Food And Beverage

We talk with Perdue Farms CIO Mark Booth about the company’s AI journey, including what future concerns are keeping him up at night.

Over the past year, Thierry Saint Denis, Senior Vice President of Research and Development for Chobani, led a yogurt relaunch proving less is more in innovation. Saint Denis recently spoke to InnoLead about the product relaunch and its impact on the company.

In this excerpt, marketing and innovation executive Tina Lambert calls the idea of an innovation funnel “very unrealistic,” and proposes an alternative — the three-year calendar.

We talked with Doug Munk, the Senior Director of New Business Ventures for Nestlé USA, about his insights about his time navigating the complexities of building and sustaining new ventures within large organizations.

A 2024 rundown of recent notable generative AI projects, broken down by industry. Includes Volkswagen, Pfizer, Starbucks, and more…

“I’ll give you an important definition of innovation: I think innovation is meaningful only if it improves and strengthens the business model,” says Panera chairman Niren Chaudhary. More insights from a recent talk inside…along with video.

Adam Melonas, CEO and Founder of Chew Innovation in Boston, shares his insights on communication around innovation; working with large CPG companies; scalability of products for the largest total addressable market; and more.

Kate Pomeroy, Head of Innovation North America for Paris-based alcohol giant Pernod Ricard, shares how her innovation team goes about creating new products for consumers quickly, while also including key stakeholders in decision-making processes.

Paul Earle, co-founder of GOODLES, Big Nose Kate Whiskey, and Small Wonder, gives insights about the importance of novelty, shock, and keeping up with consumers in an ever-changing environment.

Senior leaders from REI Co-op, Square, Clif Bar & Co., and Save the Children share the initiatives, products, and practices that have come from using purpose as a guiding principle inside their organizations.

Audio and transcript from a recent conversation about aligning innovation activity with the C-suite of a company, with participants from tech, food and beverage, manufacturing, and financial services.

As part of our recent research, Successful Startup Engagement and Corporate Venture Capital, we spoke with Molun Zhang, Coca-Cola’s R&D Senior Manager for Experimentation & External Technology. She gave insights on how to begin collaborating with startups; share Coca-Cola’s strategy for tracking collaborations; and explained the power behind Coca-Cola’s participation in the 100+ Accelerator.

Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo, is releasing a new book, The Human Side of Innovation: The Power of People in Love with People, in October. We caught up with Porcini to talk about the book, what he calls “unicorns,” and the importance of integrating breakthrough innovation into organizations. 

Angie McKenzie was part of the team that created Starbucks’ iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte, which launched in 2003. She spoke with us to share a few key lessons she learned from the project, and discussed challenges innovators in the food and beverage industries face today. 

Michael McCathren is the Senior Principal of Enterprise Innovation at Chick-fil-A. As part of our IL Member Spotlight series, we spoke with McCathren about the various roles his team plays, growing a culture of innovation, and more.

 The company’s SVP of Global R&D talks about getting plant-based protein to an affordable price point; how the company is moving from focus groups to in-market testing; and why the $13 billion company hires “food designers” rather than food scientists.

The VP of Corporate Research talks about building innovation while simultaneously reinventing business models.

Just a year after opening its innovation center, Inspire Brands — owner of Arby’s, Sonic, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and Buffalo Wild Wings — launched the first multibrand “ghost kitchen” in Atlanta. InnoLead spoke with Vans Nelson, VP of Restaurant Operations, Innovation, and Profitability, about staying ahead of tech trends in the fast food industry.

R&D Vice President Judi Mondelllo talks about tasting new products in a hybrid world, the company’s academic relationships, and tuning in to what Milennials and Gen Z consumers want.

Dole, one of world’s largest fresh fruit and vegetable producers, is taking action to combat food inequality, climate change, and human rights issues. Dr. Lara Ramdin, Chief Innovation Officer, and Barbara Guerpillon, Global Head of Ventures, share how they are driving the company’s sustainability initiatives through open innovation.

Michele Sandoval, Director of Innovation at the winemaker E. & J. Gallo, says the past 18 months have been an interesting time for the wine and spirits industry, with consumers spending less time at social gatherings and in restaurants, more time at home, and unable to visit some of Gallo’s vineyards for in-person tastings of its higher-end brands. We pose five questions to Sandoval about her role and how the California company is staying ahead of recent trends in wine and spirits.

The Global SVP and Head of PepsioCo’s  Demand Accelerator program discussed the efficacy of the Demand Accelerator, the specific data PepsiCo uses, consumer trends in the food and beverage industry, and more.

What mattered in innovation this week? InnoLead’s Scott Kirsner and Kaitlin Milliken join Derisk CEO Alex Slawsby to discuss. That includes some of the innovation news that you may have missed this week, and why it matters for innovators working in big organizations.   In this installment: smart tires finally hit the streets, McDonald’s launches […]

Audrey Smith, Director of Visual Equity and Design for Campbell’s Snacks, shares details about her design process, the power of the designer’s mindset, and more.

Mauro Porcini, PepsiCo’s first-ever Chief Design Officer, offers insight on the intersections of innovation and design, methods for getting to the root of customer needs.

Because food distribution was labeled an essential business, Tyson Foods never shut down any of its plants. Right at the start of the pandemic — as early as January — Scott Spradley and his team began analyzing data to predict how infection might spread within them.

In our “Accelerating Innovation During Times of Disruption” Master Class, Tim Bernstein and Stella Peace share insights on how to capitalize on 2020’s challenges to drive innovation.

In this Master Class, Samuel Gibbon of Patsnap discusses where VCs are investing in the food industry right now, what consumer trends have emerged as a result of the lockdown, and more.

The restaurant world is taking one of the hardest hits of any industry during the pandemic. What’s in store for the future? Dan Wheeler of Wahlburgers offers his take. 

Ocean Spray is pivoting to health and wellness. Chief Innovation Officer Rizal Hamdallah explains how they launched three new brands amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

These are 10 of our favorite videos that feature CEOs, founders, and trailblazing innovators sharing insights on how new things get created in their organizations.

In this episode, we wanted to find out: “How is the CPG industry innovating to meet consumer demands?” Ranjani Varadan, VP of R&D at Impossible Foods, discusses how her team gets consumers to buy in to their future-forward vision. Jodi Benson explains why her team had customers write break-up letters to Yoplait. Jeff George from Hain […]

Hain Celestial Group, known for teas and pantry staples, has pivoted down a new path in response to COVID-19: hand sanitizer. The company is also conducting remote product tasting with its senior leaders. SVP of R&D Jeff George explains…

As the coronavirus pandemic spread, Wahlburgers SVP Dan Wheeler says it required careful thought about people’s safety, but it also “accelerated…my innovation agenda.” 

Alex Byelashov, VP of Innovations & Brewing Solutions at John I. Haas, shares some insights on quick wins. 

How can supply chain innovation deliver serious value? Guests from Retail Business Services, J&J, and MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics discuss.

It’s rare that a project survives the death of the innovation lab that hatched it. But a handheld scanner that could analyze the freshness of a piece of fruit or fish created in the Hong Kong offices of the multinational grocer Tesco, survived not one but two near-death experiences.

What can we expect from the future of fast food? We sat down with Jessica Anselmi, Panera’s Director of Innovation and Category Growth, to find out…

Innovators throughout Chick-fil-A gather at Hatch — the company’s hub for innovation — to solve common problems in the business. Get insights from the initative…

How are companies implementing AI? We talked to Sherif Mityas, the Chief Experience Officer of TGI Fridays, to find out how AI helps the company stay relevant with customers.

Imagine if your team joined the world’s most innovative companies like Apple, Netflix, or Amazon. It’s possible, writes columnist Leo Chan, but only with the right culture.

Change is coming to the shelves of your neighborhood grocery store. And the $13.7 billion dairy giant Land O’Lakes is looking to startups to help it cope.

According to the director of Nestlé’s open innovation initiative, three strategies were crucial when engaging stakeholders and making the new initiative a success. Gerardo Mazzeo explains…

Megan Bozzelli, Disruptive Innovation Manager at Campbell Soup Company, explains the tactics the disruptive innovation team at Campbell’s utilizes to harness innovation.

Direct-to-consumer products are rare at Campbell’s Soup. Here’s a look at how the Soulfull Project launched one.

The open innovation initiative HENRi “is all about taking on projects that matter,” explains Gerardo Mazzeo, Global Innovation Director at Nestlé. More details inside…

Robert Perri of PepsiCo, talks about the importance of budget, borrowing resources when necessary, and close ties between innovation or R&D teams and their business unit partners.

Video highlights from the 2017 Teach-In at MIT, featuring PepsiCo’s Chief Scientific Officer and Vice Chairman, Mehmood Khan.

Nigel Hughes, Head of R&D at the cereal giant Kellogg Co., talks about distinguishing between fads and “seismic shifts,” and how the R&D organization is changing.

Former Darden Restaurants and Starbucks exec Rachel Antalek says getting started was the hardest part of responding to the instruction to “set up a disruptive innovation team.”

Chief Digital Officer Scott Hudler discusses kiosks, intelligent virtual assistants, delivery, and driving app downloads…

PepsiCo Vice Chairman Mehmood Khan talks about the links between sustainability and innovation; bringing in new skill sets into R&D; the challenge of measuring progress; and more.

Dennis McGrath of Starbucks discusses how the company developed a new protocol for testing ideas, when to bring in stakeholders, and building a failure-tolerant culture.

PepsiCo’s Erica Eden explained some of her principles of “Designing for Women” and the steps companies should take to better understand and appeal to their women consumers.

The idea behind the creation of the coLAB is that “we know less about our food than we ever have at any other time in history. We want to do something about it.”

Coca-Cola shut down its Founders program, which worked with entrepreneurs and invested in startups. One possible cause: a back-to-basics focus on the core business.

On the cover: the Limited Edition Light Rider electric motorcycle from Airbus Group’s APWorks spin-out. Inside: Domino’s, ThyssenKrupp, MasterCard, MetLife, Snap-on, and more.

Dan Smith of Purina offered InnoLead a look at how the pet food giant created a hit new product, and how human eating and shopping trends impact its business.

On the cover: Society of Grownups CEO Nondini Naqui, photographed by Troy Caldeira. Inside: Elon Musk, Walmart, Hallmark, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Visa, and more.

Indiegogo SVP Jerry Needel explains how companies like GE and Hasbro have been using crowdfunding as a way to gauge consumer demand for new products.