2012 Conference Program
Program - Focus DayMay 9th 2012
Tapping into the growth opportunties of emerging markets through strategic R&D and consumer insights
- Local products for local markets? - winning local markets through customized product development
- Embracing cultural differences- looking beyond local taste preferences to consider differences in brand perception and marketing strategies
Formulating for the senses
Sensory testing for consumer insights. Paying attention to your consumers on the sensory level
- Understanding and predicting consumers' behavior and preferences
- Using the senses to find the product winners earlier, reduce cost of failure and accelerate time-to-market.
THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS FORMULA
led by WILD FLAVORS
- The latest ingredient technology for functional food application
More with less - maximizing taste for minimal cost
Improving taste, quality and marketability of products under increasing cost pressures
- Delivering innovative products on a budget: where does cost cutting make sense and where does it become detrimental
- Substitutions are king: investigating new, cheaper alternatives for effective ingredient substitutions
- Challenging the status quo: continuous improvement through constant innovation. Striving for better every time.
Spotlight on Sodium: How low is too low?
courtesy of Nu-tek Salt.
- Examining the retail and consumer pressures that are shaping the new industry standard and what it means for product formulations
- Challenges in maintaining taste profile
- Shelf-life implications of low-sodium
- Future of sodium: building on the break-through successes to propel new ideas and technologies in reduced sodium.
Prof. James R. Claus
Director MBL, Affiliate Appointment in Dept. of Food Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison
USA
A Case-Study: An innovation roadmap- navigating to successful product development and launch
- Overcoming common hurdles
- Staying a few steps ahead
- Measuring results
Jim Painter PhD, RD
Professor & Chairperson; School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Eastern Illinois University
USA
Program - Day OneMay 10th 2012
Dr. Kantha Shelke
Ingredients Editor, Food Processing / Wellness Foods Magazines; Director, Illinois Global Partnerships
Principal, Corvus Blue LLC
USA
Overcoming the fear of failure to take big risks in innovative product development
- Stepping out of the 'safe' zone. How do we get past the fear of failure?
- Incremental improvement or radical shift?
- Getting buy in from the top down to truly foster creativity and experimentation
High commodity prices, low consumer confidence and a shrinking middle class- How do we plan for growth amid uncertainty?
- Exploring new product development and innovation strategies to cater to the low-income consumer
- Revolutionising your product development process - focusing on consumer-centric metrics and collaborative thinking for successful product introductions and a strong product pipeline
- Re-thinking the value proposition to achieve true differentiation from competitors
- Protecting market share: winning back customers with exciting new products. Using true innovation as a key strategy to combat cost inflation
IT'S KIDS' STUFF: the next big R&D investment
Examining the latest sensory research in product development for children. Where do the opportunities lie?
- Stealth nutrition: formulating with healthful fats and oils, ancient grains and gluten free while maintaining a kid-friendly taste profile
Dr. Jon Vanderhoof
Vice President-Global Medical Affairs
Mead Johnson & Company
Lecturer on Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston
Harvard Medical SchoolUSA
Packaging as an innovation driver
Examining game-changing packaging innovations and how they have revolutionized the industry
- Functionality of packaging - case-studies showcasing latest innovations in packaging
- Consumer trends: market driven packaging innovations. Developments in green, portable, flexible
Start the conversation: effectively communicating with your consumer
Expanding Markets for Nutrient-Dense Superfoods.
Propelling growth through niche markets
Making it work: building a model for open innovation
Distilling the high potential strategy of open innovation into actionable results
- Moving past the ideas and concepts to project execution
- Overcoming Internal Obstacles to Open Innovation
- Applying a Focused Approach to Project Selection
Greening the Brand
Imbedding green into long-term product lifecycle to cater to the more environmentally conscious consumer
- Addressing the cost issue: how much is green worth to consumers?
- Is there ROI in employing environmentally sustainable brand initiatives ?
- Opportunities in new packaging materials and sustainable sourcing
ingredient functionality
Latest and greatest in browning technology
Food portioning, promotion and service considerations critical to reducing calorie content in product development.
- Addressing the common causes of obesity and how we are losing track of how much we consume. Understanding the consumer mindset for improved product development.
- Impacts of increased portion, plate and glass size .
- Reading between the lines: analyzing food descriptions
- Consideration of accessibility and convenience of food
- Visual cues for satiation
- Strategies in reducing consumption
Jim Painter PhD, RD
Professor & Chairperson; School of Family and Consumer Sciences
Eastern Illinois University
USA
supported by Sweet Green Fields
- Examining the sensory benefits of formulating with Stevia
- Formulation breakthroughs that now open the doors to novel applications and NPD
- Opportunities in lowering glycemic load
A Panel Discussion : Where does the truth lie and how do we effectively communicate it to our consumers?
- The academic viewpoint- challenges in communicating unbiased research to the public
- The consumer advocacy viewpoint- what do consumers have a right to know ?
- The industry viewpoint- Why do we care? - how does this affect the future of product development and marketing
- The regulatory viewpoint- defining the role of regulatory bodies in consumer education.
Marianne Smith-Edge
Senior Vice President, Nutrition and Food Safety
International Food Information Council (IFIC)
USA
Program - Day TwoMay 11th 2012
- A threat or an opportunity ? - challenges of competing in a world of private label
- Identifying opportunities for collaboration with branded products
- How does private label fit into the current landscape of US food and beverage- what can be borrowed ?
- It's all about compromise: higher margins for additional shelf-space. Regaining market share as a national brand by talking margins and profitability with retailers.
Re-inventing the familiar
Stimulating innovation within existing product portfolios
- Analyzing the successes of staple brands
- Finding new avenues for growth with your existing products - leveraging off of brand reputation
- Capitalizing on brand nostalgia - reconnecting with consumers on the emotional level
- New occasions for product applications- individual portion packs, combination products
Bridging the Gap: optimizing internal collaboration
The rise of innovation centres: integrated thinking to create new, innovative, marketable products that are ready for scalable commercial production
- The best of the best: pulling the best company-wide ideas through cross-departmental collaboration
- Moving away from linear and into integrated- changing the innovation mindset
- Focusing on communication: a critical part of effective project execution
Private Label vs National Brands: what does the research reveal?
An opportunity to hear from the USDA's Food Economic Division on the latest research and what it means for your R&D strategy
How to innovate and develop food for tomorrow thanks to ingredients from micro algae
A case study of innovation leading to the launch of Almagine(™) HL
- From vision to JV creation: our story
- Microalgae as a platform for new food ingredients
- Almagine(™) HL ability to formulate healthy processed foods without taste compromise
Optimizing internal project management
– timelines, cost management, communication– bridging the gap between R&D and marketing
- Finding the 'winners' earlier in development cycle
- Re-visting process development and exemplifying the benefit of a clearly outlined process
- Best practices to improve success rate of new product introductions
- Idea execution: challenges in using existing infrastructure and technology to bring ideas to reality in a cost effective way
The ‘local’ revolution – close to the source, clean labels and fair trade
As consumers demand cleaner labels and 'pure' products, the challenge now lies in effectively communicating the message in the absence of clear regulatory guidance
- Brand positioning in light of a changing consumer mindset.
- 'NATURAL' : the branding tool that has everyone guessing. Where do regulators stand?
Using Sensory GeoMaps™ to identify the best local and emerging markets for each food product
- Harmonizing global product portfolio without compromising on consumers' needs
- Designing the right sensory mix for each target group from content to packaging
- Turning sensory panels into reliable validation tools with the Hormonal Quotient®
Fruit: From Familiar to Exotic
Formulating Affordable and Sustainable Products
- Consumers are motivated by eating healthier products with many including fruit; so where does product development begin?
- Discover how to formulate with fruit and still deliver an affordable product
- What is the next super fruit, and will it be sustainable?
- Learn which fruit trends are hot and how these are translated into products.
End-to-End lifecycle management
- Moderated by Dr. Jim Painter.
- Best-in-Class strategies to improve product launch success
- Establishing a product development roadmap for process efficiency and project accountability
Agile Innovation
Getting Ahead through fast to market and quick response innovation
- Optimize speed to market through implementation of upfront project management outline
- Paying attention to stay on top of change and remain responsive
QUALITY BY DESIGN
Best practices in proactive quality assurance through integration into upstream development
- Building a true working relationship between R&D and QA for a collaborative product development strategy
Streamlining Innovation Technology
Client Case-Study courtesy of Selerant
- Managing change: optimizing product development and regulatory compliance through technology innovation
Nutraceutical product development for a shifting demographic – an aging baby-boomer population
- Nutraceutical additions and substitutions - what needs to be considered for formulation, shelf-life and labelling
- Strategies to maximize the potential of the medical and beautyfood market - how are consumers responding ?
- Risks in labelling and claims
A new level of competition: coming to terms with the reality of product development and brand management in an environment of share stealing.
- Is there still untapped potential and where to go when the market is tapped out?
- Proactive rather than reactive : shifting the focus back to product innovation rather than responding to the competition
- New growth frontiers : EMERGING MARKETS
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