Making the grade

by Paul Mcginnis — Vice President, Marketing, Ecolab Food Safety Specialties

I remember it like it was yesterday… Derek, my best friend in 7th grade, ducked down in the back seat of the school bus and said “Cover me!” I turned around to…

Claiming the benefits of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010

by Richard Yelton — Principal, Windham Brannon, P.C.

As many restaurant franchisees are currently contemplating the need to make capital improvements to their restaurants, the recently enacted Small Business Jobs…

Stay awake, stay uncomfortable, stay kind

by Joni Doolin — CEO, People Report

We are living in a time of meta-shift. Pick your favorite historian, economist, futuris, or business sage - if you listen closely they are all telling us the…

Taking control of who has what

Do you have control of your restaurant? By that I mean everyone who has keys to the building, and storage areas, codes to the POS system, and combinations to…

How company culture drives organic food innovation

by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

Can new food product innovation be driven through changing the corporate culture?

Food innovation idea generation

by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

How do you include “Ideation” within the Food Innovation Process? Innovative ideas can have many sources. According to The Innovator’s Toolkit (Harvard…

Voice Lessons for QSRs

by Lori Walderich — CMO, Top That! Pizza

John Gilbert reigned as the highest-paid matinee idol of the Silent Screen. Audiences thrilled to his on-screen lovemaking with off-screen lover Greta Garbo.

Setting boundaries for social networking in the workplace

by Carolyn Richmond — Partner, Fox Rothschild

With each passing day, social networking becomes further ingrained in our personal and work lives. The benefits of social networking in the workplace can be…

Coffee innovation from Starbucks

by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

Starbucks Via Ready Brew Coffee gets 5 stars for represent “incremental innovation."

An In(-And-Out)-Convenience Truth

by Lori Walderich — CMO, Top That! Pizza

A friend recently moved from Tulsa to Minneapolis. Since then, she has not ceased to lament the fact that Minnesota does not have QuikTrip stores. Not a one.

All this change is driving me crazy!

by Paul Mcginnis — Vice President, Marketing, Ecolab Food Safety Specialties

I was sure it would be a short, 15-minute lesson about e-mail to my 62-year old father. Tell him the basics, have him create and respond to an e-mail and then…

Tea innovation in the QSR industry

by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

Wy Livingston, president of Wystone's World Tea Holdings, LLC, discusses the latest trends in the tea industry.

A sea change

by Kim Frankovich — VP of Sustainability, Solo Cup Company

On one day in 2008, more than a half-million volunteers in 100 countries collected 11.4 million items of trash along the world’s waterways. What were the top…

Food Innovation Lessons from Droid Cell Phone Manufacturer

by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

Taking risks and being humble enough to ask others for help pays off.

Champions of breakfast

by Lori Walderich — CMO, Top That! Pizza

Breakfast is my favorite meal. Well, one of them, anyhow. It definitely ranks up there with lunch and dinner. But this wasn’t always so.

Planning store layouts? Consider the recycling and composting trend

by Kim Frankovich — VP of Sustainability, Solo Cup Company

As I travel the country, I see more and more operators, universities, airports and hotels collecting recyclables and compostables. If you’re planning new…

Are we missing something?

by Janet Eden-Harris — CMO & SVP Strategy, Market Force

Recently Market Force ran a series of studies with over 4,00 consumers to investigate their attitudes and behaviors around fast casual and family restaurants…

Most Toilets Flush in E Flat

by Paul Mcginnis — Vice President, Marketing, Ecolab Food Safety Specialties

This was the statement my son greeted me with as I came home from work one Friday afternoon. Most dads would expect a familiar word like “Hello” or the ever…

Driving innovation through international inspiration

by Darrel Suderman — President, Food Technical Consulting

Have you ever felt you have depleted your creativity of new food and beverage product ideas? Or your performance review is coming up in 6 months, and you’re…

The Popeye Principle (or, "I am what I am.")

by Lori Walderich — CMO, Top That! Pizza

After a long day of foul weather and flight delays, the gate agent for a major airline is rebooking passengers in a seemingly endless line.