Panel announcement

What are some of the most exciting innovators doing to get more beans on menus, in products and on shelves? We have some inspirational ideas to share with you. The challenge of doubling dry bean consumption is going to take all of us. We have gathered a selection of some incredible innovators to share with you, the pledge they have taken to do this work.

Dr. Juan Salinas, founder of Perfect Life Nutrition and creator of PNUFF snacks will discuss his experience creating a delicious and healthy snack made with navy beans and currently selling out on shelves and through online sales.

Chef Ali Honour is a Cork, Ireland based Chef with 30 years of professional experience on the Irish food scene. Through her work as a spokesperson and advocate Ali makes it her mission to transform the culinary landscape by promoting sustainable, zero-waste, nutritious, and delicious food choices. She is also part of the Chef’s Manifesto and encourages more bean based dishes on menus.

Maggie Sadowsky is the President and Owner of 8 Track Foods and recognized thought leader in Natural Foods and a subject matter expert in plant proteins. She is a Certified Food Scientist (CFS) from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and holds advisory positions with the Good Food Institute (GFI) and US Dry Bean Council (USDBC). She has influenced and launched over 100 successful products in the food industry.

Amelia Christie Miller founded Bold Bean Co. in 2021, a brand “on a mission to make you obsessed with beans, by giving you the best of beans”. Bold Bean Co sells expertly sourced and slowly cooked heirloom beans, presented in a beautiful glass jar. Within one year they have found themselves in stores like Waitrose, Selfridges and Planet Organic and she has been interviewed on The Food Program on BBC Radio 4.

Michelle Villaroel is the Food Science Team Leader at NotCo, A Santiago, Chile based company where we dedicated to do something that no one has done yet: transform the food industry using artificial intelligence, with a multidisciplinary team of scientists, chefs, engineers, nutritionists, and many more. Notco has launched several new plant protein products all over the Americas.

Jose Barrios Turk is USDBC’s Representative for South America, creating new export opportunities for U.S. dry beans. He also recently launched YoLo, a bean based crunchy snack coated in organic, vegan chocolate and available in a variety of flavors like lemon, tajin, chocolate barbeque.

In addition to hearing from our incredible speakers, attendees will also have an opportunity to hold business meetings with interested sellers and buyers and network with others in the industry.

Don’t wait. Register now at BeanCon24.com and join us in Cancun, Mexico