The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) will hold its 2019 IFT Annual Event and Food Expo June 2–5 in New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. More than 17,000 attendees from around the globe are expected, including food technologists, R&D professionals, equipment manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, buyers, policy makers, scientists and innovators in the food and beverage industry.

IFT19 is where the most talented and creative minds in the science of food come together to collaborate, learn, network and be inspired. We’ll be there. Will you? Here’s a preview of what you can expect.

Move over corn flakes! Even though cereal remains the top breakfast food, sales revenue has seen a steady decline in recent years. As consumers move toward healthier lifestyles, they’re taking note of the labels on many of the most popular breakfast cereals and realizing just how much added sugar and empty calories they contain.

What’s taking the place of cereal at the breakfast table and on the go?

School lunches have been criticized for decades over their reputation for lackluster flavor and questionable nutrition. Cold chicken nuggets and limp pizza rectangles, anyone?

The rise of high-protein diets and consumers’ perceptions that they need more protein is backed by science, with many studies indicating that a high-protein diet that contains branched chain amino acids can play a major role in weight loss and metabolic health.

It’s easier than ever for food and beverage manufacturers to leverage the power of branched chain amino acids in their formulations to appeal to those embracing the clean label movement, fitness enthusiasts and others who are concerned with promoting health.

In today’s health-conscious society, one of the greatest influences on consumer buying decisions is arguably a food product’s label. When shopping for a new product, more than half of U.S. consumers say they read the ingredient list. The presence of artificial fillers and preservatives along with chemically modified ingredients leads many to reach for another product containing only familiar, natural ingredients.

The popularity of Greek yogurt has skyrocketed in the United States from a fledgling 1% market share in 2007 to more than 50% a little more than a decade later. What’s more, leading market researchers anticipate a steady increase in sales for Greek yogurt through 2021 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.85%.

As part of the cruelty-free movement, consumers are increasingly demanding cage-free eggs from producers. These preferences don’t merely apply to whole eggs purchased for personal use at home but for eggs used in manufactured food products as well.

These days, the terms “clean label” and “label transparency” are everywhere. Both are major trends in the food and beverage industry, and both are in high demand by consumers. Though hotly debated among food scientists, the Clean Label Project has made consumers more aware of what should be on ingredient lists and, just as importantly, what shouldn’t.

Arguably, nothing has dominated the food industry more than clean label initiatives in recent years. Consumers are driving the trend, with 53% of adults saying they’re purchasing more natural foods for their families.

Because of the availability of online resources, consumers can research product claims and ingredients like never before, and they want to know more than what is or isn’t in a product. They also want to know where ingredients came from, how a product was produced, whether animals were harmed in the making, and the impact on the environment.