Kara Nielsen is an expert in food and beverage trends and the consumer values that drive trend growth and adoption. She tracks and translates trends for various audiences, including CPG, foodservice, and innovation agency clients seeking insights for new product development. She led trend insights and culinary services at numerous trend forecasting and strategic innovation agencies, including UK-based WGSN, CCD Innovation, Innova Market Insights, and Sterling-Rice Group.

Kara has a background in culinary arts as a fine-dining pastry chef and restaurant manager. She also managed educational programs at Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts in Napa, and holds two Wine & Spirits Education Trust Certificates. She has a master’s degree in Gastronomy from Boston University and combines her knowledge of food and drink with food history and culture to reveal insights about the future of food.

Kara holds a master’s degree in Gastronomy from Boston University. She recently founded The Sweets Professor, a platform for experiential education around the wide world of sweets. She teaches pastry and baking classes at San Francisco's The Civic Kitchen Cooking School