ISNA ADMIN RESEARCH COMMITTEE
EVENT RECAPS
2022 ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ORLANDO BY ALISON POWERS MBA, RDN, SNS REGIONAL SALES MANAGER, J.T.M. FOOD GROUP ISNA INDUSTRY ADVISORY CHAIR
Over 3,000 school nutrition professionals from across the country came together in Orlando, Florida for SNA’s National ANC Conference 2022 this July. With 35+ attendees from Indiana, there was a lot of Midwest representation at the conference. It was such a joy to see smiling faces and reconvene as a large group once again. Some big trends seen on the food show floor this year included clean label initiatives, lower sodium products, and plant-based items. From the operator’s perspective, Meghan Wilson of Carmel Clay Schools reports plant- based items being the biggest trend across all manufacturers. “Between plant-based meats, snack bars, nut butters, cauliflower rice, etc. it seemed like every other booth was featuring something plant-based.” Cross- merchandising across the food show floor was also a big trend. For those food manufacturers that don’t have plant-based items to feature flexibility, e.g. plant-based pasta coupled with cheese and tomato-based sauces. Hand-held, grab ‘n go concepts are here to stay! Meghan also saw “multiple Kolache-type items, so it was some sort of protein wrapped in a bun in a package.” While the Covid meal
solution of individually wrapped entrees may be too expensive for long-term use, bowl concepts and hand-held sandwiches are here to stay. Gen-Z students overwhelmingly prefer items that can be eaten on the go and provide flexibility for dining location. Many foodservice trends point towards grab ‘n go kiosks and vending machines becoming a bigger opportunity in the future. While it is exciting to see everyone together, it is very evident that things aren’t quite back to pre-Covid times. Many booths opted not to show products and relied on conversation and networking as the priority of the food show. Others just featured plate displays and visual representations. Meghan noted, “It felt like many booths did not have any food or items to sample at all, or didn’t really have anything new due to supply chain issues or product lines being cut over the past couple years.” Economic inflation is impacting every bit of the production and supply chain world servicing foodservice operations. It costs more to source ingredients, produce the product, and ship it to the end user. A presentation by FNS at the ACDA 2022 Conference indicates that the biggest commodities experiencing price
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