World Dairy Innovation Awards 2016 Judging Panel Announced

Now in its 10th successful year, the World Dairy Innovation Awards are designed to celebrate excellence and innovation across every category of the global dairy industry. 

With categories ranging from finished products, packaging, technology, marketing to sustainability, these awards ensure all aspects are covered. 

All entrants gain major exposure and are a great way to increase knowledge of their brand in front of the leading decision makers.

I am honored to be joining the judging panel for my third year as a judge along with Powerful Yogurt CEO and founder Carlos Ramirez Zavarce, Tetra Pak global marketing manager Christopher Lazaro, and dairy industry consultant Donna Berry. Also on the panel are Natasha Case, CEO and co-founder of ice cream brand Coolhaus; Mark Driscoll, head of the sustainable food programme at Forum for the Future; Stephen Gaither, CEO of marketing agency JB Chicago; Depot WPF managing director Anna Lukanina; Esther Renfrew, market intelligence director for food and drinks industry consultancy Zenith International; and Monica Lee, Brand Union CEO, North Asia.

Click here to enter. Entries close 20th May 2016.

The 2016 World Dairy Innovation Awards Judging Panel.

‘Virtual reality gets real for food and beverage'

The 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which ended last week in Las Vegas, could be described as the show at which virtual reality (VR) got real.

While motion sickness remains a non-trivial issue for some VR technology suppliers to address, technology like Intel and IonVR’s MotionSync provides a high-quality mobile VR experience using hardware that will work with any VR-compatible mobile device – important from a consumer experience perspective as well as by providing a price point that more businesses and consumers can afford.

Below are some predictions regarding the application of virtual reality (VR) in the food and beverage space, and some examples of pioneering VR work already being done:

1. In what could be described as the most basic application of VR, beyond the conference or video call, food and beverage manufacturers can use VR for enhanced communication between facilities in geographically diverse locations, from day-to-day interaction to special projects and of course, training.

2. When building new facilities or commissioning new equipment, VR could be used for a smoother design-build process, for example when integrating new packaging and processing equipment into a facility or when building and commissioning a new facility.

3. Through VR, the learning opportunities offered by reference plant and site visits become a possibility for many more suppliers’ customers as the constraints of time to travel and cost of travel are removed.

4. VR could assist in food safety and environmental monitoring and quality control, through enhanced training of staff and also in helping personnel in preparing for audits.

Find out my other predictions by clicking here and reading on.