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Dairy Innovation Strategies USA 2026

Devising Commercially Successful Strategies for the Dairy Industry

Start

15 Sep

End

16 Sep

Sheraton Grand, Chicago USA

Why Attend?
Agenda
Speakers
Event Gallery
Sponsors
Download Agenda
Contact Us

Why Attend?

Dairy Innovation Strategies is coming to the USA September 2026. Get ready to explore the latest industry insights shaping the U.S dairy market.

What can you expect?

Knowledge Sharing: Keynote presentations, workshops, and panel discussions on various topics such as dairy farming practices, sustainability, technology advancements, and market trends.

Inspirational Speakers: Keynote speeches and presentations by industry leaders will inspire you and offer fresh perspectives on challenges and opportunities in the dairy sector.

Networking Opportunities: Connect with industry experts, dairy producers, researchers, and suppliers.

Access to New Technologies: The latest innovations and technologies in dairy production, processing, and packaging.

Market Intelligence: With sessions dedicated to consumer trends and the GlobalData team on hand, the experts will give you valuable insights into the global dairy market.

Regulatory Updates: You can discuss relevant policies, regulations, and compliance standards affecting the industry. This provides you with an opportunity to stay updated on changing regulations and ensure their operations meet the necessary requirements.

What to expect?

150+ Attendees to meet each year	25+ Exhibitors to meet each year	20+ Speakers	75% Attendees at Director+ level
150+ Attendees to meet each year	25+ Exhibitors to meet each year
20+ Speakers	75% Attendees at Director+ level

2025 Dairy Europe highlights

Agenda

15 Sep 2026
16 Sep 2026

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8 AM

Registration and Networking

8:50 AM

Chair’s Opening Remarks

Speakers

Mark Dempsey

Senior Consulting Director – Global, GlobalData

9 AM

Opening Keynote – Redefining Dairy: Innovation, Trust, and the New Consumer Era

From Legacy to Agility: How heritage dairy brands are evolving into fast-moving innovators
Health, Wellness C Trust: Meeting rising consumer demand for functional, clean-label, and gut friendly products
Data-Driven NPD: Leveraging real-time insights to design products consumers don’t even know they need yet
Purpose Meets Profit: Balancing sustainability goals with business growth in a challenging regulatory landscape

9:30 AM

Smart Packaging: Sustainability and Shelf-Life Redefined

Aseptic Excellence: Maximise product freshness and nutrients without refrigeration using cutting-edge barrier technology
Decarbonising the Pack: Reduce your carbon footprint with high-speed, low-waste filling systems and circular materials
Consumer Connection: Use on-pack digital solutions to provide instant transparency and traceability for every carton

Senior representative, SIG

10 AM

Evolution of Consumer Preferences in Dairy and its Implications for the Industry and Supply Chain

Shift from traditional liquid milk to A2, organic and higher-protein products
Rapid growth of Lactose‐free Market
Functional Dairy and Impact of GLP1

Speakers

Ashley Ellixson

VP, Milk Marketing & Operations, Western Fluid Group Dairy Farmers of America

10:30 AM

Shark Tank

A panel of the industry’s most sought-after solution providers set the scene with 60 second introductions offering insights into their cutting-edge products and services. Visit the booths in the exhibition hall for more details and services.

10:45 AM

Morning Refreshments and Networking

11:15 AM

Key Trends in Dairy Enrichment, Fortification, Taste and Ways of Consumption

Functional Boosts: Target "total wellness" by adding immunity and mood-boosting ingredients to standard dairy
Taste vs. Health: Perfect the "guilt-free" experience—maintain premium, creamy textures in high-protein recipes
Convenience First: Win the snacking market with sippable, portable formats for on-the-go lifestyles

11:45 AM

PET Perfection: Engineering the Future of Liquid Dairy

Transitioning to 100% rPET bottles to slash carbon footprints while maintaining premium brand aesthetics
Ensuring total product safety and long shelf-life with market-leading dry preform decontamination technology
Optimising high-speed lines with AI-driven diagnostics to reduce energy use and product giveaway

Senior representative, SIDEL

12:15 PM

Lunch and networking

1:20 PM

Keynote Address :Leading the Reset: How We’re Reinventing Dairy for the New US Consumer Trends and AI Commerce

New demand drivers: Back-to-cooking momentum, GLP‐1 reshaping household eating habits, and evolving US dietary guidelines.
AI changes the cart: Shift in consumers shopping with increasing use of AIgenerated lists
Adopting and leading this major transformation in the food market

Speakers

Negar Sadeghi

General Manager USA, Bel

1:50 PM

Plant-Based Performance: Enhancing Texture and Nutrition

Using potato-based starches and proteins to create perfect creaminess and "melt" in dairy alternatives
Replacing modified starches and additives with natural, functional ingredients for a shorter, friendlier label.
Fortifying high-protein formulations without compromising on taste or stable shelf-life.

Senior representative, Avebe

2:20 PM

Panel Discussion: Ingredient & Nutrition Innovation in Dairy

Great-tasting functional nutrition: enhance taste, texture, and stability while adding protein, probiotics/prebiotics, and key micronutrients
GLP-1–aligned formulation: higher protein, targeted fibers, and lower added sugar to support satiety and healthy weight management • Immunesupporting ingredients: incorporate vitamin D, minerals, probiotics/postbiotics, lactoferrin, and other bioactives with process compatibility
Smart fortification & claims: focus on bioavailability, shelf life, clean-label expectations, and compliant health/benefit communication

3 PM

Afternoon Refreshments and Networking

3:45 PM

What Consumers Really Want: How Dairy Can Win in Health & Wellness

Consumer priorities: Insights from 11K+ U.S. consumers on their top health and wellness concerns, current solutions, and unmet needs.
Dairy opportunity spaces: The health and wellness conditions where dairy is best positioned to deliver meaningful consumer benefits.
Innovation in action: Examples of dairy products and concepts addressing priority consumer wellness needs.

Speakers

Silvia Robles

SVP Partnerships and Growth Platforms - DMI

Sarah Yu

VP Strategic Insights-DMI

4:15 PM

Dairy Ingredients Suppliers and Their Role in Stepping Up Quality, Innovation and Exports

Speakers

Sebastian Albella

GM Industrial Dairy, Flora

4:45 PM

Mineral Fortification: Boosting Value without Compromising Taste

Delivering 40% elemental calcium with Omya Calcipur
Utilising advanced particle engineering to ensure slower sedimentation and easy re-dispersion in dairy and non-dairy beverages
Reduce product carbon footprints by up to 90% compared to precipitated calcium carbonate by using Omya's natural mineral solutions

Senior representative, Omya

5 PM

Keynote: Technical Gaps in the Market for Adjustment of Dairy Industry to Evolving Consumer Taste

5:30 PM

Chairman’s Closing Remarks

Speakers

Mark Dempsey

Senior Consulting Director – Global, GlobalData

5:35 PM

Drinks Reception Sponsor: Resilux

Do What’s Right in Packaging - Close the Loop in Milk Bottles

Speakers

Davy Rosseel

Global Key Account Manager, Resilux Group

6:40 PM

End of Day One

8 AM

Registration and Networking

8:50 AM

Chairman’s Opening Remarks

Speakers

Mark Dempsey

Senior Consulting Director – Global, GlobalData

9 AM

Keynote: Advanced Data Integration Strategy and AI Analysis

Using AI to forecast micro-trends and slash waste through hyper-accurate inventory management
Leveraging consumer data to create precision-targeted dairy products for specific health cohorts
Integrating real-time farm-to-shelf data to guarantee freshness and prove sustainability claims

9:30 AM

Partner Presentation

10 AM

Panel Discussion: Exploring Dairy’s Role in Supporting Immune Health

Immune-supporting dairy components: spotlight on key ingredients and bioactives
Fermented dairy & probiotics: building a stronger, more resilient microbiome
Complete immune “shield” formulations: pairing high-quality dairy protein with zinc and vitamin D

10:30 AM

Morning Refreshments and Networking

11 AM

Speaker Hosted Roundtables

Interactive roundtable sessions offer a unique opportunity to come together with your peers to share best practice and develop solutions to critical challenges facing the industry as a whole. Hosted by industry experts and each focused on a single issue, roundtables are an exciting, interactive way to build your personal network and learn from the experience and expertise of others.

Each roundtable session lasts for 40 minutes, and delegates may attend up to 2 roundtables.

RT1: Driving Efficieny and Sustianbility in Packaging- SIG
RT2: Packaging for Emerging Consumption Models- SIDEL
RT3: Harnessing Data and AI for NPD

12:20 PM

Lunch and Networking

1:20 PM

Keynote: Key Industry Regulations: Ensuring FDA Compliance

Traceability Deadlines: Finalise FSMA 204 compliance by July 2028; maintain 24-month electronic records for all high-risk dairy
Labeling Modernisation: Adopt new "Healthy" claim definitions by 2028 and distinguish non-cow sources (e.g., goat milk) in allergen statements
Standard Revocations: Review the 18 dairy "Standards of Identity" the FDA is revoking to allow more flexible product formulations

1:50 PM

Smart Branding: Functional Packaging for Premium Dairy

Eco-Friendly Labels: Drive circularity with "Wash-Off" and ultra-thin technologies that ensure 100% PET bottle recyclability
Tamper-Evident Safety: Guarantee product integrity and consumer trust with integrated, high-speed shrink sleeve security
Interactive Engagement: Use digital watermarking and QR codes to turn packaging into a direct-to-consumer marketing channel

Senior Representative, CCL Labels

Best-Practice Farming & Animal Welfare for Dairy Innovation

Advance to positive welfare: measure outcomes beyond compliance, including comfort and natural behaviours
Build climate resilience: reduce heat stress with cooling, management, and heat tolerant genetics
Prove and communicate standards: use third-party audits and real-time data to build trust and protect the social license to operate

3:30 PM

Closing Panel Discussion: Next Steps for The Dairy Industry – Working Together to Advance the Industry

Collaborating on climate goals and nutrition science to strengthen dairy’s global reputation
Aligning on simple, science-backed communication to combat misinformation and plant-based myths
Driving industry-wide growth by pooling data on consumer shifts and emerging tech

4 PM

Chairman’s Closing Remarks

Speakers

Mark Dempsey

Senior Consulting Director – Global, GlobalData

4:10 PM

End of Conference

Speakers

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Negar Sadeghi

General Manager USA, Bel

Session Details:

Keynote Address :Leading the Reset: How We’re Reinventing Dairy for the New US Consumer Trends and AI Commerce

2026-09-15, 1:20 PM

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Mark Dempsey

Senior Consulting Director – Global, GlobalData

Mark brings over 20 years experience in the foodservice, retail and FMCG sectors to GlobalData. Mark joined the GlobalData team in 2017 following 5 years living in Canada where he was an insights leader for PepsiCo and strategy consulting leader for the NPD group. In his role at GlobalData, Mark brings bold thought-leadership to global partners across the manufacturer, retailer and distributor segments; always striving to find new ways to create growth by positively influencing shopper behaviour.

Mark brings significant FMCG knowledge and expertise to the conference having led research around the world on topics from shopper segmentation, to category market sizing to innovation planning and the study of global best practices.

Mark will be chairing the conference whilst sharing his views on the changing nature of next generation product offerings, the demands and expectations of today’s consumer, and the innovations and trends that will shape the future…

Session Details:

Chair’s Opening Remarks

2026-09-15, 8:50 AM

Session Details:

Chairman’s Opening Remarks

2026-09-16, 8:50 AM

Session Details:

Chairman’s Closing Remarks

2026-09-15, 5:30 PM

Session Details:

Chairman’s Closing Remarks

2026-09-16, 4:00 PM

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Davy Rosseel

Global Key Account Manager, Resilux Group

Davy Rosseel is Global Key Account Manager at Resilux Group and experienced in business development PET preforms and bottles. With his strong focus in Dairy and Plant Based Drinks Resilux can offer true sustainable packaging solutions for valuable and innovative food and drinks opportunities.

Session Details:

Drinks Reception Sponsor: Resilux

2026-09-15, 5:35 PM

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