Sarasota Chamber hosts its 2023 annual breakfast

The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce started its day with a  breakfast with a side of life and business lessons at its annual breakfast March 10 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota.

About 370 members of Sarasota’s business community chatted with each other over coffee and breakfast before guest speaker Angie Bastian spoke about the trials and tribulations of running her popcorn company, Boom Chicka Pop, with her husband. 

From starting in a garage popping kettle corn to eventually selling the business to ConAgra Foods, Bastian said the No. 1 thing she learned is to always be thinking about your customer.

"I believe that companies that learn how to understand their consumer, know who their consumer is, know how to speak to their consumer both authentically and with integrity, they are the ones that create intangible value that ultimately lands in a concrete way," said Bastian.

Prior to Bastian's speech, the chamber presented its Spirit of Sarasota award to Mark Pritchett, the president and CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation who is set to retire this year, who received a standing ovation from the crowd as he accepted the award.