A One-Day, Brand-Led Conference & Networking Event, Central London, 8th February 2023

Optimise Brand New, Inspiring, Innovative & Profitable Market & Customer Insights to 

Monetise Plant-Based, Vegan & Natural Trends, Innovations & NPD

Customer Trends, Expectations & Behaviours • Sustainability • Taste & Flavour • NPD Within Plant-Based, Vegan & Natural • Game-Changing Ingredients • Nutrition, Health & Wellness • Packaging Innovations • Flexitarian Trends • Clean Label • New Technologies

8th February 2023, Hilton Canary Wharf, London

8.30 Registration, Informal Networking & GIC Welcome

9.10 Morning Chair’s Opening Remarks corner flag

Julie Waddell, Founder, Moorish

Customer Trends, Expectations & Behaviours

PANEL Q&A

09.20 Drive Strong Category Growth & Product Development By Capitalising On Brand New Consumer Trends, Insights & Buying Habits For Inspired & Innovative Plant-Based, Vegan & Natural Products

  • From purchase drivers to plant-based, vegan and natural SKU performance… plant yourself in your consumers’ minds to truly understand their behaviours, the driving force behind trends, and how, where, and when people are consuming plant-based and vegan for next-level product development
  • Your critical questions, answered! What really drives consumer preferences and re-purchases today? Is it ethics, environment, health, or sustainability – maximise data insights and translate findings into actionable and insight-driven plant-based strategies
  • What is the future for plant-based, vegan and natural innovation? Predict the demographic and cultural shifts and trends to best position yourself within an increasingly overcrowded and competitive market
  • Successfully translate consumer insights, expectations and demands into plant-based innovations which will disrupt the market

Elena Devis, Head of Vegan Category, Deliveroo

Scott King, Brand Manager for Plant Based, Health, Organic & Free From, Waitrose & Partners

Camille Denis, Insights Director International, The Kraft Heinz Company

Lee Boakes, Head of NPD & Innovation, Huel

Nicola Weldon, Europe Strategy Director, Kerry

Bledi Jahjaga, Head of Food, Pizza Pilgrims

Jeff Rosevear, Head of R&D, The Uncovery

John Gill, Head of Marketing & Trading, Booths

Andrew Eastwood, Commercial Director, Pilgrim’s Food Masters

Anna Haxne, Head of Sustainable Innovation & Partnerships, Coop Butiker & Stormarknader

Sustainability

09.50 Plant The Seed For Your Plant-Based Green Initiatives! Leverage Sustainability Trends To Meet Critical Environmental Goals & Worldly Demand For Change

  • Unlock consumer insights to deliver on expectations, reduce the carbon footprint of your plant-based offerings, and boost sustainability and circularity within your plant-based and natural portfolio with business-critical insights
  • Tackle the complexities! Examine what your brand is doing in terms of sustainability, and how this is being communicated to customers in order to exceed their expectations authentically
  • Unpack sustainability: manage your scope 1, 2 and 3 missions to ensure you are addressing all corners of sustainability including economic, environmental, and social to boost consumer trust and confidence in your brand and mitigate greenwashing claims

Mari Haughey, Operations Director, Pip & Nut

10.10 Bonus Session; Reserved For Exclusive Conference Partner

Andrew Wardlaw, Chief Ideas Officer, MMR Research Worldwide

10:40 Morning Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

Taste & Flavour

Excite & Delight Consumers By Elevating The Strength Of Your Product Taste & Flavours & Enhancing Experiences For Guaranteed Market Success

  • As the biggest driver of re-purchase today, ensure you hit the mark by capitalising on consumers’ flavour expectations every time so that your products are best-placed to win in the ever-crowded market
  • The perfect plant-based recipe! Translate the hottest, on-trend plant-based, vegan and natural materials and ingredient innovations to bring new and exciting flavours and textures to the table which skyrocket sales
  • Don’t compromise on taste! Ensure flavour remains the focus whilst simultaneously answering consumers growing need for nutritional value, transparency, and sustainability
  • Flavour forecasting: what are the upcoming trends in terms of flavour and texture which you should be looking into today?

11.10 Antonella Pisciotta, Senior Flavourist III, Kerry

11.30 Christian Binney, Food Development Director, Burger King

NPD within Plant-Based, Vegan & Natural

11.50 Power Plant Progress & Stay Ahead Of The Market By Monetising Brand New, Innovative & Competitive Plant-Based, Vegan & Natural NPD

  • Disrupt and dominate in the plant-based NPD landscape! Showcase NPD success and make your mark with on-trend and in-demand products consumers really want and need today
  • As we continue to experiment and move away from traditional sources of protein, how can you exploit untapped alternatives to keep pace with ever-growing customer demands?
  • Stay competitive from concept to launch! From market analysis and data collection to product development, uncover brand new opportunities to innovate plant-style for unapologetic success
  • From the increase in cost of living and inflation to global supply chain issues, how can brands continue to produce and deliver plant-powered products at a reasonable price?

James Kingham, Technical Innovation Manager – Food Innovation, Waitrose & Partners

Inga Gallagher, Group Head of Technical, Holland & Barrett

Sarah Bull, Head of Development, Bakkavor

Jacqueline Ellis-Jones, Marketing Director, Pip & Nut

Adam Wilcock, R&D Director EMEA, Papa John’s International

 

Lee Boakes, Head of NPD & Innovation, Huel

Paul Brown, Founder & CEO, BOL Foods

Game-Changing Ingredients

12.20 Disrupt The Market & Reignite Consumer Satisfaction By Refreshing Your Plant-Based Offerings With Brand New & Innovative Ingredients

  • What does the future of plant-based, vegan and natural ingredients look like? Keep pace with new trends, insights, and innovations to explore what is coming to disrupt the market next
  • With the recent changes and challenges to global supply chains, ensure ingredients, quality, and availability remain the same, whilst also ensuring a positive impact on the planet for your plant-based product development
  • Are you overprocessing? How can you best maintain and harness natural and fresh ingredients that are both sustainable and delicious?
  • Consider greener alternatives in ingredient sourcing to optimise innovation for boosted customer interactivity and retention
 
 

Elsie Rutterford, Co-Founder, BYBI Beauty

Dominika Minarovic, Co-Founder, BYBI Beauty

12.40 Lunch & Informal Networking For Speakers, Delegates & Partners

13.10 Informal Breakout Discussions

Peer-To-Peer

A) Price Increases & Cost

Rees Thomas, Head of Procurement, graze.com

B) Meat & Dairy Alternatives

C) Legislation

D) Plant Proteins

 

13.40 Afternoon Chair’s Opening Remarks

Julie Waddell, Founder, Moorish

Nutrition, Health & Wellness

13.50 Balance Health & Wellness With The Growing Consumer Demand For Nutritious, Clean & Sustainable Products To Exceed Expectations & Guarantee Boosted Sales

  • How can you create nutritionally complete plant-based alternatives that are both delicious and affordable?
  • Is there a nutritional gap between plant-based, vegan, and animal products? Gain your consumers’ confidence by effectively communicating and showcasing the nutritional value of your plant-based offerings
  • What are the latest wellness trends, ingredients, and products that customers are willing to invest in? Capitalise on new consumer health and wellness trends to transform your product portfolio and keep pace with consumers needs

Peter Amon, CEO, More Than Meals

Packaging Innovations Panel

PANEL Q&A

14.10 Stand Out From The Pack! Inspire Consumers By Maximising Sustainable, Viable & Cost-Effective Packaging Solutions To Boost Brand Image & Attract Attention

  • Sharing the secrets to success… how can you really create stand-out, sustainable products with eco-friendly packaging within budget?
  • Evaluate the different packaging options out there, from biodegradable, compostable and recyclable, assess the pros and cons, and determine what will work best for your product and your brand
  • Less is definitely more… satisfy ever-evolving consumer expectations around packaging by limiting the amount of packaging for your products, without compromising on quality and design
 

14.30 Bonus Session; Reserved For Exclusive Conference Partner

15.00 Mondelēz International Case Study

With the rapidly evolving consumer and technology landscape, learn from Mondelez as they launch their Cadbury Plant Bar. Facing the challenge and consumer opportunity sees Mondelez reverse engineer the iconic Cadbury chocolate bar, walking the tight rope on consumer expectation, brand equity and technical choices. Tackling it from an ingredient functionality, how do you best replicate this product in the world of plant based with the consumer at front of mind.

Lawrence Harris, Associate Principal Scientist – Chocolate Technology Development – Wellbeing, Mondelēz International

15.20 Afternoon Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

Flexitarian Trends 

15.50 Capitalise On The Growing Flexitarian Trend To Win Big In The Plant-Based Market & Satisfy Changing Consumer Lifestyles, Growing Demands &     Expectations

  • Vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian… what’s next? Best predict where the market is going to keep pace with the ever-changing food and drink trends to stay ahead of the curve
  • Seize the opportunity! For people flexing their diet, how can you target and convert this growing consumer group into bigger sales opportunities and boosted profitability?
  • As meat-free Mondays become the norm, excite and captivate flexitarians by elevating the consumer experience, as well as winning on taste, nutrition and value for money

Matt Done, General Manager – UK, Eatplanted

Clean Label

16.10 As Consumer Awareness, Attitudes & Education Grows Around What People Are Putting In & On Their Bodies, Determine The Importance & Real Value Of Prioritising Clean Label To Guarantee Consumer Trust & Brand Loyalty

  • With consumers paying closer attention to the ingredient list, how can you capitalise on consumer preferences to satisfy demands and skyrocket sales
  • Clean, green, natural, vegan, plant-based… as terminology increases along with consumer preferences and demands, what do these terms really mean, and how can you ensure you are clearly communicating them to your target consumers?
  • Assess the importance of including the right claim to guarantee maximum transparency in your ingredient lists, without the risk of greenwashing accusations

Colin Campbell, Product Development Controller, Ecotone Bio

New Technologies

16.30 Harness The Power Of New & Cutting-Edge Technologies To Boost Efficiencies & Drive Plant-Based Products That Fly Off Of The Shelves

  • How can technology offer improvements and efficiencies within plant-based? Where should you invest today to secure maximum ROI?
  • Redefine consumer product technology with new tech and AI that drives exciting plant-based product development and innovations
  • The technology paradox! Is tech, such as GMO, good for altering and solving challenges within food and drink development, or should we use softer tech, such as fortification, to supply extra minerals and vitamins?

16.50 Afternoon Chair’s Closing Remarks

Julie Waddell, Founder, Moorish

17.00 Official Close Of Conference