American Consumers Desire To Replicate Restaurant Cuisines And Flavors At Home

Online, April 16, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Jill Houk, consulting chef and thought leader in culinary research, recipe development and consumer engagement addressed a diverse audience of manufacturing and food professionals in a webinar titled Food Industry Trends 2012: Exploring the Relationships between the Hospitality and Consumer Packaged Goods Industries hosted by i2live of Industry Intelligence Inc. on March 22.

A wide spectrum of industries represented by executives from packaging companies including International Paper, Bemis and Amcor; as well as food manufacturing companies such as Kraft Foods, Kellogg and Unilever; and food additive companies Ajinomoto and McCormick joined the webinar presentation and discussion.

During the interactive, 60-minute webinar, Chef Houk cited a 2011 UPI survey that reveals the average American dines out in restaurants 4.8 times per week. Houk encouraged the packaged food industry to look toward the hospitality sector for ideas to develop new and innovative options for the home cook. With so many dining out experiences, home cooks are exposed to new and innovative cuisines in a way that they haven't been before. And those new foods and flavors are something that they look to replicate in their own kitchens.

Chef Houk will participate in a follow-up webinar on April 19 titled Social Media Strategies for Food Companies: How to use brand advocates to evangelize about your products discussing how food companies can use social media and brand advocates to spotlight and market their products. Houk will convey: The type of information that is most important to get across in using social media, and ways the food industry can use all the available social media options. To register for this webinar, please sign up at http://www.i2live.net

About Jill Houk

Chef Houk is principal of Jill Houk Culinary Consulting. Originally Ms. Houk pursued a career in information technology and later honed her culinary skills as a professional catering chef and cooking instructor. After becoming a chef, Houk combined the two disciplines into culinary consulting. She is a consultant on food-related strategies and tactics for such household names as Sara Lee, Ajinomoto, Applegate Farms and Driscoll's Berries.

About i2live

i2live is the events unit of Industry Intelligence Inc. i2live brings together business leaders to address issues that cut across industries and market sectors especially forest products, packaging and food and beverage. Through online events and interactive conference programming, i2live helps businesses make sense of industry trends and capitalize on emerging opportunities. For more information visit http://www.i2live.net