PRESENTERS
Brian Zapp
Director of Marketing
Applied Food Sciences
Brian Zapp is the director of marketing at Applied Food Sciences (AFS), a leading supplier of natural and organic functional extracts. He began his journey in botanical ingredients at a young age, traveling globally with his mother, who ran a bioscience company. Leveraging extensive knowledge, Brian excels in crafting compelling narratives around ingredients while having a pivotal role in shaping AFS's strategies and growth.
David Despain
Senior Manager, R&D Platform – Global Strategic Platforms
Nutrition & Health by Nestlé
David Depsain is senior manager, R&D Platform – Global Strategic Platforms, with Nutrition & Health by Nestlé. In this capacity, he leads innovation pipeline activities globally for the weight management nutrition strategic growth platform, focusing on quality nutritional support for those on GLP-1 therapies for obesity. His academic credentials include an MS in science communication from Stony Brook University and an MS, human nutrition, from the University of Bridgeport.
Ana Vergara
Product Design and Development Professional
Luker Chocolate
Ana Vergara is on the product design and development team at Luker Chocolate, where she leads chocolate formulation projects for food industry clients across the North American market. She has a master’s degree in food science and technology from the National University of Colombia, where her research focused on fat processing technologies for chocolate production. She also holds a degree in chemical engineering from the same institution.
PRESENTERS
Brian Zapp
Director of Marketing
Applied Food Sciences
Brian Zapp is the director of marketing at Applied Food Sciences (AFS), a leading supplier of natural and organic functional extracts. He began his journey in botanical ingredients at a young age, traveling globally with his mother, who ran a bioscience company. Leveraging extensive knowledge, Brian excels in crafting compelling narratives around ingredients while having a pivotal role in shaping AFS's strategies and growth.
David Despain
Senior Manager, R&D Platform – Global Strategic Platforms
Nutrition & Health by Nestlé
David Depsain is senior manager, R&D Platform – Global Strategic Platforms, with Nutrition & Health by Nestlé. In this capacity, he leads innovation pipeline activities globally for the weight management nutrition strategic growth platform, focusing on quality nutritional support for those on GLP-1 therapies for obesity. His academic credentials include an MS in science communication from Stony Brook University and an MS, human nutrition, from the University of Bridgeport.
Ana Vergara
Product Design and Development Professional
Luker Chocolate
Ana Vergara is on the product design and development team at Luker Chocolate, where she leads chocolate formulation projects for food industry clients across the North American market. She has a master’s degree in food science and technology from the National University of Colombia, where her research focused on fat processing technologies for chocolate production. She also holds a degree in chemical engineering from the same institution.
