As part of its Walmart Reimagined campaign, the retailer is aiming to boost store traffic by converting excess parking space to experimental communities comprised of food halls, recreation areas and even mobile healthcare units.

The mountain of money spent to market products and influence consumer behavior may only be 5% effective, according to Dr. A.K. Pradeep, CEO, MachineVantage.

I cannot account for the broad belief that the United States imports rice from Asia. It just kind of generally seems to be the case. But it is not.

This year’s Best in Show award went to Hostess Brands, LLC for Double Chocolate Cake Delights. The premium adult snacks are inspired by fresh, hand-crafted bakery treats.

New ideas, inspiration and innovation are essential in the modern marketplace. In recent years, food and beverage companies have placed an emphasis on these aspects of business by creating such roles as “director of innovation,” “chief innovation officer” and “vice president of product innovation.”

Perhaps 2018 will be the year companies step onto the sports nutrition escalator and ride it to unprecedented levels of success. 

Nearly all presenters at the 2017 New Products Conference referred to innovation as fundamental to success, whether that be in research and development, marketing, sales or any other stage of bringing products to market.

The Sweets & Snacks Expo fosters a positive context for pondering the forces at play in the snack and confections segments, if in no other way than providing attendees the opportunity to snack at will.

2017 is a quarter complete, and national politics continues to dominate our news. Undoubtedly, you have scores of sources to keep you abreast of the developments in Washington, so I’ll spare you further commentary.

From my vantage point, several food and beverage industry trends will continue to roll through 2017, while a handful of scattered ideas find fertile ground and growth  potential.