IFT spots new product confidence
The FoodNavigator-USA team was out in force at IFT in Chicago last month. We caught up with Jerry Bowman for an insight into how the show went – and prospects for the food industry in general.
This year IFT returned to its home city of Chicago, and visitor figures were up to 21,000. Bowman, who is IFT’s vice president of communications and media, said the 2100 booth spaces were sold out.
This points to an industry that is moving out from under the cloud of economic gloom. According to presentations at the event, new product development was up 15 percent in the second half of 2009.
And for the second year running, the institute ran trend tours to guide visitors around topics of particular interest for the industry.
What was hot in 2010? Weight management, reducing costs, food safety, and taste modification.
