Whether an iced coffee in hand or a brisket sandwich for an afternoon snack, a taste experience for every daypart awaited visitors to Kerry’s booth at IFT16.

Held in Chicago July 16-19, IFT16 served as a platform to share Kerry’s taste and nutrition positioning with the industry. Concepts and insights reflective of this vision were presented at the booth as well as through private customer meetings, media interviews and Kerry-led discussions.

With a long history and presence at IFT, Kerry returned to the trade show floor at Chicago’s McCormick Place for one of the industry’s largest events. More than 23,000 food and beverage industry professionals attended the event hosted by the Institute of Food Technologists, including Kerry’s team of chefs, baristas, mixologists, scientists and industry experts.

“This year, with the launching of our Taste and Nutrition transformation, we felt it was a good time to return to IFT and engage with customers, vendors and potential recruits,” said Michael O’Neill, CEO of Kerry in North America.

Based in Beloit, Wis., Kerry (www.kerry.com) manages a wide portfolio of ingredients including flavors, natural extracts, emulsifiers, texturants, stocks, broths, bouillons and reductions. It also offers a broad range of nutritional proteins, enzymes, lipids, prebiotic, probiotic and immunity ingredients.

The Kerry team met with hundreds of visitors, sharing product demos and exploring innovative ways to boost taste and nutrition elements in a wealth of products. The show also gave Kerry opportunity to showcase recent key acquisitions such as Wellmune®, a natural food and beverage ingredient that safely enhances the body’s immune system.

Industry Trends Presentations

In addition to exploring Kerry’s portfolio of strategies and capabilities at the Kerry booth, IFT participants gained key learnings from Kerry’s scientific and innovation teams at the Food Expo Forum. Directly on the trade show floor, the forum showcased unique learning opportunities, product development and specialty sessions.

Kerry sponsored three sessions at the Food Expo Forum, presenting insights and solutions surrounding taste and nutrition.

Albert McQuaid, Chief Innovation Officer for Kerry, shared “All that and a Bag of Chips – How to Compete in the Broadening Healthy Snack Category.” His session examined how consumers are leading healthier, more active lifestyles and reevaluating eating occasions.

John Buckley, Vice President of Taste Innovations for Kerry North America; and David Banks, Director of Market Research and Consumer Insights, dived into “How to Deliver Better Tasting Food & Beverages” in a Monday session. That presentation challenged attendees to create better tasting products to meet consumer demand.

Tuesday’s session featured Nancy Higley, PhD, Vice President of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs for Kerry. Higley presented “The Safety of Ingredients in Today’s Food & Beverage Products” to round out the discussion on tasty, nutritious and safe products.

Visit www.kerry.com for more details about Kerry.