The inaugural Go2MarketEdge conference lived up to its promise of being unlike any event the food-away-from-home business had seen before.
By design, it was an immersive experience. Attendees visited several of the facilities that have turned San Francisco into the new frontier of B2B technology—places like the mock grocery store Instacart uses to test its latest advances for the food business, and Shack 15, where tech innovators and potential backers come together over a glass of wine.
The marketing and sales executives in attendance were introduced to a host of emerging digital capabilities aimed at their fields, usually by the serial tech innovators who brainstormed the advances. Many of the attendees acknowledged they would be unaware otherwise of such companies as Gong, Gumloop, Deel, and Kaltura.
Known suppliers like Tastewise and Cut+Dry, which joined IFMA The Food Away from Home Association in hosting the event, had the chance to delve more fully into the capabilities of their products and services.
The multi-site nature of the event had the unexpected benefit of fostering more networking than an event usually facilitates. Bus rides to and from the facilities turned into meet and greets; by the end of the conference, few attendees were strangers to one another.
Those informal times in transit also afforded a chance to delve into what the attendees had seen and heard. Here are some of the lessons they discussed.
Don’t panic if you just learned AI isn’t a steak sauce.
Although Go2MarketEdge covered a number of technologies affecting the food-away-from-home business, the revolutionary potential of artificial intelligence made that topic a major focus of the event.
Some of its advanced capabilities, like analyzing salespersons’ telephone calls to pinpoint what approaches tend to close deals, were indeed discussed and demonstrated. But speakers repeatedly assured attendees that unfamiliarity with the technology shouldn’t make them feel they’re already at a disadvantage.
It may have been the most-quoted comment of the conference.
Horse or donkey—which do you need to be?
A close second was likely the tech advice given by Mitin Rathod, Global Customer Success Director for Sentient Flavors & Extracts: “You need to choose whether you’re a horse or a donkey.”
He explained that some tech adapters see a major advantage in being among the first to embrace a new capability or digital tool—the horses in his metaphor. They charge ahead to realize the promise as quickly as they can, and that doesn’t mean they’re reckless. They’re just less risk averse and more appreciative of early adoption’s benefits.
The alternative is taking a more cautious, sure-footed approach, with the benefits carefully weighed and the potential detriments fully addressed. It’s less a matter of plunging into a new technology commitment than dipping your way into it.
Rathod neither championed nor denigrated either approach. It’s a choice that needs to be made based on a company’s needs and culture, he indicated.
Remember that AI can be wrong, and often is
During his keynote presentation, Jon Miller inadvertently proved an assertion made by a number of speakers: AI is still very fallible. Miller posted an AI-generated picture, a poorly composed shot of a bare foot on beach sand, to illustrate how the technology’s output can lack warmth and nuance. The image looked like it was taken from a medical textbook, not someone’s vacation pictures.
And look, said Miller: The foot has more than five toes.
Be particularly suspicious of AI-drafted menu recommendations, said Megan Lynberg, VP of Sales for the foodservice researcher Datassential. She recounted how the technology had flagged cottage cheese as an item that more restaurants should add to their menus, based on the demand it found. But further investigation revealed that few diners actually wanted more opportunities to indulge in a dairy item usually associated with dieting. “The indication is not pointing there,” Lynberg said. “It does not make sense.”
The biggest current benefit of AI may be saving time
Users of AI affirmed that the technology is appreciably benefiting their operations, particularly by saving time. Employees of Nestle Professional Solutions (NPS), the food giant’s foodservice division, save an average of 45 minutes per week from their use of AI, said Fleur Veldhoven, NPS’s VP of Marketing-Culinary.
The development of a product usually begins with collecting data and research on consumer preferences, Veldhoven explained. That process can be a lengthy one. But with AI, it can be done literally in minutes.
“I can comfortably say our AI is cutting back the process by weeks,” agreed Amy Devitt, Senior Activation Market Manager for the ingredient and flavorings company Kerry Group.
How a newbie should get started with AI
“The best time to start was yesterday,” said Nickhil Tekwani, McDonald’s Manager of General AI/Machine Language Engineering. “The second-best time is today.
“You don’t need to start with hundreds of thousands [of prompts] on the first day,” he continued. “Be okay with starting small.”
Several speakers recommended using AI for calculation tasks that are currently done manually, like looking at the popularity of a dish or an ingredient. Then compare the results with what would have been generated by a human, looking in particular at the time requirements.
AI apps don’t vary much, at least right now
The question arose several times during Go2MarketEdge about what AI engine a food-away-from-home professional should use. Attendees were assured they won’t find dramatic differences between the options.
“They’re all the same,” said Aaron Goldsmid, GM and Head of Product for Deel, a high-tech tool for recruiting and onboarding employees.
Other presenters noted slight variations, such as one program being better at penning reports, or another doing a better job at gathering information from across the web-verse. They suggested trial-and-error as the best method to find the most suitable option.
AI’s biggest shortcoming is its lack of heart
As fantastic as AI may prove to be, it has one big weakness: The technology can neither simulate nor foster human emotion. And that could pose a problem for brand marketers who use it, several presenters agreed.
“AI today does not today have the ability to express brand personality,” said Veldhoven.
In sales, “There’s no replacement for a partnership, of someone standing next to you and saying, 'This is awesome,’” said Miller.
The next Go2MarketEdge conference is scheduled for August 4-6, 2026.