Shownotes
In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from the Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit 2026 in Vienna, Chris Walton is joined by Béatrice de Noray, Chief Growth Officer at Bel Group, to discuss how organizations can turn ideas into impact by combining innovation, technology, and collaboration to drive meaningful growth.
Béatrice shares how Bel Group has organized its business around an end-to-end growth model that connects research, innovation, marketing, and sales, and explains why AI is helping break down silos rather than creating new ones. She also discusses the future of food, the role of human creativity in an AI-driven world, how Bel is thinking about health and wellness trends like GLP-1s, and why industry-wide collaboration remains essential to tackling challenges around sustainability and packaging innovation.
Key Topics Covered:
• How Bel Group connects research, innovation, marketing, and sales under one growth organization
• Why end-to-end thinking helps move products from "slides to shelf"
• How AI is helping eliminate organizational silos
• The concept of "tech for good" and its role in transforming the food system
• Balancing curiosity, experimentation, and focus in the age of AI
• Why human creativity remains a competitive advantage
• The risks of "content obesity" in an AI-powered world
• Building critical thinking and AI skills across organizations
• Why food innovation must remain locally relevant despite global trends
• Bel Group's perspective on GLP-1s and the future of healthy snacking
• The importance of nutrient-dense foods, portion control, and balanced nutrition
• How brands can create products that serve long-term consumer needs
• Bel's work with the Consumer Goods Forum's Plastic Waste Coalition of Action
• The role of collaboration in advancing sustainable packaging solutions
• Why ecosystem thinking is critical to solving industry-wide challenges
• How AI, sustainability, health, and supply chain innovation are interconnected
Special thanks to the CGF Leadership Studio sponsored by Vusion for supporting Omni Talk Retail's coverage in Vienna.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcripts
Hello everyone, this is omnitalk Retail and I am Chris Walton and I am coming to you from the Consumer Goods Forums Global Summit in Vienna, Austria.
Speaker A:And we are of course once again in the CGF Leadership Studio which is sponsored by Vuzion.
Speaker A:Now joining me is someone who already has shown me an incredible personality and I can't wait to interview her.
Speaker A:And that is Beatrice Dinore.
Speaker A:She is the Chief Growth officer at Bell Group and she's what she cooks.
Speaker A:She literally had Babybel cheese for breakfast this morning.
Speaker A:Didn't you, Beatrice?
Speaker B:Hello.
Speaker A:Yes, hello, how are you?
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us.
Speaker B:Thanks for inviting me.
Speaker A:So tell our audience about yourself and your career background particularly.
Speaker A:And then also I want to know for our audience back home too.
Speaker A:I mean I imagine people are familiar with Babybel, but tell them about everything that is that Bell Group does.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So in a short way I think that I am growing brands through business over the past 25 years starting at P and G, then moving to beauty and over the past seven years at Belle.
Speaker B:Belle is a family owned company.
Speaker B:We aim at being one of the leader in Elsie or snacking.
Speaker B:We are a French company more than 150 years old with brands that you may know.
Speaker B:Baby Belle for sure.
Speaker B:The Lo Cinco, Boursa, Kiri, Go Go Squeeze in France.
Speaker B:So we are doing mix of a portion of goodness of dairy, fruit and veggie.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:So talk to us about your role too because your role is interesting.
Speaker A:I was researching it.
Speaker A:You're the chief growth officer, what all do you oversee?
Speaker B:So in the Bell ecosystem, Chief Growth officer is overseeing research, innovation, development, brands marketing and sales and sales capabilities and all what is linked to the commercial which is quite unusual because of often you have marketing and sales together.
Speaker B:What we strongly believe is that having an end to end approach towards what is meaningful for the consumer, the shoppers, then the customer and the company makes the difference.
Speaker B:And I strongly believe in it that it enables to remove silos and to really think from your research and innovation to.
Speaker B:To what will land on the shelf.
Speaker B:I often say from slides to shelf.
Speaker B:And what makes really the difference in terms of consumer experience.
Speaker B:And as food is a super localized topic, but we have global brands.
Speaker B:It's important that we can have this end to end connection.
Speaker A:Do you think that that structure is even more important now because of the advent of AI and having to keep pace of what's going keep tabs on what's going on with technology.
Speaker B:What is true is that AI is augmenting human and it's unable to Remove barriers.
Speaker B:I think that when you manage and we start to see that, because we have, as I would say, everyone heavy transformation programs where AI is enabling to connect research with your backbone in terms of data management, of recipe management, of packaging management, then to be able to make sure that when you have a concept it ideation, you can navigate it through your consumer insights, but as well what is available on your journey in terms of innovation and research.
Speaker B:So I think that AI unable to remove the boundaries, the silos, which is exactly what we aim at.
Speaker B:The growth levers being in charge of all the function to deliver top lines to a growth, innovation, marketing and sales.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So in essence you at Bell Group are kind of in front of the curve then and technology is just augmenting what you've already tried to do or how you're thinking about the business organizationally.
Speaker B:Yes, what we want is really what we call the tech for good.
Speaker B:So what we aim is really to shift the food model.
Speaker B:And I think that I see my mission as being keep on building brands that are there for sometimes the five generation, for the next generation, five generation.
Speaker B:But also to make sure that we can bring a better food system to life.
Speaker B:Because today we believe that the food system is broken because we have too many people to feed.
Speaker B:Because you know, the obesity level is as big as a malnutrition level.
Speaker B:So we need to change something.
Speaker B:And we believe that through our portion of goodness, what we call from dairy, fruit, veggie mix, everything we can bring this nutrition and that tech is supporting that in terms of research, but also in the pace we can give to innovation.
Speaker B:For instance, the fact to be faster and bolder in what we do.
Speaker A:Right, right.
Speaker A:Well, let's stay on the AI thread then because that is the theme of this conference, Adaptive Edge.
Speaker A:I've talked about it in a lot of interviews already.
Speaker A:So I'm curious where for you is the line between disciplined focus as well as strategic rigidity?
Speaker A:Like how do you not make sure that you just don't get kind of crazy and willy nilly with what you're trying to do?
Speaker B:I think that yes, focus is one of the name of the game because you have a lot of trends.
Speaker B:AI enable you to raise the trends as fast as the tech is going when you go.
Speaker B:Everyone, every year we are going to Expo west in the Food Fair where you see a lot of trends and we see that for instance, in terms of nutrition, what is going in gut health, in microbiome and so on.
Speaker B:You have a lot moving on.
Speaker B:So the question is how do you translate that into action?
Speaker B:I think that what tech brings and AI part of supports curiosity.
Speaker B:I think it's super important to have this curiosity and you have access to much more information than before.
Speaker B:The question is how you select it.
Speaker B:How do you translate these insights into action?
Speaker B:How do you make sure that you can land on something that is concrete?
Speaker B:And by the way, still it takes time.
Speaker B:So we need to find.
Speaker B:I say with my team, we are operating very far and after we are refocusing.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Is to make sure that you can really understand because food is very local.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You know, we don't eat in Japan as we eat in Europe or in the US.
Speaker B:Snacking is an overall trend.
Speaker B:You have more than 20% of the consumer who are snacking away or another.
Speaker B:But the way they snack, it is a mini meal.
Speaker B:It is on the go.
Speaker B:It is, you know, when you are eating tapas in Spain, it's a way of snacking.
Speaker B:When you are having a good day in France, it's a way of snacking.
Speaker B:So the way to snack is very local.
Speaker B:What we want to do is to find what are the commonalities and the differences and translate that into plans, either innovation plan, or marketing plans, or sales plans.
Speaker B:And this is where we need to refocus afterward to be relevant to what the consumer expects, to what our partner expects, and to what will make the difference in a notion of initiatives.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:So from a management perspective or an executive perspective, it sounds like you're encouraging the teams to take a broader approach up front by way of what technology can enable.
Speaker A:But then you are having to be conscious about how do you focus everybody in with whether it's more meetings or more deliberate conversations about how do we stay focused on.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's great we have all these things, but we still need to be very tight in what we're focused and being very deliberate.
Speaker B:Yes, exactly that.
Speaker B:So for instance, content generation with AI you can generate a lot of content.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And I tend to say that we may be tempted or people may be tempted by content obesity because it's so easy to create.
Speaker B:It's so fun, you know, in AI world, everyone wants to taste it.
Speaker B:It's the first topic when I ask who want to be part of the proof of concept.
Speaker B:Everyone is ready in the end.
Speaker B:Okay, so it's super fun.
Speaker B:It's great.
Speaker B:Because people want to be unskilled.
Speaker B:So that's why I say that the human part is still super important.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:After where the people who will break the crater make the difference are those who first will have the right skills to make it happen in a differentiated way, who will have the right critical mindset to be able to step back from what is offered.
Speaker B:And I would say go out of the ocean of seamless.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And then bring the touch of creativity point of difference that will empower AI.
Speaker B:So human is enabled by AI, but we need as well to make sure that we keep it as a competitive edge.
Speaker B:And therefore, you know, there is this temptation to not go for going at the biggest or having everything done the same way, but being selective and to be able as well to scale, to have the level of upskilling for all our teams that are enabling to have an impact.
Speaker B:Because at the end, it's not for just the beauty of AI, it's what is the impact we want to have on the business, on the sustainability, on.
Speaker A:The way we operate, and putting numbers to it too.
Speaker A:Okay, you mentioned obesity.
Speaker A:And one topic that I'm actually surprised we're at the conclusion of our day one interviews here.
Speaker A:One topic I'm surprised hasn't come up as much is the GLP1 phenomenon.
Speaker A:Now, you guys, you at Bell are very well positioned from the product assortment to capitalize on that trend.
Speaker A:But how are you thinking about the GLP one side of things from a product innovation standpoint?
Speaker B:I think that GLP1 is not.
Speaker B:GLP1 is not really what we call a trend.
Speaker B:It's just a manifesto of a trend.
Speaker A:Okay, say more.
Speaker B:So GLP1 is a solution to solve a big issue, which is, I would say diseases should not be seen as a trend or a fashion.
Speaker B:Okay, maybe the fine line.
Speaker B:So first, what is interesting is really to see that there is a need for healthier food.
Speaker B:There is a need for having more intake of protein and fiber and less intake of carbon, nitrates and sugars and so on.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:And when you are under GLP1, these are typically the type of balanced diets that you need to reinforce.
Speaker B:You need to increase your level of protein intake, you need to increase your level of fiber intakes and reduce sugars.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:Quite simple in terms of.
Speaker B:And by the way, it also changes the taste and sometimes the ability to digest.
Speaker B:What we are really working on is to make sure that we have offers that by design are, would say GLP1 friendly when you are eating a baby Bell, it's only milk, right?
Speaker B:Concentrated milk, nutrient dense in terms of protein and calcium and a pinch of salt and some ferments.
Speaker B:It's super simple.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:So enabling people.
Speaker B:And it's a small portion because what is important also for GLP1 people that they can eat less because society is coming quite faster.
Speaker B:The way Baby Bell has been built 50 years ago was that way.
Speaker B:It's a mini portion of goodness, concentrated milk and so on the way you have as well fruit in a pouch the Same you have 19 gram of fruits, concentrated fruits that are enabling you to have your portion of fiber that you need.
Speaker B:So if you combine a bunch of fruits plus a Baby Bell Protein 1, because now we also have a Protein 1 or a Light one, then you have a perfect.
Speaker B:I would say a snack that is nutrient dense and supports your.
Speaker B:I would say nutrition system being GLP1 or not.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So for you all then GLP1 is really just, you know, just giving you a chance to extend what you have always tried to do very well since the start of.
Speaker A:Since the start of the brand.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I think that GLP1 is also showing that portion control is something super important.
Speaker B:And that's why we strongly believe that, you know, it's part of the DNA of, of Bell.
Speaker B:We, we are part of our DNA is our ability to build nutrient based portion.
Speaker B:The Lost Synco is a portion.
Speaker B:Which recipe?
Speaker B:We have 120 recipes in the world.
Speaker B:Every recipe is adapted to the nutrition needs of the geographies because when you are kids, so going out of jpm you have some needs in terms of iron, zinc, calcium that are different from a region to another.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So which is Also something that GLP1 is rising the needs of.
Speaker B:Okay, what are the type of vitamins, vitamins that you can have you can miss.
Speaker B:So I think that it's supporting a general focus on how to better eat and what we say, how to better snack.
Speaker B:Because stacking is going around the world.
Speaker A:That's a really.
Speaker A:You got me thinking a lot on this one already.
Speaker A:Like you know, should you be designing products for.
Speaker A:For the GLP1 trend, if you want to call it or should you just be designing good products for what, you know, the communities and the geographies you serve actually need?
Speaker A:And the.
Speaker A:I think the answer is probably like you're saying it's probably the latter of the broader challenge.
Speaker A:Right, right.
Speaker B:It's harder is putting at the agenda.
Speaker B:I own the agenda.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's harder, but it's probably more.
Speaker A:There's probably more longevity in that latter strategy than there is in the former.
Speaker A:That's really interesting.
Speaker A:All right, so I also want to talk about your CGF responsibilities too because you are a member of CGF's Plastic Waste Coalition of Action.
Speaker A:What have you Seen in your time as part of that coalition, what palpable impact have you seen from your work inside that effort?
Speaker B:So packaging when you are a potion maker is part of your ecosystem.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So we strongly believe that packaging has a very high benefit because it protects the product because so for food safety, because it helps to be on the go and so on.
Speaker B:But you need to manage that responsibility.
Speaker B:It's also a huge responsibility.
Speaker B:One of the reasons we are with cgf, I believe that at bel, we strongly believe in coalitions.
Speaker B:We strongly believe that you are stronger to find options and solutions when you are together together supplier and retailer together with partner and technological partners.
Speaker B:It's quite difficult to find scalable options.
Speaker B:And I think that what CGL helps us is first to have a common goal and targets and to set demanding targets first, second, to discuss altogether and to have the right conversation, find options and potentially partner in a way that supports to find new options.
Speaker B:So for instance, you know we have on Baby Bear, we want to move out of the plastic net.
Speaker B:We may have some options more linked to, you know, cotton options, but there is no setup behind that and no industrial setup.
Speaker B:So we need to find potential partners same to define what are the way to go out of the plastic.
Speaker B:How do we make sure that we have small plastic and we know that we are not the only one not only on the food but also on the beauty area.
Speaker B:So it supports this journey to accelerate and hopefully so bring the right option all together to make sure that we can.
Speaker B:Yes, it's our commitment.
Speaker A:Okay, got it.
Speaker A:So, all right, so I want to ask you, I want to.
Speaker A:So I'm going to let you, I'm going to let you go on this question and I think it's related to what you just said in terms of the impact that you can have from forming a coalition and working together.
Speaker A: And so when I step back: Speaker A:It's gearing the industry up for AI.
Speaker A:It's gearing the industry up for how to tackle the health and wellness issues like we've talked about already with GLP1s as well as sustainability and supply chain resilience which I've talked about not as much with you, but I've talked about with other people throughout the day.
Speaker A:Of those four, where do you think the most untapped value is to unlock with the right collaboration and coalitions across the industry?
Speaker B:For me the challenge is not to manage Each of them separately, but how we create again, what I call an ecosystem.
Speaker A:Interesting.
Speaker B:It's not AI for the sake of AI.
Speaker B:How AI will help us to find new options.
Speaker A:It's kind of a silly question if you think about it.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, it is.
Speaker B:That's why it's great.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's managed in the same place because you bring together people who have ultimately a common interest to set the bar, to enable the conversation and potentially to find the option together and after.
Speaker B:But I believe that for me the topic is really the topic of the ecosystem and how we remove silos.
Speaker B:We work to do that in our companies.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:CGF is supporting us to do that, I would say across the industry in a safe place with the right level of expectation and also to challenge each other because we may have a different point of view on what should the food system be.
Speaker B:A very clear one.
Speaker B:And it's also a way to put the right conversation on the table and the right level of challenge.
Speaker B:And this is what we contribute to all along the year in various.
Speaker B:You know, today is a summit and it's great to have this all together, but all the work that has been done by the team of CGF in our team who are part of the coalitions is really all along the year where we put the mouse on the table.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And yeah.
Speaker A:And you're a card carrying example of that based on how you have organized yourself at Bell and what is under your remit as a Chief Growth officer too, in terms of how you're looking at it.
Speaker A:So again, you're very aligned with your philosophy in terms of the business and then how you plan to partner and use those coalitions to your advantage, but also for the good of like, everything just has to work together in today's day and age.
Speaker A:You can't stay siloed.
Speaker B:Yes, definitely.
Speaker B:And I think that for us, we believe that if you want to move the food system, it's a combination of brands, we strongly believe in brands of technology.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And of collaboration.
Speaker B:So this is the way we see it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, thank you so much.
Speaker B:Thanks.
Speaker A:It was a real pleasure meeting you and getting to chat with you.
Speaker A:I really enjoyed this conversation and thank you to CGF and to Fusion for enabling us to put on this great set of content in day one from the conference in Vienna, Austria and to all our fans out there that are watching now or listening later, be careful out there.