Q4 Crunch Time: Foodservice Foot Traffic & Trend Insights

Foot traffic and consumer trends are shifting across the foodservice landscape—from fast-casual to full-service to quick-service segments. The Food Institute hosted a data-driven discussion on the factors shaping restaurant performance in the second half of ...

LATAM Influence: The Latin American Consumer

Latin American (LATAM) and Hispanic consumers in the United States have a profound impact on domestic food and beverage sales. “The Hispanic/LATAM demographic forces in the United States are unmistakable and enduring,” John LeVert, managing ...

Metabolic Health and Weight Management in the GLP-1 Era

It is no surprise that consumers are increasingly focused on health and wellness. In particular, weight management has become a key priority for many consumers, with GLP-1 drugs emerging as one of several tools being ...

Smarter Supply, Smarter Service: How AI is Transforming Foodservice

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the foodservice industry—from how food is produced and delivered to how it’s prepared and served. The Food Institute explored how AI is driving innovation and efficiency across the entire foodservice ecosystem, ...

Forces Shaping Foodservice: Biggest Trends

It’s no surprise that consumers are dining out less, citing myriad reasons for this behavior, with the most compelling signaling a return to affordability. TouchBistro 2025 U.S. Diner Trends Report Still, consumers are willing to ...

Forces Shaping Foodservice: QSR Value Wars

The quick-serve restaurant value wars have never been more important to chains that are losing market share to prepared foods sections at grocery stores and full-service establishments. Concurrently, consumers are rejecting higher fast-food prices resulting ...

Navigating Economic Headwinds – What’s Ahead for the F&B Industry

The U.S. economy grew 2.8% in 2024 but began 2025 with a -0.5% decline in Q1. As we look ahead to the rest of 2025 and into 2026, the path forward remains uncertain. Persistent inflation, ...

Forces Shaping Foodservice: Attracting Discerning Shoppers

Economic headwinds are shaping consumer shopping behaviors, with looming tariffs affecting consumers’ perceptions of imported foods…

Forces Shaping Foodservice: State of the Industry

The foodservice industry has faced countless headwinds in the years following the pandemic, battling persistent accelerated inflation compared to food-at-home (FAH) spending, labor retention and cost issues, and an overall environment of economic uncertainty that ...

Eyes on the Aisle: A Mid-Year Food Retail Update

R.J. Hottovy of Placer.ai and Sally Lyons Wyatt of Circana explored how shifting economic conditions, evolving consumer preferences, and the growing focus on health and wellness are influencing food shopping behavior. Topics covered included: Visitation ...

Restaurant Industry Insights for 2025

In case you missed it—or want to revisit key takeaways—the full recording is now available. R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai and Sunny Khamkar, co-founder and CEO of MenuData, unpacked the trends and ...

Food & Beverage Industry M&A: What to Expect in 2025

In this exclusive webinar hosted by The Food Institute, industry experts explore key M&A trends shaping the food and beverage sector in 2025. The session features a data-driven presentation from John Siegler of BMO Capital ...

Beyond the Buzz: What’s Next for the Non-Alcoholic Beverage Market?

As the demand for premium, complex, and health-conscious alcohol alternatives accelerates, the non-alcoholic beverage market is undergoing a major transformation. In this exclusive webinar hosted by The Food Institute, industry experts break down the latest ...

The Future of Food Retail

The food retail industry in 2025 is evolving rapidly, with shifting consumer preferences, rising competition, and new growth opportunities. From the rise of international grocers and natural products to the ongoing battle between discounters and ...

What’s Ahead in 2025?

2024 was marked yet again by challenges as inflation, geopolitical instability, the growth of artificial intelligence, severe weather events, and more all impacted the food industry during the year. But with a new administration and ...

The Power of Private Label: How Store Brands are Transforming Food Retail

Private label products are no longer a niche market—they’re a major force in food retail. With consumers becoming more cost-conscious, private label sales hit a record $236.3 billion in 2023. But what’s driving this explosive ...

Seizing Opportunities: Food Manufacturing M&A Insights for 2024

Despite the challenges and risks within the U.S. economy, the food manufacturing industry remains a bright spot in the M&A world. What trends are taking form? What can be expected in terms of deal volume ...

Snacking Smarter: Consumer Trends and Product Solutions

How has consumer snacking changed in the last five years, and what trends are shaping its future in 2025? In this webinar, experts from Glanbia Nutritionals, Brightfield Group, and The Food Institute explore these questions ...

Inflation’s Economic Impact: What it Means for the F&B Industry

Inflation affects every corner of the U.S. economy, but its impact on the Food and Beverage industry is particularly profound. Join The Food Institute for an insightful webinar during which we examine how rising prices ...

Food & Beverage Industry M&A: What to Expect in 2024

This webinar, hosted by The Food Institute, will look at the major M&A trends in the food and beverage industry in 2024, featuring a presentation by John Siegler of BMO Capital Markets followed by a ...

Webinar: The Future of Food Retail

In 2024, the food retail industry will face a new set of opportunities and challenges unlike those in previous years. From the impact of inflation, shifts in shopper behavior, increased technological disruption, and competition from ...

What’s Ahead in 2024?

Food price inflation, geopolitical instability, the emergence of artificial intelligence, weather events, and more all impacted the food industry in 2023, but what’s ahead in 2024? This webinar delved into the latest retail transactional data, ...

Feeding the Future: Implementing Practical Food-Tech Innovations in 2024

The food and beverage (F&B) industry underwent a technological revolution, and staying ahead of the curve had never been more critical. From data analytics and robotics to cloud computing and GenAI, F&B companies navigated a ...

How Digital Influencers & Food Brands Launch Viral Trends

Influencer Marketing has taken the world by storm. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the category value grew from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $21.1 billion this year. And it's only going to get bigger. But ...

The Future of Restaurants: Data and Insights for 2024 and Beyond

Few sectors of the food industry have seen the same headwinds as the foodservice industry the past few years. The pandemic forced a shift to digital technologies and delivery options, and inflation has pressed consumers ...

Generative AI: What Do Food & Beverage Companies Need to Know?

Generative artificial intelligence or generative AI has taken the world by storm with notable programs like ChatGPT (OpenAI), Bard (Google), and Midjourney coming on to the scene in 2023. Many experts are claiming that this ...

Growth Opportunities for Food Manufacturers in 2023

Despite persistent inflation, declining volume sales, and a more reticent consumer, growth opportunities remain for food manufacturers in 2023. The Food Institute hosted this exclusive webinar to explore how the food manufacturing industry can position ...

Food Inflation Outlook: 2023 and Beyond

The lingering effects of rampant inflation and the specter of a possible recession are impacting consumers and companies across the board, and the food space is no different. Increased costs across the value chain are ...

Introducing The Snack 50 – The First Psych-Based Measurement of the World’s Top Snack Brands

Understanding brand strength has remained somewhat of a mystery for many snacking companies. Snack food rankings have historically relied on generic popularity polls, sales data, social listening tools, reviewer critiques, and biased “pay to play” ...

Upcycling Opportunities in the Food Industry

 The Food Institute hosted an exclusive webinar on April 27th from 2pm-3pm ET to discuss the upcycled food and beverage industry. The industry is expected to reach nearly $100 billion within a decade with ...

The Future of Food Retail (2023)

 Despite numerous headwinds, the food retail industry continues to evolve rapidly. The specter of a recession and geopolitical unrest are impacting retailers and consumers alike. As consumers trade down amid historically-persistent inflation, retailers have ...

Food & Beverage Industry M&A: What to Expect in 2023

This webinar, hosted by The Food Institute, looked at the major M&A trends in the food and beverage industry and what to expect in the year ahead, featuring presentations by John Siegler of BMO Capital ...

The Food Institute’s 2023 Restaurant Roundtable

The restaurant industry has faced its ups and downs over the past few years, but where is the industry moving forward? On March 29, a panel of experts talked about the current state of the ...

The State of Health & Wellness for the Food Industry

Consumers often say they want to eat healthy, but many need help in achieving this goal. What does the current science say with regard to healthy eating, and how can the food industry meet the rising ...

CPG Industry: Key Themes and 2023 Outlook

What is the state of the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry? Watch as Nik Modi of RBC Capital Markets dissected the latest CPG trends in food and beverage and provided his outlook for 2023. Additionally, Modi ...

What’s Ahead in 2023?

From surging inflation to extreme weather patterns to a more eco-conscious consumer, food and beverage businesses had to adapt and overcome in 2022, but what does the new year hold? Watch the replay of this ...