by Kelly Hensel
It’s easy to get swept up in the craziness and excitement that is the Food Expo floor. However, Apart from holding meetings and presentations in their booth, some exhibitors will be featuring larger-scale presentations in the Special Events Pavilion, booth 8153. And this year there is some exciting presentations planned … everything from culinology, snacking, to product development competitions. Here’s the schedule:
IFT/RCA Culinology Presentation: Integrate Culinary Arts and Food Science to Develop Innovative Food Products
Sunday, June 12, 12:15–1:15 p.m.
Come attend this year’s IFT/RCA Culinology presentation to hear industry leaders share their thoughts on how they integrate culinary arts and food science to develop innovative food products. Participants Nick Landry, Corporate Chef/ Research and Development Chef, and Joe Orr, Director of Research and Development, from Louisiana-based Bruce Foods, will be discussing the product development process—from ideation to market—and how they work as a team to create new products.
United Soybean Board: Delicious Snack Food Opportunities: Leveraging the Dietary Guidelines
Sunday, June 12, 2:00–2:45 p.m.
The new 2010 Dietary Guidelines challenge consumers to eat nutrient-dense foods lower in solid fats, added sugar, and sodium. How can snack foods leverage this directive? Learn from Marilyn Schorin how to improve the healthfulness of food products, including lowering saturated fats and adding omega-3s. In addition, understand why fats and oils are an essential part of the diet and explore the latest consumer research that shows consumers seek healthier alternatives and are willing to pay a premium. Robert Reeves will demonstrate functional/sensory characteristics of enhanced oils. Finally, you can taste sweet potato fries and baked pita chip prepared in enhanced soybean oil.
Social Media and Word of Mouth Marketing: Conversations Mean Business
Sunday, June 12, 3:15–4:15 p.m.
How are you talking to customers? How are customers talking about you? Social media and Word of Mouth Marketing aren’t just for consumer communications. In this presentation by Zócalo Group, you will earn why companies must embrace opportunities to engage their audiences and generate recommendations … for your company, your products, your services, and your reputation. Learn how leading global brands are leveraging online/offline channels to generate conversations that mean business.
Great Science Meets Great Taste: A Revolutionary New Approach for Formulating Great Tasting Reduced Calorie Beverages
Monday, June 13, 10:30–11:30 a.m.
Brought to you by Cargill, this presentation examines replacing nutritive sweeteners with a high potency sweeteners and how it creates differences in the taste, sweetness, and mouthfeel. Traditionally, the industry has focused on the addition of flavors to minimize taste differences between diet and full calorie beverages, but little innovation has occurred in the area of mouthfeel. Cargill is running a multi-year research and development program to understand how beverage ingredients interact to affect taste, sweetness and mouthfeel to ultimately drive overall consumer liking. In this session, Brian Guthrie, Research Fellow in Cargill’s Global Food Research group, and Andy del Rosal, Team Leader of Cargill’s beverage application scientists, will present the preliminary results of this research in lemon-lime beverages and a new approach for optimizing taste in reduced calorie beverages.
Kraft: Utilizing Social Media in the Product Development Process
Monday, June 13, 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Social media has revolutionized the way companies connect with consumers. It can include media such as social networks, blogs/microblogs, photo/video sharing, and podcasts. Since the adoption of these technologies, companies have successfully leveraged social media for marketing and communications. There has been, however, little research in the application of these technologies to the product development process. This presentation by Kraft will discuss potential applications of social media monitoring, blogs, and social networks in product development.
Disney-IFTSA Product Development Competition: Nutritious Food for Kids
Monday, June 13, 2:00–5:00 p.m.
This competition has challenged student members of IFT to address an important wellness need by creating healthy snacks for kids. Participating teams must develop a nutritious, unique, and innovative concept, applicable to a food or beverage item for retail or foodservice, and intended for children under 12. Based on preliminary reports, the following teams were chosen as finalists and will present their products in this session.
• Rutgers University: Gitchi Gitchi Goo
• University of Arkansas: Phenomenal Funchies
• University of Nebraska: CarsZone
• University of Wisconsin, Madison (Graduate): Pixie Dust Fruit Beverage Mix
• University of Wisconsin, Madison (Undergraduate): Tangerine Dream
• Washington State University: Mater’s Craters
Mintel: The Future for Natural Flavors and Colors
Tuesday, June 14, 10:30–11:30 a.m.
Consumers appear to be looking for natural colors and flavors. This presentation will look at how companies are responding with new products and reformulated products. This session will look at the most common natural colors and flavors, and discuss differences from one part of the world to another.
Emerging Consumer Trends: The Protein Opportunity
Tuesday, June 14, 12:00–1:00 p.m.
According to the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, recent research shows that consumers are looking for protein sources beyond traditional options. One key driver: nearly a third of consumers are cutting back on meat. Learn the challenges they face, the role that dairy protein can play, and consumer-tested ways to position dairy protein for this group.
