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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.”

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.

The trend of eating smaller amounts of food has sparked discussion about the future of eating three square meals per day.

Major food companies have committed to wholesale changes in ingredient sourcing, which has disrupted supply chains and created acute frustration along with rare opportunity.

A recent Mintel study found that 43% of Americans agree that living a modern lifestyle makes it very difficult to be healthy.