I joined Greencore, a large manufacturer of convenience food in September 2024 as Head of Innovation to deploy our future development pipeline. Part of the role is to have an awareness of evolving consumer preferences and ensure the business is set up to grow and expand whether this be emerging cuisines or technological change.

I’m also the plan owner for our healthy and sustainable diets agenda where innovation plays a key role in supporting a healthier generation of consumers.

Prior to Greencore, I have worked in numerous chilled manufacturing businesses in end-to-end development roles including Cranswick, 2SFG and Samworth Bros.

Prior to founding The Gut Stuff, as The Mac Twins, Lisa (and her twin sister) had done everything from DJing at the Olympics, to presenting on the Brits red carpet, regular live radio shows for BBC 1xtra and Virgin Radio, creating their own DJ gaming live battle show and being the Official Love Island DJ's, but they can now add business women to that list and The Gut Stuff is their proudest venture to date.

The Gut Stuff was built to democratise gut health and now has a highly successful snacking range, a corporate wellness services business, 3 books, a consumer focused gut health app and even their very own (now global) tv show “Know your sh!t”.

Rebecca Oliver-Mooney (ROM) is Director of Commercial for News & Treat at the Co-op, covering areas like impulse, drinks and kiosk across a multi-channel retailer. She constantly challenges the status quo, doing things differently with small suppliers whilst driving a laser focused approach on customer centricity. This is highlighted by conceptualising and launching the apiary in 2022, an incubator scheme that puts equity, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of it to drive range diversity and inclusiveness on retail shelves as well as creating kitchen discos across the UK!

ROM has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of commercial, category, innovation, marketing, strategy and consultation roles across manufacturing and retail including Mars, Nestle, Kellogg’s, Muller, Rewrite the Story and Biotiful Dairy before joining the Co-op in 2020. ROM is extremely passionate about putting the customer at the heart of everything she does, focusing on data and insight to create visionary customer-centric strategies. Empowering creativity, change and doing things differently ROM prides herself on driving accessible, mindful inspiration for the customer base.

ROM envisions a future where diversity, equity and inclusion are not just buzzwords but fundamental pillars of the industry. She strives to create a workplace where every individual feels valued, respected and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. Her commitment to diversity goes beyond numbers. It is about fostering a culture where different perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. By embracing diversity, equity and inclusion ROM aims to drive innovation, creativity and success for companies and the communities they serve. This is highlighted by ROM founding Raising the Glass in 2024 after a year working in the drinks industry and recognising the need for change. Raising the Glass’ vision is to create meaningful connections that drive inclusivity for women and allies in the drinks industry, striving to foster a community where diversity is celebrated, voices are heard, and opportunities are abundant. Through a commitment to empowerment and collaboration, she aims to build a future where everyone feels valued, respected and supported in their journey within the drinks industry.​

ROM wants to collaborate so together we can build a brighter future where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and succeed.

Sara is a demand generation expert with over 20 years of experience across the FMCG, retail, and consulting sectors. She currently leads the Strategic Demand function for Mars Europe, overseeing category management, strategic revenue management, and portfolio activation. Before her current role, she headed the Strategy function for Mars Food, driving growth initiatives and long-term business transformation.

Drawing on her broad cross-industry background, Sara brings an holistic perspective on how innovation, strategic foresight, and consumer understanding can shape resilient and future-ready portfolios. At Mars, she champions the company’s commitment to quality ingredients, sustainability, and trust — key pillars in building the portfolio of tomorrow.

Ines Ashton is the Digital and AI Strategy Director at The Compleat Food Group, leading the company’s digital transformation across manufacturing, data, and AI. With over 15 years of experience spanning banking, publishing, oil, pharmaceuticals, and FMCG, she has previously driven large-scale analytics and AI programmes at Shell and Mars Inc. Ines is passionate about using data and technology to build smarter, more resilient businesses — and brings a people-first, practical approach to digital change. Outside of work, she’s an animal lover with two dogs, three cats, and a lively fishpond.

Experienced in manufacturing, R&D & Insights & Analytics in 2 different continents in F&B. Currently working globally for chocolate category & brand insights in Mondelez.

Himanshu Upreti is the Co-founder and CTO of Ai Palette, an AI-powered deep-tech startup founded in 2018 that enables global CPG brands to accelerate product innovation through its patented predictive Gen and Agentic AI technology.

Leading a team of over 50+ members, he scaled Ai Palette to 27 markets across six continents, serving clients such as Nestlé, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kellogg's, and ITC, before its acquisition by GlobalData Plc in 2025. The startup raised millions in funding from global investors, including the Singapore Government, Pi Ventures, and Exfinity Ventures.

Himanshu was included in the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list; his work has been featured in CNBC and TechCrunch. His startup has won global accolades, including Top 10 Global Food & Retail Tech Startup (Switzerland) & Top 50 Nasscom Emerge Awards (India)

Before founding Ai Palette, Himanshu worked at Visa Data Labs, where he filed 2 trade secrets and played a major role in restructuring Visa's tech stack. He is an IIT graduate with bachelors in Mathematics and Computing

Jon Walsh co-founded Bio&Me in 2019 alongside world-leading gut health specialist Dr Megan Rossi, also known as The Gut Health Doctor. With over 30 years’ experience in commercial and marketing roles, Jon has worked on some of the UK’s most iconic FMCG brands, including global names at Procter & Gamble and Nestlé.

Bio&Me is the UK’s first evidence-based gut health food brand, bringing clarity and credibility to the world of gut health. The Chester-based business is the fastest-growing gut health brand in the country, with retail sales of over £20 million. Its award-winning range of gut-loving granolas, porridges, mueslis, kefir live yoghurts and drinks, and oat bars are now listed in major retailers including Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. The business has earned multiple accolades, from Great Taste Awards to the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, as well as being a multi-time finalist at The Grocer Gold Awards.

For those early birds, you can also hear Jon on BBC Radio 5 Live’s “Wake up to Money” as one of the show’s talking heads every now and then, where he shares business insights and perspectives from the front line of food and drink.

Bryan Towell is the Procurement Director at AB World Foods, a leader in World Cuisine. Bryan heads Procurement & ESG agendas at AB World Foods, sourcing complex ingredients from 6 of 7 continents while at the same time ensuring compliance with an increasing legislative environment and leading Beyond Compliance projects to improve farmer livelihoods and increase supply chain climate resilience. Bryan has an extensive background leading end-to-end Supply Chain and Operations across FMCG, Food & Beverage and Automotive sectors.

Sarah is a practising functional nutritionist at The Lanserhof Clinic and Head of Nutrition at Zooki. She holds undergraduate and postgraduate science degrees from the University of Cambridge, Diplomas from IoN and CISN and a Metcalf Fellowship from McGill University.

Her most recent published papers explored the links between rosacea, the microbiome and gut health.

Ben is Co-founder and chef of Sorted Food. Built on 28+ years of friendship, it’s now a global foodie community that’s attracted over 1.3 billion video views on YouTube alone. Actively and authentically contributing to a conversation around the future of our food.

On screen, providing a cross between entertainment, inspiration and 'accidental' education… together Sorted Food explores and discusses some of the best food, drink, travel and associated trends out there. All with, and on behalf of, their highly engaged community.

Off screen, Ben is a regular public speaker, has consulted for leading food brands and 10 Downing Street… tackling the likes of food trends, shifting food behaviours, sourcing intelligent and real consumer insights and sharing the opinions of an online generation around sustainability.

Benefiting from over 25 years of experience in food and textiles, Lee is a trusted expert in sustainability, responsible business, and organic trade who manages a range of trade and regulatory projects for Soil Association Certification - the UK's biggest organic certifier. By helping hundreds of businesses build capability in marketing, communications, supply chain, and navigate the changing regulatory landscape, Lee is part of a team at Soil Association Certification that actively supports the growth of an organic market, now worth over £3 Billion a year.

Amber is the Head of Operations and Sustainability at Unrooted Drinks, creators of sustainable, healthy, and functional drinks. She is experienced in scaling small businesses sustainably, including finding new routes to market, launching new products, B-corp certifications, and life cycle analysis. Sustainable growth cannot be done without fully understanding the operations of a company. Driven by her love of nature and desire to scale businesses with purpose, Amber works hard to make Unrooted Drinks a leader in sustainable operations.

Jason Archie-Acheampong currently leads sustainable sourcing for coffee and cocoa at the Fairtrade Foundation . His career spans commercial roles across agricultural value chains in the private and development sectors, where he has successfully driven international trade and spearheaded innovative supply chain initiatives. Holding a PhD from Alliance Manchester Business School, his research on sustainability and labor standards in SMEs has been published in leading international journals. Jason’s expertise lies in commercial trade, sustainable sourcing, and fostering partnerships that create value for both producers and global markets.

Dr Caitlin Hall (RD, PhD) is Head of Research at gut microbiome company, myota. She completed her PhD in neurosciences and gut microbiology (gut-brain axis) at the University of Queensland and spent two years as a visiting researcher at King's College London. Her research focuses on how the gut microbiome can influence brain network dynamics related to anxiety and depression. More recently, her research at myota studies how prebiotic fibres can impact metabolic health, inflammatory biomarkers, cognitive function, and mood by modulating the environment within the gut (and its microbiota). Caitlin is also a Registered Dietitian, with a specialist interest in the gut-brain axis, longevity, and female health.

Aoife is an Analyst at GlobalData Strategic Intelligence, with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford. She is a specialist in sustainability, supply chain disruption, and decarbonization throughout the consumer value chain. Aoife has recently written reports on Deforestation Risk and Net Zero Strategies in the Agriculture section, and she enjoys birdwatching.

Freddie Ugo is Co-founder and Head of Brand at Beyond Belief Brewing Co, a challenger beer brand turning surplus fresh pasta and bakery food waste into sustainable craft beer. As the 4th generation of the Ugo family behind Dell’Ugo, Freddie brings a legacy of food innovation into the drinks space. With a background in FMCG decarbonisation, he leads on brand strategy and environmental standards, driving Beyond Belief Brewing Co’s mission to bring circular innovation to the alcohol category. He is currently studying for an MSc in Conservation Science, using insights from his academic work to reinforce and evolve the brand’s sustainability credentials.

Versatile project consultant currently working in advertising standards and ad self-regulation and compliance with legal and sector-related rules. With an academic background in sociology and anthropology, he joined EASA in 2019 and is the main contact point for the coordination between advertising self-regulatory organisations in Europe.

Born and raised in Milan, Daniele earned a degree in Economics with honors from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2002, he has lived in London, where he spent ten years at Goldman Sachs, working in private equity and later leading the bank’s internal hedge fund.

After launching his own business and managing his hedge fund, Benros Capital, Daniele went on to head the European operations of Halcyon Asset Management. He has been an angel investor for many years, primarily focused on companies in the technology and consumer goods sectors.

This passion led him to join forces with his childhood friend Luca Travaglini to create Planet Farms, with the goal of revolutionizing traditional agriculture through a highly technological and sustainable vertical farming system. Under his leadership, Planet Farms has grown rapidly, becoming a leading player in the vertical farming sector in Europe.

Florencia is specialized in human nutrition with a Master of Science in Health Food Innovation Management from Maastricht University. She began her career as an independent consultant in the field of nutrition and later held the position of Insights & Innovation Manager at Innova Market Insights. Over the past six years, Florencia has been with Rousselot, where she has taken on roles in market analysis, global business development, and currently serves as Global Marketing Manager. In this role, she focuses on identifying scientifically validated market opportunities aligned with emerging trends, supporting Rousselot’s customers with strategic insights and innovation.

After her PhD in Biochemistry, An Maris spent over 10 years in various Business Development roles across the Food & Pharma industries. Three years ago, she heeded the call of her scientific roots and joined Rousselot in a role where she could leverage her expertise in proteins together with her business development acumen. As Business Development Manager for the Health & Nutrition segment, An is focused on implementing a next-gen collagen peptides platform across the EMEA market, driving growth and innovation in the health and nutrition sector.

Philip has 18 years of consumer goods strategy and insights experience. Specializing in food and beverages, he has advised many of the world's largest FMCG companies on market strategy, new market entry, portfolio strategy, channel strategy, pricing, and consumer trends. 

He now leads GlobalData's Ai Palette innovation platform, which uses 61 billion data points to help innovation teams understand emerging ingredients trends in real-time, develop new product concepts in minutes, and launch innovations in record time. 

He started his career at Accenture, before moving to Zenith where he was a board director. He joined GlobalData in 2016 to lead its consumer advisory practice and has led more than 200 strategy projects across 22 countries for food and beverage companies, suppliers, and investors. He now lives and works in Dubai, UAE. 

Philip holds an MBA with Distinction from the University of Bath and MEng from the University of Nottingham.

Joanna has spent the past three years immersed in food sustainability, helping global businesses design and deliver ambitious decarbonisation pathways. With a background in large-scale transformation programmes across FTSE100 companies, she brings over eight years of experience driving change at scale.Passionate about turning sustainability goals into action, Joanna believes the key ingredients for success are education and upskilling, making smart use of data, and ensuring every employee feels part of the journey. Her work blends strategic vision with practical delivery, helping organisations not only reduce their footprint but also create momentum and excitement along the way.

As a seasoned commercial marketing leader at TraceGains, Bal brings extensive experience blending technology and supply-chain dynamics to drive growth in the food & beverage sector. He works with brands across the industry to showcase digital transformation initiatives and supplier engagement frameworks that connect manufacturers and suppliers through data-driven collaboration, helping global brands embrace digitalisation to accelerate innovation, compliance, and growth.

Lewis is the Lead Supplier Quality Manager for Europe at Baker & Baker. He oversees the team responsible for TraceGains and leads the approval and ongoing governance of all raw material, packaging, and co-manufacturing suppliers across the European network. With more than twelve years of experience in the food industry, he is a strong advocate for robust food safety culture, and the critical role digitalisation plays in advancing it.

Todd holds an MBA from the University of Manitoba. His career in brand and innovation has included living in Toronto, Geneva, Singapore and Hong Kong working with research giants Nielsen and YouGov and more recently C&C Group on the producer side. Todd joined the Ai Palette- Globaldata team in early 2025

His client work has included engagements with Starbucks, Heineken, Pernod Ricard, Dannon, Lidl, Ferrero, Disney, HSBC and The British Olympic Association