By Aubrey Lenyard
Georgia Tech, FBA
Last month I found myself in a room full of food dreamers, scientists, corporate innovators, and entrepreneurs at the 18th Annual American Food Innovate Summit. The two-day event took place Feb. 24-25 at the Loews Hotel in Atlanta. The summit focuses on food innovation, AI-driven research and development, regulatory compliance, sustainability, and the rapid growth of plant-based foods. Major global brands send their best and brightest to share what they are working on next.
I was joined by Sarah Dubale of Culture Sweet Tea, Malvika Mohan of Humble Origins, Natali Rodriguez Lorenzo of Tres Cake Bar, Corrine Matthews of Eco Sun Farms, Theresa Bostic of Kayla’s Italian Ice, Sonia Paryani of Paryani Foods, and Charlette Bell of Lady Bell.
Needless to say, we were thrilled to be there.
Day one began the way many great food gatherings do. With breakfast. After coffee and a quick round of introductions with fellow attendees, we settled in for a series of back-to-back seminars.
One of the sessions that stood out most for me featured Carmisha Ramsey, Lead Customer Chef at Mondelez International. Carmisha walked the audience through how her team develops new product concepts alongside brand partners. She described the process step by step, from the early idea stage all the way to testing and refinement.
What surprised me most was how familiar the process sounded.
Despite working for a global company behind brands found in grocery stores around the world, Carmisha still spends time in her test kitchen experimenting. She mixes and remixes ingredients until she finds the right balance of flavor and texture. Listening to her speak, I could not help but think about the founders in our accelerator program who are doing the exact same thing in their home kitchens across Georgia.
Innovation, it seems, looks the same whether you are a multinational company or a startup only selling at local farmers markets.
Another surprise was how long it takes large companies to bring a product to market. Carmisha explained that the process can take as long as eighteen months before a new item ever reaches a store shelf. Many small founders move much faster than that.
Carmisha is also a graduate of the University of Georgia. When she learned our group was visiting from Georgia Tech, she gave us a friendly shoutout from the stage along with a little college rivalry banter. The room enjoyed the moment.
Later I spent time chatting with Deep Patel, Associate Manager of R&D Culinary for Global Disruptive Innovation at Kraft Heinz. Deep’s work also centers on product development, and you could tell he genuinely loves the creative process of building new foods.
Another fascinating session was titled “Walnuts as Innovation” presented by California Walnut Board. The presentation highlighted companies that are using walnuts to tap into today’s consumer trends. As I listened, I could not stop thinking about the possibilities for innovation with our state’s peanuts and pecans. Let’s just say a few ideas started forming.
On day two our Georgia Tech group gathered again at breakfast to plan which presentations we would attend. One session that caught our attention featured Cordell Hardy, vice president of Research and Development for Food North America at Cargill. His talk focused on the trends and technologies shaping the future of food and agriculture.
One topic he mentioned that sparked my curiosity was the development of foods designed to complement GLP-1 medications. For those of us who struggle with weight management, these emerging products could represent an entirely new category in the food marketplace.
The session I was most excited about during the entire conference was a panel titled “How Startups and Giants Can Collaborate to Drive Innovation.” The discussion featured leaders from Unilever, Mars, and The Coca-Cola Co.
For someone like me who is endlessly curious about how food is grown, made, and sold, the two days I spent at the summit felt like being in my happy place. I was surrounded by innovators and decision makers who shape what people around the world will be eating in the years ahead.
Even better, I was able to experience it alongside Georgia food founders who are building innovative brands of their own. And who knows. One day they may be the ones standing on that stage sharing how their ideas changed the way we eat.
Aubrey Lenyard is co-director of the Georgia Tech Food and Beverage Accelerator (GT.FBA). Learn more online at https://gtfba.innovate.gatech.edu/.
This article was originally published in the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin and is republished here with permission.
