A new year inspires new ideas and innovations! As we reflect on a year full of pivots, it’s time to envision a post-pandemic future. With the explosion of functional food needs and demand for plant-based products to tech innovation, this networking event will look at the major trends of 2021 and what we can expect for 2022 and beyond.
Speakers:
Lynn Dornblaser is the Director of Innovation & Insight at Mintel. With more than 30 years of experience, she applies her unique perspective on the market and new product development to tailored client research. Prior to joining Mintel, Dornblaser covered new product trends at several trade magazine publishing companies, as editor and editorial director of publication New Product News. She has been quoted by major US news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, and CNN.
Joan Driggs is the Vice President of Content and Thought Leadership, Information Resources Inc., Joan attributes curiosity as key to her 30-plus year career as a results-driven market researcher, CPG trade journalist and thought leader. Her goal has always been to empower CPGs, retailers and industry suppliers with information needed to make smart decisions that support shoppers and consumers. Her motto: Make the shopper the hero. Joan’s thought leadership work regularly serves as a foundation from which IRI teams develop innovative, holistic solutions for clients, and is regularly showcased during top-to-top client meetings, industry conferences and webinars, media, academic and custom studies.
Mike Kostyo is the resident Trendologist and an Associate Director at Datassential, the food industry’s leading market research and trends company. At Datassential, Kostyo oversees the company’s seven TrendSpotting magazines, custom client publications, and he leads trend immersion tours and ideation sessions across the country. Kostyo was a recurring guest on Fusion TV’s “The AV Club Show”; has been featured on WGN Radio, CBS Radio, and Gimlet Media’s “Why We Eat What We Eat” podcast; is regularly featured in newspapers and magazines; speaks at numerous conferences across the country annually; and he was a judge on Food Network’s “Eating America.” He has a master’s in gastronomy from Boston University, plus certificates in the culinary arts, baking arts, wine, and artisan cheese production. In his spare time he teaches cooking classes and co-founded a monthly food swap in Chicago.
