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Fast Company’s 11th annual Innovation Festival returns to New York City this September 15-18. And alongside dynamic stage conversations, hands-on workshops, and Fast Tracks throughout the city is our Taste of Innovation dinner series. Taste of Innovation is a unique dining experience showcasing powerhouse chefs and restaurant executivesnot to mention some of the best food in the city. At each Taste of Innovation experience, youll dine, drink, and mingle with fellow attendees and Fast Companys editorial staff. This year we’re featuring five standout restaurants paired with programing you won’t want to miss. Check out this years Taste of Innovation dinner series below. A DINNER AND CONVERSATION AT SOFREH CAFE: WHY BEING CULTURE-DRIVEN IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS [Photo: Sofreh] Join James Beard Award nominee chef Nasim Alikhani at her warm and welcoming Sofreh Cafe for an evening filled with delicious traditional Persian dishes and spreads, signature cocktails, and a conversation on the importance of placing culture at the core of her business. From the cafés architecture and cozy aesthetic to taking inspiration from Persian homes and the meaning of the restaurants name itselfSofreh has come to refer to “gathering” and “sharing”hear how Alikhani has infused her heritage into every aspect of her restaurant, and why she believes this approach will continue to feed the business’s bottom line. Purchase your ticket to Sofreh Cafe’s Taste of Innovation. A DINNER AND CONVERSATION AT METROPOLIS BY MARCUS SAMUELSSON: VERSATILITY IS CRUCIAL AT THE PERELMAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER [Photo: Metropolis] The Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) was the last puzzle piece of a massive redevelopment and revitalization effort within Lower Manhattan’s World Trade Center complex. And since opening its doors in 2023, PAC NYC’s mission has been clear: to provide an innovative space for artists to flourish as well as be a hub for community building. That ethos certainly extends to Metropolis, PAC NYC’s signature restaurant from celebrated chef Marcus Samuelsson that explores the vast culinary traditions of New York City through a modern lens. Join PAC NYC’s executive director, Khady Kamara Nunez, for an illuminating conversation on how food, art, technology, and civic engagement intersect within an ever-evolving cultural landscape.Purchase your ticket to Metropolis’s Taste of Innovation. A DINNER AND CONVERSATION AT MANHATTA: MASTERING A CUSTOMER-FIRST MINDSET [Photo: Manhatta] Union Square Hospitality Group attributes much of its success to its people-first approach, which should be a priority for any company. So how can you integrate that mindset into your business operations? Join Patti Simpson, chief administrative officer and head of USHG’s advisory firm, Hospitality Quotient, at Manhatta for an exclusive master class on how to leverage service and connection as powerful business tools.Purchase your ticket to Manhatta’s Taste of Innovation. A DINNER AND CONVERSATION AT THE BAZAAR: JOSÉ ANDRÉS’ GROUP IS ON A MISSION [Photo: Liz Clayman/courtesy The Bazaar] The famed restaurant group is continually innovating on its core value: “Changing the world through the power of food.” Hear how Sam Bakhshandehpour, CEO of José Andrés Group, thinks about growing a successful brand around “doing ood.” Across the group’s 15 different restaurant concepts, Bakhshandehpour challenges each team to do just this through initiatives such as teaming with food surplus recovery service Copia and creating menu items geared to utilize as much of the ingredient as possible to reduce food waste. Join us at the Bazaar by José Andrés inside the Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad for an insightful evening and incredible cuisine.Purchase your ticket to Bazaar’s Taste of Innovation. A DINNER AND CONVERSATION AT NAKS: HOW TO EXPAND STRATEGICALLY IN CROWDED INDUSTRIES [Photo: Giles Ashford/courtesy Naks] In Tagalog, naks is used as an exclamation of delight, surprise, or admirationall descriptors that are apropos to the titular East Village restaurant. Naks, which is part of the Michelin-starred restaurant group Unapologetic Foods (Semma, Dhamaka, Adda), is a love letter to Filipino comfort food showcasing the bold and regionally diverse flavors from the country. Join Roni Mazumdar, CEO of Unapologetic Foods, as he explains the inspiration behind expanding the group’s portfolio beyond Indian cuisine and how to find success in hypercompetitive industries like New York City’s restaurant scene.Purchase your ticket to Naks’s Taste of Innovation.
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E-Commerce
Want a little autumn in your August? You’re in luck.The seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte has returned to Starbucks menus in the U.S. and Canada.The Pumpkin Spice Latte is Starbucks’s most popular seasonal beverage, with hundreds of millions sold since the espresso drink’s 2003 launch. It’s also produced a host of imitations. Dunkin’ introduced pumpkin-flavored drinks in 2007; it beat Starbucks to market this year when its fall menu debuted last week. McDonald’s introduced a pumpkin spice latte in 2013.Here’s a look at the Pumpkin Spice Latte by the numbers: 100: Number of Starbucks stores that sold the Pumpkin Spice Latte during a test run in Vancouver and Washington in 2003. The following year it launched nationally. 79: Number of markets where Starbucks sold the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2024. At the time, the company had stores in 85 markets around the world. It now operates in 88 markets. $36.2 billion: Starbucks’s net revenue in its 2024 fiscal year, which ended last September. Starbucks’s net revenue was $4.1 billion in 2003, when the Pumpkin Spice Latte first went on sale. 33.8%: Increase in mentions of pumpkin spice on U.S. menus between the fall of 2014 and the fall of 2024, according to Technomic. 4: Number of spices in McCormick’s Pumpkin Pie Spice. They are cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. 2022: The year Merriam-Webster added “pumpkin spice” to the dictionary. Less common, it said, is the term “pumpkin pie spice.” 3: The Pumpkin Spice Latte was the third seasonal beverage introduced by Starbucks, after the Eggnog Latte and the Peppermint Mocha. September 8: Date the Pumpkin Spice Latte went on sale in 2015. The on-sale date has edged earlier since then. 24%: Amount foot traffic rose at U.S. Starbucks last year on August 22, the day the Pumpkin Spice Latte went on sale, according to Placer.ai. The company compared traffic that Thursday to the previous eight Thursdays. 45.5%: Amount foot traffic rose at Starbucks stores in North Dakota on August 22, 2024, the most of any state, according to Placer.ai. Foot traffic in Mississippi rose the least, at 4.8%. 42,000: Number of members of the Leaf Rakers Society, a private Facebook group Starbucks created in 2018 to celebrate fall all year long. Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
The U.S. Army is turning to sponcon to reach Gen Z. Steven Kelly, who has more than 1.3 million Instagram followers, ordinarily posts fitness and lifestyle content, peppered with an array of shirtless photos and sponsored posts for energy drinks and supplement brands. But a post back in July shows the influencer decked out in Army combat gear, swapping the gym floor for basic military training. The post was part of a sponsored partnership with Go Army. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Steven Kelly (@stevenkelly) A second post was captioned: “This experience showed me how the Army builds readiness, resilience, and discipline, preparing Soldiers to face challenges head-on and succeed in any environment.” The caption directed Kellys followers to a link in his bio to learn more about opportunities in the Army, signed off with the hashtag #Ad. Thanks for hanging with us, Steven! Go Army responded in the comments. The remainder of the comments section was mixed, with many accusing the influencer of selling out. War propaganda is so back, one person wrote. Army cosplay? another commented. It’s giving Hunger Games. Its giving Class Wars, added a third. Kelly isnt the only influencer enlisted by the Army to reach the digitally native generation. The Guardian recently reported that these posts are part of a new initiative to reach potential Gen Z recruits and increase the Armys visibility. The Army identifies social media influencers based on specific criteria for brand guidelines and validating audience alignment, Army spokesperson Madison Bonzo told Fast Company. The Army partners with influencers who are capable of creating authentic and relatable content that offers an unfiltered glimpse into military life, sharing compelling stories and tapping into emotional connections related to Army service. Influencer Breannah Yeh, best known for her slacklining content, switched things up by posting a video of herself skydiving with an Army-branded parachute. When you team up with a U.S. Army Jumpmaster, the lessons are limitless, her caption read. In partnership with @goarmy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Y E H (@yehslacks) In June, the Army invited more than 30 influencers to its 250th anniversary parade, with behind-the-scenes access and opportunities to interview veterans and soldiers, in an effort to reach new audiences and attract the next generation to enlist. This strategic evolution aims to reach Generation Z by engaging them on their preferred digital channels and acknowledging their life and career priorities, Bonzo said. These partnerships increase the Army’s visibility, bring awareness to untapped audiences, and articulate the possibilities of Army service in unique and creative ways. This strategy shift came as the Army failed to hit its recruitment goals by almost 25% in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, it successfully met its goal of 55,000 new soldiers, but only by lowering the target by more than 10,000. Despite the mixed reaction, tapping in influencers may be working. This years recruitment goal is more than 10% higher, but in June the Army announced it had already hit its yearly targetfour months earlier than expected.
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E-Commerce
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