Learn About the Forces Driving Demand for Tomorrow’s Food and Beverage Products at Hartman’s Food Culture Forecast 2019 Summit in Chicago 
 
3 key takeaways from last year’s summit offer glimpses at what’s in store for attendees at the September 2019 summit. 
 
Bellevue, WA — This September 12, 2019, The Hartman Group is returning to Chicago for the 11th edition of its signature ACT Food Culture Forecast summit.. The ACT (which stands for Anthropology, Culture, Trends) summit is a powerful platform from which attendees acquire valuable knowledge about the factors and trends shaping today’s — and tomorrow’s — food and beverage marketplace. 
 
A handful of change agents are creating turbulence for iconic, established food and beverage brands as well as driving disruption across the food retailing landscape in the American market today. Three such factors were discussed at the two ACT summits last year.
 
Food sourcing today is happening everywhere, all the time.
The evolving channel landscape reveals a careful balancing act among today’s food purveyors with implications across the food industry: they are tapping into multiple drivers but avoid asserting that they own the consumer’s every occasion.
 
The desire for convenience is today’s number one single need state. 
The desire for convenience is a key trend, just like other trends (e.g., simple ingredients, unique flavor, positive nutrition), if not a cultural value. But not convenience just for the sake of convenience but as something in service of other food and lifestyle aspirations.
 
Technology has revolutionized the importance of customization in American food culture. 
Personalizing is in our DNA. The desire to be unique is part of the broader American cultural context in which we all live. We like to “chef up” our orders. All this “cheffing” is about freshness aspirations.
 
About Hartman’s ACT Food Culture Forecast 2019 Summit
Topics at Food Culture Forecast 2019 will include socioeconomic dynamics, eating today and the continued erosion of food rituals, the consumer-driven redefinition of quality, disruption in food procurement and distribution, brand evolution and organizational challenges and opportunities. 
 
Learn more about Food Culture Forecast 2019 here: 
 
About The Hartman Group
Since 1989, The Hartman Group has been translating consumer behavior and food culture into strategic growth opportunities for our clients. We are 100 percent focused on the food and beverage marketplace and our clients’ interests. We deliver smart, strategic, and tactical advice, engaging collaborative experiences, and comprehensive research and analysis that lead to positive outcomes for our clients. For more information, visit www.hartman-group.com 
 
Press contact: 
 
Blaine Becker, Sr. Director of Marketing
O: 425.452.0818    E: blaine@hartman-group.com

Download press release as PDF