Editor’s Note

The Age of Influence

JOANIE SPENCER Editor-in-Chief | joanie@avantfoodmedia.com I just turned 50. While I still go running every day, I also have quite a collection of reading glasses. I may not be able to convince my kid that I’m cool, but I do know something about influence.

Influencers tap into narratives and pass them on. Their peers listen, but what if there’s more to it than that?

Their power impacts how brands go to market, and it gets bigger and more meaningful every day. Digital and direct-to-consumer platforms are smashing constraints and giving people an even bigger voice. Yes, consumers are influencing you, too.

It’s also changing how emerging brands interact with parent companies and investors. Our industry is currently a hotspot for venture capital and private equity, and startups are seeking capital from companies with values that align with their own. Strategic partners have serious influence on the cash flow.

Inside the bakeries, those responsible for capital investments are talking to experts inside — and outside — their facilities. Every baker has a story to tell, and those narratives are influencing purchasing decisions.

You’ll see this throughout the 2022 New Products Annual. It’s full of people, companies and brands that are tapping into consumer trends and creating major impacts of their own. I think that’s pretty cool … even if my kid doesn’t think I am.