2022 Agenda

A popular environmental phrase encourages consumers to “Think Globally and Act Locally.” When it comes to the food and beverage industry landscape, there’s also world of untapped local resources available to large and small companies alike. Lou Cooperhouse is President & CEO of BlueNalu Inc., a San Diego firm on technology’s cutting edge with cell-based seafood. Listen and learn as he describes fast-evolving food trends and technologies. Then he moderates an exclusive panel about the many resources surrounding Philadelphia. It features Dr. John L. Stanton, Chairman and Professor of Food Marketing, St. Joseph’s University; Nolan Lewin, Executive Director, Rutgers Food Innovation Center; Jonathan Deutsch, Professor and Director, Drexel Food Core Lab, and Frank Baldassarre, Principal for Philadelphia’s Artisan Exchange emerging companies network. Cooperhouse and panelists discuss the groups’ many capabilities and offerings that everyone—from start-up entrepreneurs to large company R&D heads—can resource.

If food and beverage manufacturers took a consumer-first approach to everything from product and package development, it could dramatically enhance the ideation and innovation process. Developing sustainable packaged goods is a process that any organization can implement, argues R. Andrew Hurley, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Entrepreneurship at Clemson University’s Food, Nutrition & Packaging Sciences program. Listen, learn and leverage insights from Dr. Hurley as he describes how new product teams can integrate a sustainable innovation process into every aspect of product innovation.

For decades, B&G Foods’ iconic Green Giant brand has had a BIG role in vegetables. Yet how does Green Giant stay relevant with today’s more “veg-forward” consumer and marketplace? Come hear Kristen Thompson, President of Frozen & Vegetables & SVP, Green Giant, discuss how B&G Foods conducts and translates consumer insights into meaningful new products and marketing.

Come ready to taste, sip and learn about Philly’s culinary community, melding fresh, innovative thinking with core values of quality and craft. We will visit the local food scene for tastings and an up close personal view of the culinary scene. The cost is $50 per person and registration is required in advance. Space is limited to 50 people. Sign up for the SRG StreetDive during the New Products Conference registration process. Learn More

Snacking is a behavior, not a category. This statement illustrates how the food industry can sometimes fall into the trap of focusing on what a product is—and not what need it answers. Mintel’s Lynn Dornblaser, Director of Innovation & Insight, takes a brief look back at a few of those watershed products across categories that broke through boundaries (and a few that missed the mark) to illustrate some of the consumer behavior shifts that drove the change. Dornblaser dives into consumer behavior that will inform the future of product development, and discuss where that may take us.