Milling & Baking News - October 22, 2019 - 20

Industry Activities

Executives suggest disciplined
approach to product innovation
NextGenBaker Global Leadership Forum during the International Baking
Industry Exposition held Sept. 7-11
in Las Vegas, Mr. Benin noted that the
Toronto-based company takes an intentional, disciplined approach with
its innovation strategy.
"We need to make choices," he
said. "We can't chase a whole bunch
of pieces of innovation. We have to

AMERICAN BAKERS ASSOCIATION

LAS VEGAS - Responding to consumer trends with new product innovation requires organizational discipline, responsiveness and strategic
decision-making to meet the shifting
demands in the market, said Roy Benin, president for category strategy
and innovation for Weston Foods.
Participating in a top executive panel
at the American Bakers Association's

From left: Brent Bradshaw, senior vice-president of core brands, Flowers Foods, Inc.; Roy
Benin, president for category strategy and innovation, Weston Foods; Bradley K. Alexander, chief operating officer, Flowers Foods, Inc.; Carrie Jones-Barber, chief executive officer,
Dawn Food Products; and Daniel Servitje, chairman and c.e.o., Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V.

Data show childhood obesity
rates holding steady
PRINCETON, N.J. - Close to five
million young people ages 10 to 17
are obese, according to a new report
from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (R.W.J.F.). The report, which is
based off data from the 2017 and 2018
National Survey of Children's Health,
found the national childhood obesity
rate remains around 15%.
The data also affirm the persistence
of disparities along geographic, racial,
ethnic and socioeconomic lines. The
obesity rates among black and Hispanic youth (22.2% and 19%, respectively)
are significantly higher than white
youth (11.8%) and Asian youth (7.3%).
Close to 22% of youth living below the
national poverty line are obese, more
than twice the percentage of youth in
households making at least 400% of the
federal poverty level.
The report also found children in
20 / October 22, 2019

Milling & Baking News

the South tend to be less healthy than
children in other regions. More than
a quarter of youth in Mississippi are
obese. Other states with higher-thanaverage childhood obesity rates include West Virginia, Kentucky and
Louisiana. Utah topped the list of
healthiest states, with a childhood
obesity rate of 8.7%. Other states with
lower-than-average childhood obesity
levels include Minnesota, Alaska, Colorado, Montana and Washington.
"These new data show that this
challenge touches the lives of far too
many children in this country, and that
black and Hispanic youth are still at
greater risk than their white and Asian
peers," said Richard Besser, Ph.D.,
president and chief executive officer
of R.W.J.F. "These differences by race,
ethnicity and geography did not happen by chance. They are a result of

chase those ideas that are meaningful
and hardwire them into our capital
program."
Weston Foods created innovation
centers to develop market insights
and foster new ideas for product development. Twice a year, the company
conducts an innovation tournament
where it puts 250 ideas to consumers
and asks them for feedback.
"We want to have a consumer-led
instead of a manufacturing-led innovation strategy," Mr. Benin explained.
Carrie Jones-Barber, chief executive officer of Jackson, Mich.-based
Dawn Foods, said the company's
new Dawn Balance line came from
market insights showing a burgeoning consumer demand for better-foryou cakes, donuts and brownies with
a cleaner label.
"What we are seeing is customers
want to read the label and understand
what that label means to them by going to their pantry and recognizing
whatever those ingredients are," Ms.
Jones-Barber said.
Moreover, the company's Naturally
Brilliant line provides ready-to-use,
natural, plant-based colorings for
buttercream-style and flat icing.
"That's exactly what our customers
are asking us for," she said.
Other panelists included Daniel Servitje, chairman and c.e.o., Grupo Bimbo, Mexico City, and Bradley K. Alexander, chief operating officer, Flowers
Foods, Thomasville, Ga. MBN
discriminatory policies and systems
that have been in place for decades."
Obesity can put young people at a
greater risk for several other diseases,
including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer. Research increasingly is showing the importance of preventing obesity early
in life. One study found five-year-olds
who were overweight were four times
as likely as healthy-weight children to
be obese by age 14.
The last several years have brought
about a handful of policy shifts, which
have reduced obesity rates among
some children. More than 30 million
children eat healthier school breakfasts, lunches and snacks thanks to
updated nutrition standards ushered
in by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids
Act of 2010. The obesity rate among
children participating in WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants, and Children,
declined from 15.9% in 2010 to 13.9%
in 2016. Researchers said updates to
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Milling & Baking News - October 22, 2019

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