Food For Thought

We’ve got a new set of Dietary Guidelines, and as the industry has had some time to digest them, Natalie Rainer, partner and member of the Health Care and FDA practice at K&L Gates, offers her thoughts on how food and beverage processors can prepare. Rainer digs into some of the significant differences between this iteration of the guidelines and previous ones, as well as what hasn’t changed in the overall tone of the document.

Furthermore, Rainer is watching to see what the guidelines and supporting documentation indicate with regard to the future for some embattled ingredients that are currently recognized as safe or have clearance for use in U.S. food and beverage products.

Conagra Brands has released its third annual Future of Frozen Food report, and we’re speaking with Alie Burnet, director of Enterprise & Portfolio Strategy for Conagra, about the report’s findings this year.

She talks with the Food For Thought podcast about four trends driving growth in the frozen foods aisle, from protein-packed meals to restaurant-inspired favorites, family-style solutions, and all-day breakfast. Burnet digs into each of these trends and also discusses the quality demands that consumers have today and how frozen foods have stepped up to the plate to deliver that quality.

As January rolls on, we bring you another 2026 outlook episode. This time around, Rob Dongoski and Katherine Black, both partners and business sector leads for management consulting firm Kearney, discuss everything from the Dietary Guidelines and the MAHA movement to tariffs and the cost of food and beverage products in the new year.

How is artificial intelligence moving into the grocery and retail space, and what impact do they see from the ultraprocessed foods debate? According to Kearney’s outlook, 2026 is a turning point for food and beverage processors on several levels in a rewired food system, and it could lead to what we at Food Processing are calling “the great reformulation.”

Rocco Renaldi, secretary-general of the International Food & Beverage Alliance (IFBA), returns to the Food For Thought podcast to discuss the various ways in which snack foods have gotten more nutritious for consumers, often discreetly and without much fanfare over the years.

Certainly, snack processors have made headline-worthy changes as well, and those are expected to continue as pressures continue to influence product formulation and composition. As consumers demand more nutritious options, these companies continue to develop and seek solutions to meet those demands.

As any parent, aunt, uncle or grandparent knows, feeding kids nutritious, healthful foods that taste good and are beloved by those children can be a real challenge at times. Michael Allen, CEO of Kidfresh, joins the podcast this time around to discuss the mission and strategies of Kidfresh and how they approach meeting the demands of our society’s smallest picky eaters.

Allen also discusses where frozen foods stand in the typical family grocery spend, how those products have innovated in recent times, and also how the flavor palates and preferences of the younger generation make a huge difference toward product development.

So, grab a bowl of mac and cheese or some chicken nuggets and enjoy this episode!

As we wrap up 2025 and turn the calendar page to 2026, Billy Roberts, senior analyst, Food & Beverage, for CoBank, joins the Food For Thought podcast to offer an economic outlook for the food and beverage industry in the new year.

Roberts discusses everything from the impact of GLP-1 drugs on food and beverage companies to consumer perception of affordability, and how private-label products can continue to grow in this atmosphere.

Furthermore, he shares what processors can learn from the last year’s roller coaster ride with tariffs, and the possibility of additional consolidation of brands and production capabilities and facilities in the new year.

Jeff Tripician joins the podcast this time around to discuss his move from leading international cultivated meat company Meatable to now becoming the CEO of Charcuterie Artisans, owners of Daniele and Creminelli Meats.

First, Trip details his goals and the work to do to grow the Charcuterie Artisans business, then he digs into the trends driving charcuterie product innovation today. Whether focusing on regionalized offerings or innovating new flavors and types of charcuterie meats, Trip says the time is right for charcuterie to grow.

Jenny Zegler, director of Food and Drink for Mintel, joins the podcast this time around to dig into the details of three predictions that Mintel has made for 2026 for the food and beverage industry.

Will consumers be more interested in longer shelf-life for products as part of their value proposition? What role does sensory play in new product development for food and beverage products in the New Year?

Zegler talks about these expected demands from consumers and how processors can take advantage of these opportunities starting now.

Jackson’s, a snack company that focuses on better-for-you snacks cooked in avocado oil, recently celebrated the grand opening of its Muskego, Wis., facility expansion, and CEO James Marino joined the Food For Thought podcast to detail the capital investment.

Marino also talked about the snacking landscape and how Jackson’s is working to develop better-for-you products aiming to disrupt the category and meet consumer demand for healthier options.

In conjunction with our November cover story, in which we honor and feature Wayne-Sanderson Farms as our 2025 Processor of the Year, I had the opportunity to visit the company’s Decatur, Ala., prepared foods processing complex and its Customer Innovation Center there.

While visiting, I sat down with Matt Masters, director of R&D, and Beau Batchelor, corporate research chef – product development, to talk about the formulation and consumer trends driving the chicken industry today. The two shared their insights on flavors, dayparts and cuts of chicken that consumers continue to seek, as well as some of the larger macro factors driving demand.