Winter Fancy Food With VentureFuel’s Alice Ponti

Fred Schonenberg
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the VentureFuel Visionaries. I'm your host, Fred Schonenberg. Today on the show, I am joined by Alice Ponti. Alice is the Senior Vice President of Innovation and Strategy here at VentureFuel. She works with global enterprises navigating disruption, helping them identify which innovation signals actually matter, which are just noise, and where to place smart bets for future growth.

She's coming fresh off the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Diego, which is one of the most influential gatherings in food and beverage. So we asked her to bring some of her insights from the show floor, not just what's trending, but really what's scalable, defensible, and strategically relevant for any large organizations that are listening or innovators that are out there. 

So we're going to break down what corporate innovators, R&D leaders, and strategics should take away from the show, including innovation themes that are gaining traction, how tech is reshaping differentiation in the space, and what retailers and consumers are increasingly demanding from food brands.

So if you're responsible at all for future-proofing a portfolio or innovation pipeline at a food and beverage company, this is the conversation for you. Alice, welcome to the show.

Alice Ponti
Thanks for having me, Fred. I was wondering how long it was going to take for me to get on the podcast. I'm glad that we made it happen.

Fred Schonenberg
Yeah, I love it. I love it. And it's fun for me to get to actually mic you up instead of just keeping all your insights for myself, which happens frequently or for our clients. But I was wondering, could you just give a brief introduction of yourself for any of the listeners that maybe don't know who you are or your background?

Alice Ponti
Sure. So I serve, as you mentioned, as SVP of Innovation and Strategy at VentureFuel. And what I do is I lead the consumer goods vertical. So that spans across food and beverage, health and wellness, beauty, personal care. And my job is really to help large enterprises to accelerate innovation commercialization through startup partnerships. 

So again, to work with the likes of Hershey, P&G, Red Bull. And I'm also really fortunate to lead several industry innovation accelerators with U.S. checkups like the California Milk Advisory Board, Midwest Dairy, U.S. High Bush Blueberry Council. And what we do there is we work with them to drive growth for their farmers and their industries by coaching promising startups and helping them to scale. And just before VentureFuel, I spent 20 years in marketing and innovation in CPG organizations like Danone, Diageo, and also Bushing Bear, where I got to lead global beer innovation. So delighted to be on the pod.

Fred Schonenberg
Wonderful. Well, I was wondering, you know, all the shows that you and I get to attend and other people in the space, why Winter Fancy Food? What is it about that that attracted you to attending? And I know it's become such a valuable barometer for where food and beverage innovation is heading. And so just curious your thoughts, what made that stand out?

Alice Ponti
That's right. So Winter FancyFaire* is the flagship event of the Specialty Food Association. SFA represents about 4,500 specialty organizations. And the trade show is a really great space to see early stage signals of food and beverage trends that will eventually become big in the mainstream. And for instance, this time around, SFA used the show to call out what they think are going to be the biggest macro trends within the industry. I will just call out, and we can dive into it in more detail. 

This year's 2026 trend they've called out is sense maxing. And for large incumbents that are listening to this, the great thing about Winter FancyFaire* is that it's almost like a live lab where you have on one hand founders that are building new products. You're having buyers that are reacting to those founded innovations. And then you also have large corporations and you're getting a sense of what are the ideas that are going to be scalable in the future. And you're getting that sense before it makes it into syndicated data like Sucana, for instance.

Fred Schonenberg
Could you expand upon the theme for this year? Because my next question was going to be around this idea of like, what's different? Were there any clear shifts? But maybe we'll just dive into that.

Alice Ponti
I would say there were six trends that SFA called out this year, but there were two that stood out for me. One is the sense maxing. I'll get into that. And then the other one is called appetite reset.
So sense maxing, so you've heard of protein maxing, you've heard of fiber maxing maybe. So this is really upping your food intake so that you're getting more of those macros. Well, now SFA has come up with this new trend, which is called sense maxing.

And it's basically about, it's kind of the combination of everything that we've all been watching in the food and beverage industry, which is those super crunchy, bold flavors, those super sensorial products that make you feel alive, basically, you know, whether that's something that's super sour that makes you squint, whether that's the packaging that makes you take a double take, or bubbly drinks that kind of wake you up. 

And the reason behind sense maxing really is what matters. Obviously, we're in a moment where AI and screens are everywhere and where senses are what makes us deeply human. And we're really seeing consumers are looking increasingly for those ultra sensorial experiences with brands. So sense maxing is this year's consumer trend. 

The other one that I thought was worth calling out is appetite reset. So this is connected to GFP ones, but not only. Essentially, we see this massive behavioral shift where folks are sitting less often at the kitchen table when their family is having a full traditional meal. There's a lot of snacking throughout the day. And what we're seeing is that big shift towards smaller portions that need to be more associating, so less volume, more density and more high efficiency eating on all macros. 

You want to cover your needs in terms of protein, in terms of healthy fats and all into small bites. Obviously, that's driven by GFP1 users who have lower appetite and dissociate it very quickly and need a lot of protein in their food intake. But it is also aligned to some of those behavioral shifts away from traditional full meals. 

And I think the biggest thing around that is that we're already starting to see how food manufacturers are adapting to this trend. So we were hearing on the floor from commercial kitchens, incubators that are starting to reduce the size of the packaging that they're running on their lines. They're starting to think about smaller sizes, starting to invest into equipment so that they can produce smaller pack sizes of the foods that they produce.

Fred Schonenberg
That's super interesting. The GFP1 and this idea of resetting makes a lot of sense to me. I saw it. I think the sensorial matching, the sense maxing, sorry, not matching, is incredibly interesting. And this idea of it being more human and that you feel alive and it's sort of popping and makes it come off the shelf. 

How is that? I mean, that seems uniquely new as a trend. Did you see more of that beyond them sort of claiming that as a theme? Did you see it represented in the startups or the other companies that were there? 

Alice Ponti
If you think about it, 2025 and I would argue also 2024, we've heard of those years as the Dubai chocolate years, right? Dubai chocolate made it everywhere. If you think about Dubai chocolate, it's like sensory maxing to the max. You have the crunchiness, you have the smoothness, you have the chocolate, the pistachio, all of that is going on. So there were already clues over the last few years that this was going to be a big trend. 

But I would say on the floor, what was interesting is the combination of various flavor trends from different parts of the world and various textures combined together to make for a really, really exciting experience. I would quote someone on a panel at the show who talked about how the Japanese language has, if I'm not misquoting, 400 words to describe food textures and the Chinese language has 150 words to describe textures. 

If you think about the English language, it's actually very poor when it comes to how to describe the different types of textures. So if you imagine there's a whole world out there, there's a whole library of textures that food manufacturers should be playing with in the future that exists in other cultures. I found that really exciting.

Fred Schonenberg
Yeah, that's incredibly interesting and exciting. And now I'm like, well, what are the ones that the U.S. language doesn't have? And I realized it'd be very hard to communicate that to me since I don't know those other words. Super interesting. 

So let me ask you this. One of the things that's really unique about VentureFuel's role and what you were doing there is our access to startups and emerging technologies that are at the forefront of things like this. You were part of the Ask the Expert series where you got to hear the founder pitches and review their pitch decks ahead of time. Were there any startups or maybe innovation themes that stood out, problems they were solving particularly well or maybe that matched this that really made it interesting?

Alice Ponti
I would say, so I got to sit with startups that were in vastly different product categories with very different value propositions. So no commonalities there. I would say the commonalities were in the conversations and what support they needed. So I think this is more thinking about founders out there that are getting ready on their pitch decks. 

There were four key pieces of advice that I consistently gave to the founders that I think are always useful to go back to. And it's really four things that they have to get right. One is being super clear on why you're doing what you're doing beyond the fact that you love food and beverage. Then two, having a really sharp definition of your core consumer and why your product is perfect for that person. 

Why should someone invest in you personally and why not? Is there anything that's changed in the landscape that makes what you do particularly relevant at this moment? And then a very clear and specific ask for the investor or the strategic partner. But I would say in terms of commonalities or things that stood out from the conversations with the startup founders. 

One that I loved was actually with our winner of our Midwest Dairy Accelerator, Sam from Rosebud. Rosebud is a frozen ice cream in a pouch. So ice cream but in a novel form factor. And actually this was a key theme on the floor at Winter FancyFaire*, which was a lot of innovation on form factors, a lot of innovation on packaging solutions, a lot of attention put into beautiful design, particularly in the trend that SFA called chef's table chic, which is essentially how you're seeing a lot of those categories that used to be in your pantry hidden away. You wouldn't want to display it or showcase them.

And now they're being proudly put front and center in kitchens, on chefs. I'm thinking about those fancy, you know, mackerel tins, like, you know, those fish tins that look beautiful, typically from Portugal and Spain, but they've now made it into the US. So that piece is a really beautiful packaging design that stands out and really grabs your attention. And then a novel form factor, I would say, was some of the things that came up from the conversations with the startups.

Fred Schonenberg
Super interesting. One of the things I was going to ask you about is how technology showed up, whether that is AI or packaging, actually innovation. And I'm curious how critical it appears to be for anybody, whether it's more established food brands or startups, to be looking at technical differentiation, right, whether that's functional ingredients, formats, processes, packaging, to stand out from what is increasingly a busy and crowded shelf space.

Alice Ponti
Yeah, so we talked about different form factors, different packaging. A good example I saw was a pistachio drizzle that was in a squeezable format. But you can put it on your acai bowl, on your oatmeal in the morning, or even on salads and things like that. So turning up what is a flavor trend that, you know, kind of goes back to the Dubai chocolate piece, but in a form factor that you can use every day. That was really interesting in terms of how to break through in a really crowded environment.

And I would say how functionality is moving into different form factors as well. A lot of gummies combine energy, functional benefits and electrolytes. So, looking at different delivery systems away from the traditional sachets that you're mixing with water, all the pre-baked drinks, but actually moving into gummy, which is a really popular format. I would say that's what I saw in terms of technology and packaging and driving differentiation.

On technology in general, obviously AI came up as you would expect, but the most interesting application I heard on the floor was actually how retailers use AI specifically in the context of how they fact check founder pitch decks with AI. And so the way they were describing it was basically they cross checking claims against what they can find online, what is in their own data. And that's helping them to do diligence, really helping to speed up the category reviews.

Now that has a massive implication for founders, right? Because as a founder, you have to assume now that every claim that you're making in your pitch deck is going to be verified. Your full digital footprint is not part of your pitch or your social media, your website copy, your press coverage, everything that needs to be consistently reflecting who you are as a person, who you are as a brand, what your business is about, because that's what buyers are going to be looking at. 

And the retailers talked about startups and founders, but obviously that is relevant for large CPG organizations as well that are launching their innovation, that are pitching also to retailers to secure listings. You have to make sure that your claims substantiation is out there, that everything that is out there, legal and compliance and everyone has had a really good loophole and the message is really consistent across all your touch points. 

Fred Schonenberg
It's super interesting. Yeah, I remember my grandmother saying when I was like five years old, she's like, be careful, anything you put in writing will be shouted from the rooftops or printed in the New York Times. And I remember thinking that was very dramatic and now thinking that's a good way to approach your footprint and how you do social media. AI can now kind of crawl to the ends of the internet and pull back things. So that's incredibly interesting.

I was wondering if, kind of switching gears a little bit, did you observe anything about evolving consumer expectations, either explicitly or implicitly, right? Like maybe by the way retailers are, what they're demanding or how brands are positioning themselves. Obviously the trends touch on that a little bit, but I'm curious as from a consumer lens, if there's anything you're, you took away from the show.

Alice Ponti
Yeah, there were a few things that came up, but I would say the biggest one, and we've seen this in a lot of the work that we've done for our clients this year, is around how for consumers health is now defined more holistically and the way they think about food is in the context of holistic health and how they're also thinking about health in the context of longevity, healthy aging, and healthspan.

And in that context, there was a lot of talk about flexible eating. Not having a super prescriptive diet, but actually allowing yourself to have moments of indulgence, where you want to feel good and enjoy some comfort food, but then also pairing that with real attention to the quality of the ingredients, the provenance, the macros that your food is delivering. So how much, again, the fiber maxing, the protein maxing, all of that. And then our whole of that is tying into a strategy now of how are you going to be able to sustain your everyday energy and bid for your longevity? 

Fred Schonenberg
It's very interesting, right? If you think about over the years, all these different sorts of diets or health fads, low carb, no carb, all the carbs, no fat. It's very interesting that it seems like the world is evolving to be more flexible. Life is about diversity, getting nutrients from different places, which of course is good for the food industry, because it means people aren't rushing towards one thing, but they're looking for functionality in multiple places that bring them joy.

Alice Ponti
That's right. I mean, if I think about it, I grew up in the south of France and they're brought there in Europe if you want to eat a little bit of everything. Like that's, that's the secret of a long well lived life. You want to eat a little bit of everything and enjoy all of it.

Fred Schonenberg
Were there any conversations or moments at the show that changed how you were thinking about the future of food innovation before you got there?

Alice Ponti
I would say a little bit related to GLP1, but it kind of goes beyond that. There was one particular stat that was shared in one of the panels on how the food service industry, so restaurants, last year in 2025, sold more appetizers than the main courses. I thought that was tremendously interesting. So if you think about, again, the revolution that our GLP was and the appetite recess trend, and you see that real behavioural shift of folks looking at smaller portion sizes that are more fruitful, that are, you know, delivering a more substantive food, kind of covering all the macros, it's a massive shift. 

And if you think about the impact on the food industry, restaurants are having to adapt their menus, like more sharing plates and smaller portions, thinking about more occasions as well. It's not just lunch and dinner; it's everything in between as well, because you might be hungry in the afternoon, since you've been eating such small portions all day long. So the thought that the future of food innovation isn't just about reformulating existing products and thinking about protein, but also rethinking occasions, portion sizes, and even business models across retail and food service, is a really interesting thought.

Fred Schonenberg
All right, Alice, this part is totally off script, so we may drop it if you don't, if you don't like it, but I think you will like it. Sometimes in this I do like a rapid fire, where I just kind of throw some questions at you and just give me a one word, one sentence answer to what pops into your head. And does that sound like a good plan? We'll try it out, maybe three or four of these.

Alice Ponti
Let’s try.

Fred Schonenberg
All right. So what's the most delicious thing you ate at the show or tried at the show? 

Alice Ponti
So I had a freeze dried yogurt, which was a delightful new sweet bone factor that I didn't think I needed in my life. And I bought a few packs home and I really loved it. But freeze dried yogurt sweets.

Fred Schonenberg
I love that. Years ago, we had a gentleman that works with us that was in the confectionery space. And he was telling me about the freeze dried candy craze. And I just remember thinking it was insane. And then I tried it and I was like, oh, I, yes, I get it. 

Alice Ponti
So that's 70% dairy and then the rest is fruit purees that give the color and the flavor and the sweetness. Genius. 

Fred Schonenberg
Very genius. Okay. Alice, thank you so much for taking the time today to bring us up to speed on the show and what's next in the food space. I always love hearing your perspectives on it and kind of sensing and seeing around corners for what's next. So really appreciate your time today.

Alice Ponti
Of course. Thanks for having me.