The Food Institute

Featured Content

Food for Thought Leadership: How Mama’s Creations Is Reinventing the Deli Case

Adam Michaels, CEO of Mama’s Creations, shares how the deli category is evolving and is primed for innovation.

Featured Content

Chocolate’s Identity Crisis: Cocoa Is Disappearing

Chocolate makers are scrambling as soaring cocoa costs force reformulations and shrinkflation. With supply pressures mounting, the industry is racing toward alt cocoa, gene-edited crops, and other science-driven solutions.

Featured Content

Fiber, Functionality, and AI: Acosta’s Big Predictions for 2026

Acosta Group expects 2026 to be a breakout year for agentic AI, with shoppers embracing AI “companions” while still wary of automated purchasing. Acosta Group also feels consumers will demand personalized wellness, along with innovation that feels relevant – not just new.

Featured Content

Cooling, Tingling, Other Trigeminal Sensations Deliver ‘Feelable’ Flavor

Consumers are craving “feelable flavor,” driving brands to explore cooling, warming, and tingling trigeminal sensations that deepen emotional and sensory engagement. These effects are quickly becoming powerful tools for innovation in functional, NA, and better‑for‑you products.

Featured Content

Succession Shake-Up: Coke’s Next CEO Enters Beverage Battlefield

Coca-Cola’s steady handoff from James Quincey to Henrique Braun comes as the beverage giant navigates slowing soda demand, political crosswinds, and shifting consumer habits. Quincey proved Coke could thrive amid turbulence; now Braun must do the same.

Featured Premium Content

F&B Marketing Playbook: Major Shifts

Coming out of the pandemic, the food and beverage marketing landscape has changed dramatically; plus, technological capabilities have opened doors for personalization and data collection. We are in a new era, and brands need to ...

The ‘Casual Athlete’ – A Culture Shift for F&B

Has India Become America’s Next Major Trade Partner?

The Best Certified Humane Egg Brands

Food for Thought Leadership: How Mama’s Creations Is Reinventing the Deli Case

Adam Michaels, CEO of Mama’s Creations, shares how the deli category is evolving and is primed for innovation.

Play Next

This AI Robot Cooks Burgers In Half the Time

FI Spotlight: Modern Twists on Southern Staples at the 2025 Food + Wine Classic Charleston

Beyond the Brand: The Road Ahead for Private Label

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Beyond the Brand: The Road Ahead for Private Label

Premium

Food for Thought Leadership: AI Agents Are on the Rise in the Food Industry and Here’s Why

CES 2026: The AI Revolution Unleashed

Food for Thought Leadership: How Lasso is Reinventing Food Manufacturing

How This Top Robotics Company is Enhancing the Shopper Experience

Latest Podcasts

Food for Thought Leadership: How Mama’s Creations Is Reinventing the Deli Case

Adam Michaels, CEO of Mama’s Creations, shares how the deli category is evolving and is primed for innovation.

Listen Next

FI Fast Break audio news: Dec. 10, 2025

The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on President Trump’s plans to provide $12 billion in aid for farmers caught up in trade wars.

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FI Fast Break audio news: Dec. 3, 2025

The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on the future of fast-casual restaurant chains that rely on so-called “slop bowls.”

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AI Agent, agentic AI, Barry Thomas, Food for Thought Leadership

Food for Thought Leadership: AI Agents Are on the Rise in the Food Industry and Here’s Why

Barry Thomas, senior thought leader at Kantar, unpacks the rapid rise of agentic AI — a new class of AI systems that don’t just generate information, but take action on behalf of the user.

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FI Fast Break audio news: Nov. 26, 2025

The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on projections for a sizable uptick in Cyber Monday shopping.

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Food for Thought Leadership: How Lasso is Reinventing Food Manufacturing

Former Oatly U.S. President Mike Messersmith explores how Lasso’s SpinTech could transform food processing, creating sustainable, high-protein, clean-label innovations with new textures and ingredient possibilities.

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FI Fast Break audio news: Nov. 19, 2025

The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on the growing list of restaurant chains and operating groups that have filed for bankruptcy.

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FI Fast Break audio news: Nov. 12, 2025

The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on restaurants’ growing popularity with consumers on Thanksgiving day.

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The Art of Building a Brand for Foodservice

Mike Seidel of Performance Foodservice Corporate, shares how the company developed its most recent Mediterranean food brand Zebec.

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Events

Oct

Automating Food Production with AI-Enabled Robots (Webinar)

Dec

Beyond the Brand: The Road Ahead for Private Label (Webinar)

Dec

What’s Ahead in 2026? (Webinar)

Publications

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FI Report October 2025