Consumer Foods To Go

RaboResearch went to Germany to attend Anuga, one of the largest food trade shows in the world. In this episode of the Consumer Foods-to-Go podcast, Maria Castroviejo, Cyrille Filott, and Marjolein Hanssen review Anuga and share their findings from the event. The three discuss the innovations that were noticed, the things that were missing, and general observations. Topics include plant-based products, inflation, and the surprising lack of messaging on sustainability.

Consumer Foods-to-Go brings insights into the topics that should be top-of-mind for any food executive and the topics that should inspire us to think differently. This podcast falls into the latter category. We have always been fascinated by Japan and Japanese shopping and eating culture. In this episode, we explore konbini – convenience (food) shopping in Japan. We believe Japan is ahead of many markets in how convenience shops are set up and run. We invited Kaoru Yoshii, Retail Sector Analyst at Norinchukin Research Institute, and Hideki Obata, General Manager Food and Agribusiness Planning at Norinchukin Bank, to discuss konbini. Expect to be surprised on how konbini companies operate and what audiences they are targeting.

Climate change impacts business. Business impacts climate change. Many food companies are taking responsibility and setting targets to achieve lower emissions for their products in the near term and even zero emissions in the long run. Most of these emissions happen in companies' supply chains, outside of their direct control. The key challenge food companies face: how to make change happen in the supply chain? Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott quiz Rabobank analyst Marjolein Hanssen on the topic. She will talk numbers (scope 3 emissions are a large part of total emissions) and offer her thoughts on actions that may lower supply chain emissions.

In this episode of Consumers Foods-to-Go, we put the food manufacturing plant in the middle and perform a deep dive into the logistical processes around it. There are two major streams: the goods coming into the factory and the goods leaving the factory for distribution centers. In both cases, we are witnessing much higher prices for logistics. Together with Matteo Iagatti, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott explore the drivers behind the price spikes and the outlook for the logistical sector.

Consumer Foods-to-Go covered plant-based meat substitutes in two episodes in the last few years, but it's such an important topic in consumer foods nowadays that we believe we should do a third. This time we focus on Asia, as we are hearing a lot of stories about the growth of plant-based meat substitute products there. To discuss the topic, we invited our own Michelle Huang, who brings a Chinese perspective, and Nick Cooney from Lever VC, who invests in plant-based meat substitutes across the globe, including Asia. During the podcast, we review the key trends in China and spend a lot of time discussing the differences between the US and Chinese market.

Inflation is, or should be, at the top of any board room agenda. Developed markets have not seen much inflation in the last decade, but now it seems to be back. In this episode, host Cyrille Filott and co-host Maria Castroviejo discuss the drivers of inflation with Michael Every, strategist at Rabobank. One of the key drivers of the current inflationary pressure is the bullwhip effect, where supply and demand shocks ripple through the supply chain. In the end, future inflation will be partly politically driven, which is discussed as well. Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster ride of talk on inflation!

One-and-half years ago we released a Consumer Foods-to-Go podcast called Nutri-Score: A, B, C, Easy as 1, 2, 3... Or Is It? about a front-of-pack nutrition label. Now, some European retailers are trialing another front-of-pack label called Eco-Score that focuses on the sustainability of a product. It works in the same way as Nutri-Score: A for top of the bill, E for bottom of the pack. We believe some form of sustainability labeling will become the norm in the next few years, so Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo explore the Eco-Score label in this podcast. Loads of nuggets in this episode for anyone in the food & agribusiness value chain!

Working from home or, better still, working from anywhere will not go away for office workers post-pandemic. Many companies have already announced that a hybrid way of working, with a split between work in the office and work at home or another place, will be normal. As a result, office workers will change where they buy lunch, whether it's in offices or at a place near home. In this episode, Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo explore the topic of working from home and the impact this will have on the food sector. They will try to quantify the number of days people will not go to the office and discuss strategies food companies might want to embark on to cater to workers in this new setup.

Food delivery has taken a firm piece of the foodservice pie during the pandemic. When some sort of normality returns, a bit of those revenues might slip away. However, we expect delivery to remain very important in foodservice. This begs the question: what should restaurants do in an environment where one in ten, or perhaps even one in five orders are going to be picked up by a rider? In this episode, Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott tries to find answers to this question and many others with fellow Rabobank analysts Maria Castroviejo, Amit Sharma, and Marjolein Hanssen.

The foodservice sector has obviously been hit by the pandemic, but it is time for the sector to look ahead. A lot of positive momentum is building across the globe, so it's time for Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott to quiz his colleagues Maria Castroviejo, Michelle Huang, and Amit Sharma about the foodservice sector. A quick reflection on 2020 is in order, but most of the time is spent on 2021. Key trends will be discussed, including blurring, foodservice brands hitting retail, and the asymmetric recovery. So… what is on the menu?

Every year Nick Fereday sends out a survey asking a couple of simple questions to the readership of Talking Points. This year the questions were: “What has changed in food?” and “What has not changed in food?” The answers this year were much more diverse than in previous years, showing that much is still unknown. During the podcast, Nick shares with hosts Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott some of the most thought-provoking answers that may perhaps plant some ideas with the Consumer Foods-to-Go audience.

Plant-based foods are top-of-mind for consumers and food companies alike. The market for plant-based products is not steady by any means — a lot of change and growth is ahead of us. In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott interview Lindsay McCorkle, lead banking officer for plant-based protein at Rabobank, on these changes. She will talk about many trends, including new technologies and declining prices. In the second part of the conversation, Lindsay will discuss funding trends, including equity and debt, as the money coming into the sector will, at least partly, determine the future success of plant-based foods. Lindsay will talk about this fundraising and how plant-based companies are being valued.

During the pandemic, online purchases of fresh food really took off in China. While there are some similarities with how US and European consumers buy fresh food online, we notice some distinct differences. First and foremost, Michelle Huang, analyst at Rabobank, expects 30% of all fresh food will be bought online. This is at least partly to do with the fact that food retail in China is not as developed as other markets. Secondly, some very interesting new models are appearing, including community buying. Sufficient reason for Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott to interview Michelle on the prospects.

One of the key developments on the back of the current Covid-19 pandemic is the accelerated adoption of e-commerce. One part of e-commerce that has grown is direct-to-consumer e-commerce, in which food and beverage producers ship directly to the consumer. Direct-to-consumer means that large platforms, aggregators of products, and retailers are being bypassed. However, many questions have been raised about the viability and the economics of direct-to-consumer. In this episode, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott question Rabobank analyst Bourcard Nesin about the value of direct-to-consumer e-commerce. Hint: it is not about money!

In this episode, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott discuss our 2021 global commodity outlook and the impact potential price changes (spoiler alert: they’re going up!) will have on the food sector. And we’re joined by a special guest this time: Stefan Vogel, Global Strategist – Grains & Oilseeds at RaboResearch.

This week we partnered with our sister podcast, Liquid Assets, to discuss how bars, restaurants, and manufacturers have survived Covid-19 thus far and how quickly they can recover (fingers crossed) once the pandemic is over. Listeners of Consumer Foods to Go will love the work done by the team at Liquid Assets. If you are interested in the latest trends in the beverage industry, you can subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app.

During the current pandemic, ordering food for consumption at home has taken off beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. However, the delivery platforms through which consumers order food (still) do not make money. In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott question Marjolein Hanssen on how the economics of these platforms work and what she expects platforms to do in the next few years in terms of scale, IT, and data monetization.

In early 2019, we recorded a podcast on the role of plastic packaging in food with supply chains strategist Susan Hansen. Since then, the world has changed because of Covid-19, and, as Susan says in the podcast, it has been a very interesting time for plastics. The use of plastics in retail has increased, and consumers' attitudes toward plastic have changed due to fears of contamination. In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott discuss with Susan the impact of Covid-19 on the use of plastic and if the future role of plastic packaging in food has changed.

In the last few years, a lot of money has flowed into ghost kitchens across the globe. Interestingly, India and Southeast Asia have been leading the charge, with, for example, the number of ghost kitchens in India growing from 200 to 1,500 in 2019. In this episode, Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo quiz Rabobank’s Umesh Madhavan on the growth of ghost kitchens. They talk about the flexibility of the model and how companies operate to find growth quickly. However, margins could be under pressure for the foodservice industry as a whole, and companies that have huge scale may be the winners.

In May, the European Green Deal’s ‘Farm to Fork Strategy’ was announced. Among other things, the deal in general strives for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The farm-to-fork part is much more specific, spelling out the use of antibiotics and nutrients in farming, along with nutrition on the consumer level. So high time for Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott to roll up their sleeves and engage in a lively discussion with analysts Harry Smit and Stefan van Merrienboer. What exactly are the specifics of the strategy? And just what does this all mean for the consumer foods sector?