Consumer Foods to Go

Sustainability is a hot topic in packaged food, but also for restaurants. For restaurants, operating in a sustainable way has become the license to operate. In this podcast, Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott and Rabobank analyst Paula Savanti discuss the many issues restaurants are facing, and the actions these restaurants are taking. Restaurants are reducing waste, optimizing packaging, and tackling greenhouse gas emissions. But is it sufficient, and what are the costs associated with all of this?

Contract Manufacturing – the outsourcing of food production by brands – has been around in food for a while. And Rabobank believes that, in some markets – especially Europe – it will continue to grow, as many drivers are providing a tailwind. Senior analyst Sebastiaan Schreijen is on hand to answer Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott's sharp questions... and, as always, he has all the answers.

In this episode, we're all about all things snacking! And snacking in a particular region: Southeast Asia and India. Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott and co-host Maartje van den Berg take a close look at trends in the region with a little help from analyst Umesh Madhavan. Oh – and when you start listening, please keep the Maslow pyramid in mind: At the bottom, trends are very different from higher up – but there's plenty of growth to be found at all levels!

In this episode, hosts Cyrille Filott and Maartje van den Berg discuss fries. And not only new QSR trends in fries (shake fries anyone?), but also the issues potato-growers are facing on the farm. Rabobank analysts Floris van der Sman and Stefan van Merrienboer share their insights on potatoes and fries from farm to consumer. They also talk about the future of the fries value chain: how it might become more transparent, more integrated, and more… sustainable! And as always, we discuss the broader take-aways for other parts of the food sector.

Our beautiful podcast is back! Series 2, episode 1 is about innovation and start-ups in food. Food companies are struggling to find growth and to create value. In the last few years, big food has woken up to this and has started to think differently about innovation and value creation. In this episode, Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott talks with Anne Greven and Nina Meijers, both involved with start-up and innovation platforms at Rabobank, about trends in food. They also touch upon what companies could be doing, are doing, and should be doing.

Convenience is key in food. More and more consumers are having prepared meals, eating in restaurants, getting take-away or having food delivered to their home. This is a global trend, and in this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, host Cyrille Filott discusses how this trend is playing out in South East Asia with Rabobank analyst Umesh Madhavan. The key trend is that convenience stores and supermarkets are betting big on food-to-go. The insights on this market and this trend should be of interest to anyone in food, food retail and food service as South East Asia could be leading the pack in the food-to-go trend.

In recent years, online retailing has really taken off in China. And actually, it has grown beyond that – Alibaba and JD.com are no longer merely retailers. They have become entire ecosystems, providing platforms for multiple services. And they're now data gatherers, analyzers, and sellers. For food companies, becoming active on these platforms is a must. But being successful very likely means much more than only being listed there. We look at how the new supertech giants can help food companies to become successful in China. And what can food companies themselves do to appeal to Chinese consumers and these platforms?

The beautiful world of packaged food has a few issues it needs to deal with – and one of them is plastic packaging. Plastic packaging was introduced because it was (and is), among other things, convenient and very flexible, and an excellent material to safeguard food from going to waste. But there are also downsides of using plastic packaging. Together with co-host Maartje van den Berg, Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott explores the challenges and opportunities in plastic packaging with Rabobank's strategist for packaging, Susan Hansen. Although there's no magic bullet when it comes to solving the current challenges with plastic packaging waste, during the conversation, Susan points out various initiatives that are being taken to improve the sustainability of plastic packaging.

At the PLMA in Amsterdam, the world's largest private-label exhibition, Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott talked to a number of exhibitors to understand the current key themes in private label. The larger companies that the exhibitors represent also challenge suppliers in the sector across many categories. It became very apparent that consumer-facing innovation is on the agenda more than ever before – the consumer is demanding it, and the retailer is asking for it.

Enjoy listening to the podcast, and don't hesitate to provide feedback via [email protected]

Vegetable oil is seeing a fair bit of challenges. In fact, just mentioning palm oil will provide a wide range of responses. In this edition of Consumer Foods-to-Go, hosts Cyrille Filott and Maartje van den Berg are joined by Vito Martielli to discuss opportunities for vegetable oil applications as ingredients in consumer food products. And... could the subject of sustainability be seen as a blessing instead of a curse?