Melanie Bartelme, a Global Food Analyst at Mintel, provides insights on global innovation and consumer trends across a number of food categories, including produce, pasta and grains. At Mintel, Melanie co-created the annual US Flavor and Ingredient Trends, which spotlight the cuisine types and ingredients that are growing on restaurant menus and on grocery shelves.

In this episode, we discuss the effects of COVID-19 on flavor innovation, how technology is changing the way we interact with food labels, and two interesting conflicts driving consumers--health versus comfort and indulgence versus saving money.