Founded as a food truck in 2014, Joe Nicchi initially brought soft serve to the streets of LA. In the decade since, he has scaled the business, entering over 5,000 retail doors and winning the grand prize of NFRA’s second annual Penguin Pitch: Emerging Brand Contest

Recorded at NFRA Convention 2025

When selecting equipment from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) – such as refrigeration – there are many important questions to ask. The goal is to ensure the equipment will meet current and future needs in safety, efficiency, reliability, regulatory compliance, cost‐effectiveness and integration into your process. Chuck Taylor, senior vice president of Engineering at Republic Refrigeration, joins the Cold Storage Deep Dive special series to discuss more.Sponsored by: FCL Builders

Rebecca Marquez, director of custom research at PMMI. In addition to her responsibilities in PMMI Business Intelligence and Custom Research, Marquez oversees the design, execution, analysis and production of PMMI’s market research products for external and internal clients.

Americold’s Russellville location demonstrates the next generation of cold storage. The 300,000-square-foot facility is steps away from a Conagra plant. An expansion completed about 18 months ago added 136,000 square feet of space and took the building to new heights – 150-feet plus – and added 42,000 pallet positions served by automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS). From the Cold Corner speaks with Bryan Verbarendse, president of the Americas at Americold, on how the site is shaping the future of the cold chain.

In the heart of the “Texas Triangle,” Hays and Caldwell counties are putting food manufacturing on the map. Located midway between Austin and San Antonio, the region offers access to Interstate 35, allowing connection to Gulf ports. With development-ready land and a thriving BBQ scene, the area has attracted considerable F&B investment in just the last year. From the Cold Corner sits down with Mike Kamerlander, president and CEO of the Hays Caldwell Economic Development Partnership and Scott Logan, president and CEO of Night Hawk Frozen Foods, to learn more.

According to a recent study by McKinsey, the heat pump market is expected to grow by more than 15% annually, especially in the food and beverage industry, where they are increasingly being incorporated into refrigeration systems. Industrial heat pumps use electricity as their fuel source instead of coal or gas, and they have the potential to be powered by completely renewable energy. Marc Gieseking, head of renewable energy solutions at Güntner, joins From the Cold Corner to discuss how heat pumps can be used in the cold foods industry.

James Armstrong, senior vice president of emerging business at SeaCube, discusses how portable, scalable cold storage reefer containers are filing a critical operational need.

A little over 10 years ago, Peter Fox opened the North American subsidiary of Germany-based SOMIC Group. A 35-year veteran of the packaging industry, Fox has worked for Kraft Foods, the Pillsbury Company, Delkor Systems and Interpress Technologies. He was named CEO of SOMIC Packaging in 2021. Last year, SOMIC Packaging moved to new headquarters in Minnesota, quadrupling workspace to 48,000 square feet and allowing assembly of all new North American purchased machines. In North America, SOMIC has installed hundreds of end-of-line packaging machines with about 60% of their equipment placed with manufacturers using a refrigerated environment. Fox joins From the Cold Corner to discuss end of line and retail ready packaging for the refrigerated and frozen foods market and more.

From supply constraints on eggs, rising cocoa prices and damaged citrus crops, to ingredient disclosure regulations, recalls and changing consumer demands, cold foods processors and manufacturers face challenges at every stage of the production process. Eimear Robertson, chief technical officer for Kerry NA, leads the research, development & applications and regulatory & scientific affairs teams in North America. She shares some of the ways F&B manufacturers are meeting market expectations through reformulating products to reduce sugar and sodium, improve flavors and enable fresher foods.

Kelley Rodriguez, editor in chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods and content manager for FA&M, Alyse Thompson-Richards, editor in chief of FOOD ENGINEERING and Michael Levitt, editor of FOOD ENGINEERING, unpack highlights from the 26th annual Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo.