NEW ORLEANS, LA – The 2025 USA Rice Outlook Conference kicks off soon in just over two months, and programming that jumps from the field to the supermarket has been announced.
Digital marketing specialist and 2024 Outlook speaker Eric Martindale returns to the education stages to lead the session,
From Shelf to Shopper: Navigating Grocery Retail Trends.
Eric will explain how rapidly changing consumer shopping habits are reshaping how grocery retailers operate and what products succeed and what are left behind. Attendees will come away with an appreciation for key grocery retail trends, shopper values, what is driving purchasing decisions, and how you can position your brand to benefit.
Rice value add will take center stage for the session,
Brewing and Beyond: Innovations in Rice in Food and Drink. This panel discussion with Derek Alarcon, director of sales and marketing for Exceedient Foods, the innovation arm of California’s Farmers’ Rice Cooperative; Dr. Scott Lafontaine, University of Arkansas food scientist; and Emily Meyers, brand manager for J.T. Meleck Distillers, will explore how rice and rice flour are driving new product development, enhancing flavor, texture, and even nutritional profiles. From craft beer to spirits and from energy bars to cooking techniques enhanced with rice, the discussion will make you informed, hungry, and thirsty. And the speakers are promising samples.
Registration for Outlook is open now and the hotel block is filling up fast. Prices go up on November 6, so register today. And watch this space for more programming updates.