From Ingredient to AI Formulation: Unlocking New Horizons in Food & Beverage

Date: 
Thursday, 8 May, 2025 - 11:00 to 12:00
Location: 
Online

This free access for all is sponsored by Centric Software

From Ingredient to AI Formulation: Unlocking New Horizons in Food & Beverage

Efficiently managing the Product Development and Assortment process in food business is crucial for success.

This webinar will explore how compelling software tools based on solid practices do simplify and enhance every stage of product development to ensure the right products to the right place. 

From capturing emerging trends and identifying market gaps to creating a clear project brief, we’ll discuss the key steps involved in bringing a product from concept to market. Topics will include balancing taste, health benefits and compliance, optimising recipe development, sourcing sustainable ingredients, ensuring quality through rigorous testing and scaling production for efficiency.

Attendees will gain insights into how to improve collaboration, ensure compliance and make data-driven decisions at every stage, and last but not the least how and where leverage AI trends to prepare for future, ultimately leading to successful, cost-effective, and sustainable product launches.

What participants will learn about:

  • Ensure Product Safety, Quality and Compliance
  • Accelerate New Product Introductions and Innovation
  • Improve Formulation and Recipe Management
  • Streamline Sourcing and Supplier Management
  • Simplify Packaging and Labelling

Target Audience:

  • Head of Compliance, Regulations, Product development, Formulation, Raw materials, Packaging, C-suite

Host: Natasha Medhurst BSc (Hons), FIFST - Senior Scientific Affairs Manager, IFST

Since studying Food Technology at University of Reading, Natasha has worked in research and development, quality assurance, technical services and regulatory roles, across the food industry internationally, gaining a sound knowledge of ingredients, packaging, labelling and finished products. She also taught food science in Asia.

As IFST Senior Scientific Affairs Manager she is responsible for generating evidence-based scientific materials, for members and other interested parties, as well as responding to external technical enquiries. She oversees the Scientific Committee, coordinates the wide range of Special Interest Groups and acts as an external scientific representative for collaborations with other relevant organisations. She supports and unites food professionals, including researchers, academics, consultants and factory technical teams, for the advancement of the sector. She is also an IFST Fellow.

Speakers:

Maarten Hagen - Retail Strategy Regional Sales Executive, Centric Software

Maarten Hagen serves as an Industry Consultant for Food and Beverage at Centric Software. In this role, he leverages his expertise to assist Food and Beverage companies in enhancing their product innovation and ensuring regulatory compliance including the use of artificial intelligence & modern collaboration tools. Maarten is actively involved in industry and educational events. He has been active in Product Lifecycle Management software for 20+ years and brings industry expertise from leading multinational companies in and outside the Food and Beverage space.

Amber Wajahat - Regional Sales Director F&B and Cosmetics, Centric Software

Amber is a seasoned sales leader with deep expertise in enterprise technology and a strong history of delivering growth across the EMEA region. Since 2021, he has served as Regional Sales Director at Centric Software, partnering with leading food & beverage and cosmetics brands, manufacturers and retailers to drive digital transformation in product development and go-to-market execution.

Dominic Bevan - Senior F&B Consultant, Centric Software

Dom Bevan is Senior Presales Consultant for Centric Software Food & Beverage, covering the UK, Nordics, and Middle East. With extensive experience in systems implementation across multiple food and beverage sectors — including bakery, brewery, and private label retail — Dom specializes in helping companies leverage technology to drive innovation and efficiency. Holding an MSc in Logistics and Operations Management from Cardiff University, he is passionate about how IT systems and digital practices can accelerate product development and unlock new possibilities for the industry.

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