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 innovator – the key is curiosity.

Curiosity is the starting point to innovation. One of food industry’s top scientists, Dr. Charles Kolar, usually will say, during a conversation, the word “Question”, and then ask a very, simple open ended question. Dr. Kolar is a Ph.D. Food Scientist and knows quite a lot about food science. His simple “Question” has taught me that curiosity can help draw in your audience, clarify the subject, and possibly reframe the topic. The discussion can now lead to new solutions and ideas – innovation!!

No matter your role, sales, marketing, technical, engineer, finance, parent, or friend, we all can be innovators. We can learn, grow and innovate by being curious. Asking – what’s important here? What prompted that? Is there another way? What are the options? What can I learn from this? Where is this leading? What else? How do you see it? This prompts me to be curious and ask, how can I be more curious, more innovative? It starts with asking simple, open ended questions and then really, really listening. (More on asking questions and listening in my upcoming blogs.)

So, today, Be curious! Let me know your thoughts on this topic of innovation and curiosity, how you were curious today and where it led!