Quirk's Chicago: How Perdue and PepsiCo are navigating the impact of GLP-1s

Curion will lead a dynamic session featuring leaders from Perdue Farms and PepsiCo who will offer unique consumer insights and sensory product testing perspectives. We’ll discuss how GLP-1s are impacting consumption habits, daily rituals and nutrition needs and what it all means for brands who must innovate to stay relevant with GLP-1 users.

1. Evolve or get left behind: Research teams and brand leaders must thoughtfully adapt their insights and innovation strategies to keep pace with evolving consumer realities.
2. The GLP-1 effect: Functional ingredients, portion sizes, texture and more are key considerations when developing foods to meet GLP-1 users’ needs.
3. Keep it real: The product and consumer research approaches that can help brands understand GLP-1 consumers’ preferences and behaviors, ensuring honest feedback.

Ben Baudler is a Senior Manager of Consumer Insights at Perdue Farms with nearly a decade of experience across the insights and CPG landscape. His career includes roles at Kraft Heinz and SPINS, built on an early foundation as a registered dietitian with Hy‑Vee. Ben specializes in visual storytelling that transforms data into clear, actionable insights that motivate strategic decisions. He is particularly passionate about integrating AI into the insights function and helping teams adopt new tools that deepen consumer understanding and empathy.

Rachel Hansen is a Principal Consumer Scientist at PepsiCo, responsible for leading consumer understanding within early‑stage innovation. Her focus is on identifying emerging behaviors, cultural shifts, and unmet needs and ensuring those insights shape strategy before solutions are locked in. With over a decade of experience across global CPG brands, including Kraft Heinz, she draws on formal training in food and sensory science (BS, Penn State; MS, University of Tennessee) to inform how she understands people and food experiences.

Richard Heath is a commercially minded research and innovation leader and Managing Director at Blue Yonder, a Curion company. With over 20 years’ experience delivering insight‑driven strategies for global brands, he partners with senior leaders to drive growth and champion innovative methodologies that help organisations stay ahead.

Amanda has more than 20 years of market research experience spanning industries including CPG food and drink, alcoholic beverages, foodservice and flavors and ingredients. Prior to joining Curion, Amanda held consumer insights and strategy roles on both the client and agency sides working on full lifecycle qualitative and quantitative studies. Her insights have appeared in top publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

GLP-1 medications are reshaping how consumers eat, shop, and experience products. And the industry is still catching up.

Curion is asking you: what do you need to know about GLP-1 users?

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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