Food Processing’s Food For Thought Podcast (Food Processing)

Are comfort foods still trending? Why are so many brands doing product-mashups? And is plant-based here to stay?  We answer those questions and more during this episode of the Food For Thought podcast. 

In this episode, we’ve got Arwen Kimmell, Director of Innovation Marketing at JPG Resources helping us predict what product innovation will look like for the rest of 2021 and into 2022. You won’t want to miss this episode because we break down the what, the why, and even the when of food and beverage product innovation for the next year. 

Learn more about JPG Resources

Read the full transcript on Food Processing

Del Monte Foods, one of the winners of Food Processing’s 2020 R&D Teams of the Year, has a long history of producing vegetables for the masses. The company has undergone a change in the last few years that combines authenticity with agility. Learn how the original purveyors of the plant food movement have changed the way we know vegetables... and product development. Learn more about Del Monte Foods' R&D Team

Eric Mittenthal, chief strategy officer for the North American Meat Institute, joined me during last month’s International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta. We discussed the Institute’s Protein PACT initiative, its success thus far and goals moving forward, as well as what any segment of the food industry can learn from how Protein PACT has brought together processors.

In today's episode, we're talking to Dr. James Richardson. 

Richardson is a Ph.D, a cultural anthropologist, and the author of Ramping Your Brand. Through his company, Premium Growth Solutions, he helps CPG entrepreneurs create strategic plans to achieve exponential growth. 

In this episode, we talk about why entrepreneurs want to grow fast and set unrealistic forecasts as well as the mistakes that CPG entrepreneurs repeatedly make.

Learn more about his book Ramping Your Brand

Learn more about his company, Premium Growth Solutions 

Read the full transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

With me on the podcast today are Ingredion’s Ramesh Thiyagarajan, Carolyn Phillips, and Kelly D'Amico. 

In this episode, we're talking about a new program Ingredion is rolling out called 360 Value. In fact, this podcast might be the very first time you're hearing about it. Listen in over the next 15 minutes as we talk about what 360 Value is, why it's important, and how it benefits food manufacturers and the consumers they serve. 

Within this episode, we take a deeper dive into consumer insights including topics such as health benefits, well-being, sustainability, and value. We also discuss how Ingredion helps its customers deliver environmentally-friendly products as well as what the company can do to help processors reduce costs or to be more profitable. 

Learn more about this episode's sponsor, Ingredion

Read the full transcript of this episode on Food Processing 

The term “recycling” has been around for decades, but how much progress have food and beverage companies made? And how have consumers been supported in their efforts to recycle?

John Hewitt, senior vice president of packaging and sustainability on behalf of the Consumer Brands Association, talks about where industry stands, and then offers a learning session on molecular recycling — a recycling process that takes the standard, mechanical recycling processes to the next level.

From reduced sugar intake to increased interest in comfort food, we kick things off talking about consumer trends as they relate to sugar reduction. We then shift into the sweetener options Ingredion has available that can help product developers create products that are indulgent, yet good-for-you. And we wrap things up talking about why is allulose a good tool for sugar reduction. 

Learn more about this episode's sponsor, Ingredion Read the full transcript of this episode on Food Processing

On today’s episode, we’re talking with Rick Williams, Practice Lead in operations and supply chain management at JPG Resources. Williams talks with us about the top supply chain issues impacting food and beverage processors in Spring 2022… and beyond.

From the impact of geopolitical issues, to ingredient and packaging material availability, we touch on all of the current links impacting today’s supply chain. You’ll definitely want to listen the entire way through this episode as Rick offers his perspective on how labor issues can be fixed or corrected as well as leaving us with two things manufacturers will need to master if we’re ever going crawl out from under the weight of our supply chain issues. 

Enjoy the episode. Read the transcript of this episode

This week I sat down with Daniel Sztutwojner chief customer officer and co-founder of Beekeeper. During this episode, we talk about how food processing companies have used the tool to keep their employees updated on processes and procedures—including COVID-specific logistics. We also discuss how mobile technology is actually helping companies become safer and more efficient.

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.

In this special bonus episode, Bartek Ingredients’ Jeff Billig and Matthew Patrick talk about the challenges that formulators and manufacturers encounter when working with pectins.

We kick things off talk talking about Bartek’s focus in the bakery, beverage and confectionery markets as well as how the company, which specializes in malic and fumaric acids helps companies optimize their applications.

We then shift into a conversation about pH and the challenges of producing pectin-based gummy products before rounding out the episode learning more about Bartek’s new buffer salt, Pecmate.

Learn more about this episode's sponsor, Bartek Ingredients on their website.

Read the full transcript of this podcast episode on the Food Processing website.

Ask anyone that’s been through a merger or acquisition, and they’ll tell you there are many more moving parts on the inside than what you see from the outside. The companies that are successful with M&A make the execution appear flawless. Such is the case with Motion’s recent Kaman Distribution Group (KDG) acquisition. 

In this episode of the podcast, we talked with Randy Breaux, President of Motion, to talk about the acquisition—particularly, the reasons behind acquiring their number two competitor. We also discussed the benefits of merging the automation, fluid power and hydraulics, and repair services businesses. The following is our conversation.

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food For Thought Podcast

This episode was sponsored by Motion

Erin Hallstrom officially hands over the microphone for the Food For Thought Podcast to Food Processing senior editor Andy Hanacek, as Hallstrom moves to a greater role within FP's parent company.

Food Processing editor-in-chief Dave Fusaro stops by the studios to discuss his trip to Natural Products Expo West. Fusaro is a veteran attendee of the show, and he’ll recount the sights — and tastes — that caught his eye while in Anaheim this spring.

From mushroom-based products to tinned fish, Fusaro discusses a variety of products exhibitors had on display — and don't forget the 'turducken of confections,' Fusaro says. Get a good look at the trends in product development and R&D through this episode of the podcast.

To be successful in the food and beverage processing world, processors must keep up with the ever-increasing pace of innovation in operations. Plant and equipment design standards are always on the move, and we spoke with Paul Krechel, vice president of Sales, Service and Parts for Deville Technologies to get his take on how collaboration between processors and vendors can help the industry keep up.

This episode is sponsored by Deville Technologies.

Read the transcript of this episode on Food Processing's web site.

On today’s episode, we’re talking with financial expert, Jennifer Palmer. 

Jennifer, who is the CEO and Founder of asset-based lending firm JPalmer Collective, is a return guest to the podcast and she’s here to talk about how bank collapses – like the one that happened with Silicon Valley Bank in March – can have a ripple effect for food and beverage manufacturers. 

We take both a macro and a micro-economics approach to understanding how bank collapses can affect both large and small food and beverage manufacturers. We talk about what processors should be doing when it comes to their finance partners before capping things off with a slew of tips for how to plan and prepare for financial emergencies. 

Visit the Food Processing website for the time stamps for this episode

Listen to the 2022 episode with Jennifer Palmer, Who’s Watching out for Food’s Female Entrepreneurs?

We sat down and talked with Food Processing’s newest addition: Senior Editor Andy Hanacek.

Andy’s fairly well known in the food and beverage industry, and we kick off the episode talking about that and so much more. We cover a lot of ground, including how Andy’s been helping to inform an industry that combats misconceptions and misinformation on daily basis. 

Having covered the food and beverage industry for nearly 20 years, Andy talks about what he’s seen manufacturers do really well in the last two decades – and a few areas for improvement for the industry as a whole.  We cap things off talking about a few of the issues this veteran industry reporter is keeping a close eye on in 2023. 

Follow along with the timestamps for this episode by visiting our website. 

Read Andy’s March cover story on automation in the food industry, The Food Plant of the Future: Feeding More with Less

Read Andy’s article on Meat & Poultry in the Post-Pandemic era, What Removing the COVID Emergency Label Means for Meat & Poultry

Want to get in touch with Andy?Send him an email 

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 training and helped its employees work through the process. He also hints at how AI and machine learning could help the company’s food safety and quality efforts down the road.

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.

Sandra Eskin, deputy under secretary for Food Safety with USDA-FSIS, joins us to discuss a variety of topics, from worker and food safety impacts of increased poultry and pork line speeds to the data revolution and how it could affect the agency's efforts, as well as FSIS' proposal to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded, stuffed, raw chicken products. Read more about other challenges and issues in food safety at Food Processing's Web site.

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a rule that would require a front-of-package nutrition label for most packaged food products, listing saturated fat, sodium and added sugars content for each product.

Natalie Rainer, partner and member of the Health Care and FDA practice at K&L Gates, discusses the proposed rule and the industry’s initial reaction. She also digs into what it means for the future of product development, formulation, and package design — and how this is a unique situation when it comes to claims made on food and beverage packaging.

Do you know what a SOYLEIC® soybean is? Here to explain what SOYLEIC® soybeans are and how they’re being used to create a healthier food system Bryan Stobaugh, Director Of Licensing And Commercialization at Missouri Soybeans.

During this episode, we talk about how SOYLEIC® soybeans were discovered and what makes them non-GMO. We talk about the process of commercialization for Soyleic soybeans as well as where they can be planted. 

Learn more about SOYLEIC®

This episode was sponsored by Soyleic

If you could train someone to be a better leader, would you do it? The University of Minnesota’s Integrated Food Systems Leadership Program is helping students evolve into the leaders the food and beverage industry needs.  In this episode, learn what the IFSL program is and listen to one of its co-horts talk about what she’s learned and how her employer is reaping the benefits. 

Learn more about the University of Minnesota’s Integrated Food Systems Leadership Program

Read the transcript of this podcast on FoodProcessing.com

In this episode of the Food For Thought podcast, we talk to Kristel de Groot about Your Super’s consumer-centric approach to product development. From the company’s very personal beginning to its current status as certified B-Corp wellness brand, Your Super’s Co-Founder Kristel walks us through how the company finds its inspiration for launching new products. We also talk about funding, COVID, and what advise Kristel has for up-and-coming brands wanting to make a name for themselves. 

Learn more about Your Super at yoursuper.com

Read the full transcript of this episode on Food Processing

Food and beverage plants are constantly chasing improved productivity and efficiency, and Bill Remy, CEO for TBM Consulting, joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss strategies to help them reach those goals.

Remy also reminds processors of the importance of getting skilled workers on board to maintain the equipment at a high level, despite the complexity of the automation being installed, and figuring out a way to transfer the tribal knowledge from longtime workers who leave to the new generation of employees.

This episode is brought to you by Regal Rexnord.

Food and beverage processors aim every day to deliver increased sustainable productivity to get products out the door quicker. However, that goal often can be impeded by routine or unexpected conveyor line maintenance.

Barry Voshell, strategic account manager for Regal Rexnord, joins us in this episode to discuss the various solutions in the industry that can reduce maintenance intervals and ease the burden of keeping lines and equipment operating at peak efficiency — a burden faced by both processors and their maintenance teams.

Learn more about Regal Rexnord

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.

On today's episode, we’re talking with Miller Resource Group recruiter Denise Chludzinski about specific tasks and ideas companies can undertake to ensure they find and keep the best employees. 

We kick off the episode talking about the perception problem food and beverage companies have among consumers and why that may be preventing future generations from considering careers in the ever-growing industry.  We talk about the importance of connecting with consumers, especially when it comes to your reputation and how your company may be seen from the perspective of those job-searching younger generations. 

We then pivot to talking about the jobs and roles that Denise is constantly hiring for as well as the skills most employers are looking for in their candidates.  We also talk a lot about why companies are losing some of their most talented players and what they can do to fix that problem. We end the episode talking about what strategies and tactics manufacturers can employ to recruit and retain the best and the brightest in the industry. 

Learn more about Denise and Miller Resource Group

Get the timestamps for this episode on the Food Processing website

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.

WIN-911’s Cody Bann talks with us about how companies can not only improve their cyber security, but also mitigate their risks for cyber-attacks. We have a conversation about how tools like remote alarm notification software can help reduce cyber-attacks in processing facilities.

We’re then joined by Ozarka’s Trey Mixon, who explains how this Blue Triton brand out of Texas is using WIN-911’s remote monitoring tool and why it’s critical for them in keeping up with their real-time and long-term monitoring data. Trey offers an example of an emergency that was averted because of the Remote Alarm Software before explaining the advantages the software provides him and his team when they’re not on site.

Read the transcript and learn more about WIN-911

This episode is sponsored by WIN-911

Today on the podcast, we’re talking with Jeff Broussard, president of EnSight Solutions. Jeff joins us to talk about further processing, a topic EnSight has a lot of knowledge on. 

In the episode, Jeff talks us through what further processing is and what trends he’s seeing in the processing market. He walks us through developments in further processing equipment design before offering insights on what it means to be a trusted partner for food processors. 

Today’s episode is sponsored by EnSight Solutions.

Learn more about EnSight Solutions on their website

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

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.

Stephanie Powell, director of marketing for Alpha Baking Co., discusses the results of a survey Alpha Baking commissioned to determine how consumers construct sandwiches using their Thanksgiving leftovers. From their choice of bread type and whether they use turkey or ham, to pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes — plus a few non-leftover "must haves" — the choices consumers make are interesting! At the least, they demonstrate a cornucopia of culinary experimentation over the Thanksgiving weekend.

View the article, including several charts of data from Alpha Baking's survey, by visiting our web site.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, from all of us at Food Processing!

As consumers seek healthier options in their food choices, fermented foods have seen a resurgence in popularity, and Fermented Food Holdings, or FFH, hopes to take advantage of the rising demand. The company recently promoted Jorge Azevedo from chief operating officer to be its first CEO, and he joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss the company’s growth and its mission moving forward.

In addition, Azevedo offers his insights into the fermented foods marketplace and the demand for those products from consumers, and how FFH is looking to grow not just in the fermented foods space, but also as a functional foods company.

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.

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 presidential administration to help the industry move forward and gives her thoughts on how the industry still can improve its efforts to keep food safety at the forefront at all times.

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.

This episode is part five of our Influential Women in Food Series, where we’re honoring women that have effected change for their colleagues and peers in the food and beverage industry.

With us today is Jona Hightower, Senior Lead Assessor with LRQA. Jona is the epitome of an influential woman in the food industry. She describes herself as having a passion for teaching and sharing knowledge and it’s something she’s known about herself since elementary school.  That passion also shows up when she’s lending her expertise and counsel to the numerous women she works with.

We start things off talking about how Jona found herself in the role of an assessor. True to her knowledge-sharing self, she offers guidance on how one might enter the profession before we shift to talking about Jona’s passion for training and supporting those around her. We talk about the importance of defining what success looks like as well as how Jona has elevated numerous women by way of guiding them through learning plans and professional development initiatives. We dig into what drives Jona to offer the kind of support she does as well as how she's helped pave the way for other women in the food and beverage industry.

We dip our toes into a conversation about work/life balance before ending the episode talking about the advice Jona has received and would give to those entering the workforce. 

Follow along in this episode through the topics timestamped below

• Introduction and Role 2:25
• How She Got Started 3:14
• Understanding the Role of an Auditor 5:00
• How She’s Training and Supporting her Fellow Female Colleagues 6:18
• What Drives Her To Help Women With Their Careers In Food Industry 11:28
• Mentoring & Paving The Way For Other Women In The Food And
• Beverage Industry 14:38
• Work/Life Balance 16:27
• Advice Received at the Start of Career That is Still Used Today 17:22
• Advice for Those Coming into the Food and Beverage Industry 18:37

Many in the production industry don’t realize the importance of high-quality doors to a facility’s success. In fact, high-performance doors can help your company save money and manpower — and increase productivity. This is especially true for those in the cold storage and food industries.

To explore the ins and outs of the high-performance door market and what doors might be best for your company, Food Processing sat down with Whitney Hopper, Director of Sales Cold Storage North America at Hörmann, to discuss.

Today's Episode is Sponsored by Hörmann

Learn more about Hörmann High-Performance Doors on their website

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

This episode is sponsored by IDS Imaging Development Systems.

Artificial intelligence is here, and food and beverage processors, as well as manufacturing at large, would be best served to take notice and get moving, or they might miss out on the benefits that AI and machine learning can bring.

Philip Freidin, an applications engineer at IDS Imaging Development Systems, joins us in this episode to give his perspective on what the short- and long-term outlook is for these innovative technologies and what applications might benefit most from the solutions they can provide.

Learn more about IDS Imaging Development Systems

Joining us on today’s episode is Maggie Slowik, Global Industry Director for Manufacturing at IFS. And we’re talking all about the power of data.   

In today’s manufacturing world, there are as many uses of data as there are products. So how do companies determine what to focus on to build out their strategy? That’s what we’re talking about and more in this special bonus episode. 

According to Maggie, data is the new currency. We dive into what that means and how, as an organization, the ownership of data can give you more power than you ever imagined. 

We also address concerns that some in food and beverage have about data, including how exactly they’re going to embark on their digital transformation as well as how they’re going to find – and fill – the talent pipeline when it comes to data analysis. 

And we cap things off talking about the Metaverse and its possible implications on the food and beverage industry as a whole. 

Read the transcript on the Food Processing website.

This episode was sponsored by IFS

With us on the podcast today is Steven Burton, Founder and CEO of Icicle Technologies. Originally launched to help solve the problem of foodborne illness, Icicle now helps food companies execute their food safety plans.

In this episode, we get to the meat of the matter of lab-grown meat. We kick things off talking about why the notion of lab-grown meat and alternative proteins are growing in popularity as well as their impact on the meat industry.

We talk a bit about consumers’ perspectives of meat alternatives and the GMO-ification of it all before digging in to a discussion about both the advantages and drawbacks of lab-grown meat. We of course also talk about how safe lab-grown meat really is. We wrap things up talking about how Icicle Technologies is helping companies – including those in the lab-grown meat space – bring safer products to market.

Read the Full Transcript on the Food Processing website

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2022 Digital Food & Beverage Conference: Special Discount for Food For Thought Listeners Be sure to register for the 2022 Digital Food & Beverage event taking place July 25-26 in Austin, Texas to meet with fellow digital marketing and ecommerce professionals from the industry's most innovative companies. Use promo code DFB22FOOD at foodandbeverage.wbresearch.com for 25% off your pass!

We recently sat down with Liran Akavia, Vice President of Sales for Process Health at Augury, to talk about the complex challenges manufacturers are up against and how they can use an AI-driven approach to optimize production health.  During our conversation, we talked about how food manufacturers can identify the right AI technology as well as what the most common challenges food manufacturers face when adopting AI.  We also discussed how process health can help food manufacturers overcome challenges with global instability and uncertainty as well as issues such as the workforce shortage. 

We end the episode talking about Augury’s recent acquisition of Seebo, and how that merger has made for an extremely powerful combined solution and one-stop shop for process health and machine health. 

Learn more about Augury

Enjoy the episode. Read the transcript on the Food Processing website

This episode was sponsored by Augury

For anyone in Product Development and R&D at a food and beverage company, this episode is definitely for you. With us on the podcast today is Manmit Shrimali, co-founder and CEO of Turing Labs AI.

Founded in 2019, Turing Labs, which recently concluded $16.5 Million Dollars in Series A funding, has been helping Consumer Packaged Goods companies get new or improved products to market faster using their unique AI platform.  

Listen in to hear how Turing is helping some of the biggest names in CPG create or reformulate faster and more efficiently. Perfect for the post-COVID hybrid R&D Department, Manmit walks us through how the platform uses artificial intelligence to simulate working through different ingredient combinations to determine what works…and what doesn’t. You’ll definitely want to tune in to hear how this revolutionary platform is helping manufacturers take thousands of data points and turn them into formulation gold. 

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

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Get Food & Beverage Industry News Delivered to You Be sure you’re signed up for Food Processing’s Daily E-Newsletter, so you can stay in the know about the news impacting the food and beverage industry. Head to foodprocessing.com/newsletters to get on the list for our daily e-newsletter that comes straight to your inbox every weekday morning.   

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.

Did you know that we waste about 40% of our food across the United States and most of that ends up in landfills. Did you also know there is a solution to reduce that much food waste while also making a new product category?

It’s true and it’s called Upcycling. Here to talk about upcycling and how it can benefit people and processors is Kaitlin Mogentale.

Mogentale is the creator and founder of Pulp Pantry, which takes the waste from juiceries and produce companies and turns it into upcycled gold, resulting in Pulp Pantry’s Pulp Chips.

Throughout this episode, we talk about the statistics behind food waste and its impact on people and our planet. We discuss upcycling and how companies and consumers are responding to it, while ending the episode talking about the potential for this newer product category. 

Enjoy the episode. 

You can read the full transcript of this episode here.

Kaitlin Mogentale was recently featured on our website as one of our Entrepreneurs to Watch, which you can read on Food Processing.com 

The popularity of private-label food and beverage products continues to grow, and it’s being driven by a variety of factors from inflation over the years to continued price pressure to the influence of the Gen Z shopper.

Nichole Jones, principal in EY-Parthenon’s retail strategy practice, and Don Johnson, principal in the consumer products and retail strategy practice at EY-Parthenon, join the podcast to discuss what makes this opportunity in private label different from other historical opportunities. They also give insights on how to cater products to Gen Z consumers, as well as strategies for processors and retailers to take advantage and strike while the iron remains hot.

This episode is brought to you by Robroy Industries.

For food and beverage processors, designing facilities, equipment and components requires a sharp focus on mitigating safety risks to product and the workforce. Taken singularly, the bar has been raised for most of these standards.

Yet, as Steve Voelzke, president of the Electrical Division at Robroy Industries, explains, an all-encompassing, wide-lens approach to designing systems around all the standards together can help companies advance safety and reliability in their plants and stay ahead of the curve.

Learn more about Robroy Industries

With us on the podcast today is Gary Nowacki, CEO of TraceGains. We’re talking about what food and beverage processors might expect this year in terms of ingredient costs and supply availability. We launch into a discussion about inflation – and disinflation – and how both will play a part in the business strategies of many top food companies. As we attempt to make predictions about the coming year, one thing is certain: expect the unexpected. 

The unexpected plays a big part in the second half of our conversation, where we talk about how CPG manufacturers have pivoted in the last few years and that many are learning to embrace and build a more agile supply chain. We chat a bit about how food and beverage companies seem to be establishing better partnerships with their employees through benefits and long term needs before digging in to a conversation about co-manufacturing and how brand owners and co-mans are collaborating to bring new products to market. 

Learn more about the podcast and see the timestamps for this episode on our website

On today’s special episode, we’re talking with Kaeser Compressors about ISO Class 0 Compressed Air.  Join us as we talk with Neil Mehltretter, Technical Director, and Werner Rauer, Product Manager, about what Class 0 Compressed air really is. 

We talk about what a Class 0 label really means as well as what guidelines and specifications there are for class zero air in food and beverage applications. We wrap things up talking about whether there are energy or other cost implications for higher levels of air quality.  Enjoy the episode. 

Read the transcript on the Food Processing website.

This episode is sponsored by Kaeser Compressors

We’re continuing our conversation about CPG entrepreneurship. In this episode, we talk to Dr. James Richardson about the risks and rewards of growing a CPG brand, in particular the risks entrepreneurs should—and shouldn’t—take as well as what it means to be memorable versus unique. 

Learn more

• Learn more about his book Ramping Your Brand
• Learn more about his company, Premium Growth Solutions

Read more

• Read ore listen to Part 1 of the CPG Entrepreneurship series: A CPG Entrepreneur's Guide to Growth
• Read the full transcript of this episode on Food Processing 

In this episode, sponsored by EnSight Solutions, we’re talking with Heath Clifton, Director of Automation and Controls about food-safe robotics.

We talk about what food-safe robotics are as well as the difference between hygienic and sanitary robotics before turning our attention toward the key features processors should they look for when evaluating robotics. 

Read the full transcript on the Food Processing website

How closely do you follow the USDA's Dietary Guidelines in your own life? Are you consuming enough fruits and vegetables? In today's special bonus episode of the Food For Thought podcast, we're talking with Brendan Kesler, an innovation strategist with Van Drunen Farms about that very topic. 

Listen in as we talk about the evolution of Americans' eating habits, especially as they relate to fruits and vegetables. We take a deeper dive into why consumers struggle to get their recommended daily amount of fruits and veggies as well as learning more about the TruServ program that Van Drunen Farms is introducing to help make sure we're all getting the nutrients we need. 

Learn more about Van Drunen Farms 

Read the transcript of this episode on Food Processing.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Silky Smooth MicroCreamery, the creators of SilkySweet

Necessity is the mother of invention; or at least that’s how the saying goes. For Chuck Nix, the need to create the perfect sweetener for ice cream led him to create SilkySweet, a flavor-enhancing, all-natural, sugar-free and ketogenic certified sweetener blend for a multitude of products.

Nix, who founded Silky Smooth MicroCreamery, transformed his life his few years ago by adopting the ketogenic lifestyle (aka, the Keto Diet).

After losing 100 pounds “and saving my life,” he says, he recognized the need for a sweetener that was not only healthy, but also enhanced the flavor of the products it was used with. 

Nix sat down with Food Processing recently to talk about the SilkySweet product, how it got its start and how it can used in formulations to both enhance taste and enable category leadership. 

Learn more about Silky Sweet and order your samples today 

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

We’re capping off our conversation about food and beverage workforce issues with return guest Jennifer D’Angelo. 

Jennifer, who is a vice president at Catena Solutions, was on back in March talking about the correlation between the supply chain and workforce issues in the food and beverage industry. On today’s episode, we dig a little bit deeper about those issues and about the future of work for food manufacturers. 

From interpreting job-fulfillment data to rethinking and retooling job descriptions, onboarding, and mentorship, you won’t want to miss this tip-filled episode. 

Visit our website for the timestamps of this week's episode

What do you get when you pair up a food scientist with a passion for infant nutrition and a cellular biologist with a passion for novel applications of cell culture technology? You get Biomilq, one of the latest disruptors in the food and beverage space.

Launched in 2020, Biomilq is aiming to change the way we think about infant nutrition. The small company out of North Carolina is on a mission to produce cultured breastmilk that offers supplemental nutrition to mother’s milk with the convenience of formula.

For the next half hour, listen as CEO and Co-Founder Michelle Egger and our host talk about how the BIOMILQ team is changing the way we think about infant nutrition. We talk about the science, the safety, and the strategies behind this revolutionary approach to cultured food. We also tackle the topics of funding, naysayers, and how to know you're on the right track with your product. 

Read the full transcript on FoodProcessing.com

Learn more about Biomilq

If you’re discouraged or frustrated by the disparity between how men and women are represented in the food and beverage industry, then this is a can’t-miss episode. This week, we’re talking with Jennifer Stojkovic, founder and creator of the Vegan Women Summit and the author of The Future of Food Is Female: Reinventing the Food System to Save the Planet.

We pack a lot of great information into this episode, from talking about how Jennifer got started to why she launched the Vegan Women Summit and penned The Future of Food Is Female.

Amid the conversation about the importance of diversity and inclusion in our boardrooms, we touch on the widening gap between who gets funding in new food and beverage ventures, and who does not. We talk about why representation matters and how things like the baby formula shortage would’ve likely been prevented had there been more diversity in the rooms where decisions were being made.  

We also spend some time talking about why the Vegan Women Summit is important, not only to the plant-based and animal-free food sector, but to the many product and networking opportunities that exist because of it. And like every one of our Influential Women in Food episodes, we end talking about the advice Jennifer would give and has received throughout her career.

Follow along in this episode through the topics timestamped below

• Introduction & The Vegan Women Summit: 2:57
• Following an Atypical Path 4:35
• Raising Awareness About Venture Capital Bias 6:44
• Advocating For Increased Diversity And Representation 14:42
• About The Future of Food Is Female 19:18
• Not Tokenizing Women 21:22
• Advice Received at the Start of Career That is Still Used Today 24:21
• Advice for Those Coming into the Food and Beverage Industry 26:49

On the podcast this week is Robert Hersh, National Managing Principal in Manufacturing and Food and Beverage for Grant Thornton. Throughout the next half-hour, we talk about the results of the firm’s 2020 Digital Supply Chain Survey as well touching upon Food Processing’s own 2021 Capital Spending Outlook.

We cover a lot of ground in 30 minutes, including talking about how food and beverage processors can become better equipped at assessing supply chain risk as well as discussing how digitalization and other technologies are playing a significant role in the future of the food and beverage workforce.

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website. 

Brett Erickson, director of Prepared and Packaged Solutions for Certified Angus Beef, discusses how value-added product trends are driving changes for consumers, foodservice operators and processors — and how innovation is helping to push the envelope further. Additionally, Erickson offers his insights into how CAB and the industry can adjust to consumer demand in response to inflation and higher food prices overall.

Today we’re talking with Tara Paster Cammarata, CEO and President, of Cenza, formerly known as Paster Training. We kick off our episode getting to know Tara, and how she turned a $500 gift 20 years ago into the multimillion dollar, privately-held training and consulting company it is today.

Tara walks us through how Cenza educates and trains processors on numerous topics relating to food safety and how her previous experiences in classrooms changed the way she approached helping the food industry make sure there were innovative approaches to food safety.

We talk about Tara’s mentors throughout her career as well as how working for bad bosses in the past shaped the kind of manager and leader she is today. We discuss other topics, such as her proactive approach to training as well as how she's helping and inspiring the women around her. We end the episode talking about the advice Tara has received throughout her career as well as advice she would give to women entering the food and beverage workforce. 

Follow along in this episode through the topics timestamped below

• Introduction And How She’s Helping The Food Industry 2:00
• How She Got Started: 4:24
• Mentors In Her Life: 7:07
• Proactive Approach To Training: 9:32
• How She’s Helping Women In The Food And Beverage Industry 11:45
• The Books She’s Published 15:05
• Advice Received At The Start Of Career That Is Still Used Today 18:16
• Advice For Those Coming Into The Food & Beverage Industry 20:35

Learn more about Cenza Inc.  Visit the Instruis Publishing bookstore 

With us today is Angela Dodd, founder of Females in Food. Angela created the Females in Food Community to help women in the food and beverage industry advance their careers. 

Consider this: 80% of food buying decisions globally are made by women, yet, across every segment of the food and beverage industry, fewer than 20% of senior leadership positions are held by women.  

We talk about that statistic and much more in today’s episode. We address issues about why women are under-represented, what companies and male allies can do to help reach gender parity, and whether Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs are actually working.  Read the transcript of this episode 

Influential Women in Food Be sure to visit the Food Processing website to learn more about the Influential Women in Food program. If you know a woman – or women – that are making an impact in the food and beverage industry, be sure to nominate them for this prestigious award. But act fast, we’ll be closing nominations on March 1. 

Florida-based Mettler-Toledo serves the food processing industry via its product inspection solutions to ensure the quality and safety of food products before they make it to the consumer. Mettler-Toledo sees product inspection as one of the most important elements to success for today’s production facilities. The company is a multinational manufacturer of scales and analytical instruments and is the largest provider of weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial and food retailing applications. 

To gain insight into the role product inspection solutions play in the safety and quality of food products, we caught up with Robert Rogers, senior advisor of food safety and regulations at Mettler-Toledo. 

Read the transcript of this episode

Today’s episode is sponsored by Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection, a division of Mettler-Toledo. 

In today’s episode, we’re talking with Liz Sertl, Senior Director of Community Engagement at GS1 US. If you’re not familiar with GS1 US, you’re certainly familiar with their barcodes. With more than six billion scans a day, those barcodes are what helps keep product moving, and the supply chain efficient.

We talk a lot about efficiency versus resiliency in the supply chain and where food manufacturers got it right – and where they can still improve. We examine the growing importance of data and digital transformation while ending the episode talking about how GS1 US is helping food processors prepare for FMSA’s Proposed Rule 204, which comes out in November 2022.

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

Learn more about Liz’s podcast, Next Level Supply Chain

Let us know YOUR predictions for manufacturing in 2022 by taking part in Food Processing’s annual Manufacturing Outlook Survey in November. Give us your insights and let us know your predictions for what manufacturing will look like next year. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Your answers will be confidential, so feel comfortable giving us your thoughts. The results will be available in January 2022. Complete the Survey

With us on the podcast today is Marlene Creighton, Chief Sales Officer at Hershey. We’re talking about Hershey’s Future CEO program, which brings together 10 young women and girls from around the globe for a day of learning and mentorship. We talk about why this program is so important to Hershey and how it’s helping to make an impact on the next generation. We discuss the importance of mentorship and ‘reverse mentorship’ not only for the girls involved in the program, but also for the company as well. 

Hershey, which was named Food Processing’s 2022 Processor of the Year, is a household name for many American consumers, and Marlene walks us through how programs like Future CEO help the company better understand – and listen – to its consumers. We talk about Gen Z’s importance to the brand before shifting to a discussion about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Hershey. 

We cap things off talking about why diversity and representation are so fundamentally important not only to the company’s hiring and recruitment but also with its suppliers as well.  

Head to our website for the timestamps for this episode. 

Do you know an Influential Woman in the Food Industry? Nominations are now open for our 2023 Influential Women in Food awards. Head to our website to learn more about the awards and to submit your nomination for our 2023 awards. Visit the website

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.

With us on the podcast is Joe Weiss. Joe is an international authority on control systems cybersecurity as well as a Managing Partner at Applied Control Solutions.

In the next 30 minutes, Joe walks us through some of the biggest threats to the US Food Industry’s cybersecurity, including ransomware and other kinds of cyber attacks.

We talk about the methodology and intent behind most cyber-attacks while also digging into the smallest entry-point that can do the biggest damage. 

Check out Joe's blog, Unfettered

Read the transcript on the Food Processing website.

With us today is Cloeann Durham. Cloeann is the Vice President of Quality, Safety and Environmental Sustainability for Coca-Cola.

A self-branded ‘science nerd,’ Cloeann’s college experience did not include visions of a future in the food and beverage industry. As her post-college experience evolved, so too did her options and she worked at several beverage companies before coming to Coca-Cola more than 20 years ago. We talk about Cloeann’s career evolution and how it helped create a foundation for the lesson’s she’s learned throughout her career. We talk about those lessons throughout this episode. 

From the importance of collaboration, communication and transparency to finding your leadership style, we talk about all of the ways Cloeann has helped pave the way for other women in the food and beverage industry. And we conclude the episode talking about the best advice Cloeann has received – and would give – about a career in the food and beverage industry. 

Learn more about Influential Women in Food 

Are you feeling OK about the MRP in your ERP? If you’re feeling unsure, then listen in to this informative conversation we had with Plex Systems’ Ara Surenian about material requirements planning, especially as it relates to enterprise resource planning.

We kick things off talking about how supply chain planning can help with inventory lots as well as with labor issues. We then segue over to a discussion about risk management and wrap things up talking about what’s going on with the current packaging and material shortages and how Plex can help food and beverage processors plan for all of it. 

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

Learn More About our Sponsor: Plex Systems at Plex.com

Enjoy the episode. 

From atypical deep freezes to hurricanes, floods, and fires, natural disasters can have a significant impact on the food and beverage supply chain. Here to talk about that on this episode of the Food For Thought podcast is Michael Gehrt.

Michael is an insurance recovery attorney and he works with companies to litigate on their behalf against insurance companies. He also offers advice to companies on how to plan and prepare for any business interruptions brought about by natural disasters.

Join us as we talk about what the definition of a natural disaster is – and the answer may surprise you. We talk about different types of policies and coverage as they pertain to food and beverage businesses, as well as how to mitigate the risks associated with operating a business in the event of a disaster.

Enjoy the episode.  

Read the full transcript of this episode on the Food Processing Website

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.

Is your pest control program as effective as you’d like it to be? In this episode, we talked with Sharon Dobesh, Director Of Technical Services, and Pamela Peckman, staff entomologist, both of Industrial Fumigant Company, about pest prevention strategies you can enact at your facility as well as what the future holds in pest management.

We talk about the best way to design an integrated pest management program that focuses on prevention, how sanitation works into pest control and an IPM program, as well why and how data plays such an important role in developing an IPM program. 

Read the full transcript on the Food Processing website

This episode is sponsored by IFC

The Food For Thought podcast will be taking this week off, but don't worry, we will be back "on the air" next Wednesday, Dec. 4, with all the great insights and conversation you've come to expect! Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and here's to the best food holiday of the year!

When it comes to digital transformation initiatives, have you ever wondered what the top food and beverage companies are doing? Here to help answer that question is Eric Campagna, Food & CPG Machine Health Lead for Augury. Join us as we talk about what’s working – and not working – for the top food and beverage processors as well as the importance of taking risks, particularly when it comes to digital transformation.

We talk about which digital transformation initiatives could provide the most impact as well as how manufacturers can address their current business challenges with new technologies.  

We wrap things up talking about machine health and how it can increase food and beverage manufacturer’s competitive advantage. 

Read the Transcript on the Food Processing website

Learn more about how Augury helps the food and beverage industry. Visit their website

This episode was sponsored by Augury

Circana’s vice president of Thought Leadership, Joan Driggs, joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss the trends driving Thanksgiving shopping for food and beverage products this year. Shoppers are not wavering on the products they want on this American food-fest of a holiday, and retailers and processors, fortunately, are stepping up to offer deals and make the cost a little more affordable for consumers.

In addition, Driggs digs into the Thanksgiving meal — how people approach eating at home versus in a restaurant — when they do celebrate Turkey Day out of the home — and how the Thanksgiving meal remains very heavily homemade. She also implores food and beverage manufacturers to be unique and find ways to promote their products as adjacencies to the main meal, which often supplies a few added leftover meal options in the days afterward.

Check out Circana's 2024 Thanksgiving Outlook for a deeper dive.

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.

When we hear about entrepreneurs and startups in the food and beverage industry, the category that often gets lost in the shuffle is one that has the most ‘spirited’ approach to new product development.  Here to talk about the untapped market for advising and mentoring the independent brand owners and entrepreneurs in the wine, beer, and spirits category is Taylor Foxman, creator of the Industry Collective.

Launched in 2020, the Industry Collective takes the wisdom of numerous experts around the world in the Beer, Wine, and Spirits category and uses it to advise entrepreneurs, start-ups, and others on how to make the biggest splash into the market.

Throughout the episode, Taylor walks us through why organizations like the Industry Collective are needed in the wine, beer, and spirits category as well as how she’s turning the collective into the ultimate resource for the entire beverage industry. 

Learn more about The Industry Collective

Read the Full Transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website 

As coronavirus kicked into high gear throughout 2020, so too, did the speed at which food and beverage processors had to keep up with demand. As any company knows, high volume production times are the worst time to experience equipment failure. We recently sat down with Jason Kreitz from Advanced Technology Services (ATS) to talk about how ATS is helping food and beverage processors integrate technology into their production. 

We cover a wide range of topics including machine maintenance and other MRO challenges, tips for prioritizing upgrades for aging equipment and facilities, machine health monitoring for predictive maintenance, and very importantly, how technology is helping manufacturers push safety to the forefront. 

To learn more about this episode's sponsor, Advanced Technology Services, visit www.advancedtech.com.

Read the transcript of this episode on the Food Processing website

Today we’re talking with Jamie McKeon, Senior Vice President of Demand Creation at Rich Products. Jamie’s here to talk to us about how Rich Products is working with a local university to help find, encourage, and recruit the next generation of the food and beverage marketers.  

We touch on the trends and observations the team has seen with the newest generation of the workforce as well as what Rich Products has learned about itself in the process. We also talk about advice for other companies that may want to explore similar options with their local schools and universities.  

Head to our website for the timestamps for this episode. 

Do you know an Influential Woman in the Food Industry? Nominations are now open for our 2023 Influential Women in Food awards.  Head to our website to learn more about the awards and to submit your nomination for our 2023 awards. Visit the website

2020 R&D Team of the Year Winner Mary’s Gone Crackers is a small, Nevada-based CPG company doing really big things. In this episode, we talk about how the Nevada-based company leverages its small size to do big things as well as what the company is doing to produce products that are not only good for the body, but good for the planet too. 

Read more about Mary's Gone Crackers' R&D Award on Food Processing.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Loadsmart

In this episode, George Swartz, vice president of sales for Loadsmart’s Transportation Solutions Group, talks about the logistics challenges that food and beverage processors face currently, as well as the trends leading operations into the future.

Swartz also offers his viewpoints on how the industry can manage its carbon footprint and reach its sustainability goals through innovative logistics opportunities and tactics, and gives his thoughts on how and when he believes electric vehicles will start to really impact supply chain and logistics.

Learn more about how Loadsmart Managed Transportation can help lower freight costs.

Kristin Demoranville is the founder and CEO of AnzenSage, a cybersecurity firm focused on the food sector. In this episode of the Food For Thought podcast, Kristin offers her thoughts on where the food and beverage industry stands on cybersecurity and what processors should be doing to bolster their defenses and champion the cause within their organizations. Read more on our Web page.

When you think about innovation and new product development, does Ocean Spray come to mind? You might be thinking “how can anyone innovate a cranberry?” In this episode of Food For Thought, we talk to Rizal Hamdallah, Chief Growth Officer for Ocean Spray Cranberries, about how this 90-year old cooperative is changing the way we think about health and wellness. 

Learn more about Ocean Spray Cranberries 

Read the transcript on FoodProcessing.com

In today’s episode, I’m talking with Ryan Powell about how Insite AI is working with food companies and retailers to better understand consumer behavior.

Over the course of 25 minutes, we talk a lot about data. We touch on clean data, predictive modeling, microsegments, ecosystems, and so much more. If you’re in charge purchasing, planning, or predicting, you won’t want to miss this episode. We also address issues relating to the supply chain, including how AI tools like this can help forecast disruptions and how food companies can be better positioned to stay ahead of the game.

Enjoy the episode and be sure you’re signed up for Food Processing’s Daily E-Newsletter, so you can stay in the know about the news impacting the food and beverage industry. Head to foodprocessing.com/newsletters to get on the list for our daily e-newsletter that comes straight to your inbox every weekday morning.  

Let us know YOUR predictions for manufacturing in 2022 by taking part in Food Processing’s annual Manufacturing Outlook Survey in November. If you head to the show notes in this episode, you'll be taken to a brief survey where you can give us your insights let us know your predictions for what manufacturing will look like next year. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. Your answers will be confidential, so feel comfortable giving us your thoughts. The results will be available in January 2022. Complete they Survey

What does it take to keep a 141-year old meat processing company thriving in Rochester, New York? We’ve got that answer and more in this episode of the Food For Thought Podcast. Today’s guest is Julie Camardo. She’s the CEO and fifth-generation owner of Zweigle's, a meat processing company based out of Rochester. 

In the next half-hour, we cover a lot of ground. We talk about what it was like growing up in the family business, and how she—and the company—give back to the Rochester community in ways you won’t believe. We also talk about what it’s like to be a woman in a male-dominated field and how the women who came before her helped pave the way to make Zweigle's the certified women-owned business it is today. 

Read the transcript on Food Processing

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.

Amanda Buonopane, senior manager of strategic insights for Rich Products, says social gatherings are in flux, and Rich’s sees consumer preferences shifting accordingly.

In this episode of the podcast, Buonopane shares the research Rich’s has gathered around the eating occasions that come with social gatherings today, and also shares some of the analysis that the team has done around those findings.

According to a recent LinkedIn survey, 40% of employees leave their job within the first year unless they receive training and education from their employer. Meanwhile 74% of employees feel that they're not reaching their full potential unless they receive training from their employer. Where does that leave employees… and employers for the future of food and beverage?  

In this episode, we talk Andy Drennan, senior vice president at the Food Processing Suppliers Association about its 180 Skills training program. We also talk about vocational skills, soft skills, and how the food and beverage industry can attract new talent.

Learn more about FPSA's 180 Skills Program

Read the full transcript of this recording on FoodProcessing.com

According to Alissa Davis, vice president of marketing for Golden Waffles, breakfast is coming back as people begin traveling again, both for work and pleasure. As such, Golden Waffles — which manufactures and sells its own waffle batter and provides waffle irons and accessories to foodservice operators and institutions — has rebranded itself and positioned its business to take advantage of the trends.

Davis joins the podcast to discuss what’s driving breakfast trends with consumers, the flavor and ingredient trends driving Golden Waffles’ product development, and how the company drove its rebranding efforts, moving away from the 90-year-old name Golden Malted and becoming Golden Waffles.

Who came out on top in the 2020 Food Processing Top 100©? Erin Hallstrom, Dave Fusaro, and Pan Demetrakakes talk about that and more in this episode of the Food For Thought podcast. Join us as we talk about how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting the food and beverage supply chain as well as the future of comfort food. 

View the Food Processing Top 100© list at https://www.foodprocessing.com/top100

Be sure to visit our Green Plant of the Year voting page to cast your votes on the Greenest Plant in America: https://www.foodprocessing.com/green-plant-voting

Have you ever wondered what venture capital firms look at when considering whether or not to fund a food and beverage start-up?

Sarah Foley, Partner at SWAT Equity Partners is giving us the low-down on food and beverage funding. In the next 30 minutes, we talk about trends, sustainability, why SPACs are seeing a resurgence, as well as providing actionable advice for anyone considering launching their own food and beverage brand. 

Read the full transcript on Food Processing

Learn more about SWAT Equity Partners

As the 2023 calendar year winds down, the protein industry sits in an interesting position. Each segment of the industry — whether conventional animal protein, plant-based, alternative and cultivated animal products — stands at a different point in its evolution, and the short-term future is certainly intriguing for all.

We sat down with Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, a CEO, independent board director and protein-industry veteran, to get her insights on what to expect in 2024 and beyond for the industry and companies dealing in plant-based, conventional animal, cultivated and alternative protein products.

Visit the Food Processing web page to learn more.

How do you predict what new flavors will be trending when your forecast calls for homebound with a chance of COVID? 

In this podcast episode I talk to Dax Schaefer, Corporate Chef and Director of Culinary Innovation, for Asenzya. Join our fun and informative conversation about what 2021 has in store for formulation and flavor trends.   Enjoy the episode and make sure you head to FoodProcessing.com to see what else is in store for the food and beverage industry in 2021.  as we feature experts in Food Safety, Plant Safety, Product Development, and much more. 

Learn more about Asenzya by visiting www.asenzya.com

Are you looking for a solution that can help give you a sustainable advantage in the supply chain? Then look no further than Infor. 

With us on the podcast is Mikael Bengtsson Industry Principal for Infor Food and Beverage. We’re talking about how this global leader in cloud software is helping food and beverage processors leverage data, increase profitability, and support business growth.  

Join us as we talk about how Infor can help companies utilize data to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning, thereby optimizing their operations. We talk about current trends as well as how processors can better manage their sustainability efforts.  We also address the process by which products move from farm to fork and how that relates to the supply chain and sustainability.

Learn more about Infor and all of its capabilities

This episode was sponsored by Infor

With us on the podcast today is Tony Pariseau, Key Market Specialist focusing on the food and beverage industry for NORD Drivesystems. 

Tony recently sat down with us to walk us through the types of gearboxes, electric motors and variable frequency drives the family-owned and operated company produces.  

We walk through a few of NORD’s innovative new products while also talking about what NORD offers to help processors with preventative maintenance. We cap things off with a discussion of Nord’s impeccable reputation for industry-leading deliveries as well as their great flexibility and their global presence. 

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Learn more about this episode's sponsor, Nord Driveystems

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Read the full transcript of this podcast episode on the Food Processing website

A review of thousands of compressed air systems has reveal that, on average, users operate below 50% of system capacity. And, in fact, oversized compressors are among the most common problems in air systems.

Here to talk amore about that on the podcast today are Kaeser Compressors’ Wayne Perry and Neil Mehltretter. They’ll address why oversizing occurs and how an oversized system reduces reliability and increases maintenance and lifecycle costs.

Read the transcript on the Food Processing website.

This episode is sponsored by Kaeser Compressors

In our inaugural podcast episode, host Erin Hallstrom talks to Food Processing’s Dave Fusaro and Pan Demetrakakes about one of the most important topics impacting food and beverage manufacturers right now: coronavirus. We talk about the devastating impacts the virus is having on the industry. Dave walks us through how processors are adapting to serve the ‘at home’ consumer and we contemplate what the future of food processing looks like and how automation might play a role.

Food For Thought Podcast host Erin Hallstrom talks to 2020 R&D Team of the Year Winner Good Foods' Katie Schmits and Danyel O'Connor about what makes their R&D Team successful, the technology behind their secret weapon- HPP-and how they’ve adapted during COVID-19.  

• Read about Good Foods as one of Food Processing's R&D Teams of the Year on the website: https://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2020/rd-team-good-foods
• Check out Good Foods online: https://goodfoods.com

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 industry and how technology continues to push the envelope in processing applications.

He also reflects on his career, talks about the good mentors who have guided him, and offers his advice for those just starting out in the industry.

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.

As we begin to turn the page on the 2024 calendar year, John Robertson of Life Cycle Engineering joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss the workforce challenges facing manufacturing and food and beverage processors and how automation is helping ease some of the burden.

Robertson warns that processors who have not fostered a strong plan to capture legacy knowledge and support the next generation of employees can wait no longer. And they need to begin to use the technology and tactics available to keep their workers well-trained and their plants humming along.