Kara Nielsen

Kara Nielsen is an expert in food and beverage trends and the consumer values that drive trend growth and adoption. For over fifteen years she has translated trends for strategic brand growth and product development for food manufacturers, food service operators and other firms through her work at WGSN, CCD Innovation, Innova Market Insights and Sterling-Rice Group. Currently, she is living the trend, employed at UPSIDE Foods, the leading cultivated meat company.

Kara consults on food trends and new product innovation for global innovation agencies and research companies. Her success at placing trends in a larger societal and cultural context comes from her training in culinary arts, experience in restaurant hospitality and culinary education fields, and her master’s in Gastronomy at Boston University.