Food For Thought

Digital Transformation and AI Implementation: Best Practices for Food and Beverage Companies

Shawn Gilronan is a partner with CohnReznick and the leader of the company’s digital advisory practice. He joins us today to offer insights as to how food and beverage processors can start in on their own digital transformation journey, as well as how the latest wave of innovation has impacted the data revolution.
Additionally, Gilronan gives his thoughts on how the industry can get ready for more artificial intelligence and how to train and educate workers on what AI truly means for the quality of their work, rather than having them fear for their job security.

The Impact of Sugar Reduction, Replacement Trends on Beverage Formulation

Today’s episode is brought to you by Ingredion and is the third in a three-part series. Episode 1 aired on Aug. 14, and Episode 2 aired on Aug. 28, on this channel.
This episode is part 3 of a three-part series, in which we’ve been speaking with experts about beverage trends and ready-to-mix proteins. In this episode, we will dig into the trends driving beverages overall, including sugar reduction and the changing landscape of consumer expectations — all weighing on product development.
Richard Stewart, beverage technical services for Ingredion, and Adams Berzins, senior manager for global sugar reduction product applications and agility team leader for Ingredion, discuss these trends with us, offering deep insights into sugar replacement and the how product developers can best approach determining which replacers work best in their formulations.
Learn more about Ingredion.

How R&D Innovation Helps Mars Food & Nutrition Solve Consumer Pain Points in the Kitchen

In this episode, Karina Zimerfeld, global vice president of R&D for Mars Food & Nutrition, discusses how her company is aiming to help at-home cooks address the three primary demands they have when it comes to meal planning and preparation.
Zimerfeld also talks about the technologies that have opened the door for companies to more easily address consumer demands today, and how Mars Food & Nutrition has begun to tap into artificial intelligence to analyze trends in support of its R&D work to stay on top of — or even ahead of — consumer preferences.

Thorough R&D Work Can Help Ready-To-Mix Protein Products Meet Health & Wellness Needs

Today’s episode is brought to you by Ingredion and is the second in a three-part series. Episode 1 aired on Aug. 14, and Episode 3 will air on Sept. 11, 2024, on this channel.
In this episode, we will dig into the formulation, development and regulatory side of creating ready-to-mix protein products that help consumers meet their health and wellness requirements through food and beverage products.
Speaking with us this time around are Junrui Cheng, senior nutrition scientist for Ingredion’s global scientific and regulatory affairs department, Rob Skorge, project leader in the bridgewater idea labs for Ingredion, and Jing Zhou, senior manager of nutrition science, with Ingredion’s global scientific and regulatory affairs group.
Learn more about Ingredion.

What Do Americans Want on Their Cheeseburgers? Sargento Shares Its Findings

Earlier this month, we talked ice cream trends — in today’s episode, we’re actually moving backward on the backyard barbecue timeline and discussing cheeseburger trends with Mike Bierbach, marketing director, Meals Cheese Business for Sargento.
To kick off the summer grilling season, the Plymouth, Wisconsin-based cheese processor decided to survey Americans about their cheeseburger preferences across five different regions of the country. Some of the results might not be too shocking (hey, most people want cheese on their burgers!), but others shed an interesting light on what consumers are looking for in their burger-grilling adventures.
View Sargento's "America The Burgerful" infographic.

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.