Tammy Wong is director of R&D and commercialization at Aspire Bakeries, Los Angeles. She has worked at the company and its previous iteration as Aryzta North America since 2012. 

In this final installment of IBIE Point of View, Baking & Snack follows up with how Ms. Wong is absorbing her experience at the International Baking Exposition (IBIE).

Looking at IBIE 2022, what were your biggest takeaways from the show? 

For me, the biggest takeaway was getting to see what new ingredients and solutions were being highlighted as this indicated what trends and issues were making a large impact across the industry.

What was the most valuable aspect of the show for you?  

It was being able to reconnect with suppliers in person and seeing what new ingredients were going to be available. 

Do you feel like you met your goals? Why or why not? 

Yes, I feel like I achieved my goals at IBIE because I was able to attend the different educational sessions and have time to walk the tradeshow. 

What was critical to ensuring those goals were met? 

What was crucial was setting appointments with suppliers so we had a set time to discuss different opportunities with the right people at their booth. IBIE’s exhibitor list was also extremely helpful! 

Based on the measures you set for yourself, was IBIE successful? Why or why not? 

Yes, it was a useful and successful IBIE as I was able to have meaningful conversations that led to next steps as well as key take aways from the different educational sessions I attended.

How did IBIE 2022 help you address the challenges your company is facing when it comes to product development and formulation? 

By having a wide range of suppliers available in one place, it gave visibility as to how they are responding to the changes in the market which has sparked possibly new solutions to existing issues/concerns. 

What consumer trends information or product innovation caught your attention? 

A couple things caught my attention: how digital grocery shopping is declining, the extensive amount of allergen-friendly ingredient offerings along with the increasing number of alternatives available. 

How will your findings and takeaways from IBIE be influencing product development going forward?  

It is going to impact what trends to develop towards as well as what ingredients to use during development given how suppliers see the market trending for certain materials.