthy dish to make is grilled Colorado peaches with mascarpone and fresh mint. But you may want to ask her again tomorrow, she’s always trying something new.

Kuvy Ax, Owner

Kuvy Ax is ROOT’s founder and owner. For 25 years, Kuvy and her team have led communications for a broad and carefully curated mix of values-driven food and beverage companies, organizations, and events—working with both nationally recognized brands and Colorado-based companies with regional and national reach. ROOT is known for pairing big-picture strategy with deep category expertise across the natural, organic, and mission-led food space.

Kuvy’s long-standing volunteer and leadership work reflects that same commitment. She has served as President of Pollination Planet, past Co-Chair (and current Marketing Strategist) of Slow Food Boulder County, and on the boards of the World Travel Association and Les Dames d’Escoffier. She has also served on the Colorado Tourism Office and Department of Agriculture’s Heritage & Agritourism Committee, and most recently on the Naturally Colorado Women in CPG committee.

Kuvy is a frequent judge for New Hope Network’s Natural Products Expo West NEXTY Awards and a speaker at both Natural Products Expo West and Expo East, including this year’s Innovation in CPG Summit. She has also served as a judge, mentor, and emcee for New Hope’s Press Pitch and Pitch Slam events.

When she’s not helping food brands tell their story, Kuvy loves traveling, and exploring great food along the way.