CCD Innovation

It's the summer for chocolate and gummies! Which confectionary treat are you most excited to try?? Vote below and see what your friends are craving 👇 Our taste buds were tingling as we read through FoodNavigator's July confectionary trends article: https://hubs.li/Q02HM_Cj0 Highlighted this month were two chocolate releases: 🍫 Nestlé launched their sustainably sourced chocolate bars, sold exclusively in airports with the option to personalize and add a message to their recyclable paper sleeve. 🍪 KitKat Chunky added limited edition flavors like cookie dough, Biscoff, New York Cheesecake, crunchy double chocolate and more, also packaged in recyclable packaging. Moving to gummies and marshmallows: 🍭 Swizzels repurposes their popular drumstick flavor of raspberry and milk into a new format, Marvellous Mallows Giant. 🍉 Issei Mochi Gummies released its Rainbow Pack, featuring flavors like tangerine, sour watermelon, and yuzu. 🐍 The Natural Confectionary Co. released a 50% less sugar option to their popular snakes lollies, which will enter the domestic market this month. Julie Suntrup, D'Anne Hayman, Marc Halperin, Ruth Halpern, Business Dev. Lead/Reinvention Coach, Jeff Grogg, JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation #FoodandBeverage #CPGIndustry #Innovation #Trends #Confectionary

✨We're back with more on our Summer Fancy Food Show Trends Series featuring insights from our trends expert Kara Nielsen. 👇 One of the first places we head to see what’s new at the Summer FFS is the Debut District, home to Incubator Village, with food business incubators like The Hatchery and Oregon State’s Food Innovation Center, and Start Up Row, featuring many women- and diverse-owned brands. Trends emerging here lean towards inspired functional nutrition; cuisine styles and flavors reflecting entrepreneur heritage; and fresh ideas like vertical farming and interactive culinary products. 🍵Functional Health: Several Oregon Naturopaths developed EllyPops, freezer pops made with herbal teas, real fruit and balanced electrolytes. Gluten-free Tempo Granola taps into the gut health trend with antioxidant Vitamin E and prebiotic fiber fortification. On the snack side, Freekah Harvest leverages the ancient grain freekah in high-protein pita chips. 🌏Global Heritage: An Oregon restaurateur, Sao Noi, showed off its signature Laotian chili oils with Ginger and Lemongrass versions. Indian flavor and ingredient combos were featured in Sun Ghee Kitchen’s grass-fed ghees: Cardamom, Ginger & Black Pepper and Cinnamon & Ashwagandha. 🍷Elevated Flavors: We found more flavor adventure with Canyon Salt, a woman-owned company that blends red, white and rosé wine into sea salt for home cooking creativity. Two Hawaiian best friends founded Better Sour, a low-sugar, naturally flavored sour gummy with more diverse flavors from the Asian Pacific (Guava, Calamansi, Ume) and Middle East (Pomegranate, Apricot and Plum). 🍓New Food System: Oishii grows two varietals of Japanese strawberries in a New Jersey vertical farm and packages them in a novel flat pack. Both the ‘always in season’ Omakase Berry and Koyo Berry are pesticide-free, non-GMO and sold ‘perfectly ripe’. 🙌Interactive Baking Kits: We were impressed with Flour & Olive’s whole-wheat and olive oil cake mixes that can be baked into 70 global recipes thanks to an interactive website map. BaKIT Box’s baking activity kits use STEM concepts in its kid-geared educational cookie mixes. Watch for more trends from the Fancy Food Show in the alt-protein space plus stand-out flavors – and colors! Julie Suntrup, D'Anne Hayman, Marc Halperin, Ruth Halpern, Business Dev. Lead/Reinvention Coach, Jeff Grogg, JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation #FancyFoodShow #GlobalFlavors #FoodTrends #CCDInnovation

We're wrapping up our Specialty Food Association 68th Summer Fancy Food Trends Series with a quick spin through the products that popped out from the rest! 🌟 Dive into the products that stood out with their new flavors, unique styles, added benefits, and innovative approaches in the specialty food channel. Enjoy the tour and get inspired! Be sure to follow us for more insights on the latest culinary trends! Marc Halperin, Julie Suntrup, D'Anne Hayman, Ruth Halpern, Business Dev. Lead/Reinvention Coach, JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation, Jeff Grogg, Kara Nielsen #FoodTrends #CulinaryInnovation #CCDI #FancyFoodShow

At CCDI, we're always searching for the newest trends in F&B, from reduced sugar, added protein, specific flavors, etc. But this recent article stated that the specific trend in better-for-you snacking right now is...choices? 🤔 Food Navigator's article 👉 https://hubs.li/Q02FPMWx0 features interviews from some of snacking's biggest players. They agree that personalization and having choices is a critical focus point. As popularity to snack throughout the day versus the traditional model of three full meals continues to grow, snacks need to fit a wide range of consumer occasions and times of day. There's an underlying push and pull to munch on both known, classic products and new, healthier alternatives. Big brands are responding to both desires. By subbing in healthier ingredients to their core lineups and encouraging responsible consumption, they keep nostalgia snacks on shelves. The flavor and functional food innovations occur in the alternative portfolios these corporations own. What do you think? Is this trend at the top of your list too or are you focused on a different trend? Let us know in the comments below 💬 Julie Suntrup, D'Anne Hayman, Marc Halperin, Ruth Halpern, Business Dev. Lead/Reinvention Coach, Aimee Leigh Davis, Jeff Grogg #FoodandBeverage #CPGIndustry #Innovation #Trends #Snacking

We're headed to the IFT FIRST Annual Event & Expo next week ✈️ Amy Usiak, Paul Vilker, CSCP, Anne Haas, and Jonathan Biron will be walking the floor and would love to connect! Shoot us a message in the comments below if you're interested in setting up a time 👇 Be sure to check out both of the panels Jeff Grogg will be speaking on as well! Beyond Gender Bias: Fostering Inclusive Relationships with Allies: IFT Women's Resource Group and Females in Food Community® are holding a discussion and networking opportunity centered around fostering inclusive relationships. 📆 Tuesday, July 16 🕘 3:00-4:00pm CST 📍 McCormick Place, Room S101b. https://hubs.li/Q02FPtr-0 How Rising Food Prices Create Challenges - and Opportunities: CPG experts discuss the impact inflation has had on the food industry. How things got this way, where they’re headed, and what the industry can do about it. 📆 Wednesday, July 17 🕥10:30-11:15am CST 📍 Exhibit Hall - Business FIRST Stage (Booth 2385). https://hubs.li/Q02FPV8h0 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) #IFT #FoodandBeverage #CPGIndustry #Panel #Networking #Expo #ProductDevelopment #SupplyChain #Operations #Procurement

✨We're back with more on our Summer Fancy Food Show Trends Series featuring insights from our trends expert Kara Nielsen. 👇 One of the first places we head to see what’s new at the Summer FFS is the Debut District, home to Incubator Village, with food business incubators like The Hatchery and Oregon State’s Food Innovation Center, and Start Up Row, featuring many women- and diverse-owned brands. Trends emerging here lean towards inspired functional nutrition; cuisine styles and flavors reflecting entrepreneur heritage; and fresh ideas like vertical farming and interactive culinary products. 🍵Functional Health: Several Oregon Naturopaths developed EllyPops, freezer pops made with herbal teas, real fruit and balanced electrolytes. Gluten-free Tempo Granola taps into the gut health trend with antioxidant Vitamin E and prebiotic fiber fortification. On the snack side, Freekah Harvest leverages the ancient grain freekah in high-protein pita chips. 🌏Global Heritage: An Oregon restaurateur, Sao Noi, showed off its signature Laotian chili oils with Ginger and Lemongrass versions. Indian flavor and ingredient combos were featured in Sun Ghee Kitchen’s grass-fed ghees: Cardamom, Ginger & Black Pepper and Cinnamon & Ashwagandha. 🍷Elevated Flavors: We found more flavor adventure with Canyon Salt, a woman-owned company that blends red, white and rosé wine into sea salt for home cooking creativity. Two Hawaiian best friends founded Better Sour, a low-sugar, naturally flavored sour gummy with more diverse flavors from the Asian Pacific (Guava, Calamansi, Ume) and Middle East (Pomegranate, Apricot and Plum). 🍓New Food System: Oishii grows two varietals of Japanese strawberries in a New Jersey vertical farm and packages them in a novel flat pack. Both the ‘always in season’ Omakase Berry and Koyo Berry are pesticide-free, non-GMO and sold ‘perfectly ripe’. 🙌Interactive Baking Kits: We were impressed with Flour & Olive’s whole-wheat and olive oil cake mixes that can be baked into 70 global recipes thanks to an interactive website map. BaKIT Box’s baking activity kits use STEM concepts in its kid-geared educational cookie mixes. Watch for more trends from the Fancy Food Show in the alt-protein space plus stand-out flavors – and colors! Julie Suntrup, D'Anne Hayman, Marc Halperin, Ruth Halpern, Business Dev. Lead/Reinvention Coach, Jeff Grogg, JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation #FancyFoodShow #GlobalFlavors #FoodTrends #CCDInnovation

We’re back from the Specialty Food Association 68th Summer #FancyFoodShow, excited about the latest food trends - the rise of more authentic and global flavors. The diverse array of products points to a food future where flavor-loving American audiences can enjoy more styles, ingredients, and regional recipes from Korea, Japan, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Many also meet the demands for plant-based ingredients and more healthful labels, ensuring a fit with today’s dietary lifestyles. 🍨Playful Asian Frozen Delights: We Just Love booth wowed us with durian crepe cakes and ice cream bars from Malaysia. Korean Melona Ice Cream drew big crowds with its Melon, Ube, and Banana bars, and New York’s Mochidoki impressed with its colorful Lychee, Vegan Passion Fruit, and Black Sesame mochi ice creams. 🥤Beverage Innovations: We saw more canned and bottled bubble teas than we could count, like Twrl plant-based milk teas and low-sugar BUBLUV. Refreshing Caribbean hibiscus beverages and elderflower drinks from South Africa also made a splash. 🍛Indian-American Fusion: Authentic products like Stone-ground Dosa Batter from Dosa Kitchen and award-winning Arya Roti in flavors like Cumin Spinach showcased a perfect blend of traditional and modern eating styles. Doosra’s Indian-inspired snacks, with crunchy spiced chickpea puffs and caramelized white chocolate chips, added a sweet-savory twist. 🍜Convenience with Authenticity: Banyan Thai’s Sofi 2024 Gold prize-winning all-natural curry sauces and Myojo’s Yuzu Shio Ramen frozen kits brought gourmet international flavors to the convenience meal category. 🥡Eye-Catching Packaging: The bright, cheerful, and elegantly styled packaging of these global products highlights a maturing market ready to attract flavor-loving consumers. 🌶️Plentiful Global Condiments: Exciting new condiments like Tari Peruvian Amariillo and Rocoto chile sauces, Tierra Negra Premium Mexican Dark Salsa, and Sprinkle Sprinkle Kimchi seasoning are adding exotic zest to our kitchens. With interest in global travel peaking post-pandemic and younger audiences exploring authentic cuisines via Tik-Tok and YouTube, it’s no surprise that foreign brands, importers, and American entrepreneurs are enriching the specialty food market with these vibrant global offerings. At CCD Innovation, we believe that culinary-led innovation drives consumer preferences, and taste is at the heart of it all. Stay tuned for more trend coverage from the Fancy Food Show, including snacks, alt-protein products, and new flavors! #FancyFoodShow #GlobalFlavors #FoodTrends #CCDInnovation #AuthenticFlavors #HealthyEating #ConvenienceMeals #InnovativeSnacks #GlobalCondiments

With all of the distracting, ineffective noise, how do you stay at the forefront of culinary and ideation trends? In Forum for Naturals' webinar, we teamed up with JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation as Robin Puskas and Veronica Lehman discussed the power of leveraging AI 💻 chef inspiration 👨🍳 and leading-edge food trends 📈 to stay ahead of your competitors. In their presentation, food trend inspiration focused on multisensory engagement, having access to "the spark", and unique perspectives. As far as AI and other technologies can take us, there is no substitute for actually building a panel of expert chefs and conducting multisensory tests to provide the best experience for your target audience. The best inspiration can come from anywhere, from ingredient suppliers to the startup communities to AI. Immerse and involve yourself in different communities, coaching opportunities, and events, and find fellow innovators who are changing and stretching their categories. These are just a few examples from the webinar. If you're interested in full recap of the presentation, comment below and we'll share it with you! Julie Suntrup, D'Anne Hayman, Ruth Halpern, Business Dev. Lead/Reinvention Coach, Aimee Leigh Davis, Jeff Grogg #FoodandBeverage #CPGIndustry #Culinary #Trends #Innovation

🌟 What's driving the future of confectionery? 🍫 In the rapidly evolving world of confectionery, functional foods are taking center stage. A recent Confectionary News article reveals 5️⃣ key trends reshaping our favorite indulgences🔗 https://hubs.li/Q02CzLgK0 So what's trending? 1️⃣ Sweet Protein Sources: Products with added protein, like protein bars and chocolate. 2️⃣ Jellies and Gummies: Enhanced with minerals, vitamins, and novel ingredients. 3️⃣ Added Fiber: Confectionery with high fiber content to support gut health and brain function. 4️⃣ Gut Health: Sweets containing prebiotics and probiotics for digestive benefits. 5️⃣ Plant-Based Push: Increased availability of plant-based, animal-free confectioneries. Our Chief Culinary Officer Marc Halperin shares his thoughts on how brands should be thinking about these functional trends: "The concept of “The Power of Taste” is never more evident than in the world of confections. But it’s a balancing act for the manufacturer to include the right choice and levels of functional ingredients while keeping the taste acceptable to the consumer. Getting to this “sweet spot” (pun intended) is the challenge. Buyers just simply want choices that contain ingredients that they understand and are familiar with." As the industry continues to innovate, the key to success will be combining functionality with irresistible taste. Are you ready to embrace these trends and meet the evolving demands of today's health-conscious consumers? Julie Suntrup D'Anne Hayman Ruth Halpern, Business Dev. Lead/Reinvention Coach, Aimee Leigh Davis, Jeff Grogg, JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation #ConfectioneryTrends #FunctionalFoods #Innovation #FoodScience #CulinaryExcellence #FoodIndustryInsights #PowerOfTaste

Marc Halperin teamed up with Naturally Bay Area to speak on an innovation panel at MISTA last week! The panel discussed many topics surrounding innovation, but really hit home that innovation is a MINDSET and a CULTURE, not just the creation of new product features. 🧠 What characterizes an innovative mindset to the panel? Being adaptable and flexible. Not innovating for the sake of, but intentionally causing a change in behavior and delivering value to stakeholders and consumers. Realizing the best processes are not linear but simultaneous, and embracing diversity of thought, ideas, and perspectives. ⚙️ So you have an innovative idea, but what knowledge is needed to commercialize? Know: - What scale of innovation is reasonable and achievable for the size of your company - What existing rules you can question or test - Your consumers' desires (and don't change the elements of products that stand out to them!) - Must haves vs. nice to haves - Production costs, ingredient availability, and complexity to scale - How to simplify data, and discerning the time and place for AI and other technical learnings 🔒 Finally, what's the secret weapon in food and beverage innovation? Taste! We want customers to buy our products over and over again. "But does it taste good" is what drives every project and prototype we create. If you weren't able to attend and want to hear more, you can check out an audio recording of the event here 🔗 https://hubs.li/Q02B4WnP0 JPG Resources - Food & Beverage Innovation, Jeff Grogg, D'Anne Hayman, Julie Suntrup, Aimee Leigh Davis, Ruth Halpern, Business Development Lead/Creative Coach #FoodandBeverage #CPGIndustry #MISTA #Innovation #Panelists