Nils Schaede is Marketing Director at Zentis North America, leading North American operations for the global, family-owned food and beverage company founded in 1893. He began his career in Germany on the agency side, specializing in experiential and brand marketing. In 2016, he moved to the U.S. as Director of Marketing at the German American Chambers of Commerce in Chicago, supporting German and European companies with U.S. market entry, business development, digital marketing and trade show strategy across manufacturing, food and beverage and Industry 4.0 sectors. He joined Zentis four years ago to focus fully on food and beverage growth.
Through this article, Schaede explains that successful foodservice marketing today depends on credibility. It requires deep product understanding, awareness of how decisions and discovery now happen and the ability to translate evolving consumer expectations into clear value for complex B2B audiences.
Recalibrating Marketing Strategy in B2B Foodservice
One of the most significant challenges in the food and beverage sector has been redefining how companies engage customers following COVID. When I joined Zentis, many of the in-person touchpoints that traditionally anchor B2B foodservice relationships had effectively stopped, including trade shows, customer visits, product tastings and industry events. At that point, it was unclear whether these channels would return at all or whether their role in the industry would fundamentally change.
Over the past two years, trade shows have returned more strongly than expected, prompting us to rebuild a dedicated internal team and reestablish a consistent presence at significant events, such as Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim and, for the first time this year, the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.
Because we operate in the B2B foodservice sector rather than direct-to-consumer retail, our focus is on industrial customers and quick-service restaurant groups, where purchasing decisions are typically made by a defined set of stakeholders. We think about marketing and channel selection. Trade shows remain critical for high-value, in-person engagement, while LinkedIn allows us to maintain targeted visibility with decision-makers throughout the year. Email marketing plays a complementary role, supporting ongoing communication with existing customers and structured lead development with prospective ones, underpinned by consistent content creation and semi-automated tools that help us scale engagement without losing relevance.
When Consumer Expectations Shape the Conversation
How brands communicate value is increasingly shaped by a more informed and demanding end consumer. Although we primarily operate in the B2B sector and do not sell directly to consumers in the U.S., the products we manufacture ultimately end up in branded consumer offerings. That means scrutiny around ingredients, sourcing and formulation flows directly back to our customers and, in turn, to us as a supplier. Clean-label expectations have become significantly more pronounced, particularly around which ingredients are used and which are avoided, and this is something our partners are actively asking us to support.
Messaging needs to reflect quality, innovation and application relevance, not just price, and it needs to do so in ways that resonate with different audiences inside the same organization.
This shift has a direct impact on how we approach both product development and marketing. A clear example is our popping boba business. As of this year, we are the largest manufacturer of popping boba in the U.S., but scale alone is not what differentiates us. We are intentionally focused on using natural flavors and natural colors, because that is what consumers increasingly expect from the brands they trust. Our role is to communicate that value clearly to our industry customers and help them understand that meeting these expectations is no longer optional if they want to stay competitive.
Looking ahead, sustainability will play an even more central role in how brands position themselves. This is an area where our European heritage is particularly relevant. While Zentis has been operating in the U.S. for over 20 years, our roots are in Europe, particularly in Germany, with additional operations in Poland and Hungary. As a result, sustainability considerations regarding sourcing, packaging and supplier accountability have long been integral to our culture. From formal sustainability reporting to concrete actions across the supply chain and the certifications we work with, these practices are already embedded in our operations, positioning us well as expectations continue to rise.
Alongside sustainability, we are seeing individualization and product variety become increasingly important, particularly through limited-time offerings. Most of what we produce today is already customized to meet specific customer requirements and this model continues to expand as brands seek to differentiate themselves through shorter product cycles. We are seeing growing demand for Limited Time Offerings built around emerging, globally inspired flavors and frequent refreshes. Flavor trends often originate in markets such as South America or Southeast Asia before being adapted and combined for U.S. audiences. Consumers are looking for new experiences, and our role is to help customers respond quickly and deliver those experiences consistently and at scale.
Understanding Visibility in an AI-Driven Context
Over the course of this year, our attention has increasingly shifted toward how AI is changing the way companies are discovered and referenced. While many marketers now use AI tools internally, the more relevant question for us has been how Zentis appears when people ask these systems about specific foodservice ingredient categories. That includes areas such as popping boba and fruit-based inclusions used in beverages, desserts and quick-service restaurant applications. This shift has required us to think about visibility beyond traditional channels.
This is especially relevant in a B2B foodservice environment. A defined group still makes purchasing decisions of stakeholders, but AI is becoming part of how those stakeholders research suppliers and product options early in the process. When someone asks an AI system about popping boba manufacturers or fruit ingredient solutions for foodservice, it matters whether Zentis appears and how we are represented in those responses.
Without going into detail, we have spent time reviewing how Zentis shows up across AI-driven queries at both the company level and within these key categories. The focus has been on ensuring accuracy and alignment with how we want to be understood by potential customers. This work is less about promotion and more about being present and credible when those early discovery questions are asked.
I see this becoming a standard part of marketing. By 2026, understanding how brands appear within AI-generated answers related to specific product categories will be as crucial as understanding search or social visibility today.
A Grounded Path into the Industry
To build a career in food and beverage marketing, especially in a highly regulated and technical environment, it starts with understanding the product itself. Knowing how a product is made, how it performs and what constraints shape it creates the foundation for credible marketing. Creativity still matters, but in this industry, it is most effective when it is grounded in technical knowledge and operational reality.
Messaging needs to reflect quality, innovation and application relevance, not just price, and it must do so in ways that resonate with different audiences within the same organization. For young marketers, the opportunity lies in learning how to adapt language and tools without compromising consistency—bringing creativity into a space that rewards clarity, credibility and the ability to connect across disciplines.
