Unlock the Future of Agrifood Innovation at The DIAL Ventures Innovation Studio
🌱 What: Future of Agrifood - Turning Insight into Impact for Winning Value Propositions
📅 When: October 15–16, 2025
👥 Who: Agrifood business leaders who will benefit from development in customer discovery and the innovation process.
📍 Where: Beck Agricultural Center, 4550 US 52 West, West Lafayette, IN 47906 (5 miles NW of the Purdue's campus)
💵 Price: $1,250
Program Overview
The Future of Agrifood: Turning Insight Into Impact for Winning Value Propositions is an invite-only, high-impact innovation studio workshop that brings together leaders from across the food and agriculture value chain to turn insights into action. Featuring a keynote from one of the agrifood sector’s most respected voices — unveiling the nine consumer-driven forces reshaping food demand — and panelists from global leaders like PepsiCo and Mars Wrigley, the workshop is designed to give participants clarity on where the market is heading and how to respond. Through interactive sessions, cross-sector collaboration with peers, Purdue faculty, and DIAL Ventures faculty, and practical tools, attendees will leave with innovation strategies they can immediately apply to reduce risk, accelerate growth, and capture opportunities in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
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Speakers
- Sylvain Charlebois, Author, Professor, Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University
- Patricia Ouimet, Global Senior Director, Agriculture Sciences, PepsiCo
- Greg Hocking, VP Global R&D New Innovation Territories, Mars Wrigley
- Liza Larson, External Innovation Director, Rich Products Corporation
- Henrique Marangoni, Sr. Director - Procurement & Operations, Conagra Brands
- Jack Hillegonds, Business Director, Belstra Milling Company
- Bryan Fischer, Co-Owner, Fischer Seeds/Fischer Food Grade
- Matt Danner, Owner/Operator, Templeton Family Farms
- Jake Smoker, Owner/Operator, The Smoker Farm
Attendees Across The Value Chain
Program Agenda
October 15 - Day 1
12:00–1:00 pm — Light lunch available
1:00–1:15 pm — Welcome and expectations for the workshop
1:15–2:15 pm — Keynote: Future Food Consumer — Dr. Sylvain Charlebois
2:15–2:30 pm — Break
2:30–3:30 pm — Panel with food companies
3:30–5:30 pm — Discovery deep dive with panelists
5:30–6:30 pm — Networking reception and DIAL Ventures Portfolio Company Showcase
6:30 pm — Adjourn to dinner hosted by DIAL Ventures
October 16 - Day 2
7:15–8:00 am — Breakfast
8:00–8:45 am — Keynote: Drivers of Change with Dr. Allan Gray
8:45–9:00 am — Break
9:00–10:00 am — Panel with farmers
10:00 am–12:00 pm — Discovery deep dive with panelists
12:00–1:00 pm — Working lunch: The DIAL Ventures Process with Dr. Allan Gray
1:00 pm — Adjourn
Contact Donna Steele at steeledl@purdue.edu for more information.
Key Benefits:
- Gain a competitive advantage — multiple strategy development sessions for your role in the value chain, resulting in actionable business opportunities for you and your team.
- Practical learning and ROI — key learnings in cutting-edge innovation processes and customer value frameworks your organization can implement today.
- Leading experts and panelists — learn directly from executives at companies like PepsiCo, Mars Wrigley, and Conagra, along with leading protein and crop producers, on how they’re adapting to change.
- Agrifood research insights — joint working sessions analyzing key industry trends and translating them into practical applications for you and your company.
- Industry networking — unlike other events, your experience is curated specifically to meet and work with others in the agrifood value chain, through working sessions and casual conversations with your suppliers and customers.
Keynote Speaker
Professor, Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University
Sylvain Charlebois, known as ‘The Food Professor,’ is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, value chains, traceability, and food distribution. His research has shaped government policy, guided corporate strategy, and been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Economist, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, and The Toronto Star. He has published hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and authored eight books on global food systems.