IFT First 2025 is officially in the books!
Last week, from July 14 to 17, over 1,000 exhibitors from around the world, along with professionals, educators, regulators, and innovators from across the globe, descended upon Chicago for the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual IFT First show and expo.
Standing for Food Improved by Research, Science, and Technology, this annual event is the largest gathering of its kind and is widely considered the world’s premier exhibition of food science and technology.
This year was no exception, and as always, Edlong’s team was there in full force to show off a number of innovative profiles and cutting-edge flavor technologies.
We also take it as an opportunity to get a finger on the pulse of all aspects of the current state of the industry and where the future might take us.
Here are our top takeaways from IFT First 2025.
Takeaways from the IFT First Showroom Floor
#1 Better-For-You is the Name of the Game
This might not come as a surprise to anyone, but the focus on health, wellness, and better-for-you solutions has gone from a growing trend to the standard of doing business in 2025 and beyond.
Popular health-associated terms like “Organic”, “Clean”, and “Functional” were prominently printed on banners and booths from end to end of the sprawling showroom floor.
Yet, this year, there was a palpable shift in how companies were positioning the spotlight on better-for-you solutions and alternatives.
Where last year was the year of “all things functional”, and previous years, protein and plant-based took center stage, according to Angie Lantman, Edlong’s NA Applications Manager, it seems that all of these things have settled into the mainstream.
“In recent years, things like sugar reduction and plant-based foods saw a real upswing in their presence at the expo. Then of course you have also had companies looking to extract protein out of every food ingredient we can possibly think of. This year, I don’t want to say these things have plateaued, but rather have become steady and expected. In other words, we all know they’re here to stay.”
Director of Marketing at Edlong, Silvia Schnicker, echoes this saying, “I’ve seen a lot of companies promoting better-for-you ingredients like protein, fiber, and sweeteners , but the focus isn’t on how they’re reinventing the wheel, it’s more about the functionality and overall benefits of an ingredient than anything else.”
#2 Refinement over Innovation
Witnessing the latest wave of innovations and the potential paradigm shifts they bring has long been a hallmark of IFT First.
However, as alluded to in the previous takeaway, there was a near-universal sense that exhibitors were choosing to showcase more refined and complete products than groundbreaking innovations.
“This year, I feel a lot of companies are looking to showcase how their products have improved from past iterations. This isn’t to say that there aren’t plenty of impressive innovations on display, but more so that we aren’t seeing any industry-disrupting products like in years past,” says Schnicker, describing this sentiment.
Lantman adds, “Like I mentioned with protein developers. We’re accustomed to seeing all kinds of new and interesting sources of protein, processing methods, and so on, but this year it’s about how much better they’ve made it taste, the scale at which it can be mass-produced, etc.”
She continues, “It isn’t a bad thing, but it seems like this is a year where nobody’s really taking big risks with what they’re presenting.”
#3 Economy & Regulations Dictating Innovation
One can endlessly speculate on why many companies chose to “play it safe” this year.
It’s safe to say that global economic uncertainty and the rapidly shifting sands of U.S. food and beverage regulations may have played a significant role.
“It’s not a surprise that one of the biggest themes and conversations was all around natural color,” says Lantman.
She explains, “With all of the new regulations coming down, everybody wants to natural color solutions in place.”
In addition to colors, Schnicker noticed oil providers garnering a lot of attention this year. “Oil was having its day, for sure. Specifically, domestic oil producers and suppliers. I think it might have to do with developers looking to shore up their supply chains with potential volatility on the horizon.”
Companies offering healthier ingredients and better-for-you alternatives were also able to capitalize on the current regulatory environment, positioning themselves as long-term solutions for the future.
The View from Booth #S3073
Just as we’ve done for over a century, Edlong focused on innovative solutions for today’s challenges and for the road ahead. This ongoing commitment was the inspiration for this year’s theme: Smarter Flavors for a Healthier Future: A Journey in Dairy & Discovery.
IFT First 2025 allowed us to demonstrate once again why we’re the ultimate collaborative partner, helping companies navigate uncertainties with our truly innovative solutions and giving consumers what they crave.
“This year, even though the atmosphere of the show felt a little more subdued compared to recent years, the energy at our booth has been great,” says Schnicker. “In years past our booth is usually situated front and center, which is great for high volume traffic and maximizing the number of interactions. However, this year we made the strategic decision to place our booth in a less prominent location, and I think it’s safe to say it paid off.”
She continues, “While there may have been fewer total interactions, the number of purposeful connections and contacts we were able to make was fantastic. In fact, we had a very steady stream of people coming by, specifically looking for us, especially to learn more about our how our comprehensive and versatile flavor solutions could help them overcome their technical taste challenges.”
Edlong’s masking and other state-of-the-art solutions, such as sodium enhancement and mouthwatering technologies, were on full display in our delicious demos.
While they were all hits with attendees, Lantman says there was one that was clearly the star of the booth, “The Sweet Brown Brulee Cloud Topping, was a showstopper for sure. From Day 1 of the show, people were impressed with everything from the presentation to the taste of this demo.”
While known as the global leader in “everything dairy can be”, this expo was a unique opportunity to introduce potential customers to our equally authentic and impressive line of Sweet Brown flavor profiles.
“It’s not a surprise that most people weren’t intentionally coming to us for our sweet brown flavors. However, I do think once they tried the Sweet Brown Brulee Cloud Topping and the Plant-based Irish Cream Cold Brew Creamer, they got a true taste of how good our sweet brown flavors are, and how they can work as part of a complete functional flavor solution.”
Although IFT First 2025 may be in the rearview mirror, we’re excited to keep the conversations and innovations going!
Missed us at IFT First? We’d love to guide you on your journey in dairy & discovery for your next project. Reach out to our team today so we can get started working on your next innovation right away.
Topics: Better For YouClean labelDairy flavorsDairy-freeEdlong in the NewsHealthy ReductionInnovationPlant-BasedSweet dairy flavorsSweet SpotValue-Driven
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