After attending the annual Institute of Food Technologist Convention last month, I identified a few trends and innovations in the food industry. This year, I saw “clean label” moving towards “authenticity”, and “vegan alternatives” driven by “plant based proteins”.

While thinking about all these new trends, I started wondering, who are the innovators, and, am I an innovator? I have worked at both big companies and small companies with all types of people and concluded: Everyone is an...