Food For Thought

Impact of Tariffs on Paperboard, Plastics and Packaging Industry Overall

While attending Pack Expo Las Vegas earlier this week, I was able to sit down for a few minutes with Xinnan Li and Jim Owen, both senior analysts with Rabobank’s RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness team. In this episode, the experts discussed the impact of tariffs on plastics and paperboard in the packaging supply world, as well as the market conditions leading to higher costs both now and in the future.

5 Things to Know Before Attending the EATS Food & Beverage Show in Chicago

For any industry trade show, it's important to prepare and plan your visit so you get the most out of your time at the event and leave feeling inspired. In this special bonus episode, you'll hear five quick tips for navigating the upcoming Equipment, Automation and Technology (EATS) show for Food & Beverage in Chicago, slated for Oct. 28-30. Sarah Hatcher, Group Show Director for EATS breaks down some must-see aspects of the show, from live demos to innovative solutions spanning 200+ product categories. Plan your visit and learn more about EATS here.

Is Pumpkin Spice Cancelled? Trendy Seasonal Food & Beverage Flavors to Consider

Pumpkin spice lovers, rejoice! Shannon O’Shields, vice president of marketing for Rubix Foods, explains that even though pumpkin has become ubiquitous, it is not cancelled — and in fact, it has established itself among consumers as an anchor flavor for the fall season.
Nevertheless, when considering seasonal food and beverage items, processors would be wise to expand beyond pumpkin and investigate some of the faster-rising flavors. In addition, O’Shields shares two of the macro trends Rubix Foods is watching in product development as the calendar prepares to turn to 2026.

8 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Experience at the Equipment, Automation and Technology Show

For the Food & Beverage processing industry, equipment and operations make up a huge part of overall production costs. One line going down for an hour can add up fast, and when you layer in labor challenges, energy use and long sanitation cycles, efficiency becomes critical to your bottom line. The Equipment, Automation and Technology (EATS) show for Food & Beverage can help attendees tackle these challenges and learn about the latest industry tools. In this bonus episode, Sarah Hatcher, Group Show Director for EATS, shares some quick tips on what to expect at the upcoming show planned for Oct. 28-30 in Chicago. Learn more about EATS.

Beef Processors Continue to Benefit from More Automation, High-Tech Solutions

Automation continues to make inroads into the beef industry as technology improves. Dr. Phil Bass, associate professor of meat science in the Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences at University of Idaho, explains that plenty of opportunities remain. Indeed, smaller meat and poultry species have been able to take advantage of technological advancements at a faster pace, but the ingenuity of engineers and technicians has the beef industry catching up.
Meanwhile, although the price of beef continues to rise, Bass says, consumers keep buying beef — but the U.S. cattle herd remains constrained, meaning times could remain tough for meatpackers and new meatpacking plants until the cattle supply expands again.

Middle East, African Markets Hungry for U.S. Food & Beverage Products

Enterprising food and beverage processors in North America know that global growth, particularly into emerging markets clamoring for new products and American tastes, can lead to extremely lucrative business.
Leena Al-Kathiri, senior business development specialist for Salalah Free Zone in Oman, says consumers in the Middle East and Africa continue to seek more innovative, convenient food and beverage products as income and urbanization rise. And Asyad Group and Salalah Free Zone can help U.S. companies tap into those markets in a structured, supportive way, with a foundation for business already set and ready to roll.

Consumers Reset Views on Value, Price, Health Demands for Food and Beverage

With 2025 more than halfway over, and 2026 looming large on the horizon, Sally Lyons Wyatt, global executive vice president and chief advisor in consumer goods and foodservice insights for Circana, joins the Food For Thought podcast to offer an update on the trends driving consumer choice as summer turns to fall.
Where do healthy food choices fit in? How are the prices of food and beverage products changing the ways consumers are shopping today? What impacts have e-commerce had on the marketplace? And what should processors prepare for in the New Year, once the calendar changes to 2026?

Sargento’s Innovation Focuses on Big, Bold Flavors, Simple Ingredients

Rod Hogan, senior vice president of Innovation for Sargento, walks us through the development of the company’s new Natural American Cheese Slices product — a journey through the product pipeline that demonstrated the company’s commitment to a long-term view of the business and the category overall.
Hogan also explains how Sargento continues to focus on big, bold flavors and meaningful innovation to draw more consumers, especially among the younger generations.

Sustainable Packaging Continues to Advance, But Challenges Still Remain

John Hewitt, senior vice president of packaging and sustainability on behalf of the Consumer Brands Association, joins the Food For Thought podcast today to share his insights on sustainable packaging trends and initiatives in the food and beverage industry.
Hewitt offers his take on the challenges that the industry still faces when it comes to furthering the mission of reducing the impact of product packaging on the environment, and what the industry needs to work on and support to take it to the next level.

Advancing Food Safety Through Tech, Workforce Innovation

This episode is brought to you by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.
Food safety presents some of the industry's most significant challenges — the kind that keep plant operators up at night and require continuous innovation. Recent research from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines food safety and sanitation as it relates to workforce challenges, technological advancement and equipment design.Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development at PMMI, discusses those insights in this Industry Perspective bonus episode of the Food For Thought podcast.
Learn more about PMMI and Pack Expo Las Vegas.