Food For Thought

Randstad USA recently released its Workmonitor 2026 Report, and Christina Parker, senior vice president for the company, joins the Food For Thought podcast to dig into the results. The report covers numerous topics, and Parker discusses the sentiment on artificial intelligence in the manufacturing space, noting a disconnect between what employers and employees expect the impact to be over the next few years.

Furthermore, she detail...

Private-label brands have transitioned from a budget-driven alternative to a core pillar of growth and loyalty in the food and beverage industry. In this episode, Circana’s Sally Lyons Wyatt unpacks data showing how store brands continue to gain ground in the marketplace, even as inflation pressures ease.

The conversation also explores how evolving shopping behaviors — especially the rise of e-commerce and AI-driven purchasing — ar...

Jake Steslicki, vice president for PMCF, joins the podcast this time around to discuss the merger and acquisition landscape coming out of 2025 and heading into the new year in the food and beverage industry. He gives an analysis of how the previous calendar year went, and then digs into where things sit today.

What should the industry expect when it comes to deal-making through the rest of the year and even into 2027? What do the b...

In this episode, Maheen Khan, senior brand manager for Challenge Butter, unpacks new research on Americans’ eating habits and what it signals for the future of food. The survey, sanctioned by Challenge Butter, signals a clear shift away from rigid diets and consumption rules toward a more flexible approach to eating — “culinary individualism,” as Challenge Butter is calling it. Khan explains how consumers are redefining wellness in...

“The meat industry is having a moment,” says Brian Brozovic, who details some of the trends and insights he saw and learned at the Annual Meat Conference to start this episode of the podcast, and digs deeper into the culinary and product trends driving innovation today.

Brozovic then goes on to discuss how the industry is preparing for the potential of the MAHA movement and new Dietary Guidelines to give meat and poultry a boost — ...

In today’s episode, Jason Baskin, director of Retail Strategy and Business Transformation of Hormel Foods Corporation talks about the ways in which the 135-year-old company continues to evolve and grow. Guided by a tight focus on consumers and on providing what the company calls “real food protein,” Hormel feels well-positioned to move into a new phase of growth.

In addition, Baskin offers insights into some of the trends impacting...

This episode is brought to you by Control Concepts Inc.

Food and beverage processing engineers have much to balance when designing and optimizing facilities and production lines — including maintaining optimum food safety and process performance. Implementation of hygienic air-handling systems should be a critical piece of that puzzle, says Henry Tiffany, president of Control Concepts Inc., who shares insights on how processors can...

Nolan Lewin, director of the Rutgers Food Innovation Center and vice president of the New Jersey Food Processors Association, joins the podcast to discuss a wide variety of topics hounding the food and beverage industry. First, Lewin discusses the impact that the new Dietary Guidelines and other regulatory machinations are having on processors, and then highlights what some companies are doing to combat GLP-1s and the impacts of th...

The robots are coming! Well, in food and beverage processing, robotics and automation are already here, sure — but what we see today pales in comparison to what the future may hold. Berk Pehlivanoglu and Ozan Ozaskinli of Value Gene Consulting Group join the Food For Thought podcast to talk about an in-depth report their firm released in January, titled “How Humanoids Will Reshape Food Manufacturing.”

Ozaskinli and Pehlivanoglu tal...

We’ve got a new set of Dietary Guidelines, and as the industry has had some time to digest them, Natalie Rainer, partner and member of the Health Care and FDA practice at K&L Gates, offers her thoughts on how food and beverage processors can prepare. Rainer digs into some of the significant differences between this iteration of the guidelines and previous ones, as well as what hasn’t changed in the overall tone of the document.

Conagra Brands has released its third annual Future of Frozen Food report, and we’re speaking with Alie Burnet, director of Enterprise & Portfolio Strategy for Conagra, about the report’s findings this year.

She talks with the Food For Thought podcast about four trends driving growth in the frozen foods aisle, from protein-packed meals to restaurant-inspired favorites, family-style solutions, and all-day breakfast. Burnet digs ...

As January rolls on, we bring you another 2026 outlook episode. This time around, Rob Dongoski and Katherine Black, both partners and business sector leads for management consulting firm Kearney, discuss everything from the Dietary Guidelines and the MAHA movement to tariffs and the cost of food and beverage products in the new year.

How is artificial intelligence moving into the grocery and retail space, and what impact do they se...

Rocco Renaldi, secretary-general of the International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA), returns to the Food For Thought podcast to discuss the various ways in which snack foods have gotten more nutritious for consumers, often discreetly and without much fanfare over the years.

Certainly, snack processors have made headline-worthy changes as well, and those are expected to continue as pressures continue to influence product formu...

As any parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent knows, feeding kids nutritious, healthful foods that taste good and are beloved by those children can be a real challenge at times. Michael Allen, CEO of Kidfresh, joins the podcast this time around to discuss the mission and strategies of Kidfresh and how they approach meeting the demands of our society’s smallest picky eaters.

Allen also discusses where frozen foods stand in the typical f...

As we wrap up 2025 and turn the calendar page to 2026, Billy Roberts, senior analyst, Food & Beverage, for CoBank, joins the Food For Thought podcast to offer an economic outlook for the food and beverage industry in the new year.

Roberts discusses everything from the impact of GLP-1 drugs on food and beverage companies to consumer perception of affordability, and how private-label products can continue to grow in this atmosphe...

Jeff Tripician joins the podcast this time around to discuss his move from leading international cultivated meat company Meatable to now becoming the CEO of Charcuterie Artisans, owners of Daniele and Creminelli Meats.

First, Trip details his goals and the work to do to grow the Charcuterie Artisans business, then he digs into the trends driving charcuterie product innovation today. Whether focusing on regionalized offerings or inn...

Jenny Zegler, director of Food and Drink for Mintel, joins the podcast this time around to dig into the details of three predictions that Mintel has made for 2026 for the food and beverage industry.

Will consumers be more interested in longer shelf-life for products as part of their value proposition? What role does sensory play in new product development for food and beverage products in the New Year?

Zegler talks about these expe...

Jackson’s, a snack company that focuses on better-for-you snacks cooked in avocado oil, recently celebrated the grand opening of its Muskego, Wis., facility expansion, and CEO James Marino joined the Food For Thought podcast to detail the capital investment.

Marino also talked about the snacking landscape and how Jackson’s is working to develop better-for-you products aiming to disrupt the category and meet consumer demand for heal...

In conjunction with our November cover story, in which we honor and feature Wayne-Sanderson Farms as our 2025 Processor of the Year, I had the opportunity to visit the company’s Decatur, Ala., prepared foods processing complex and its Customer Innovation Center there.

While visiting, I sat down with Matt Masters, director of R&D, and Beau Batchelor, corporate research chef – product development, to talk about the formulation an...