9/16 NANCY RODRIGUEZ, FMSS, HOW THE AMERICAN PALATE IS EVOLVING, GINA NEELY

NANCY RODRIGUEZ - FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF FOOD MARKETING SUPPORT SERVICES (FMSS) - HOW THE AMERICAN PALATE IS EVOLVING

The American Palate is Evolving! The American palate is changing with flavor preferences today such as coffee, craft beer and other beverages with bitter notes; fermented flavors (tangy and sour); smoke and complex smokey flavors featuring aromatics like mixed woods, herbs and other natural ingredients; and sweet/savory/hot combinations.  FMSS uses consumer insights to shape new products and Nancy can talk about how Millennials' tastebuds are driving what we eat today and will eat in the future and share examples of how specific foods from cheese to chocolate are evolving.

About Nancy:
Nancy Rodriguez is founder and president of Food Marketing Support Services (FMSS), a Chicago company that has created hundreds of food and beverage products for Fortune 500 companies.  Nancy is a descriptive sensor expert and passionate advocate of linking consumer insights into developing new products.

About Food Marketing Support Services/FMSS:
Food Marketing Support Services (FMSS) specializes in food & beverage product development, sensory services, trend analysis and consumer research for a client roster than includes Coca-Cola, ConAgra, DiGiorno, Hickory Farms, Kellogg's, Kraft, Mars, Quaker and Tyson. What makes FMSS unique from other food labs is its laser focus on the consumer and what they want.  In addition to consumer insights, the product development process also includes trend analysis and sensory art and science , including sight, smell, sound, taste and touch, and professional "tasters" to create new products.  

www.fmssinc.com/services


GINA NEELY – MOM, AUTHOR, NATIONAL TELEVISION SHOW HOST AND CHEF - IMAGINE SIMPLE, EASY DINNERS FOR BUSY FAMILIES

As summer gives way to hectic back-to-school schedules, parents are confronted with those common dinner time challenges, including balancing family schedules, getting kids excited about eating nutritious meals and finding creative ways to reinvent boring go-to weeknight dinners like pasta and chicken. It’s clear that parents are looking for ways to simplify their weeknight dinner routines, with the majority of parents agreeing they would rather spend less time in the kitchen so they have more time to enjoy dinner with their kids, according to the 2014 Fresh Takes with Green Giant Frozen Survey.

But when rushing to get to the dinner table, it turns out vegetables don’t always have a place at that table.
In fact, more than a third of parents surveyed said they forget about, or even purposefully cut out, vegetables when crunched for time at the end of the day. Further, despite four-out-of-five (83%) parents agreeing no dinner is complete without a vegetable, they leave them out of the meal an average of twice a week when preparing dinner.
Mom, Author and National Television Show Host and Chef, Gina Neely offers parents useful tips on how to reinvent dinner time with simple, delicious and nutritious ideas by sampling adding Green Giant Steamers. She can walk viewers through simple steps to help parents conquer dinnertime, like preparing a grocery list, using veggies to make meal-time more exciting, simplifying ingredients and leveraging one-pot meal ideas.

ABOUT GINA NEELY:
Gina Neely burst onto the scene in 2008 by starring in the hit show “Down Home with the Neelys,”which became the highest-rated series debut in the history of Food Network’s “In the Kitchen” block. Following the tremendous success of her television show, Gina released her first cookbook, "Down Home with the Neelys" (Knopf), which quickly earned a place on the New York Times best-seller list. A hit show and a bestseller soon led to Gina’s prime time television debut as the host of Food Network’s “Road Tasted.” A second book soon followed, The Neely's Celebration Cookbook (Knopf). Gina recently released her third cookbook, Back Home with the Neelys (Knopf), which hit stores in April 2014.
Gina has performed live for thousands of fans all over the country, not only showcasing her skills and fun loving approach to cooking, but also sharing her perspectives on life, love,  and the issues facing women in their personal and professional lives.  A highlight of her speaking career, Gina was invited by the President and First Lady to take part in the 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll.

Gina has appeared on national TV and radio shows such as The Talk (as a guest and a co-host), Arsenio, The Steve Harvey Show, The Rachael Ray Show, The Wendy Williams Show, Anderson Cooper Live!, The Monique Show, Good Morning America, The  Today Show, The View, The Chew, Katie, Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns" and The Tom Joyner Morning Show. In print, Gina has been featured in a variety of publications, including People Magazine, O Magazine, Ebony, Essence, The Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise, USA Today, Food Network Magazine and many others.