Food Processing’s Food For Thought Podcast

Health, Taste, Texture Attributes Drive Consumer Demand for Ready-to-Mix Protein Products

Today’s episode is brought to you by Ingredion and is the first in a three-part series. Episodes 2 and 3 will air on Aug. 28 and Sept. 11, 2024, on this channel.
Ready-to-mix protein products are sought after by consumers to meet their needs for a wide range of lifestyles, but those consumers seek added benefits beyond the protein packed into those products.
Catherine Lochner, senior insights analyst for Ingredion, and Janae Kuc-Langford, Marketing Manager for U.S. and Canada Beverage and Nutrition Categories for Ingredion, discuss what consumers are looking for in their healthy eating pursuits nowadays. They also dig in to how RTM protein processors can address those demands through their product offerings in the marketplace.
Learn more about Ingredion.

I Scream, You Scream? What Consumers Seek When Shopping the Retail Ice Cream Aisle

Summer is winding down, and even though ice cream is associated with summer, that doesn’t mean the frozen treat is overlooked any other time of the year. According to data from 84.51°, however, it seems that retail sales for ice cream products this year have been a bit sluggish.
Bridget Allerton is a director of insights consulting for the retail data science, insights and media company, and she joins the podcast this time to share some “cool” trends and insights impacting ice cream in the retail marketplace.

The Impact of Technology, Corporate Culture on Quality Assurance, Quality Control

Johanna Velez, vice president of quality assurance for Monin Americas, sits down with us to discuss how technology has impacted quality assurance and quality control for food and beverage processors in recent years.
In addition, Velez explains how corporate culture initiatives must involve the QA and QC teams, what success looks like in that arena, and what innovations she’d like to see develop that can help Monin’s teams continue to drive safety and quality initiatives for its product lines.

Introducing Any New Ingredient Requires Proper Evaluation of Handling Properties

Today's episode is sponsored by Horizon Systems.
Food and beverage processors are constantly on the lookout for a competitive edge that will help their products stand out amongst the crowd. Often, those companies look to new varieties, flavors and functionalities for their products, swapping out ingredients or introducing new formulations devised by their product development teams.
However, as Todd Baker, vice president of innovation and tech services for Horizon Systems, explains, it cannot be taken for granted that the introduction of new ingredients into any facility will allow for “business as usual.” Processors need to prepare accordingly to avoid delays and disappointment when processing facilities get the new formulations.
Learn more about Horizon Systems
Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

How Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Co. Has Committed to Employee Wellness

How important is employee wellness to your company? Maybe you have support from above to take care of your team members’ physical health, or maybe their mental and emotional needs. What about their digital wellness?
Bethany Baker, Wellness Director for Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company, joins the Food For Thought podcast to talk about how the beverage company has put an even greater emphasis on all-around wellness in the last year, committing to initiatives that help employees relieve the tension and stress both in and out of work, in order to be more efficient and improve their work-life balance and personal care.

Consumer Health Trends, Private-Label Acceptance Drive FedUp Foods’ Growth

Zane Adams is co-founder and executive vice president of strategy and development for FedUp Foods, one of the biggest private-label manufacturers of functional beverages in North America. Adams joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss what is driving the private-label business today — and how economic conditions should continue to drive it in the future.
He also digs into consumer trends and perceptions around health-and-wellness products, and how the food and beverage industry is stepping up to meet those customers on their level.

Circana’s Sally Lyons Wyatt Offers Mid-Year Update on Consumer Trends in Food and Beverage

The Food For Thought podcast checks in with Sally Lyons Wyatt, global executive vice president and chief advisor in consumer goods and foodservice insights for Circana, for a mid-year update on how the food and beverage industry has fared through the first half of the year. In this episode, Lyons Wyatt shares insights on inflation and how consumers are spending differently at this point in 2024.
She shares the four factors the team at Circana will be monitoring for guidance on how 2024 may pan out for food and beverage CPGs. Lyons Wyatt also delves into some of the fascinating ways consumers have been trading in and out of certain products and segments, looking for a higher-value, higher-end experience.
Lyons Wyatt shared her thoughts earlier this year in our 2024 Food & Beverage Industry Outlook, featured in our January 2024 issue of Food Processing magazine.

State Legislatures Trying to Ban Food Additives — Where Does Industry Stand and What's Next?

Sarah Gallo, vice president of Product Policy at the Consumer Brands Association, discusses the increasing activity around state legislatures attempting to flex their muscle and ban or restrict food additives in recent years.
Gallo shares her thoughts on how processors can navigate their way through the highly charged political atmosphere while defending the science that has been done to prove these ingredients safe.
In addition, Gallo discusses what industry might expect from the FDA moving forward in this arena, and what the long-term impacts could be if this trend continues to gain traction.

A Strong Food Safety Culture Can’t Drive Success Without Company-Wide Commitment

Food safety remains one of the issues that keeps food and beverage processors up at night, and many experts in the field will suggest that, by building a strong food safety culture, processors can drive successful implementation and execution of their food safety strategies across all operations.
Sharon Beals, current owner of SKKB LLC and former food safety leader for several food processors and foodservice operators over the years, discusses her thoughts on why such a strategy can be important and help set the tone for the company — but also how food safety culture alone cannot create an atmosphere in which food safety is truly the top priority.

Regulatory Leaders Discuss Points of Concern Around Latest Bird Flu Outbreak at Food Safety Summit

In this bonus audio, Food Processing senior editor Andy Hanacek asks what has various federal agencies particularly concerned about the most recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) during a Town Hall panel at the Food Safety Summit in Rosemont, Ill.
To read the news article summarizing the Town Hall takeaways, visit www.foodprocessing.com.