By the time I finish writing this sentence, I imagine another industry trade show will have been cancelled. In my 20 years of covering the food and beverage industry, I have never witnessed such widespread disruption to business. I don’t believe any among us have been left unaffected by the current crisis.

Consumers believe plant based foods are more sustainable than those made from meat, and the industry is responding accordingly.

In early October, Prepared Foods held its 37th annual New Products Conference, where themes of sustainability underpinned many of the speaker presentations. New Products Conference sessions surrounding upcycled foods, food waste and plant based foods each contained overt and tangential messages about corporate responsibility and sustainable food production. 

Product packaging that remains after use is a burden. It’s a burden to consumers, to communities and to the environment. My sense is that products positioned with sustainable packaging messages are going to dominate categories and eventually set a baseline for market entry.

While attending the 2019 IRI Growth Summit in Denver, I learned that IRI is making artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning enhancements to its suite of data and analytic tools.

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.”