CCD Innovation welcomes back food trend expert Kar

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Nov. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CCD Innovation has named Kara Nielsen as Vice President, Trends & Marketing. She will lead the strategic food and beverage innovation agency’s cornerstone culinary trend practice and oversee marketing outreach. She joins CCD Innovation’s leadership team, taking a key role in strategic initiatives and developing intellectual property. Nielsen previously served as the agency’s Trendologist from 2006 to 2013.

“CCD Innovation is thrilled to have whisked Kara Nielsen back into the fold,” said Dore Hainer, CEO. “Kara possesses an unparalleled bounty of food trend knowledge and has a superior talent for connecting the dots between culinary trends and world-class product development. Kara’s return provides our clients a tremendous advantage in gaining critical strategic insights into the ever-evolving food landscape. We are beyond excited about the impact this will have on bringing our clients’ culinary innovations to market.”

After years mastering CCD Innovation’s proprietary art of Trend Mapping®, Nielsen expanded her expertise at numerous food industry consultancies. She served as Culinary Director at Sterling-Rice Group, a strategic innovation agency in Boulder, Colorado, where she led culinary innovation activities and created trend forecasts and analysis tools. At CEB Iconoculture Consumer Insights, she gained experience using trend methodologies based on consumer values and societal forces. Recently, she was Sales & Engagement Manager at Innova Market Insights, sharing data-driven, global food and beverage trend insights.

Ms. Nielsen is a well-established thought leader and communicator, with a long track record producing trend content to educate, inspire and drive business growth. She has written and edited syndicated market research reports, led webinars, and frequently speaks on trends at industry events and for the media.

Ms. Nielsen’s unique talent is placing food trends in a larger societal, cultural context, thanks to her graduate work in Gastronomy at Boston University and years working in restaurant kitchens and dining rooms. She discovered the joy of culinary culture while living in France as a student and deepened her knowledge managing food education programs, including at Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts in Napa. Her curiosity and joie de vivre in all things food add dimension and zest to her trend work.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...bd03c2cfd6

About CCD Innovation: Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, a home of cutting-edge trends, CCD Innovation is a strategic food and beverage innovation agency that blends culinary creativity with strategic marketing expertise. Our strength in identifying the latest food trends, from both culinary and consumer-behavior perspectives, makes us uniquely qualified to help our clients create food product solutions that satisfy consumer expectations. For more information, visit www.ccdinnovation.com and follow @CCDBites on Twitter.

Karoline Zacharer kzacharer@ccdinnovation.com 415-693-8900, x 133