Prepared Foods Chief Editor Bob Garrison talks food and beverage innovation strategy, topics and trends with Mario DiFalco and Kim Lopez-Walters, co-founders of Illuminate Growth Partners in the San Francisco Bay area.

Supply chain, economy and investment concerns might be easing yet DiFalco and Walters believe it’s still a challenging innovation environment for companies big and small. At a time when Target has introduced as many as 400 new dealworthy private label SKUs, there’s also growing interest in premium new foods and drinks with ethical, sustainable and better-for-you benefits. DiFalco and Walters discuss…

• leveraging artificial intelligence for consumer insights
• key new product trends (particularly better-for-you beverages)
• rapid product prototyping; and
• developing a faster, more flexible R&D pipeline.