Food For Thought

Americans continue to be attracted to trying new cuisines and ethnic foods, and Indian foods are growing in popularity, according to Kiernan Laughlin, general manager for frozen Indian foods processor Deep Indian Kitchen. In this episode, Laughlin talks about the key to winning over new consumers when it comes to Indian foods and how Deep Indian Kitchen is dedicated to authenticity in its products...

At the upcoming Equipment, Automation and Technology Show (EATS) for Food & Beverage slated for Oct. 28-30 in Chicago, attendees will see over 300 exhibitors across eight sectors along with three live production lines and demos from Jeff Mauro and Rick Bayless. Not to be overlooked are the education sessions designed around the challenges food processors care about most, from food safety to su...

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 f...

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 d...

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...

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 tack...

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 ingenui...

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 beve...

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 produc...

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 t...

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 prod...

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 workfo...

Lindsey Lee, senior director, Family & Kids Yogurt at Danone North America, joins the podcast to discuss the Snack Hero campaign that the Danimals brand embarked upon earlier this summer and how it worked to keep the brand top of mind for parents looking for snacks for their kids. Lee also took the time to share her insights into the trends driving the kids yogurt and snacks today, digging dee...

Nathalia Macedo, senior climate and ESG consultant for NSF International, joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) reporting for food and beverage processors. What should companies focus on first? How can they improve their scores and demonstrate their sustainability initiatives are producing results that matter? Macedo addresses these points, and...

At the Food Safety Summit in May, we sat down with Tia Glave, president and co-founder, and Jill Stuber, vice president and co-founder, of Catalyst Food Leaders, to discuss food safety culture and leadership trends. During our conversation, the Catalyst team discussed the advancements food and beverage companies have made in putting a focus on building and communicating a food safety culture in th...

Rocco Renaldi, secretary general of the International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA), discusses the movement toward defining foods on the processing spectrum from “not processed” to “ultraprocessed,” and how the challenges run deeper than the superficial labels that currently exist. In addition, Renaldi shares his ideas for how the industry can work together with science and find a way forwar...

Fermentation, especially precision fermentation, continues to grow as a solution for numerous challenges in and around the food and beverage industry. McKinsey & Co., a management consulting firm, recently completed research on precision fermentation, and Kate Toews and Tom Brennan joined the podcast to discuss the findings of the research, the future innovation fermented ingredients can bring...

Lauren McNamara, senior vice president of business management for SunOpta, joins the podcast to discuss trends in plant-based foods and better-for-you snacking, and offers her insights into how SunOpta is preparing for future determinations on ultraprocessed foods definitions and potential ingredient bans or restrictions. McNamara also talks about how better-for-you snacks can position themselves...

Odwalla juices and smoothies are back, and Carlos Madrazo, U.S. country manager for Grupo Jumex, joins the podcast to talk about the brand’s relaunch and the work done to  bring it back  after five years off the market. He also discusses the competitive advantages the company brings due to its vertical integration in the fruit business and how it goes the extra mile to investigate, install and use...

This episode is brought to you by the American Egg Board. With spring migration of wild birds well under way, egg farmers are working overdrive to keep their flocks safe and healthy as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI or bird flu) continues to threaten poultry and birds of all types. Not only is the industry researching ways to protect flocks, but it also is battling to restore their number...

In mid-February, Food Processing senior editor Andy Hanacek was invited to moderate a panel discussing the U.S. meat industry for cultivated meat company Meatable in the Netherlands. Joining Hanacek on stage were longtime meat industry executive Jeff Swain, Chef Andrew Hunter and Paradai Adisayathepkul of Betagro. This conversation covers how cultivated meat can learn from previous “revolutionary”...

In this episode, Dana Rodio, director of marketing and branding for Nassau Candy, offers her insights into the up-and-coming consumer group, Generation Alpha. Rodio talks about the consumption and media trends driving the habits of Gen Alpha kids, who have been bombarded with messaging and media from an early age. She also discusses how Nassau approaches appealing to them, and what any food and be...

Clint Rivers, president and CEO of Wayne-Sanderson Farms, has had a long, esteemed career in the poultry industry, and he is retiring March 31, 2025 , after leading several chicken companies over the last few decades. Rivers sat down with me during the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta in January to talk about the challenges and opportunities in front of the chicken...

At the IPPE Show in Atlanta at the end of January, we caught up with Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, who recently took over as chief operating officer for the Meat Institute for longtime executive Mark Dopp, who is retiring. Johnson-Hoffman shares with us her goals in the role and what she’s already working on just about a month into the job. She also discusses how the Institute plans to work with the new...

In this episode, recorded during the IPPE show in Atlanta in January, Juan DeVillena, senior vice president of quality assurance and food safety at Wayne-Sanderson Farms, walks through Wayne-Sanderson’s digitalization journey and how the company is working to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning today. DeVillena also discusses how the chicken processor rolled out its trainin...