From April 2023 to March 2025, global launches of snacks with health claims grew by 22% (Innova), with nuts and seeds leading the way. Heart health, energy support, and weight management are now the top three functional positions. As consumer demand evolves, the focus is shifting from single health claims to multi-functional, experience-driven products. This session explores opportunities and challenges in functional ingredient innovation, with insights from leading brands on formulation and consumer education.

By 2032, the global high-protein snack market is projected to exceed $58.7 billion. What began with protein bars has now expanded into bean-based snacks, meat jerky, and many other formats. While nutrition matters, taste is the ultimate challenge. How can brands strike the right balance between nutrition and deliciousness? In this session, we invite R&D leaders from top global protein snack companies for a “high-energy” dialogue, sharing their breakthroughs and revealing the secret to making protein truly tasty.

Food innovation is like a never-ending relay race. Traditional models often build on current assumptions, technologies, and business models to drive incremental progress. Mondelez believes true breakthroughs start by imagining the future. For leaders in the F&B industry, future-back thinking is especially critical as global forces reshape what, how, and why people consume. It helps companies anticipate change, align innovation with long-term shifts, and build resilience and growth in an uncertain world.

Clean label is shifting from an industry ideal to a real growth engine. According to Tmall's Healthy Snacks Trend Report, products that adopt clean label principles see a 20–50% increase in repurchase rates and a 15% rise in average order value. What consumer needs lie behind this surge? Where should companies begin? And how can brands win with clean label? This session explores clean label from insight to execution. Experts will unpack the real opportunities and practical pathways to help companies build cleaner, more credible products and capture the next wave of growth.

Traditionally, chocolate is associated with a rich, smooth, melt-in-the-mouth texture. Freeze-drying challenges this convention by removing moisture at low temperatures, creating a stable, porous structure with a crisp and lightweight bite. With low moisture content, freeze-dried chocolate remains stable at room temperature and requires no refrigeration. This also reduces structural dependence on sugar and fat, enabling cleaner formulations. This session explores how freeze-drying may shape the next generation of chocolate innovation.

Based on Mordor Intelligence projections, the AI market in the food and beverage sector is expected to reach USD 29.94 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 45.8%. With AI, sensory analysis is no longer limited to subjective evaluation. It can accelerate product development, shorten innovation cycles, and improve the accuracy of predicting consumer acceptance. From E-Nose and E-Tongue to deep learning, and neurophysiological technologies, this session explores the latest AI-driven sensory analysis tools.

Diverse flavors have become the core driver of winning consumers' taste buds. From cross-category mashups to niche ingredients and the global reinterpretation of local cultures, new ideas keep emerging. But how can brands identify which trends are truly worth investing in? Drawing on the latest global snack innovations, this session will decode the 2025–2026 flavor landscape, and explore following questions. How to spot the next big flavor? Which ingredient innovations truly resonate with consumers? And how to balance regional preferences in global R&D strategies? The answers will help make innovation investments more forward-looking and efficient.

Want to taste specialties from across Japan? Just visit a supermarket and pick up Koikeya's "Pride" chips. From Kobe beef and Kyoto yuzu to Kyushu seaweed soy sauce and Kumamoto grilled meat, Koikeya transforms iconic dishes into layered, flavor-rich snacks using local potatoes and corn. With a commitment to Japanese ingredients and meticulous flavor crafting, the brand reached ¥59.38 billion in consolidated sales in FY2025. How does Koikeya engineer taste? From flavor selection and ingredient sourcing to precise formulation—this is how chips rivaling real cuisine are born.

(Source: Koikeya)

Well-known regional ingredients such as Dandong strawberries, Lipu taro, and Wuchang rice have become popular choices in snack and bakery development, thanks to their consistent quality and strong origin recognition. For R&D teams, these ingredients offer distinctive flavor profiles and built-in quality credentials; for brands, the stories behind their origins, local food cultures, and craftsmanship provide rich material for communication and differentiation. This session combines expert insights, product showcases, and guided tastings to explore how regional ingredients create value in product innovation. Through real-world cases, speakers will break down practical approaches to leveraging origin, flavor, and storytelling - helping brands and R&D teams develop products innovative, credible, distinctive, and scalable.