Golf Tournament
Experience the brand new TPC Champions course.
Sponsored by Chr. Hansen

Welcome Reception
Start this year’s New Products Conference with a casual networking event. Make the connections that will enhance your conference experience.

Keynote: The New Dynamics of the Global Food System
Keynote Speaker: Mary L. Shelman, Director, Agribusiness Program, Harvard Business School

Shifts in the international food supply chain, competition from biofuels, rapidly expanding global markets and advances in biological sciences are just some of the factors causing seismic changes in the food industry. How will issues from ingredient sourcing to new product development be impacted? What are the challenges and where are the opportunities for food companies? Critical information is provided that will help companies generate innovative solutions for success.

Engaging Suppliers in the New Product Development Process
Speaker: D. Steven Wade, Director of Benchmarking and Marketing Programs, CAPS Research

Learn how companies engage suppliers in R&D initiatives from product planning and development to product launch. Information from benchmarking reports focusing on supply management's role in selecting new suppliers, investigating new materials, and identifying new technologies will also be presented.

Casting an External Net for Value Creation
Speaker: John Smith, Senior Principal Scientist, Pepsico / US Foods

Increasingly, innovative and successful companies have learned how to make the most of Open Networks, maximize the use of technology brokers and have developed successful industry partnerships. Such creative ventures will lead to improved ROI on your R&D resources!

Making a Claim: Formulation Amid Regulation
Speaker: Mark S. Hostetler, Attorney, Husch, Blackwell Sanders LLP

New product development, ingredient choices and product strategies will both lead and follow consumers' interests. However, legislative initiatives and regulations will influence how and to what extent product developers can respond. What are the politics, policies and proposed regulatory changes on the horizon that will impact the foods we produce and market?

How 76 Million Boomers are Changing the Food Industry
Speaker: Steve French, Managing Partner, Natural Marketing Institute (NMI)

Based on four years of trends from NMI's Healthy Aging/Boomer Database™ research, this session examines what Boomers look for and what they avoid in food and beverages; the role of health and wellness; weight management issues and new product/brand usage patterns. NMI’s proprietary Boomer consumer segmentation model will help identify marketplace opportunities.

World Flavor Trends
Speakers - Mintel GNPD, Lynn Dornblaser and David Jago, Directors, Custom Solutions Group, Mintel International

Discover the newest, most prevalent and popular flavors emerging in the U.S. market and abroad. Learn how unusual flavors and flavor blends’ impact new product introductions and performance, consumer attitudes, and activity from outside the U.S. market.

Mintel Tasting Session on Flavors and Tastes

Taste the new emerging flavors that were presented during Mintel’s previous session. Sample today’s exciting new products from around the globe.

Lessons Learned from the Natural Products & Dietary Supplement Industries
Speaker: John Venardos, Vice President, Worldwide Regulatory & Government Affairs, Herbalife
In the development of truly innovative products for health, a company must have the pulse of consumers, the regulatory environment and emerging science. Learn how a related industry excels in quickly adapting to changes in the market as it fast-tracked new products for the U.S. while working in Washington on initiatives to provide affordable, science-based products improving consumer health and on efforts for self-regulation to improve consumer confidence in product claims.

Product Development Changes in a Changing Wellness Landscape
Speaker: Chor San Heng Khoo, Ph.D., vice president, Global Nutrition and Health, Campbell Soup Company
Wellness, a global mega-trend, is increasingly complex. Scientific advances, global travel, aging populations, obesity and instantaneous communications have shifted consumers’ definition of wellness from reducing disease risks to living longer with an improved quality of life. These changes mean the food industry must change how products are developed, marketed, sold, regulated and reimbursed. Case examples, including Campbell's recent efforts to lead in the health and nutrition markets, will be presented.

From Flavors to Food Solutions: The Impact of Millennials
Speaker: Chef John Li, Senior Executive Chef, Kraft Foodservice

Research shows that the eating habits of Millennials (those born between 1982 and 2000) will have a tremendous impact on how food products and menus are designed. Their attitudes and actions require a new and different approach to the development and marketing of foods in both the retail and foodservice sector.

Emerging Foodservice Trends, Operator Differentiation, and the Impact on Food Manufacturers
Speaker: Kevin Higar, Director Operator Product Development, Technomic

Few foodservice operators can remember a business environment this challenging. The ability to offer menu items that meet a variety of consumer needstates will be critical for operator success in 2008 and beyond. Discover which emerging foodservice trends can establish Resonating Points of Differentiation for restaurant concepts, and how food manufacturers can position themselves as partners in the operators’ quest to separate from the competitive clutter.

Cocktail Reception
Sponsored by Takasago

Wednesday Concurrent Session Breakouts
Select the Breakout Session that’s right for you. These sessions will be both hands-on and presentation in style and will cover a wide variety of topics. Audience participation is welcome!

Foundations for New Product Development
Speaker: Anne Orban, M.Ed., NPDP, Innovation Focus

Understanding the Role of Creativity in Product Innovation
Speaker: Elizabeth Heckman, M.Ed., Innovation Focus

Knowledge of your own creative style and creative preference is important for top performance at work or in your life. Learning tools and techniques to enhance creativity and bring creative energy into the service of your customer is the topic of this fun and exciting exploratory workshop.

Market Emersion - The Ethnographic Approach to Voice of the Customer
Speaker: Christopher W. Miller, Founder, Innovation Focus

So often it is not what your customer says but what they actually do that matters most. This workshop will help you define a field emersion project for you and your team and give you the basic rules you need to get started on your own field emersion effort.