Jackson’s CEO James Marino discusses the company’s recent plant expansion and the rising demand among consumers for better-for-you snacks.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms’ R&D leaders discuss the formulation trends and innovation driving the chicken industry, from new flavors to dayparts and overlooked cuts that consumers continue to seek.

Jack Payne of Aptean shares his insights on the innovations that have driven the industry forward, and how a shared passion for serving the best quality, safest food and beverage products has shined through.

Scott Cole of Envita Solutions discusses some of the initiatives and innovations food and beverage processors can look into that can help them find the hidden value lurking in their waste streams.

Kiernan Laughlin talks about the key to winning over new consumers when it comes to Indian foods and how Deep Indian Kitchen is dedicated to authenticity in its products while innovating in the competitive, retail frozen foods category.

At the upcoming Equipment, Automation and Technology Show (EATS) for Food & Beverage slated for Oct. 28-30 in Chicago, attendees will see over 300 exhibitors across eight sectors along with three live production lines and demos from Jeff Mauro and Rick Bayless. Not to be overlooked are the education sessions designed around the challenges food processors care about most, from food safety to sustainability and automation.   In this bonus episode, Sarah Hatcher, Group Show Director for EATS, shares details on 4 educational topics that will be covered at the show. Learn more about EATS here.

Xinnan Li and Jim Owen of Rabobank’s RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness team, discuss the impact of tariffs on plastics and paperboard in the packaging supply world, as well as the market conditions leading to higher costs both now and in the future.

For any industry trade show, it's important to prepare and plan your visit so you get the most out of your time at the event and leave feeling inspired. In this special bonus episode, you'll hear five quick tips for navigating the upcoming Equipment, Automation and Technology (EATS) show for Food & Beverage in Chicago, slated for Oct. 28-30. Sarah Hatcher, Group Show Director for EATS breaks down some must-see aspects of the show, from live demos to innovative solutions spanning 200+ product categories. Plan your visit and learn more about EATS here.

Shannon O’Shields of Rubix Foods shares her thoughts on pumpkin spice and other trending fall and winter seasonal flavors for food and beverage products in this episode of the Food For Thought podcast.

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. In this bonus episode, Sarah Hatcher, Group Show Director for EATS, shares some quick tips on what to expect at the upcoming show planned for Oct. 28-30 in Chicago. Learn more about EATS.

Automation continues to make inroads into the beef industry as technology improves, and Dr. Phil Bass of the 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.

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.

Circana’s Sally Lyons Wyatt offers insights into the consumer trends driving food and beverage sales and demand in the second half of 2025 and into 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, and 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 discusses 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.

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. Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development at PMMI, discusses those insights in this Industry Perspective bonus episode.

Diving into the trends driving kids yogurt and snacking, and looking at Danimals Snack Hero campaign with Danone’s Lindsey Lee.

Nathalia Macedo, of NSF International, offers recommendations, tactics and actions processors can take when approaching CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) reporting.

Tia Glave and Jill Stuber of Catalyst Food Leaders discuss food safety culture and how individual companies’ lack of leadership identification, training and development throughout many organizations today is hurting their ability to grow across the board.

International Food & Beverage Alliance’s Rocco Renaldi shares ideas for how the industry can work with science to find a way to properly categorize foods on the processing spectrum, but also work to make more healthy, fresh foods more affordable and accessible for all consumers.