You like new products and we do too! With that, I want to welcome you to this extraordinary new version of Prepared Foods.

It’s only fitting that our new digital magazine coincides with Prepared Foods’ annual state of the industry look at new retail product trends. Similarly, you could say this month’s issue speaks to the state of the publishing industry.

Last summer, Prepared Foods stopped printing and mailing paper magazines to qualified readers who primarily were concentrated at corporate headquarters. At a time when more R&D executives shifted to at-home offices, we shifted to an exact digital issue that’s just as easy to read, explore and digest anytime and anywhere—using a desktop, tablet or even a smart phone.

With this month’s edition, Prepared Foods brings you an enhanced, state-of-the-art publishing platform. Whereas our previous digital product was somewhat one-dimensional, this new medium offers an interactive experience with eye-popping graphics (that move, expand or collapse), opportunities for integrated video and dynamic links to other Prepared Foods articles and advertiser content. Truth be told, we’re just getting started!

In this issue, we showcase product development trends across as many as 13 retail product categories, including separate reviews of plant-based meat and plant-based dairy alternatives. Our reports cover product news from March 2020 through mid-February 2021.

Among those looking ahead to late 2021 and early 2022 is retail data tracker Information Resources Inc. (IRI), Chicago. In one of its COVID-19 trend reports, IRI projects that life won’t return to its “new normal” until fall after more widespread vaccinations. Hopefully, too, that’s when more restaurants resume full operations and consumers become more “mobile.”

In the meantime, IRI has several recommendations for consumer packaged goods companies. In part, it suggests that CPGs now …

… “prioritize innovation, revenue management and retail execution, which will replace 2020 priorities of managing capacity and out-of-stocks;” and

… “focus innovation on attributes that really matter to most valuable consumers. Leverage brand equity to expand into adjacent categories and make the most of emerging growth pockets. Innovate on packs relevant and tailored to channels (e.g., e-commerce, dollar).”

Hopefully, this spring finds your executives and R&D teams ready to return to product innovation investments for the remainder of this year—and next!

We believe you’ll love this new tech-friendly magazine. If you think of it, please do tell me about your experience at garrisonr@bnpmedia.com PF