August 2011/Prepared Foods -- Green Lantern is in theaters, and while it may not be among the summer’s critical successes, its hero’s superpower was well-explained. Green Lantern’s superpower derives from his incredible willpower and ability to overcome fear.

What on Earth could GL’s super willpower have to do with Prepared Foods? Well, PF has introduced its completely revamped website, and anyone involved with that endeavor can relate to the importance of overcoming fear. The new PreparedFoods.com is a completely new entity; the site is no mere cosmetic change. Everything on the site, from the home page to its furthest link, was evaluated, amended as needed and tested repeatedly.

Visitors to PreparedFoods.com now see an easily navigable drop-down menu atop the home page. All of the magazine’s editorial content is arranged by “Product” category (Bakery, Dairy, etc.), “Ingredients” (Colorings, Sweeteners, etc.) and “Formulation” challenge (Ethnic, Weight Management, etc.). For those seeking supplier details, the “Suppliers” tab links to the Food Master directory, as well as to “Supplier Profiles.”

One section bringing the most excitement and (to bring this back to GL) requiring the most willpower, the “Multimedia” tab links to “Market Insight Videos,” and a completely overhauled video player. PF’s web team and editorial staff focused a great deal on this section, in particular on the “Technical/Solutions Presentations” from past R&D Seminars and New Products Conferences, and visitors can now search by product category, formulation issue, ingredient or keyword.

Speaking of R&D Seminars and New Product Conferences, all the information for those events remains available on PreparedFoods.com, under the “Events” tab, where each sports a redesigned site, as well.

Frequent visitors will note the home page is more dynamic, with content that changes much more often, but all of the favorites remain: “Daily News” is under “Latest Headlines” and the “News” option under “Market Insights,” and the site now features “Web Exclusives,” where visitors can find content exclusive to PreparedFoods.com.

One of the most exciting aspects of the new site involves the opportunity for our readers to add their opinions. A click on “Most Popular” will list the site’s most viewed and emailed articles, but of much interest may be “Recent Discussion,” where registered readers can offer their take on any articles or on the site itself.

These exciting changes at PreparedFoods.com may have seemed to require superhuman effort, but it will ultimately be up to you, the reader, to let us know how we’ve done. pf