Consumer Foods to Go

A lot has been happening across the food sector, so it's the perfect moment to bring you up to speed. In our February wrap‑up, Maria Castroviejo, Tom Bailey, and Cyrille Filott take a deep dive into the major developments shaping the industry. They cover a wide range of topics – from the latest thinking on health and nutrition to key takeaways from CAGNY that are influencing corporate strategy. The team also unpacks recent strategic moves by Kraft Heinz and explores what these shifts might signal for the broader market. Finally, they look ahead at the evolving future of the packaging sector, where innovation, regulation, and sustainability continue to drive rapid change.


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Once a year, RaboResearch takes the Consumer Foods to Go podcast off-piste. Last week, instead of recording from behind our desks, we once again picked up our microphones and visited the Private Label Manufacturers Association's (PLMA) World of Private Label trade show in Amsterdam. Given the tremendous run that private label market share has had in recent years, the million-dollar questions is: What's next? Could the widened price gap between name brands and their private label counterparts provide opportunities for private label? We have asked five exhibitors their opinion. And – of course – we got five different answers.
 
 
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Like every year, RaboResearch visited Natural Products Expo West, one of the largest food trade shows in the US. In this episode of Consumer Foods to Go, analysts Tom Bailey, Nick Fereday, and JP Frossard share their observations of this year's edition. In their view, with more "real food" and products with shorter ingredient lists, the 2025 Expo West trade show lived up to its "Natural Products" name more than previous editions. Of course, there was much more. Consumer favorites such as protein, convenience, and global flavors were also well represented.

On February 13, RFK Jr was confirmed as the US Health and Human Services secretary in the Trump administration. That same day, some of his plans were unveiled, all aligning with the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) initiative. While some of RFK Jr's ideas are considered controversial, this is a good opportunity to evaluate the policies at face value and assess their potential impacts. To this end, hosts Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott interviewed their colleague and US resident Nick Fereday once again. His message: We don't know yet, but…

Years ago, we released podcasts exploring the fascinating changes and developments in China's food retail sector, particularly in the online space, often referred to as "new retail." However, the growth of online food retailing in China is now slowing, and offline models are making a strong comeback. It's time to update the Consumer Foods-to-Go audience on these rapid changes. To provide insights, Maria Castroviejo and Cyrille Filott interviewed fellow RaboResearch analyst Rena Ma.