Join us for this one of a kind virtual event! Closing out our Innovation Series, CFBN presents Bringing a Brand Promise to Life!

How do you build brand promises, connect with consumers, and develop brand loyalty for old and new products? Learn all of the answers, by joining us on December 8th,  2020.

EVENT AGENDA:

• 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM:  Main Stage - Welcome & Opening Panel
• 10:45 AM - 11:15 AM:  Main Stage - Tasting Panel
• 11:15 AM - 11:45 AM:  Breakout Sessions (30 mins each - run concurrently)
• 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM:  Networking/Expo Area Open

PRESENTATIONS & FEATURED SPEAKERS:

• OPENING PANEL DISCUSSION:  Bringing the Brand Promise to Life

How do you build brand promises, connect with consumers, and develop brand loyalty for old and new products? This is a classic question faced by brands both large and small.  The importance of building strong connections and interactions with consumers is even more pertinent in the changing world our companies now find ourselves in!  With new brands on the market, new products, new ingredients, and the changing norms of retail, foodservice, and direct to consumer interactions - Innovation is more important than ever!  Join us for a conversation with brand leaders from ADM, Kelloggs, Simple Mills, and KeHE as they explore brand promise and innovation!

Featuring...

Ana Ferrell, VP & Head of Global Marketing for Specialty Ingredients, ADM

Ana Ferrell is vice president and head of global marketing for specialty ingredients at ADM. Prior to joining ADM in 2018, Ferrell led marketing and innovation for well-known, global companies – in athletic apparel, beauty, food and financial. Her expertise has resulted in product design, storytelling and marketing innovation, from idea inception to market realization.

Michelle Lorge, VP of Marketing, Simple Mills

Michelle Lorge is the Vice President of Marketing of Simple Mills, a Chicago-based company at the forefront of a clean food movement that is shaping the next generation of natural foods. Winner of the 2017 Chicago Innovation Awards, Simple Mills was founded in 2013 to provide a cleaner alternative to the natural baking mixes then on the market. Today, despite a crowded market space with long-established competitors, Simple Mills ranks as the #1 largest natural baking mix brand, the #1 largest natural cracker brand, and the #3 largest natural cookie brand by dollar volume.

At Simple Mills, Michelle has been responsible for leading the company’s marketing organization and spearheading the company’s product introductions since 2015.  Prior to joining Simple Mills, she spent 12 years with Kraft Foods in Brand Management & Innovation spanning products such as A.1. Steak Sauce, Grey Poupon, Cool Whip, Philadelphia, Kraft MilkBite and Cracker Barrel cheese.  She holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, a BA from Michigan State University and a Health Coaching certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Rachelle Radcliffe, Director of Brand Development, KeHE

Rachelle Radcliffe leads Brand Development and oversees the KeHE elevate the program, a high-touch initiative designed to provide brands with a platform for retailer growth. With 10 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Rachelle has held positions in analytics, pricing, company integration, and acquisition, along with category management, giving here a holistic approach to the natural products industry and helping brands succeed.

Sue Seams, Senior Director - Experience Planning, Kellogg Company

Sue Seams currently serves as the Senior Director of Experience Planning at Kellogg Company leading a 20-person team responsible for $350MM in brand building for over 16+ portfolio brands to create integrated consumer experiences across media, multicultural, content, social, influencer, shopper, promotions, eCommerce, Philanthropy and owned channels.  She is an active member of ANA AIMM for 3 years and recently deployed and lead the Kellogg’s Diversity and Inclusion Marketing Steering Committee, leading our D&I goals for talent, go-to-market strategies and partner and industry leadership.

A majority of her 20+ years of experience have been on the agency side leading strategic marketing, total market media planning and buying and implementing innovative, multimillion-dollar holistic commercial plans across multiple categories inclusive of P&G, ABI, MillerCoors, Burger King, and Boeing. She also started the pro bono practice at Starcom, which provided strategic direction and media execution for 6 non-profits, led by 40 agency volunteers and generating $20MM in donated media.

Alan Reed (Moderator), Executive Director, CFBN & Bigger Table

Alan Reed is the Executive Director of the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network, a startup, nonprofit organization that brings industry players together, provides a forum for collaboration and support, and better connects the 4,500 companies in the industry across Chicagoland to drive innovation and growth in the region.  The group leverages the power of the food & beverage industry in Chicagoland to grow the industry, and the local economy.

• TASTING PANEL DISCUSSION:  

Join us to "taste along" with your sample box of innovative products and ideas!

Featuring... 

Hannah Ackermann, RD, Corporate Communications Manager, Comet Bio 

As a Registered Dietitian, Hannah uses her expertise in food and nutrition to help Comet Bio educate consumers and tell its ingredient story. Prior to joining Comet Bio, Hannah worked in nutrition communications at leading global market research and public relations firms. Hannah holds Bachelor’s degrees in Nutritional Science and Journalism from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Masters of Business Administration in Marketing from Dominican University, Chicago.

John Powers, Marketing Director, ADM

John Powers is responsible providing marketing support for the human nutrition business and leading category marketing for the snacking, cereal and confectionery categories. Prior to joining ADM, John spent 20 years in marketing roles with companies in food, beverage and household goods sectors.

William McCormack PhD , Sr Business Development Manager, Synergy Flavors

Dr. William McCormack graduated from the University of Limerick, Ireland in 2006 with a BSc in Sports and Exercise. He completed his Ph.D. examining the effect of nutrient and exercise interventions on sarcopenia, the age related loss of muscle and strength at the same institution. Dr. McCormack joined Carbery Group in 2011 as an R&D Innovation Scientist focusing on developing added value whey protein ingredients for the Sports Nutrition market. In 2016 Dr. McCormack joined Synergy Flavors Inc. (Wauconda, IL) a division of Carbery Group as Business Development Manager for their Nutrition category. Dr. McCormack’s combination of technical and commercial experience ensures that he is well placed to develop and deliver effective taste solutions to the rapidly evolving performance nutrition and health and wellness markets. In his spare time William is an average runner and a below average cross-fitter.

Jennifer Onoja, Category Manager for Salty Snacks, KeHE

Jennifer Onoja manages product assortment for KeHE’s highest-volume categories within Salty Snacks. With her previous experience at Sears and KeHE’s Supply Chain department, Jennifer utilizes her knowledge to enable supplier success within her category. As a member of KeHE’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, she works to help drive a purposeful culture at KeHE and gives a voice to diversity within the food and beverage industry. 

• BREAK-OUT SESSION OFFERINGS & SPEAKERS:  

Join one of our deep dive break-out sessions to learn more from our sponsors and speakers!

• BREAK-OUT SESSION #1:  ADM's The Future of Food - How 2020 Changed Consumer Behaviors, Trends & Innovation

Description:   2020 challenged us to find new ways to communicate, collaborate and innovate. It also changed the speed of innovation and shifted consumer priorities and behaviors in a big way. In this breakout session, we’ll focus on the behaviors, trends and challenges that will shape food and beverage innovation for 2021.

Speaker:  Stephanie Smith Schellhorn, Senior Manager - Brand & Marketing Communications, ADM

• BREAK-OUT SESSION #2:  Synergy Flavor's How “Flavors of the Future” can meet consumer desires on shelf

Description:   Which trends are set to shape the winning flavors of tomorrow? What will make my products stand out? Innovation has exploded on the shelf and, with the shifts from specialty stores to retail, no F&B sector has been more affected than sports nutrition.  Consumers have become more selective in their taste preferences and are eager for more flavor variety. As part of Synergy’s ongoing flavor exploration, Flavors of the Future Volume 2 was created to help brands seize the opportunity to be pioneers in flavor development in this space, exploring profiles from an exciting and trending region: The Mediterranean.

Speakers:  William McCormack PhD , Sr Business Development Manager, Synergy Flavors;  Alexandre Massumoto, Marketing Associate, Synergy Flavors

• BREAK-OUT SESSION #3:  KeHE's Stand Out in the New Market

Description:  KeHE’s trend innovation gurus are giving an exclusive look at their 2021 trend predictions. The breakout session will go through the seven trends you can expect to see play a pivotal role in retail stores across the U.S. within the next year. KeHE’s panel of experts will also share tangible insights around how brands can stand out in this competitive market.

Speakers:  Marc Nehring (Host), Senior Growth Solutions Manager at KeHE;   Heather Drenzyk, Senior Growth Solutions Manager at KeHE;   Tabitha Sewell, Senior Category Manager at KeHE;  Tim Dornfeld, Category Manager at KeHE;  Alvaro Reyes, Category Manager at KeHE

• BREAK-OUT SESSION #4:  Comet Bio's Prebiotics - The Next Big Trend in Digestive Health

Description:  Prebiotics are growing in popularity and for good reason – they are the food that fuels the growth of beneficial bacteria in the human gut, which is key to immunity and overall health.   Before prebiotics can become as ubiquitous as probiotics though, food manufactures need to consider important formulation and digestion challenges concerning the functional ingredient.  In this session, Comet Bio’s VP of Business Development Loula Merkel will provide education on what prebiotic fiber is and its health benefits, present comparative data on several commercially available prebiotic fibers and the market opportunity.

Speaker:  Loula Merkel, VP of Business Development, Comet Bio

REGISTRATION OPTIONS & INFORMATION:

This is an interactive virtual event featuring multiple content sections and a "taste along" sample box for those interested!  All pre-registrants have the following registration options:

• Content Only:  FREE to CFBN members or $10 for non-members, access to the event day-of and the recording post event only.
• Content + Sample Box:  $15 to CFBN members, $30 non-members - we will mail you your "taste along" sample box.  Please note:  Registrations must be received prior to 12/03/20 to guarantee receipt of box prior to event.

We appreciate the support of our event sponsors in offering this event,