Lost in the Supermarket

Understanding the Food Industry: Pricing, Retailers, and Consumer Habits

Rise and shine, food enthusiasts! Brace yourselves as we pull back the curtain on the intriguing world of food prices with Ricky Volpe, the food economist and professor, who's here to share his wisdom. Discover why your grocery bills are skyrocketing and why food prices are not dropping. Hear Volpe's predictions of a slow but steady recovery in prices, and learn about the influence of climate change and global conflicts on food costs. This episode promises to unravel the enigma of food price...

Shaping the Future of Agriculture with Bowery Farming: A Deep Dive into Vertical Farming

Explore the future of agriculture with Irving Fain, the CEO of Bowery Farming, as we venture into the world of indoor and vertical farming. Are you ready to discover how these innovative farming methods might be the game-changer in the face of climate change impacts? Climate anomalies such as severe droughts, wildfires and overuse of groundwater have disrupted traditional agriculture, making it even more challenging to meet the ever-increasing global food demand. We delve into these issues a...

Unveiling the Crucial Role of Organic Valley: A Discussion on Sustainable Dairy and the Power of Storytelling

Ever pondered about the vital link in our food chain? Jaclyn Cardin, the Chief Brand Officer at Cropp Cooperative, joins us to unravel the essence of supporting Organic Valley - a brand that stands at the core of our food system. In an eye-opening discussion, Jaclyn paints the picture of Organic Valley's cooperative, operated and owned by humble family farmers, playing a crucial role in keeping these farms afloat. She unfolds the campaign "Protecting Where Your Food Choices Come From" and ho...

Navigating the Labyrinth of Agriculture with Chip Carter: Climate Change, Food Waste, and the Future of Farming

Imagine strolling down memory lane, only to find yourself at the intersection of journalism, farming, and climate change. That's exactly where I found myself during my recent conversation with multimedia maven and friend, Chip Carter. The founder of CBC3 Media and creator of the evocative television show, Where the Food Comes From. Chip and I unpacked the complexities of modern agriculture and the seismic challenges posed by climate change. Together, we navigated the hard truths about farmin...

Revolutionizing Health Food Brands: A Conversation with Libby Pigg of 'That's It'

Are you starved for a brand that prioritizes transparency and a healthier lifestyle? Get ready to feast on an insightful conversation with Libby Pigg, the Chief Marketing Officer at 'That's It'. Libby walks us through her fascinating journey from being an 18-year veteran of Edelman Public Relations to leading a trailblazing health-food brand. Hear firsthand about how That's It's founder, Dr. Lior Lewensztain, flipped the script from prescriptive medicine to using food as a healing tool, a co...

Examining the Impact of the FTC Amazon Lawsuit with Special Guest Adam Kovacevich

Are you ready for a deep dive into the world of e-commerce law and how it could impact your daily life? Strap in as we navigate the tumultuous legal waters surrounding Amazon Prime, joined by Adam Kovacevich, founder of the Chamber of Progress. We'll examine the monumental FTC lawsuit against Amazon, a six-year-long battle that could be a game-changer for mega retailers. Ever wondered what might happen if Amazon Prime is broken up? We're breaking down the possibilities. Beyond the lawsuit, ...

Decoding the Complexities of Sustainable Purchasing with Randi Kronthal-Sacco

Join us on a thrilling journey through the bustling marketplace of sustainability, guided by none other than Randi Kronthal-Sacco, a seasoned scholar from the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. Randi opens our eyes to the world of sustainable purchases, revealing that it only commands around 17-18% of the market share. However, she passionately argues that brands and marketers can flip this script by adopting sustainable supply chains and weaving those into their narratives. Moreover...

Revolutionizing Retail & Dining with Generative AI: A Conversation with Markus Stripf of Spoon Guru

Are you ready to revolutionize the way you shop, eat, and live? Discover how generative AI is transforming the retail industry in our insightful discussion with Markus Stripf, co-founder of Spoon Guru. Markus explains how AI-powered chatbots can provide more intelligent, personalized experiences for consumers and shares an example of planning a dinner party with specific dietary needs. But what about the challenges faced by open-source models like ChatGPT in ensuring accuracy and reliabilit...

How Does Food Affect Your Mood?

Amy Fox, Certified Nutritionist, and Founder, Food and Mood Lab, explains how food choices affect your performance. There's a lot of information about food. However, missing largely from the public conversation is food and mood. Clearly, how we choose to fuel our bodies directly impacts how we feel and how we show up in all areas of our life. Food is our body’s fuel and it’s vital to make choices that allow you to perform better, boost energy, improve focus, and reduce stress. To educate th...

Food Retailers & Brands Using AI to Gain Sales

Today, Phil talks with Russ Morton, Mary Ginder and Tracy Frey to discuss Constant Contact’s AI Content Generator and how this technology can be used for food and grocery retailers to automate the copy drafting process for email, text and social media marketing campaigns. Russ Morton, Chief Product Officer at Constant Contact  - As chief product officer, Russ Morton leads Constant Contact’s product roadmap and user experience initiatives, leveraging new and innovative technologies to buil...

The Evolution of Food Broker to Food Marketer

John Carroll is Acosta Group President, Digital Commerce + Advanced Analytics. John has more than 30 years of experience in CPG, food and beverage and has held senior leadership positions in brand, sales, commercial, e-commerce and operations. Before joining Acosta in 2020 (then as chief growth officer) he was with The Coca-Cola Company for nearly 25 years and before that, P&G. John is here with us today to discuss some of the big topics for brands and retailers. 

Unilever's Quest To Fix the Food System

Hanneke Faber is the Global President of the Nutrition Business Group at Unilever, with sales of over 13 billion and sales in more than 150 countries. She is also a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive Committee. She has been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the most influential international women in business. 

Regenerative Agriculture and Its Role in Nutrition

Welcome to Lost in the Supermarket. March is national nutrition month so who better to talk than a farmer and passionate chef about regenerative agriculture and its role in nutrition.  Farmer Lee Jones created The Chef’s Garden’s over thirty-five years ago, and has remained tirelessly committed to not only ensuring that the family’s three-hundred-acre farm remains one of the most innovative and pioneering in the world, but to fostering a nuanced conversation with the chefs in our industry w...

A New Digital Chef Community Brings Excitement to Recipes

Brad Sive is a media marketing executive who has a passion for learning about new foods, not just the enjoyment of food, but how food cooking and recipes intersect and bring people together. This passion led him to start Public Market with a team of longtime friends, a place where food, people and culture have become one. The core belief behind Public Market is that life's most meaningful moments happen when humans and food intersect. 

A High School Senior Is Helping Food Communities

Sophie Sajnani is a young leader in the tech industry. During the pandemic, she heard about how Uber Eats and other food apps were taking a large cut of the restaurant's profits and how that was hurting restaurants. On that same day, she launched Bellevue Bites, a free and promotional platform that chairs deals from local restaurants when customers ordered directly from them rather than through a third party app. She has since hosted Five Food Crawls in two cooking classes in the US and Cana...

A New Generation of Labor Causes

Today we are joined by Jon Melrod and  Tyler Daguerre Jon Melrod was born into the political and cultural quiescence of the 1950's and grew up in apartheid-like Washington DC. Active in the student movement that opposed the Vietnam War and a supporter of black liberation, Jon embraced the ideology that the working class held the power to radically transform society. He left the campus for the factory in 1973. For thirteen years, he immersed himself in the day-to-day struggles of Milwaukee’s...

The Truth Behind Meal Kits: From the Person Who Started It All

One of the most talked about trends in the food world for the past few years has been meal kits. We’ve seen them come and go. We’ve been emailed offers to get 10 free meals. We’ve opened up the box and shook our heads in dismay at all the wasted packaging that it took to get these meals to us. Today we get to the truth about meal kits.  Jackie Keller is one of the visionaries who imagined meal kits as a solution back in 1987 – decades before meal kits were a ‘thing’. She’s going to tell us ...

Pitch Produce to Any Media Platform

Creating true omni-channel shopper engagement in the produce department requires touchpoints along the entire path-to-purchase, and these touchpoints have changed over the past three years. Join RDBA CEO, Phil Lempert and his guest Bonnie Taub-Dix, registered dietitian, media pro, and California Strawberry Commission spokesperson, as they discuss how working with media outlets has changed and how to effectively partner to drive produce sales.

Hy-Vee's Personalized Vitamin Innovation

Today we're gonna talk about vitamins. We're gonna talk about supplements, and we're gonna talk about a retailer who's really changing the way we're gonna be consuming our foods forever. With me, Elisa Sloss, senior VP of Health Markets and dietitians at Hy-vee. She oversees the sales, merchandising, and educational efforts of the company's more than 190 health market departments. It's a store within a store concept that features a strong and varied selection of organic products, specialty f...

2022 Food Trends with Nora Minno

Nora Minno is an award-winning registered dietitian and certified personal trainer based in New York, NY. Over the past 10 years, Nora has built a reputation in the fitness and nutrition space as a credible expert developing communications and marketing strategies for top CPG companies, professional sports teams, global health apps, and leading healthcare groups. Her work, writing, and advice have been featured in national outlets including The Today Show, Women's Health, Health Magazine, an...

Behind the Scenes of the Produce Department

Welcome to Lost in the Supermarket. Whether you're a shopper or whether you're the CEO of a major food company or a retail organization, the number one concern that everybody has when you walk in a supermarket, it's about the produce department. Think about it for a moment. What you've got is you've got these fabulous colors, you've got this great aroma. Basically it's putting you in a great mood for a great shopping experience. So today I'm really thrilled to have with us Chris Jorgenson. N...

Making Oatmeal Sexy Again

Mylk Labs is a woman & minority-owned food start-up based in California. Born out of the need for convenience, founder Grace Cheng created a better-for-you oatmeal cup that uses only 4-6 ingredients, a lot less sugar and no added flavors-- ever. Grace Cheng is a fashion model, first-time entrepreneur, and founder of Mylk Labs. Juggling two different career paths, Grace emphasizes the importance of eating healthy on the go and using the knowledge gained as a USC Alumna, she's now sharing her...

World Oceans Day with Chef Barton Seaver

It was about a month or so ago at the RDBA virtual experience that I met our next guest. Chef Barton Seaver is a seafood expert. World Oceans Day is coming up in just a few days from now. So I couldn't think of a better person to talk to about sustainability, about seafood and with the background, that chef Barton has.

The Global Ag Impact from Current Events

Our food supply is in the headlines every day – as prices soar, shortages increase and a war 6,000 miles away has the head of the U.N. Food Programme predicting that it’ll get even worse. U.S. farmers are working hard to establish a safe and secure food supply domestically while climate change is creating new challenges every day. One of our core crops comes from the hard work of our US soy farmers; so I invited Mac Marshall from the United Soybean Board to give us the lowdown.  Mac serves a...

Unwrapping The Current Realities of Food Packaging

Food packaging is in the news. Over the past year, there have been more than 250,000 news reports about food packaging. Topics including edible packaging, eco-friendly packaging, phthalates, and single-use plastics are creating headlines and generating interest.  This webcast and podcast is designed to help retail RDs cut through the headlines and gain clearer understanding about food packaging benefits and risks related to food safety, health threats, food waste, environmental impact and mo...

The Role of Processed Foods in a Safe, Healthy and Sustainable Food System

Throughout history, food processing has played a critical role in building a safe, accessible, healthy and sustainable food system.  More recently, there has been growing criticism and confusion among health professionals, researchers and media regarding the benefits associated with the consumption of processed foods, especially against the evolving scientific discourse around ultra-processed foods. During this podcast episode, Phil Lempert interviews food scientist Eric Decker, Phd, about ...

Aquaculture Expands to Brooklyn and Can Change the Way we Eat

Today, we're gonna talk about the future. We're gonna talk about indoor farming. We're gonna talk about aquaculture. And with me is Jason Green, the CEO and co-founder of Upward Farms based in Brooklyn, New York, and a breakthrough vertical farming company who brings whole ecosystems into controlled environmental agriculture, through aquaponic farming of leafy greens, fish, and a robust and beneficial microbiome. Back in 2013, Jason and his partners started upward farms. They were the only l...

Digital Tools and Data Science for Agriculture

Microsoft and Bayer recently announced a strategic partnership to build a new cloud-based set of digital tools and data science solutions for use across the food and agriculture sector. These new capabilities will be available to businesses – from startups to global enterprises – to accelerate innovation, boost efficiency and support sustainability across food value chains. Through this partnership Bayer will work with Microsoft to co-develop new solutions that address critical industry scen...

Decarbonization and Farming

Decarbonization is key when it comes to combating climate change, and agriculture plays a major role in it. To support farmers in driving sustainability across the entire value chain, Bayer collaborates with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Bushel in Project Carbonview – a data solution that will help ethanol producers in the United States report, analyze and assess their end-to-end supply chain carbon footprint. This new solution marks the latest development by Bayer – who is working to build ...

Conversation with “Broc-Star” Jenny Maloney

Have you ever thought about how plant breeding can help mitigate food waste, improve sustainability, and improve flavor? These are a few things plant breeders think about when creating new varieties of some of your favorite produce. Bayer's High Rise™ Broccoli series has been 20 years in the making.  Developed in collaboration with growers, the High Rise broccoli series offers supply chain-wide benefits from field to store to table.

Greenhouse Growing with Megan Dickens

The Future of Food is Now. The Bayer Marana, AZ site is a smart greenhouse facility aimed at driving tailored solutions for the future of agriculture. This site focuses on seed production and agricultural innovation, leveraging the latest in automation to optimize plant density and workflow. Join us as Megan Dickens provides a short virtual tour and dives into sustainability practices and how research taking place now shapes the future of agriculture.

Greenhouse Growing with Megan Dickens, The Future of Food is Now

The Future of Food is Now. The Bayer Marana, AZ site is a smart greenhouse facility aimed at driving tailored solutions for the future of agriculture. This site focuses on seed production and agricultural innovation, leveraging the latest in automation to optimize plant density and workflow. Join us as Megan Dickens provides a short virtual tour and dives into sustainability practices and how research taking place now shapes the future of agriculture.

Grocery E-commerce Transformation Is Essential For Survival

Today we talk digital commerce. It’s the focus of every grocery retailer – from one store operations to the largest chains with thousands of stores. Here’ to give us an update and a look into the future is Barry Clogan, Chief Product Officer at Wynshop / Mi9 Retail a retail veteran with 20+ years of experience working internationally in retail, grocery, and extensively in e-commerce. In his previous role as President at MyWebGrocer, Barry helped the world’s largest grocers launch online groc...

Halla Offers Personalized Grocery Curation and Prediction

Technology, technology technology. It's all that the grocery industry is thinking about. How to increase efficiencies better than the shopper experience and create bigger basket size today. My guest is Spencer Price co-founder and CEO of Halla. Halla is the taste intelligence company and creator of the only human preference engine that's designed for grocery. Its tastes intelligence uses AI to redefine personalization and to predict what individual shoppers will actually want to buy next in ...

Addressing Ingredient Misinformation: A Look at MSG

The growing belief among consumers that nutritious foods are only those made with minimal, easy-to-pronounce ingredients presents a new challenge and educational opportunity for retail professionals: demonstrate that all of our food is chemically composed and ingredients like monosodium glutamate (MSG) – unfamiliar as they may sound – can be safe and offer real health and flavor benefits. This episode takes a deep dive into MSG's history, science, and benefits (like sodium reduction) as a wa...

AI Comes To Fresh

My guest today is Matt Schwartz , the CEO and co-founder of Afresh, an AI technology company, that builds solutions specifically for the complexity of fresh food to radically reduce food waste. One of our nation's biggest problems and multiply groceries profitability, and make fresh nutrient dense food accessible for everyone. He started Afresh, because his deep experience working in food led them to believe that improving the food system is our single best path to improving human and enviro...

Google Wants To Go Food Shopping

My guest today is Kevin Brown CEO and the co-founder of Innit. Now, Kevin has more than 20 years experience in food tech, search security and cloud sectors, and wants to announce a new partnership that they have. That's really going to change the way we think about grocery shopping. There's no question that during the pandemic we've had a lot of retailers invest in a lot of technology. And to be honest with you, the reality is that some of the retailers have thrown away a lot of money becaus...

A Plant-Based CEO Reveals the Secrets to Success

Brad Charron is CEO of Aloha, an employee-owned and operated company committed to making the healthiest, best-tasting plant-based protein products on the planet. A classically trained CPG operator, Brad has worked on powerful entrepreneurial brands including Chobani, Under Armour and KIND Snacks.

Everything You Need To Know About Your Gut Health

Today with me is Kimberly Griffith, a Clinical Research Partner for Thryve.  She is also a microbiome researcher and Functional Medicine nutritionist that uses science-based, individualized approaches to promote optimal wellness for each individual. Her persistent focus within lifestyle medicine application and research is firmly founded within the microbial community, understanding health effects from gut, skin, oral and vaginal dysbiosis and how best to optimize each biome for ideal health...

A Look Through the Lens of a Serial Food Entrepreneur

One of my favorite topics to discuss on Lost in the Supermarket is innovation in our food world and to interview those insightful game changers. On today's episode, we have Keith Belling, CEO and Co-Founder of Right Rice. Keith is one of those innovators who look just a little bit differently at our foods which opens up a whole new way of looking at our grocery stores.

From Pot Pies to a Top 50 US Brand

Phil Lempert Interviews Amy's Kitchen  co-founders Rachel and Andy Berliner.  Started in 1987, Amy’s, for the first time, was named one of the Top 50 Brands in the U.S. in the Prophet Brand Relevance Index based on a survey of 13,000 consumers.  Join us as we discuss the past, present and future for Amy's.

Nice Cream Ice Cream

SupermarketGuru and RDBA CEO interviews co-founders and best friends Hannah Hong and Mollie Cha from Must Love, a modern-day non-dairy ice cream brand.

Regenerative Farming and Your Food Future

Today, we're going to talk about regenerative farming, which is a rehabilitative approach to agriculture that focuses on top soil regeneration, improving the water cycle enhancing ecosystem services, increasing resilience to climate change and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil with me is the CEO co-founder of Nutrition for Longevity, Jennifer Maynard.  Jennifer worked in the biotech and pharmaceutical specialty medicine areas for over 20 years. After putting two decades of ...

Thoughts From A Food Product Developer

Adam Melonas is the Founder & CEO of Chew, a food innovation lab that boldly redefines what is possible in the world of packaged food and drink by creating products that are delicious, nutritious, sustainable, profitable, and scalable. Through his work and “anything is possible” mindset, Adam and the team partner with the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers to overcome barriers to innovation by creating game-changing snack food and beverage items. 

Looking Ahead to the Future of Dairy: Collaboration & Innovation

Talking to Consumers About Shopping on a Budget

During this unprecedented time in our lives, you are probably seeing more customers shopping your stores who are concerned about how much they are spending on groceries. Retail dietitians can provide guidance to these shoppers while offering solutions for purchasing foods that will deliver the most nutrition for their money. It is important, however, to make sure communications are respectful, positive and meaningful. Join us as we talk with Nestlé, the largest food and beverage company in t...

Talking to Consumers About Shopping on a Budget

During this unprecedented time in our lives, you are probably seeing more customers shopping your stores who are concerned about how much they are spending on groceries. Retail dietitians can provide guidance to these shoppers while offering solutions for purchasing foods that will deliver the most nutrition for their money. It is important, however, to make sure communications are respectful, positive and meaningful. Join us as we talk with Nestlé, the largest food and beverage company in t...

A Company That Offers Fresh Healthier Foods Can Be A Success

Mike Wystrach is co-founder and CEO of Freshly, a weekly subscription service delivering healthy and fully prepared meals directly to customers’ doorsteps. •Freshly is a weekly subscription service delivering fresh, chef-cooked meals that can be heated and served in 3 minutes directly to customers' doors. All that is needed is a microwave, fork and plate to get a satisfying lunch or dinner on the table.  •Between August 2019 and summer 2020 the company grew from delivering 600,000 weekly m...

What To Expect In Grocery Stores This Thanksgiving

Today its all about Thanksgiving – and what we can expect to find in our grocery stores and what we will be serving during this year’s very unconventional celebration of our foods. With me to figure out the 2020 version of Thanksgiving is, Stephanie Schultz, MSM, RDN, CD, who is leading the charge among those changing what it means to be a dietitian in a grocery company. ... In her first five years with Festival Foods, Schultz built a traditional retail dietitian program and took on food sa...

Why Food Retailers Need To Embrace AI

On Today's Lost in the Supermarket episode, Phil talks with Jason Hosking, CEO & Co-Founder of Hivery, The worlds first category management optimization solution.