Happy New Year and welcome to 2015! I can’t believe it was just seven months ago when I introduced myself and told you about some new products from Prepared Foods. Since then, we have redesigned the magazine, rolled out our brand’s first mobile app and recast our former twice-monthly e-newsletter as a new weekly edition with more new product news, research and consumer reports and suppliers’ new offerings.

We’re greeting a new year with even more new developments.

New Personnel: Last summer, we hired Nick Roskelly as Executive Editor-New Media/Business. Nick previously worked for another new product magazine and also brings extensive digital content expertise. Nick posts more articles to our website and  promotes our content to social media groups on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus. He also helped create and introduce of two new e-newsletter products.

Inside Look:  We know your work life is hectic. A new “Inside Look” e-newsletter draws your attention the latest articles and reports available in the current Prepared Foods print and digital editions. When you see a special feature or report among the email headlines—simply click and go to that digital edition article or find it in the print issue on your desk. 

Supplier Showcase: Your ingredient and technology supplier partners also are developing and launching new offerings. We have created an e-newsletter—coming out twice a month—to showcase the latest ingredients and related technologies in various categories. If you haven’t received this enewsletter, visit preparedfoods.com and subscribe. You can sign up under the “Resources” tab in the navigation bar at the top of the home page.

Foodmaster: This month, we unveiled a new foodmaster.com website. It features an intuitive design and architecture to make navigating the site easier and more productive for your ingredient product supplier searches. Foodmaster.com will appear at the top of your web searches. You’ll see it when you type in, “Suppliers of XXXXX” or “XXXXX Products.” Likewise, you’ll see if your search is by supplier company and ingredient product brand name.  Once there, you can easily sort through all of the suppliers offering the ingredient products you need. You also can easily request information and samples—right from the supplier’s listing page on the site.

We realize that your time is precious. That’s why we want our stories, articles, reports and resources (such as Foodmaster.com) to appear in formats that work best for you.

The Prepared Foods team hopes you find these enhancements helpful and a value-add to your workday.

Of course, we would encourage you to tell us about your experience.  if there is anything you think we should do to improve  Prepared Foods’ content and our products that you use just send me an email at seltzs@bnpmedia.com.

Mark Your Calendar!

Join industry peers and colleagues at Prepared Foods 2015 R&D Applications Seminar Chicago, August 4-5, 2015, at Crowne Plaza in Rosemont, IL.

This 11th annual event is laser focused to help food and beverage formulators better understand the functionality of a wide range of ingredients. Moreover, the event’s many technical sessions deliver practical, non-commercial, “how-to” solutions to specific formulation and application challenges.

Each day, the R&D Applications Seminar begins with a keynote industry trends speaker. Then, an educational program features more than 40 individual technical sessions; as well as six, 75-minute, “application labs” that provide hands-on experience.

Application Labs

Prepared Foods’ application labs give attendees a more in-depth opportunity to see, touch and taste product samples that demonstrate an ingredient’s functionality or its use in a finished product prototype.

These non-commercial and provide technical solutions to current ingredient applications and formulation challenges.

Prepared Foods is now accepting suppliers’ presentation outlines. Submit your presentation at www.rdseminarchicago.com

For more information, visit www.rdseminarchicago.com  or contact Marge Whalen at 847-405-4071 or whalenm@bnpmedia.com.