Pumpkin spice lovers, rejoice! Shannon O’Shields, vice president of marketing for Rubix Foods, explains that even though pumpkin has become ubiquitous, it is not cancelled — and in fact, it has established itself among consumers as an anchor flavor for the fall season.

Nevertheless, when considering seasonal food and beverage items, processors would be wise to expand beyond pumpkin and investigate some of the faster-rising flavors. In addition, O’Shields shares two of the macro trends Rubix Foods is watching in product development as the calendar prepares to turn to 2026.

For the Food & Beverage processing industry, equipment and operations make up a huge part of overall production costs. One line going down for an hour can add up fast, and when you layer in labor challenges, energy use and long sanitation cycles, efficiency becomes critical to your bottom line. The Equipment, Automation and Technology (EATS) show for Food & Beverage can help attendees tackle these challenges and learn about the latest industry tools.

Automation continues to make inroads into the beef industry as technology improves. Dr. Phil Bass, associate professor of meat science in the Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences at University of Idaho, explains that plenty of opportunities remain. Indeed, smaller meat and poultry species have been able to take advantage of technological advancements at a faster pace, but the ingenuity of engineers and technicians has the beef industry catching up.

Meanwhile, although the price of beef continues to rise, Bass says, consumers keep buying beef — but the U.S. cattle herd remains constrained, meaning times could remain tough for meatpackers and new meatpacking plants until the cattle supply expands again.

Enterprising food and beverage processors in North America know that global growth, particularly into emerging markets clamoring for new products and American tastes, can lead to extremely lucrative business.

Leena Al-Kathiri, senior business development specialist for Salalah Free Zone in Oman, says consumers in the Middle East and Africa continue to seek more innovative, convenient food and beverage products as income and urbanization rise. And Asyad Group and Salalah Free Zone can help U.S. companies tap into those markets in a structured, supportive way, with a foundation for business already set and ready to roll.

With 2025 more than halfway over, and 2026 looming large on the horizon, Sally Lyons Wyatt, global executive vice president and chief advisor in consumer goods and foodservice insights for Circana, joins the Food For Thought podcast to offer an update on the trends driving consumer choice as summer turns to fall.

Where do healthy food choices fit in? How are the prices of food and beverage products changing the ways consumers are shopping today? What impacts have e-commerce had on the marketplace? And what should processors prepare for in the New Year, once the calendar changes to 2026?

Rod Hogan, senior vice president of Innovation for Sargento, walks us through the development of the company’s new Natural American Cheese Slices product — a journey through the product pipeline that demonstrated the company’s commitment to a long-term view of the business and the category overall.

Hogan also explains how Sargento continues to focus on big, bold flavors and meaningful innovation to draw more consumers, especially among the younger generations.

John Hewitt, senior vice president of packaging and sustainability on behalf of the Consumer Brands Association, joins the Food For Thought podcast today to share his insights on sustainable packaging trends and initiatives in the food and beverage industry.

Hewitt offers his take on the challenges that the industry still faces when it comes to furthering the mission of reducing the impact of product packaging on the environment, and what the industry needs to work on and support to take it to the next level.

This episode is brought to you by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.

Food safety presents some of the industry's most significant challenges — the kind that keep plant operators up at night and require continuous innovation. Recent research from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, examines food safety and sanitation as it relates to workforce challenges, technological advancement and equipment design.

Learn more about PMMI and Pack Expo Las Vegas.

Lindsey Lee, senior director, Family & Kids Yogurt at Danone North America, joins the podcast to discuss the Snack Hero campaign that the Danimals brand embarked upon earlier this summer and how it worked to keep the brand top of mind for parents looking for snacks for their kids.

Lee also took the time to share her insights into the trends driving the kids yogurt and snacks today, digging deep into the normalization of drinkable formats and the flavor trends when it comes to consumption preferences of some of the pickiest eaters among consumers.

Nathalia Macedo, senior climate and ESG consultant for NSF International, joins the Food For Thought podcast to discuss CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) reporting for food and beverage processors. What should companies focus on first? How can they improve their scores and demonstrate their sustainability initiatives are producing results that matter?

Macedo addresses these points, and she also walks through a few recommendations, tactics and tips for answering CDP’s questions when the time comes to report.