The Food Institute Podcast

By The Food InstituteBusiness

The Food Institute Podcast episodes

October 13 Beyond the Data: What Really Drives Foodservice Sales?
This Episode is Sponsored By: Tibersoft
Foodservice manufacturers have access to more data than ever, but understanding what actually influences an operator’s purchasing decision still remains a challenge. Tibersoft’s Suzanne Cwik and Kinetic12’s Art Bell join The Food Institute Podcast to explore how connecting commercial activity to operator behavior can help manufacturers measure what works, improve trade investments, and make smarter sales and marketing decisions.
More about Suzanne Cwik:
Suzanne Cwik is Vice President of Commercial and Client Services at Tibersoft. With deep experience across foodservice finance, trade, and sales, Suzanne understands both the fragmented data manufacturers work with and how a single source of operator-level truth resolves it. She helps manufacturers to govern trade spend, sharpen sales strategy, and ultimately grow. Across two decades in the industry, Suzanne has become a trusted voice on foodservice data and trade strategy.
More about Art Bell:
Art brings more than 25 years of experience in consulting, client service, and manufacturer marketing & sales and is one of the leaders of establishing best practices in collaborative planning within the foodservice industry. Art consults with both B2B and B2C clients in areas such as growth opportunity identification, customer & channel analytics, competitive analysis & assessment, route-to-market strategy, category management, and pricing & trade spend strategy.
Art along with the other founding partners of Kinetic12 received the 2017 Presidents Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA).
Prior to co-founding Kinetic12, Art was a partner at The Partnering Group. Earlier in his career, Art held various marketing and pricing/trade strategy roles at Sara Lee and was a consultant at Deloitte Consulting.
Art has an MBA from the University of Michigan and received a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia.
More about Tibersoft:
Tibersoft is the data authority for food-away-from-home. Since 1996, Tibersoft has helped manufacturers work from one verified source of operator-level truth, resolving the fragmented data that moves between manufacturers, distributors, and operators. Tibersoft powers trade governance and location-level intelligence, giving world-leading foodservice manufacturers the foundation to protect every trade dollar and make confident decisions for growth.
To learn more, visit tibersoft.com.
1 hr 9 min
October 07 Is Grocery Loyalty About More Than Discounts?
This Episode is Sponsored by: Lobyco
What does loyalty look like for grocery retailers in an era of AI, hyper-personalization, and increasingly distracted consumers? Loyalty expert David Ciancio joined The Food Institute Podcast live from Groceryshop 2026 to discuss how retailers can move beyond discounts and points to build programs that earn customer loyalty, improve the shopping experience, and serve as a true engine for growth.

More about David Ciancio:
David brings 55+ years of retail experience as an operator, marketer, and strategist to the conversation. He created Kroger’s first-to-market and industry-leading KrogerPlus loyalty program after working in every role in a supermarket, proudly including 20 years in store management.
For his visionary and pioneering work in applied data science to grocery merchandising and marketing, Ciancio was named ‘Personality of the Year by the International Loyalty Awards’ and was cited as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Data according to data IQ in 2022. Earlier, he was recognized as a ‘Top 10 Mover and Shaker in Retail 2020’ by Retail Info Systems, and a “Top 50 Marketer” by Advertising Age magazine.
Currently, David helps organizations grow their sales and loyalty by creating better Customer experiences through data, and by applying Customer-led organizational change.

More about Lobyco:
Born from retail, we're on a mission to bring retailers and customers closer together. Learn about our values, our journey, and the people leading the way. Retail is our DNA. We've lived the journey, and we bring the insights and experience to help you succeed. Our platform - built with retailers, for retailers - empowers you to engage customers wherever they are, in-store or at home. It's flexible, scalable, and designed to adapt as consumer behaviours evolve. With Lobyco, you can unlock new revenue streams, commercialise media channels, and create more value for shoppers through stronger partnerships and smarter engagement.
Learn more at: https://www.lobyco.com/
31 min
September 29 FI Fast Break News - Sept. 30, 2026
The latest FI Fast Break news podcast discusses food-tech company Wonder's elaborate plans for an autonomous food platform.
3 min
September 23 FI Fast Break News - Sept. 23, 2026
In this week's food industry news in 2 minutes, we examine how rising gas prices are impacting grocers.
3 min
September 16 FI Fast Break News - Sept. 16, 2026
This week's FI Fast Break podcast discusses an eye-opening survey regarding the latest in American grocery shopping habits.
3 min
September 15 What Comes After the Meal Kit? How HelloFresh Is Evolving
This Episode is Sponsored By: HelloFresh
HelloFresh is looking beyond the traditional meal-kit model as it evolves how consumers answer the everyday question, “What’s for dinner?” Assaf Ronen explores how the company is expanding into a broader cooking and meal-planning hub, using AI and personalization to tailor recipes, menus, and experiences to individual households.
More about Assaf Ronen:
Assaf Ronen is Global President of HelloFresh Group and CEO of HelloFresh North America, leading operations in the US and Canada, as well as global product strategy. With a career spanning technology, e-commerce, and fintech, he has held senior leadership roles at Payoneer, SoFi, Amazon, and Microsoft, driving innovation and scaling products that reach millions worldwide.
More about HelloFresh:
HelloFresh is the world’s leading meal-kit company,  providing customers with fresh, high-quality ingredients to cook delicious meals at home. By delivering pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes directly to customers' doors, HelloFresh helps busy individuals and families enjoy home-cooked meals without the hassle of meal planning and grocery shopping.
Learn more at: www.hellofreshgroup.com
30 min
September 08 FI Fast Break News - Sept. 9, 2026
In this week's food industry news in 2 minutes, we examine PepsiCo's push into fresh foods, Walmart's unique new delivery service, and more.
2 min
September 01 Food for Thought Leadership - How Food Brands Can Get More ROI from Influencers
In this episode of Food for Thought Leadership, Chris Campbell, Vice President of Content and Insights at The Food Institute, speaks with Katy Coffield, CEO and co-founder of Foodie Tribe, and Hannah Gray, confectionery scientist and creator behind One Sweet Mama, about the evolving role of influencers in the food and beverage industry. The conversation explores how influencer marketing has matured, what brands should look for when selecting creators, and why micro-influencers can deliver outsized value through engagement, authenticity, and highly targeted audiences.
Coffield and Gray also discuss how companies can measure influencer ROI, why long-term creator partnerships can outperform one-off campaigns, and the importance of giving creators enough freedom to connect authentically with their audiences. Gray shares how her food science background shapes her approach to content and brand partnerships, while both guests examine AI’s growing role behind the scenes. Despite AI’s usefulness for research, analytics, and ideation, they argue that human creativity and authenticity remain central to successful food content.
About Our Guests
Katy Coffield, CEO & Co-Founder of Foodie Tribe
Katy Coffield is the Co-Founder and CEO of Foodie Tribe, an influencer marketing and creative agency that works exclusively with food + beverage brands. In the years leading up to the founding of Foodie Tribe, Katy built her career in public relations, advertising, and marketing software, working closely with Fortune 100 marketing teams first as an account manager and later as a customer success manager.
Alongside her career, Katy created a food blog in 2009 called RandoMiami, featuring local restaurants and the best places to eat in Miami. It later became the catalyst that sparked the idea to create a network of food influencers in 2016 – Foodie Tribe!
Outside of the office, Katy loves to workout, is a mom of three, and (of course) a big foodie!
Learn more about Foodie Tribe: https://foodietribe.com/
Hannah Gray, Founder of One Sweet Mama
Hannah Gray is a confectionery scientist, content creator, and the founder of One Sweet Mama, where she brings together candy science, food culture, and a genuine love of all things sweet. After beginning her career in confectionery product development, Hannah turned her industry expertise into a digital platform that has grown to more than 200,000 followers.
Today, she works with candy and food brands as both a creator and consultant, develops highly shareable food content, and partners with organizations across the confectionery industry to help bridge the gap between brands and consumers. Her work has taken her from the product development lab to trade show floors around the world, but her favorite place to be is somewhere in the middle of candy, creativity, and figuring out why people love the foods they love.
Learn more about One Sweet Mama: https://onesweetmama.com/
30 min
September 01 FI Fast Break News - Sept. 2, 2026
In this week's food industry news in 2 minutes, we discuss the continued removal of artificial colors in food products, President Trump's plans for ranchers, and more.
3 min
August 25 You're Paying More Than You Negotiated
This Episode is Sponsored by: iTradeNetwork
In the foodservice industry, pricing variance does not announce itself. It accumulates line by line, across distributors, across weeks - and by the time a reconciliation team finds it, the recovery window has often closed. iTradeNetwork’s Jeff Ramsaur shows how pricing overcharges happen in multi-distributor foodservice environments and what it costs when detection happens after the invoice settles.
More about Jeff Ramsaur:
Jeff Ramsaur has over 20 years of experience selling and implementing supply chain solutions and consulting to the foodservice and consumer products industries. As Director of Strategic Programs and Partnerships at iTradeNetwork, Jeff leads strategic initiatives that help leading foodservice brands reduce operating costs, improve inventory utilization, and increase profitability across their supply chains. He focuses on solutions that enable brands to deliver their "brand promise" through increased quality and food safety, greater operational efficiency and profitability, and improved customer service. Jeff has an MBA and a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA.
More about iTradeNetwork:
iTradeNetwork's Cerena Solution Suite provides the food and beverage industry with built-in AI intelligence across the market's most connected trading network. By unifying procurement, traceability, and financial data into smarter workflows, we empower businesses to enhance end-to-end visibility, strengthen compliance, and accelerate growth from farm to fork. Learn more at https://www.itradenetwork.com/.
26 min

About The Food Institute Podcast

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The Food Institute Podcast leverages the Food Institute's 90-plus-year history to provide actionable information and insight to food industry professionals.