SPEAKERS
General & Breakout Sessions
The Freeze Dried Summit 2026 speaker lineup is packed with the industry's most innovative entrepreneurs, operators, and experts, each bringing real-world experience and actionable insights to the stage. This year, we're raising the bar with a stronger focus on in-depth education, emerging freeze-drying industry trends, and a carefully curated selection of hands-on workshops designed to give you practical tools you can put to work immediately.
Whether you're just starting out or ready to dominate the commercial freeze-drying space, the 2026 Summit stage was built with you in mind. Browse the profiles below, plan your experience, and get ready to leave Boise with the knowledge, connections, and confidence to take your freeze-drying business further than ever before.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Private Chef | TV Host | Content Creator | Food Brand Strategist
MARIO FABBRI
Mario Fabbri is a private chef, cooking show host, content creator, and founder of BananaReel, a video production company dedicated to helping food brands grow through powerful digital content and social media strategy. With over a decade of experience producing social campaigns, digital ads, and televised commercials for food brands, Mario has an extraordinary track record, helping grow a celebrity cooking account from zero to 10 million followers, co-producing a bestselling cookbook, and cooking on a Shark Tank episode that earned two offers from the Sharks.
Two years ago, Mario got his first Harvest Right freeze dryer and never looked back, generating over 100 million views across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for his freeze-drying experiments. At the Freeze Dried Summit 2026, Mario brings his unique blend of culinary creativity, content mastery, and freeze-drying passion to help businesses of every size crack the code on building audiences that convert. This is one keynote that will change the way you think about your brand.
SPEAKERS
Troy Pettit
Troy Pettit, COO of TechSource Systems, revolutionized commercial freeze-drying with his exceptional automation programming and electrical design expertise! His innovative technology forms the backbone of TechSource's success as a top U.S.-based commercial freeze dryer manufacturer. Troy will share in-depth knowledge of how companies are scaling their freeze-drying businesses and how you can do it too!
COO
TechSource Systems
Tobias Schappeler
Sydney-based CEO and freeze-drying innovator Tobias Schappeler brings the future of food-safe freeze-dryer design from "Down Under" to the Freeze Dried Summit 2026 stage! As the leader of CryoDry, a globally certified freeze-drying equipment company built on sustainability and pharmaceutical- grade standards, Tobias is at the forefront of the industry's most important conversation: food safety and regulatory compliance
CEO
CryoDry
David Leaman
David Leaman is the founder of The Freeze Dried Business and the face of the freeze-drying industry's premier educational platform. Through YouTube, the Frozen Assets Podcast, private memberships, consulting, and in-person events, David has built the go-to ecosystem for entrepreneurs at every stage of the freeze-drying journey. As your host for the Freeze Dried Summit 2026, David takes the stage to share his vision for the trajectory of the entire industry!
Global Freeze-Drying Ambassador
Summit Host
Levi Weischedel
Levi Weischedel is an innovative marketing consultant and creative partner for the Freeze Dried Marketing agency. As a dynamic video producer, his refreshing approach creates strategies that deliver results while keeping the process enjoyable and effective!
CMO & Creative Director
Freeze Dried Marketing
Lloyd Parks
Lloyd Parks, VP of Sales at Cuddon Freeze Dry, is an innovative leader with global food-processing expertise. With a hands-on, results-driven approach, he helps organizations harness freeze-drying technology to boost efficiency, quality, and growth. Lloyd brings energy and vision to advancing what’s possible with freeze drying.
VP Sales (N. & S. America)
Cuddon Freeze Dry
