• FPSA Food Solutions Exchange (FSX) 2027
    Call for Speakers

    April 5-7, 2027 | The Vinoy Resort & Golf Club | St. Petersburg, Florida

  • The hardest problems in food production don't belong to any one company. Workforce, automation, food safety, cost pressure, and the pace of change are challenges every leader is working through, usually in isolation and usually at the same time as their peers across the industry.

    FSX 2027 exists to change that. Over three days, roughly 200 senior leaders from across the food industry come together in one place: food producers, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, and experts representing bakery, dairy, meat, beverage, pet food, prepared foods, and other segments of food production.

    The scale is intentional. FSX is small enough that conversations go somewhere and senior enough that what gets discussed can actually be acted on when attendees return home.

    That is the idea behind FSX 2027: Solve It Together.

  • SPEAKER ROLE

  • The educational program should help senior leaders work through consequential decisions with practical insight, real experience, and perspectives from across the industry.

  • What We Are Looking For

  • FSX is not seeking presentations for the sake of presentations. We are seeking educational experiences that help food industry leaders address meaningful challenges, evaluate options, exchange perspectives, and make better decisions.

    The most successful FSX sessions help attendees work through important business challenges and decisions. Rather than focusing solely on information delivery, sessions should provide practical experience, encourage discussion, expose attendees to multiple perspectives, and help leaders evaluate possible paths forward.

  • Strong Proposals Should

    • Address a significant industry challenge or opportunity.
    • Share practical experience, lessons learned, research, data, or proven approaches.
    • Help attendees evaluate options, tradeoffs, and potential paths forward.
    • Include multiple perspectives whenever they strengthen the conversation.
    • Create meaningful opportunities for discussion and exchange.
    • Deliver actionable insights attendees can apply within their organizations.
    • Provide value across multiple segments or roles within food production.
    • Enable attendees to work through and solve problems together.

  • What We Are NOT Looking For

    • Product demonstrations or sales presentations.
    • Marketing pitches disguised as education.
    • Vendor-only perspectives without broader educational value.
    • Trend overviews that do not help attendees apply, evaluate, or decide.
    • Sessions designed primarily to promote a company, service, or technology.

  • Strategic Priorities

  • The following strategic priorities reflect the business challenges and decisions currently shaping the food industry. While FSX is not organized around traditional conference tracks, successful proposals typically align with one or more of these focus areas.

  • RUN THE BUSINESS BETTER

    Improve performance, reduce risk, and maximize existing operations. Possible areas include operational excellence, productivity, food safety, sanitation, risk reduction, AI, data, and better decision-making.

  • BUILD THE FUTURE ORGANIZATION

    Prepare organizations for long-term success. Possible areas include workforce, leadership, knowledge transfer, succession, economic forces, regulation, trade, packaging, and market changes.

  • GROW THE BUSINESS SMARTER

    Make informed investment and growth decisions. Possible areas include automation, workforce transformation, capital investment, expansion, modernization, and technology implementation.

  • IMPORTANT

    These priorities guide content selection, but they are not rigid attendee tracks. Strong sessions may connect more than one priority or challenge because real business decisions rarely fit into a single category.

  • Preferred Session Formats

  • Just as important as the topic is how the learning experience is delivered. FSX values practical learning, discussion, and the exchange of perspectives. The following formats best support the Solve It Together experience.

  • PROCESSOR / PRODUCER CASE STUDY

    Share practical experience, lessons learned, and real-world results. These sessions help attendees understand how organizations approached a challenge, evaluated options, implemented solutions, and measured outcomes. Possible topics may include food safety improvements, automation projects, workforce initiatives, operational excellence programs, facility modernization, or other business challenges.

  • MULTI-PERSPECTIVE PANEL

    Explore a challenge through multiple viewpoints. These sessions bring together processors, manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, researchers, or industry experts to discuss options, tradeoffs, lessons learned, and differing approaches. Possible topics may include automation strategy, food safety culture, AI adoption, capital investment, workforce development, or emerging industry challenges.

  • MODERATED CONVERSATION

    Focus on a meaningful business challenge through guided discussion rather than formal presentations. These sessions help attendees understand different experiences, approaches, and decision-making factors. Possible topics may include operational performance, regulatory change, economic pressures, modernization, leadership, or organizational development.

  • EXECUTIVE EXCHANGE

    Encourage peer-to-peer learning and discussion. These highly interactive sessions provide opportunities for attendees to compare experiences, discuss common challenges, and learn how other organizations are approaching similar issues. Possible topics may include workforce retention, succession planning, leadership development, operational challenges, or strategic growth initiatives.

  • DECISION WORKSHOP

    Help attendees evaluate options and make better decisions. These interactive sessions provide practical frameworks, tools, exercises, or models leaders can use within their organizations. Possible topics may include automation planning, capital investment decisions, facility expansion, risk reduction, workforce strategy, or technology adoption.

  • TRADITIONAL PRESENTATION

    Deliver focused educational content supported by practical experience, research, or credible expertise. Traditional presentations should provide actionable insights, audience engagement, and clear takeaways that help attendees address meaningful business challenges. Possible topics may include emerging technologies, regulatory developments, industry research, market trends, or technical subject matter.

  • IMPORTANT

    FSX is built around the exchange of ideas, experiences, and perspectives. We strongly encourage formats that promote discussion, participation, and multiple viewpoints. While traditional presentations will be considered, proposals that help attendees explore challenges, evaluate options, and learn from one another are preferred.

  • Before You Begin

  • To help our review team evaluate your proposal, please be prepared to provide:

    • A description of the industry challenge or opportunity your session addresses
    • The business decision, question, or issue attendees will explore
    • A proposed session title
    • An overview of the key ideas, experiences, lessons learned, or approaches that will be shared
    • Three learning objectives
    • Information about the proposed session format and attendee experience
    • Details about the perspectives represented within the session
    • Speaker biographies and information for all proposed speakers
    • Session coordinator and contact information

    Strong proposals focus on helping attendees address meaningful industry challenges, evaluate options, and make better business decisions.

  • Session Overview

  • Session Challenge & Opportunity

  • Learning Outcomes

    At the conclusion of the session, attendees should be able to:

  • Session Format

  • Which format best supports the attendee experience for this topic?*

  • Perspectives Represented

  • Does this session include multiple perspectives?*
  • Which perspectives are represented or anticipated?*

  • Primary Speaker Information

  • Secondary Speaker Information

  • Session Coordinator

    The Session Coordinator serves as the primary contact for all proposal-related communication. If that person is not the primary speaker, please provide their contact information.

  • Final Question

  • Should be Empty: