Consumer Foods To Go

At the end of May, news reached us that Brian Sharoff, president of the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), had sadly passed away. Brian led the PLMA for almost 40 years – and as loyal listeners might recall, we interviewed him for our ‘PLMA Live’ episode, which we launched after the 2019 Amsterdam PLMA show. For this new episode, in memory of Brian, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott interview Rabobank analyst Sebastiaan Schreijen on the past, present, and future of private label in food. At the end of the episode, we revisit the piece we recorded with Brian last year.

As loyal listeners to the podcast know, we have spent a lot of time thinking through what might change in food as a result of the corona crisis. The previous episode was dedicated to purpose-lead business. This episode is dedicated to Nutrition. Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott invited Nard Clabbers of TNO to discuss the future of nutrition. Nard Clabbers is one of the leading authorities in the field of personalized nutrition. He discusses recent developments in personalized nutrition, and he shares his views on how Covid-19 might impact consumer choices and perspectives regarding food.

We at Rabobank believe that we will see some profound changes in food in the post-Covid environment. One of them is that food companies may move (further) toward becoming purpose-led instead of being driven by financial returns. This is an important change of the primary focus, and as a result, strategies may change as well. In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo interview Ylenia Tommasato, Global Brand Sustainability & Communication Manager at Barilla, on sustainability issues and on strategies in food companies in general and Barilla in particular.

Fresh fruits and vegetables were performing well in foodservice up until the Covid-19 crisis. However, the Covid-19 crisis and the subsequent closure of a lot of restaurants led to demand crashing for some products, whereas other products sold really well. But even in that period, “weather was more important than Covid.” This is a quote by Cindy van Rijswick, Rabobank’s resident fruit and vegetable expert. Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo interview Cindy about the past but also about structural changes in the imminent future. Many of the themes that were discussed in previous editions of the podcast series reappear in this episode, tied to fruits and vegetables.

Europe and the US are on the verge of ending lockdowns, and, in some cases, have done so already. For restaurants, this is an exciting time, but for food retail, perhaps less so. In China, lockdowns ended a few months before the rest of the world. Therefore, we believe it is helpful to have a look at what lessons can be learned from China. Maria and Cyrille quiz Rabobank colleague Michelle Huang on the latest developments in foodservice and food retail.

Artificial intelligence and food – a very interesting combination! In recent episodes of the Consumer Foods-to-Go podcast series, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott discussed the current impact of the coronavirus on food businesses. One of the recurring themes was the potential acceleration of digitization in food. In this episode of the series, Maria and Cyrille explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in food production and sales. AI can be used for planning purposes, for reducing waste in production, and many other applications. As Maria and Cyrille are no experts on the matter, Paul Staples and Stephen Kinns from the startup CatsAi explain what AI is, why it may have failed in some cases during the disruption at the start of the 'corona crisis,' and what AI could bring to food production in the future.

Recently Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott was part of a webinar organized by Rabobank’s start-up innovation platform FoodBytes! on the impact of Covid-19 on food. In this episode, Cyrille and co-host Maria Castroviejo answer the most interesting questions from the webinar that are relevant to anyone curious about the effects of the lockdowns on food business. The webinar can be found here: https://www.foodbytesworld.com/foodbytes-webinar-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-food-ag-companies/

In this episode of the Consumer Foods to Go podcast, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott again discuss the impact of the coronavirus on food retail, food service, and packaged food. This time Cyrille and Maria discuss the short-term changes in consumer behavior with regards to food retail shopping, what will happen at the end of the lockdown in foodservice, what the future of travel might look like, and how this will impact foodservice.

Recording from their homes, Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo update you on what they see happening in foodservice and food retail on the back of the coronavirus crisis. Maria and Cyrille touch upon the key questions they received from Rabobank clients over the last two weeks. They share anecdotes from the food & agribusiness supply chain and look a bit beyond the crisis into the almost inevitable economic recession. This episode is a follow-up to one released two weeks ago on this channel. 

Everybody is talking about the coronavirus, and we at Rabobank have published a lot about its effect on Asian industries. The virus is now leading to disruptions in Europe (e.g. a lockdown in Italy) and North America. Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott, co-host and host of Consumer Foods-to-Go, provide their initial thoughts on the virus's current impact on foodservice and packaged food in the western hemisphere, as well as what structural shifts we might see in the future. A warning: the R-word will be used.

Consumers are constantly looking for ways to improve their health, and food can certainly help with that. But many people are also looking for more convenient options, which we refer to as 'nutraceuticals.' These come in many shapes and forms – from isolated ingredients to ready-to-swallow pills – and are targeted at various audiences. In this episode, Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott quizzes senior analyst Maartje van den Berg on the topic.

Every year, Rabobank analyst Nick Fereday asks clients, stakeholders, and colleagues to name their single biggest food surprise of the previous year. For the first time, apart from sending out the results in a report, we're providing you with the highlights in a specially recorded podcast episode. Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott and co-host Maria Castroviejo quiz Nick on the findings in general – and on those big surprises.

In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, host Cyrille Filott takes a close view of the outlook for global food service. Cyrille and analyst Maria Castroviejo discuss four key themes in food service for the year ahead: the economy, input costs, sustainability, and – obviously – delivery.

In January 2019, the EAT-Lancet report came out. Written by academics, this report described what should be done to achieve a healthier diet that is better for the environment. One of the main conclusions is that meat consumption, and therefore production, should be reduced. In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, host Cyrille Filott and co-host Maria Castroviejo discuss with Fabrice DeClerck, science director at EAT, the content of the report, what has happened on the back of the report, and what still needs to happen to achieve a sustainable diet.

The new Nutri-Score food labelling system is being rolled out by various retailers and food producers over the next few years in Europe. Nutri-Score may help consumers make a healthier choice by providing a letter representing the nutritional value of a given food product – ranging from A (healthy) to E (unhealthy). In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, your host Cyrille Filott shares the mic with fellow Rabobank specialists Maria Castroviejo and Sebastiaan Schreijen. They take a look at all actors involved in the launch of Nutri-Score: governments, retailers, food producers, and consumers. But how will the food industry itself respond to the new labels?

Rabobank has recently published its agri commodities outlook report, “Supply Slide Saves Grounded Demand”. In this edition of Consumer Foods to Go, Cyrille Filott is discussing the outlook with its lead author, Rabobank’s own Stefan Vogel. Demand growth for agri commodities in general is pedestrian, while there is still abundant growth on the supply side. However, prices for some commodities (including sugar) are very low and may move up from here. We discuss risks to price movements like African Swine Fever, trade wars and obviously weather. The key message of the report is that demand needs to pick up dramatically to cause a big move in prices; otherwise supply, partly driven by technology, will more than keep up with demand.

This Consumer Foods to Go episode comes from Shanghai, and is devoted to sustainability in F&A in Asia. Why? Because the views in that region are very different from what is the norm in the US and Europe. This podcast sheds light on these differences and how to make sustainability in Asia practical. We have enlisted the help of an outsider this time: Richard Brubaker, the founder of Collective Responsibility, will guide us through the issues and solutions. He has a view on meat substitutes in Asia! And did we mention he has been living in Shanghai for 19 years?

Sustainability is a hot topic in packaged food, but also for restaurants. For restaurants, operating in a sustainable way has become the license to operate. In this podcast, Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott and Rabobank analyst Paula Savanti discuss the many issues restaurants are facing, and the actions these restaurants are taking. Restaurants are reducing waste, optimizing packaging, and tackling greenhouse gas emissions. But is it sufficient, and what are the costs associated with all of this?

Contract Manufacturing – the outsourcing of food production by brands – has been around in food for a while. And Rabobank believes that, in some markets – especially Europe – it will continue to grow, as many drivers are providing a tailwind. Senior analyst Sebastiaan Schreijen is on hand to answer Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott's sharp questions... and, as always, he has all the answers.

In this episode, we're all about all things snacking! And snacking in a particular region: Southeast Asia and India. Consumer Foods-to-Go host Cyrille Filott and co-host Maartje van den Berg take a close look at trends in the region with a little help from analyst Umesh Madhavan. Oh – and when you start listening, please keep the Maslow pyramid in mind: At the bottom, trends are very different from higher up – but there's plenty of growth to be found at all levels!