On an unseasonably warm afternoon last week, the brains behind Colorado's burgeoning natural foods industry gathered at Boulder's St Julien Hotel & Spa to talk shop at the annual Naturally Boulder Days [2] conference. Amid conversations of agavé syrup and quick, healthy meal options for families were rumblings about up-and-coming businesses. But the new stars didn't emerge until the event's closing, when new shops pitched their ideas to industry execs, including the Izze founders. Kudos went to Oogavé [3] soda, Doc Popcorn [4] (which recently opened an outpost in the Cherry Creek Mall), Simply Boulder's [5] agavé-sweetened marinades and sauces (think lemon pesto and coconut peanut), and Spice's [6] sugar-roasted nuts. Pitch judges think these Colorado food companies are most likely to go big, regionally and nationally. For now, though, they provide tasty options for holiday gift baskets.