Sally Lyons-Wyatt, Executive Vice President & Practice Leader, IRI
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This session provides the Sweets & Snacks Expo’s perennial view of the snack category from a shopper, consumer and retailer perspective.

Caroline Bader, Vice President of Category Management, Ferrara Candy Company
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This session explores macro-shopping trends and shares Ferrara’s research on shopper conversion in the cookie aisle, including new research on shelving principles for cookies.

Ted Curtin, Chief Innovation Officer, ProdigyWorks
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This session reveals why innovation is so hard, what keeps companies from realizing breakthrough innovation and what leaders can do to foster a more creative and innovative culture within their organizations.

Jared Koerten, Head of Packaged Food at Euromonitor International
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This session will provide extensive insight into the global landscape for product claims in snacks, including a vantage point into prominent marketing claims for snacks across clean, ethical and dietary labels.

This session explores new occasions and moments, both everyday and seasonal, that are driving treating and snacking.

John Philips, Director of Strategy and Insights, Profitero
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With more consumers turning to online and click-and-collect solutions, e-commerce has become even more important to the American consumer. This session spotlights candy and snack trends in the thriving world of e-commerce, including growth and development opportunities across the leading online retailers as well as insights on the latest shopper behavior for candy and snacks.

Marcia Mogelonsky, Director of Insight, Mintel Food and Drink
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This session, grounded in the latest research by industry leader Mintel, examines four proven "emotional need states" that confectionery manufacturers should consider when marketing their products to help them reach shoppers looking to support their emotional wellbeing.

Anne-Marie Roerink, Principal, 210 Analytics, LLC
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This session provides the Sweets & Snacks Expo’s perennial view of the candy category from shopper, consumer and retailer perspectives. Attendees will preview NCA's latest signature research, which will debut for the first time to Sweets & Snacks Expo attendees during this session.

Beth Neiman Hacker, Director of Global Market Research, Tate & Lyle;
Lynn Dornblaser, Director of Innovation and Insight, Mintel;
Tara Bosch, Founder & CEO, SmartSweets
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This session dives deep into sugar and calorie reduction trends and opportunities and explores the purchase impact of various claims and labeling. Attendees will also hear from SmartSweets founder Tara Bosch on how SmartSweets, a fast-growing non-chocolate confectionery brand, drove category growth.

Charles Guilbeau, Vice President of Consumer Understanding, Ferrero North America
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This session explores how to stay on top of quickly shifting consumer behaviors while preparing for a post-COVID world. Attendees will learn how to leverage Ferrero’s data-driven insights from the people who pioneered these strategies and will walk away with an understanding of the industry’s post-pandemic future.

Michael Sansolo, Author & Columnist, Morning News Beat
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Back again for another season, this highly-engaging Shark Tank-style pitch session offers two companies the opportunity to present their product innovations to a panel of retail category decision makers.

Trish Mielke, Senior Manager of Holistic Captaincy, The Hershey Company
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This session will outline how retailers and their trusted CPG partners can ensure the fundamentals of the path to purchase are in place across in-store and digital platforms with a goal to delight and satisfy each and every shopper.

Darren Seifer, Food and Beverage Industry Analyst, The NPD Group
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Using the NPD Group’s proprietary modeling techniques, this session will analyze America’s generations, their penchant for candy and snacks and the underlying motivations that drive their consumption.

Joe Lampertius, President, ChaseDesign
Peter Cloutier, Vice President of Growth & Strategic Partnerships, ChaseDesign
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This session outlines a new path to growth for physical stores by providing the convenience that shoppers need and delivering the inspiration, discovery, and delight shoppers want.

Nancy Whiteman, CEO, Wana Brands
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This session offers advice from the CEO of North America’s largest cannabis-infused edibles producer on building a cannabis brand and preparing a company for partnerships with the cannabis industry. Attendees will learn about the challenges in the industry, including licensing and regulations, and the necessary steps to build a cannabis brand when regular marketing channels and strategies are not an option.

Melissa Tisoncik, R&D Director, Blommer Chocolate
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This session will review new ingredient technologies, including methods for adding functional benefits to a product, reducing ingredients in a product and replacing mainstream ingredients.

Rachel Tipograph, Founder & CEO, MikMak
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This session will help confectionery brands tackle the changes in shopper behavior caused by this mass exodus to e-commerce and start to think about how to develop a strategy that's relevant for today's consumers.

Jehan Hamedi, CEO, VIZIT
Christina Garnett, Senior Insights Strategist, VIZIT
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This session will reveal four actionable tips to improve images along the path to purchase, resulting in a strong e-commerce path to purchase for any product.