Member News & Headlines Blog

Check out this resource from the President of Kellogg Company Wendy Davidson:

"As we all transition to new ways of working, staying connected to one another and our extended teams will require a very different type of communication. If you’re like me, having the entire family home and finding a private workspace/e-learning school space for each of us has created challenges. Take some time and be intentional in finding a space you can easily work that can enable the space to think but also enable video conference calls.

For some of us, we derive energy from the social interaction with others. For others, it’s a far more effective and efficient way of staying connected, solving problems and getting answers quickly, and ideating with others. With remote work, this will be more challenging, but not impossible. According to Microsoft, the key is to 'communicate, communicate, communicate”

Read more here for tips on how to be the most productive and mindful during this time. 

"Perkins Coie is pleased to present its fourth annual Food Litigation Year in Review 2019, offering a summary of the past year’s key litigation outcomes, regulatory developments, and filing data.

Using metrics from their proprietary database, developed by their food litigation team in order to track and understand trends in this area, 2019’s Year in Review again reports an increase in class action litigation, with a record-breaking 173 new lawsuits filed.

The upward filing trends in the class action landscape are mirrored in other industries and in the prosecution of related claims: putative class actions against the pet food and dietary supplement industries were on the rise in 2019, as were Proposition 65 warning notices."

Access the report here. 

If you have any questions or would like to follow-up after reading this report please reach out to Randy Bridgeman.

In case you missed it!

On March 12th, 2020 Bluedog Design and Fifty Gazelles hosted our Innovation Series: Thinking Outside of the Box virtually! As we navigate a new normal as a result to COVID-19, the CFBN wants to ensure you that we will uphold our mission of being a platform for access and collaboration across the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Industry - even if that means doing it virtually.

Our amazing panelist explored the innovations and new technologies impacting packaging right now. Check out the entire webinar series here.

The Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network would love to thank our panelists for engaging in insightful conversation:

• Mark Hewitt, Connected Experience Director; BlueDog Design
• Eric Henderson, Packaging Director - PepsiCo Food Global Packaging Innovation; PepsiCo
• Andrew Livermore, SVP - Product & Client Services, Curion
• Jeremy Anderson (Moderator), Founder, Fifty Gazelles 

Thank you to everyone who virtually attended. Stay updated on our upcoming virtual events here. 

Members can access the presentations shared in your Member Perks.

This special Innovation Series event was sponsored by:

Since launching three years ago, the Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network has sought to make the region the “the Silicon Valley of food and beverage” by cultivating the kind of collaborative culture that made the Bay Area a hotbed of tech innovation.

This year, the group upped the ante with a project that pushed companies that normally might compete for business to instead put their heads together to create a product for a good cause.

In partnership with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, a group of nearly a dozen food companies created a low-sugar, high-protein hot chocolate, produced entirely with donated ingredients and know-how, for distribution to food pantries. Read more here.

"Crain's Notable Women in Manufacturing spotlights 34 accomplished professionals who are making a difference in the traditionally male-dominated field. Some hold senior positions at large, publicly traded companies such as Caterpillar, Federal Signal and Snap-on. Others are running small fabricators and machine shops, modernizing enterprises started by their parents or grandparents. They represent expertise in engineering and manufacturing processes as well as in logistics and global transportation, data and technology, packaging and trade.

Virtually all advocate for bringing more women into the field at a time of skilled labor shortages. Some are involved in exposing middle and high school girls to STEM fields. Others work on recruiting women to the field and training them in shop-floor skills and advancing them to managerial positions. They mentor women one-on-one and support employee resource groups and professional associations. Manufacturing, they say, is no longer a male-only domain."

Access the article here.

In Case You Missed It!

On February 26th, 2020 the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network hosted the Founders Series event in partnership with CA Fortune and Datassential. The series returned to explore data and analytics and the following guiding questions:

• How do you spot trends before they happen?
• How does your company uncover opportunities and capitalize on them?
• What are different business units doing to leverage data and analytics to help steer their company towards growth and market leadership?

We gained insights from:

• Alok Advani, President, SuckerPunch Gourmet
• Erin Murray, Director - Customer Success, Datassential
  
• Michael Gloer, Senior Analyst - Business Intelligence, CA Fortune
  
• Marla Commons, Vice President Research - The Americas, Mintel
  
• Steve Gaither (Moderator), Chief Marketing Officer, CA Fortune/CA Branding
  

Thank you to everyone who attended and joined conversations and networked. For photos from the event please visit our photo gallery here. 

Members can access the presentations shared in your Member Perks.

MudLrk Snacks, maker of whole food, plant-based, crunchy snacks, with compostable packaging including flavored mushroom crisps and jackfruit crisps was chosen from more than a hundred applicants from the U.S. and Canada, to participate in the 2020 PepsiCo. North American Greenhouse Accelerator.

Ten startups were chosen and each awarded $20,000 to take part in the six-month business development program, where each founder is strategically paired with two mentors across PepsiCo. to grow and optimize their business models.

At the conclusion of the program, one company will be selected to receive an additional $100,000 grant. Trace Ostergren, Founder of MudLrk Snacks is very fortunate and excited to have been asked to participate. He's especially excited to leverage the experience and expertise of his mentors to build an even stronger foundation for sustainable growth.

For the last decade, leading market research firms from Mintel and HealthFocus to Innova Market Insights, among others, have all identified the clean label movement as a top consumer and food industry trend. Over this period, this key trend has evolved. In the beginning, the focus was on replacing obviously artificial or chemical-sounding ingredients with ones that were more familiar and/or natural-sounding to consumers.

As consumer preferences change and new multifunctional and on-trend clean label ingredients emerge, the challenge to formulate more consumer-acceptable clean label products will continue. However, consumers are also widening the concept of what it means to be “clean label.” Their demands for supply chain transparency, sustainability, emphasis on plant-based foods and awareness of chemical hazards are increasing.

As a leading provider of intelligence on this fundamental trend, the 7^th Annual 2020 Clean Label Conference, March 25-26, 2020 in Itasca, Ill., provides food and beverage company food scientists/product developers a compelling program.

The only real expert of a product is the consumer of that product.

Left and right you are seeing major CPG brands swapping their tried and true packaging with more sustainable alternatives. But how do they ensure consumer acceptance? The perception is that if you simply swap your packaging with something non-plastic, consumers will be all in. However, reality is, countless variables go into the success of a swap and it’s far more complex than simply picking an eco-friendly material. Once a decision has been made to reinvent your product in some way, the question posed is if the change will provide your customers with the same experience, while also feeding their social need to live in a more environmentally conscious way. But is this perception the reality of sustainability?

The only way to find this out is by connecting with your consumers. Perceptions are the insights gained only by truly understanding your consumers as they connect with and use your product in-context, in their real life.

When it comes to your consumers and their drivers of motivation for selecting to buy your product off the shelf it goes far beyond slapping on a sustainable packaging label. Digging deep and exploring the sensory functions and ergonomic characteristics of a new package launch can uncover the key attributes that are most important to drive consumers purchase intent and securing repeat purchase. People want to feel they are part of something bigger than themselves when making a purchase, as if they are contributing to the social wellbeing of their world, their environment, their community. That feeling we strive to induce, can be uncovered through insights gained around what sustainability means to them in their element. Uncovering feelings around everything from how the product looks on the shelf, to how it opens once we’ve brought it home, and how it is disposed, matters.

Is the non-plastic alternative durable enough to replicate the consumer’s current experience? “In a study recently ran by Curion, we were able to provide our clients with actionable insights around overall liking of design, ease of recyclability, product carrying comfortability, ease of purchase, and in-context package performance. Curion’s client was able to conclude that when it came to updating the packaging of their multi packaged beverages to a more sustainable option, based on in-store experience and ease of at home removal of the beverages, consumers preferred a complete redesign over a simple swap of materials ”

By including consumers in your journey, you can ensure they will be equally accepting of your product and brand, and not just following the perception of a movement to live a more environmentally conscious lifestyle.

Join us at the next CFBN event on March 12th, where Curion’s SVP of Product and Partnership Solutions, Andrew Livermore, will share our approach into how we gain insights from your consumers with our proven methodologies.

Innovation is finding its way into the food and beverage space this year in unique ways, largely focused on solving important problems in the world and the lives of its consumers. Looking to 2020 and beyond, we see innovation continuing in 4 key areas.

A craving for customization

Consumer interest in customized solutions will continue to drive the evolution of products at a flavor, ingredient and cause level. Consumers continue to look for quality products that support causes they believe in, while also allowing them to explore flavors and ingredients that meet their needs and preferences. This demand for customization has fueled the rise of startups like Mod Pizza and Brassica, which are finding success in offering customized options for consumers interested in exploring flavors and ingredients. We believe we’ll continue to see startups with unique ideas, flavors and concepts like these thrive.

As consumers also continue to explore personalized diet concepts, opportunities to innovate will grow. Companies will continue to look for unique ingredients to create great tasting products that align with keto, paleo, gluten-free or low-glycemic diets. We are seeing companies utilize ingredients like protein-rich collagen and low-glycemic sweeteners like allulose to create unique offerings. As this trend continues, delivering novel products will be key in differentiating in the marketplace. Nurturing these groundbreaking ideas and helping startups scale and thrive is also essential.

Focusing in on flavors

When it comes to meeting consumer demand for experiencing new flavors—particularly deeply authentic one —companies can’t afford to stand still. We are seeing the breadth and depth of consumer interest in sampling new flavors only increase. This includes global cuisines, particularly those that are chef-inspired and bring deeply authentic, often very regional, tastes to a consumer base that enjoys new experiences. We believe we’ll continue to see these chef-inspired innovations drive consumer interest.

As consumer curiosity continues, it’s essential to stay connected to trends and flavors that excite and interest them. This connection will be the lifeblood of companies that thrive—doing the work to explore new restaurants, travel, work with ingredient suppliers and connect with those in the industry at incubators like The Hatchery. We know consumers are open to food and flavor exploration more than ever, particularly when dietary and cause-driven, so an essential question to remaining relevant is, “What’s the next problem to be solved for consumers?”

Connecting with cause-driven consumers

As climate change drives consumer interest in sustainability, demand for healthier, more sustainable products will continue. This new level of consumer consciousness around lowering their environmental impact means not only an interest in items that taste good, but in knowing they are doing good by consuming them. Consumers look for sustainable packaging and love the stories behind those who produce their food and drink options.

This growing interest in sustainability is driving companies to look for more efficient protein options, which means a continued explosion of interest in plant-based protein. As consumer preferences shift, plant-based meat alternatives will continue to be a focus of innovation. In fact, a UBS report predicts the plant-based market will grow from $4.6 billion in 2018 to $85 billion by 2030. We believe this estimate could be conservative if innovation and consumer awareness continue to drive more consumption. This will drive a continued interest in pioneering new and unique sources of protein as we look to meet the demand for more efficient protein options.

Plant protein production

As the world’s population grows, a key question we’re all asking is, “How are we going to supply protein?” Finding sustainable and innovative ways to produce protein remains a focus. This means leveraging ingredients—like watermelon seed, pumpkin, peas, chickpeas and numerous others—to use their unique flavors, textures and qualities to create plant-based products analogous to familiar meat-based items that consumers love. Finding new protein sources and improving flavors, textures and processing to create better products will be important. Consumers continue to respond to improved plant-based products, which means continued demand.

Success in creating plant-based alternatives to burgers, chicken, and sausages has led to further interest in developing new products—from plant-based fish to researching ways to create meat from cultivated animal cells. More than $16 billion has been invested in U.S. plant-based and cell-based meat companies in the past decade, with $13 billion of it in 2017 and 2018, according to The Good Food Institute. These investments will fuel innovation to help alleviate demand on the environment and offer more efficient ways to produce protein the world needs and wants. As new applications are developed, we’ll also see more recipe and flavor exploration as well as new and novel products that differentiate themselves in the marketplace and are tailored to appeal to a growing cause-driven consumer market.

An eye for innovation

While we certainly can make predictions regarding the food and beverage industry this year, it’s essential to keep a keen eye on the horizon for trends and innovations. Remaining connected to Chicago’s rich history of food and flavor innovation as well as its tremendous opportunities for synergy, resources and meaningful connections with one another can only help continue this legacy. Exposing ourselves to new environments, conversations and perspectives will enrich the work we all do and cultivate the possibility of pioneering new and novel ideas.

This article was submitted and written by JPG Resources.

About JPG - Whether your goal is to launch an innovative food brand or add a new revenue stream to your powerhouse CPG portfolio, JPG’s integrated end-to-end food business approach delivers go-to-market success. We believe that your final food product must work all the way through production, branding, promotion, sales, distribution and the full P&L – not just on a lab bench. Contact JPG here.