Seenergy Foods Takes the Stage with Keynote at SIAL Paris 2026, Challenging Conventional Thinking on Food Innovation

Seenergy Foods’ Ashley Ebner delivered “The Next Chapter of Food” keynote at SIAL Paris 2026, exploring food innovation and evolving consumer demand.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Seenergy Foods took the stage at SIAL Paris 2026 to challenge how the food industry thinks about innovation, making the case that the next generation of food products may not require entirely new ingredients, but a new way of thinking about the ones consumers already know.

In a keynote titled “The Next Chapter of Food: How Changing Lifestyles Are Reshaping Consumer Demand,” Ashley Ebner, Senior Director, Commercial Strategy & Product Innovation at Seenergy Foods, explored how changing consumer habits are creating new opportunities for the food industry. Presented on October 18 on the SIAL Talks stage, the session examined how GLP-1 medications, growing interest in longevity and smaller appetites are reshaping expectations around food.

As consumers eat less, every portion has to work harder. Protein, fibre, flavour and satisfaction are becoming increasingly important, creating an opportunity for food companies to rethink how familiar ingredients are developed, positioned and experienced.

“Beans have everything people are asking for, but they’ve historically been seen as unglamorous — dependable, nutritious, but rarely exciting,” said Ebner. “What if we changed that? Picture a warm cup of beans in a craveable sauce, finished with crunch. The ingredient stays the same, but the experience feels entirely different.”

**Rethinking Familiar Ingredients to Create New Demand**

Ebner argued that innovation is not always about inventing something new. Sometimes, it starts with changing how people perceive what already exists.

Consider kidney beans. Position them as a “vegan power bowl,” and the product may appeal to a specific audience. Present those same beans as a “rich, hearty chili,” and the appeal can extend to a much broader group of consumers. The ingredient remains unchanged, yet the way it is framed can influence how consumers respond to it.

For Seenergy Foods, this illustrates a broader opportunity for the food industry: combining ingredient expertise with a deeper understanding of consumer behaviour to develop products that deliver on nutrition without compromising on taste, convenience or appeal.

“Lead with what people want to eat, then let the nutrition come through naturally,” said Ebner. “A food can be nutritionally impressive, but if no one wants to eat it, that value never reaches anyone. The next chapter of food won’t come solely from inventing new ingredients. It will also come from seeing familiar ones differently – and making them more relevant to how people want to eat today.”

As consumer expectations evolve, food companies have an opportunity to look beyond traditional product categories and reconsider how ingredients can meet emerging needs. For Seenergy Foods, the future of food innovation lies not only in what goes into a product, but also in how it fits into consumers’ lives and what makes them want to eat it.

**About Seenergy Foods**
Seenergy Foods is a family-owned North American food manufacturer with more than 30 years of experience producing ready-to-eat individually quick frozen (IQF) beans, lentils, grains, rice, pasta and seasoned blends. With a portfolio of more than 200 products and two North American manufacturing facilities, Seenergy combines deep ingredient expertise with a focus on product innovation to help food brands, retailers and foodservice businesses respond to evolving consumer preferences and emerging market opportunities.

Learn more at https://www.seenergyfoods.com/.

Seenergy Press
Seenergy Foods
+1 905-660-0041
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn

Media gallery