The Food Processing Suppliers Association, McLean, VA, has announced the speakers for the bakery breakout sessions at the 2016 FPSA Annual Conference, which will be held March 9–11 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, FL.

The sessions will feature presentations from Dave Van Laar of the Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers’ Association, Chad Dalton of Dawn Food Products Inc. and Chad Larson of Palermo’s Pizza. Topics will include current trends in the cookie and cracker industry and their impact on food processors; today’s biggest challenges in the sweet baked goods category; and the secret to building one of the nation’s most successful largest frozen pizza brands.

"The Bakery Track at the FPSA Annual Conference has long been one of our most popular," says David Seckman, FPSA president and CEO. "The Bakery Council has done a great job of delivering industry speakers that our members want to hear from. In these informative and entertaining sessions, our attendees have an opportunity to hear what topics are really important to their customers and the solutions that suppliers can bring to the table."

"We are very excited about this year’s slate of speakers and know our attendees will get a lot out of the program," says Ken Hagedorn, chair of the FPSA Bakery Council and vice president of sales and marketing at Naegele Inc. "These speakers cover three of the most important segments of the bakery industry—sweet goods, cookies/crackers and pizza. Not only is it a great opportunity to meet these speakers, but suppliers who are active in these categories will really benefit from sitting down with them to hear what they are all about."

Registration for the 2016 FPSA Annual Conference is now open at www.fpsa.org. The early-bird registration rate of $850 for FPSA members has been extended until Feb. 4. For more information, contact Dolores Alonso at 703-663-1226 or dalonso@fpsa.org.