Professors David Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson argue in their book, Eat Like the Animals, that over the course of recent decades the share of calories from protein in people's diets has declined (especially in the US). RaboResearch's Nick Fereday covered the topic in a recent report that generated quite some feedback. Therefore, we invited the professors to explain their hypothesis in greater detail. The resulting podcast is a truly fascinating listen. Everything you wanted to know about...

Once again, RaboResearch visited Natural Products Expo West, one the largest food trade shows in the world with more than 3,500 exhibitors and more than 70,000 visitors. Tom Bailey, Nick Fereday, and Cyrille Filott together with Maria Castroviejo discuss their findings, including how the consumer is being enticed by new types of marketing, some nice packaging innovations, and new food products. All believed that the show – while still carrying a lot of hype products – was more realistic in...

Sustainability is firmly on the food and agribusiness agenda. Companies in the sector are now moving from making a sustainability strategy to measuring and making changes in many aspects of the food system, but before making improvements, one has to establish a base. To discuss the challenges and opportunities, the team invited Hans de Gier, CEO of IT company SyncForce, to bring his perspective on measuring sustainability and data issues. One thing he is quite adamant about is that current...

Every year the Consumer Foods-to-Go podcast provides an outlook for agri commodity prices, and this year is no different. Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott interview Carlos Mera, Rabobank’s Head of Agri Commodity Markets Research, to discuss the outlook for key crops in 2024. Overall, the outlook is for slightly lower prices, but not for all commodities. Tune in as they discuss the main drivers, such as energy prices, highlight key commodities, and drop a small bombshell that's sure to be...

Ultraprocessed foods are everywhere in the news. Some scientists are claiming that processed foods are bad for people’s health and that ultraprocessed foods are especially bad. It's time, therefore, for Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott to dig deeper in the topic with the help of Rabobank Senior Analyst Nick Fereday. In this episode we explain ultraprocessed foods and discuss what heightened attention on these foods means for food companies. Obviously there is one question we cannot...

Soon EU regulation regarding packaging and packaging waste will become law. While we are likely to see amendments to the legislation, we believe it is good to start talking about the proposed regulation and its impact on food companies. We are not talking not only about more recycling, but also about the use of recycled content, for example in drink bottles.  Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott quizzed RaboResearch analyst Regina Mestre on all the new targets that may become law, and what...

Innovation is a constant in food retail. For this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott interview Sipke van der Werf, head of innovation at SPAR in the Netherlands. What is new in innovation in retail? What is a company like SPAR thinking about right now and with a five-year horizon? Obviously, growth and cost control are important, but sustainability also plays are very important role in the innovation strategy of SPAR.

The Private Label Manufacturing Association (PLMA) trade show in Amsterdam is the largest private label event in the world. As always, the Rabobank consumer foods team pays a visit. And, like last year, we asked companies in attendance for their views. Last year we spoke mostly about challenges in the supply chain. This year we talked about the gains in market share in private label. Because of inflation, times are tough for some consumers, who start buying more private label products.  We...

Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach to improving farming practices. Many downstream food companies are talking about encouraging regenerative agriculture practices at the farm level. They do this for various reasons: to achieve emissions reduction goals, to provide better food in general, and to stay within planetary boundaries. In this podcast, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott interview Rabobank experts Elizabeth Lunik and Cindy van Rijswick on this topic. Listen to their...

Launched in 2017, Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack label to indicate a food product’s nutritional value. Quite a few food retailers and food companies have embraced Nutri-Score, but how consumers are responding to scores has remained unknown. In this podcast, Consumer Foods-to-Go interviews Elke Godden, a researcher who has explored this topic at the University of Antwerp. The key takeaway: Consumers are not all the same, and they interpret scores differently. Other attributes matter as well,...

Rabobank's Consumer Foods research team visited Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, one of the largest food shows in the world. It's always fantastic to walk the floor and see new trends and products with your own eyes, and this year was no different! In this episode, the team shares their insights from the event together with hosts Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo.

2022 may not have been the year the foodservice industry hoped for, but the post-Covid recovery was still quite strong. 2023 will be a year of continued uncertainty. Commodity prices are declining, but are still higher than in 2021. Consumers were fairly resilient in 2022, but it is unclear how they will behave in 2023 as economies may struggle to show any growth. In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go  Maria Castroviejo and Tom Bailey share their views on what might happen in 2023 in...

Deflation of input costs is happening across the food sector, but the cost of labor is actually going to increase... by a lot. There are two main drivers behind this increase: 1) a catch-up effect related to high inflation in 2022 and 2) low unemployment. Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott quiz Rabobank economist Elwin de Groot on what may happen in the labor market in 2023 and in the long term. They also discuss the implications of the tight labor market for downstream food companies.

It is the time of the year to look back at 2022 and look toward 2023. Maria and Cyrille gathered the entire team of Consumer Foods analysts at RaboResearch to discuss the learnings from the year for the sector. And what a year it was! They also talk about next year. What should be on the corporate agenda? What will happen to sustainability? Anything new emerging? Find out in this episode of Consumer Foods to Go!

In terms of prices and price volatility, 2022 was an incredible year for agri commodities. The conflict in Ukraine, adverse weather conditions, and currencies impacted prices a lot. What will happen in 2023? Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott quiz Head of Agri Commodity Markets Research Carlos Mera on what's in store for 2023. They talk about the main drivers for agri commodity pricing and go one level deeper by singling out the commodities that may see interesting price actions.

Resilience is the buzzword in the food sector. Companies are very focused, in the short term, on preserving margins by shifting resources around and by being very aware of input costs and pricing toward customers. Many of the challenges that are impacting performance in the short run will also be important factors in planning for the long run. Companies should continue to look for resiliency. So, what is on the menu of options for food companies?

Michael Every joined the Consumer Foods-to-Go podcast a couple of times before to discuss inflation and the impact of the war in Ukraine on the food sector. Due to popular demand, Cyrille Filott and Maria Castroviejo invited Michael back. During the podcast, Michael shares his (gloomy) outlook for the geopolitical landscape and how any shifts might impact economic thinking and the food sector.

Prices for transportation – across land and sea alike – skyrocketed in the last couple of years due to a boom in demand during the pandemic and, more recently, disruptions from the war in Ukraine. It's time to assess what might happen next. In this podcast, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott quiz analysts Xinnan Li and Viet Nguyen about what's happening with the supply and, perhaps even more importantly, the demand for goods and transportation. They also discuss current and future...

Manufacturers from around the globe gathered in Amsterdam at the end of May to showcase their products at the Private Label Manufacturers Association trade show. Sebastiaan Schreijen and Cyrille Filott were on the scene asking food & beverage producers about the hot topic of the moment: the supply chain. Sebastiaan and Cyrille asked five exhibitors five questions about their supply chain challenges, including risks, strategy, and sustainability. The answers they received were definitely...

Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott discuss how higher food prices impact the consumer right now and in the remainder of the year. They discuss what usually happens when disposable incomes shrink, and how this time, at least up to now, is different.

During the pandemic, the branded chains were the ones taking share in foodservice. Most of these chains work with franchisees. These franchisees have become very professional over the years, and they generate quite a bit of cash. So what is in store for franchising now that Covid seems to be largely behind us? Cyrille Filott discusses this question with Maria Castroviejo from Europe and Tom Bailey from the US, and they come to a surprising conclusion!

Expo West is one of the largest food trade shows in the world, and after a two-year hiatus, it was back on the calendar in early March. The food industry went in droves to Anaheim, where the show is held. RaboResearch F&A was present as well, with three analysts in attendance: JP Frossard, Nick Fereday, and Tom Bailey. In this episode of Consumer Foods-to-Go, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott quiz them on what was hip and happening, what was missing, and other key findings from the...

The Ukraine conflict is, and will remain, headline news. The Consumer Foods-to-Go podcast has two goals: to bring the audience something new or to discuss something top of mind. To state the obvious – the war is top of mind for everyone, even for those in the food sector. As Rabobank is keen to provide perspectives, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott invited Michael Every, macro strategist for Rabobank, to the podcast to discuss what might happen in the future, with a decoupled world as a...

Before the pandemic there was a lot of talk about startups and how they were disrupting the food & agribusiness sector. Since then, the focus in the sector has been on the impact of Covid-19 and, more recently, inflation. Startups may have fallen below the headlines, but they are still very relevant. Startups still are developing and investing in disruptive products and solutions that will support important F&A transitions. Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott caught up with the...