This episode is brought to you by the American Egg Board.

Eggs remain a well-rounded, multi-functional staple of every kitchen, whether for industrial product formulators or at-home chefs. Consumers understand that seeing eggs on the ingredient list often translates to a product featuring simplicity with numerous attributes and health benefits. Nelson Serrano-Bahri, director of Innovation for the American Egg Board, discusses the various ways eggs are being used in products and offers additional opportunities for companies to put this “Swiss Army knife” of the ingredient world to good use.

This episode is sponsored by the American Egg Board (AEB). Learn more about AEB.

Tia Glave, president and co-founder, and Jill Stuber, vice president and co-founder, of Catalyst Food Leaders, return to the Food For Thought podcast to discuss leadership culture at food and beverage companies in this episode. The duo talks about how companies can use the leadership abilities within every employee to drive company culture and get more workers engaged in the organization and their jobs.

Stuber and Glave also discuss the differences between having a corporate culture revolving around compliance rather than a culture of commitment, and what the ultimate cost to businesses following the former can be.

Consumers continue to seek a great burger when they visit restaurants across the U.S., and even with things like the “chicken sandwich wars” and other innovative products, the burger still stands tall. Lucy Woods, senior manager of consumer insights for Cargill, joins the podcast to discuss the trends driving burger consumption and demand focused more on the foodservice marketplace today.

Do consumers prefer thick or thin patties? Do they like certain cuts of meat to be included in the blend? Where does nutrition fit into the equation these days, when consumers are looking for comfort foods as well? And what about the infamous slider burger?

Welcome to the Food for Thought podcast. I’m Andy Hanacek, senior editor of Food Processing magazine.

Dave Gardner, who was recently promoted to president and CEO of Ajinomoto Foods North America (AFNA), joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss what is driving the popularity in Asian foods as well as frozen foods in the U.S. today. Gardner explains how the quality, value and convenience of frozen foods today are meeting demands of consumers, and they are responding positively.

In addition, Gardner talks about his approach to his new role at AFNA, what he expects to bring to the table as the president and CEO, and the three points he believes the AFNA team needs to focus on moving forward to continue to grow.

In mid-May, I attended the National Restaurant Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, visiting several booths and taking in the product and equipment innovations there — while eating and drinking my way through many delicious, and filling, product samples.

One of the booths I visited was the Mezete booth, where Khaled Kasih, CEO and third-generation leader of Amman, Jordan-based Kasih Food Production Co. (and the Mezete brand), took a few minutes to discuss Middle Eastern cuisine with me (and offer some samples, of course!). For this episode of the Food For Thought podcast, Kasih digs into the history of Middle Eastern cuisine and the growing popularity of authentically produced foods from the region.

He also discusses his company’s passion for bringing the foods to a global audience, using innovative technology as the backbone of creating high-quality, true-to-tradition Middle Eastern foods.

Randstad USA recently released its Workmonitor 2026 Report, and Christina Parker, senior vice president for the company, joins the Food For Thought podcast to dig into the results. The report covers numerous topics, and Parker discusses the sentiment on artificial intelligence in the manufacturing space, noting a disconnect between what employers and employees expect the impact to be over the next few years.

Furthermore, she details some of the communication and collaboration needed between employers and employees to properly manage expectations for the systems being implemented. AI has helped manufacturers of all types deal with the labor shortages of recent years, and Parker lays out some of the things employees are seeking today in the post-pandemic employment landscape.

Private-label brands have transitioned from a budget-driven alternative to a core pillar of growth and loyalty in the food and beverage industry. In this episode, Circana’s Sally Lyons Wyatt unpacks data showing how store brands continue to gain ground in the marketplace, even as inflation pressures ease.

The conversation also explores how evolving shopping behaviors — especially the rise of e-commerce and AI-driven purchasing — are reshaping the competitive landscape. As digital agents prioritize price, availability and functional equivalence over brand equity, private label stands to benefit, particularly within retailer-controlled ecosystems.

Jake Steslicki, vice president for PMCF, joins the podcast this time around to discuss the merger and acquisition landscape coming out of 2025 and heading into the new year in the food and beverage industry. He gives an analysis of how the previous calendar year went, and then digs into where things sit today.

What should the industry expect when it comes to deal-making through the rest of the year and even into 2027? What do the big-headline deals mean for the industry overall? Are there any moves companies should make to steel themselves for potential transactions in the not-too-distant future? Steslicki offers insights into all of these things and more this time around.

In this episode, Maheen Khan, senior brand manager for Challenge Butter, unpacks new research on Americans’ eating habits and what it signals for the future of food. The survey, sanctioned by Challenge Butter, signals a clear shift away from rigid diets and consumption rules toward a more flexible approach to eating — “culinary individualism,” as Challenge Butter is calling it. Khan explains how consumers are redefining wellness in 2026, prioritizing flavor, quality and enjoyment over restriction, following a mindset that encourages people to cook intuitively and make food choices that fit their own lifestyles.

Finally, Khan dives into how Challenge Butter is positioning itself in the midst of broader industry trends, from GLP-1 drugs to the new Dietary Guidelines and the ultraprocessed foods debate.

“The meat industry is having a moment,” says Brian Brozovic, who details some of the trends and insights he saw and learned at the Annual Meat Conference to start this episode of the podcast, and digs deeper into the culinary and product trends driving innovation today.

Brozovic then goes on to discuss how the industry is preparing for the potential of the MAHA movement and new Dietary Guidelines to give meat and poultry a boost — and whether the U.S. cattle supply chain is capable of handling any uptick in demand. Finally, he details the work he is involved in as a member of the Meat Institute’s Emerging Leaders Program, as well as what he and the Empirical Foods team has been working on nowadays.