On Thursday morning, leaders from across the food and flavor industries gathered for the CFBN Innovation Breakfast panel discussion on Innovative Leadership. Hosted by Jake Taylor, VP of Innovation & Transformation at Bluedog (also our partner and sponsor for this series). A wide range of flavors were covered as part of the conversation with our “C-Level” panel, which spanned from changing consumer preferences, to supply chain and operational complexity, to the challenges of building corporate culture and a high functioning organization into the future. 

A few of the key insights: 

Leadership challenges 

Barbara O’Brien, President & CEO of Dairy Management Inc. and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy highlighted geopolitical and geo-economic uncertainty as daily challenges for leaders in food and beverage. For the dairy industry specifically, the most pressing issues include water scarcity, extreme weather, and labor shortages.  

Michael Natale, president of Edlong (a flavor house from cow to wow), emphasized the risk of reformulation without a basis in good science, pointing to trends of replacing synthetic dyes as an example. Brian Fox, CEO-President of Miniat Holdings echoed this concern, warning that in today’s digital landscape, “a rumor makes its way around the world even before the facts gets out of bed”. Fox urged leaders to remain aware of their echo chambers and stay attuned with broader industry and consumer signals. 

Listening with intent is crucial to Anupy Singla, Founder of Indian as Apple Pie. Her mission is to make “Indian flavors that blow consumers away” for grocery stores. Having a background in journalism, she’s all about asking the right questions and listening to what people say. While it’s hard to convince folks to make changes to their menus and diets, she approaches customer feedback with openness. Her guiding question: “How do I convince people to try this amazing food?”  

Lasting trends 

A wide range of flavors was featured on the panel discussion; beef tallow, flavors derived from dairy and Indian tamarind chutney all made an appearance. The insights our experts brought to table were equally exciting and inspiring. 

Jake Taylor asked the panel how they determine a trend will last. Michael Natale pointed to the amount and speed of trends, mentioning the unexpected examples like pickle -flavored Diet Coke and the rise of “dirty sodas”. He noted that large brand reformulation is happening at an unprecedented scale and pace, making this both a challenging and exciting time to work in the food space.  

Brian Fox shared a story illustrating how successful trends and ideas can come from anywhere. Someone at his company took liquefied wagyu beef tallow and packaged it in a spray bottle – an idea that gained significant traction after being used by a social media BBQ influencer. It served as a reminder that even small ideas can become major product innovations. 

Barbara O’Brien advised balancing short-term signals with long-term strategic insight. Beyond consumer behavior, she recommended monitoring what’s happening with longer term macro trends and science, including monitoring patents across sectors to anticipate future shifts and breakthrough innovations.

Singla spoke about the tension between recognizing a trend and acting on it. She acknowledged that while sustainable packaging is a rising concern, adopting it too early could increase the price of her products drastically and make her product too expensive. Her solution: maintain transparency with customers about these choices to build credibility and trust.

Next generation leaders  

When asked what they look for in the next generation of leaders, each panelist offered their own perspective:  what 

• Michale Natale: Engagement, have the attitude to learn and take on next level responsibilities, 
  
• Barbara O’Brien: Purpose-Driven Mindset. A  strong sense of purpose, much like the commitment of farmers who wake up every day to feed the world, 
  
• Anupy Singla: Curiosity, openness to learning, and a strong sense of team loyalty.  
  
• Brian Fox: Leaders should be “humble, hungry and smart”. 
  

After the panel discussion concluded, the audience continued to exchange views and network, energized by the insights shared. To keep energy after this early start, guests could bring home Indian as Apple Pie Tamarind Chutney, a fiber bar from NeuroFiber, as well as a fruit smoothie from Smoodi.