Every year at TraceGains’ Together conference, we honor the innovators shaping the future of the food and beverage (F&B) industry. As a community of F&B guardians, every TraceGains user plays a vital role in strengthening the supply chain, championing food safety, and pushing the industry forward. At Together 2025, we spotlighted our Business Ingenuity Award winners.
These three exceptional individuals, whose creativity, dedication, and strategic use of TraceGains rightfully earned nominations, have transformed their organizations. This year’s honorees embody what it means to be part of this movement—empowering teams, driving efficiency, and ensuring a stronger, more resilient industry for all. Let’s explore the stories behind this year’s winners and the impact of their ingenuity.
Brittany Hamilton: Driving efficiency and innovation at C.H. Guenther
Brittany Hamilton, FSQA systems analyst at C.H. Guenther, has redefined how her organization uses TraceGains. Her strategic approach to supply chain management and her ability to think outside the box have driven significant improvements in operational efficiency and collaboration.
Through her innovative use of TraceGains’ automated workflows, Brittany achieved a 15% boost in operational efficiency by reducing manual data entry and approval times. She also developed a custom supplier performance dashboard that gave her procurement team the ability to proactively identify and resolve potential issues, leading to a 10% reduction in supply chain disruptions. Recognizing the need for enhanced cross-departmental collaboration, Brittany integrated TraceGains with the company’s project management tools, enabling real-time data sharing across R&D and quality control teams. The result? A 30% reduction in product approval timelines and stronger alignment across teams.
Her dedication to safeguarding the supply chain doesn’t stop there. By introducing a supplier risk assessment tool powered by predictive analytics, Brittany helped C.H. Guenther reduce supply chain delays by 20%. This tool assesses supplier risk levels based on performance, compliance, and capacity, sending real-time alerts to prevent disruptions before they escalate. Her forward-thinking strategies have saved costs, reduced risks, and sped up time-to-market for the company’s products.
Kaitlyn Menefee: Energizing food safety and quality at Campbell’s/Sovos Brands
Kaitlyn Menefee, quality systems manager at Campbell’s/Sovos Brands, has proven that enthusiasm and ingenuity can revolutionize food safety and supplier quality programs. A champion for TraceGains and its potential, Kaitlyn has seamlessly onboarded new suppliers, rapidly provided documentation, and introduced innovative functionalities to enhance her team’s operations.
Traditionally used as an outward-facing program, Kaitlyn expanded TraceGains’ impact by integrating it into internal manufacturing processes. By moving routine monitoring and verification activities onto the platform, Kaitlyn empowered plant teams to stay on top of critical food safety programs such as calibrations, backflow testing, FDA registration, and more. This initiative ensured readiness for audits, improved documentation accuracy, and reinforced GFSI certification requirements.
Kaitlyn’s cross-functional collaboration has made her a driving force behind food safety culture at Campbell’s/Sovos Brands. She connects with operators on the plant floor, ensuring they understand how their roles and tools like TraceGains contribute to the organization’s commitment to safety, quality, and compliance. Her unique ability to make food safety engaging and relatable has fostered a stronger sense of ownership and enthusiasm across teams.
Haylie Arivett: Transforming processes at QuikTrip
Haylie Arivett, PLM administrator & nutritionist at QuikTrip, has demonstrated remarkable vision and dedication, revolutionizing QuikTrip’s approach to product lifecycle management (PLM) through TraceGains. Recognizing the need for a modern and agile tool, Haylie led the implementation of four TraceGains modules with unwavering commitment. She rallied teams, completed workbooks efficiently, and leveraged TraceGains Academy to ensure smooth onboarding and training.
Haylie’s decision to upload clean nutritional and ingredient data into TraceGains NutriCalc, rather than transferring legacy data, exemplifies her commitment to accuracy and confidence in labeling. By putting all specs and formulas for retail items into TraceGains, she harnessed the platform’s flexibility to meet QuikTrip’s unique business needs. Custom dashboards, like an ingredient declaration dashboard, have streamlined operations, saving time and enhancing transparency.
QuikTrip now tracks supplier compliance, connects with suppliers more effectively, and accelerates product development, thanks to Haylie’s leadership. Her efforts embody QuikTrip’s culture of empowerment and commitment to product integrity, ensuring every user embraces TraceGains as their PLM.
A bright future for innovation in F&B
The winners of this year’s Business Ingenuity Awards remind us that the F&B industry thrives on ingenuity, collaboration, and a commitment to excellence. Each winner has demonstrated that by leveraging TraceGains to its fullest potential, organizations can achieve remarkable results—from enhancing supply chain visibility to safeguarding consumers and driving sustainability.
Congratulations to Brittany Hamilton, Kaitlyn Menefee, Haylie Arivett, and all the nominees who are shaping the future of the F&B industry!
These stories of ingenuity are just the beginning. The Together 2025 conference featured a wealth of insights and innovations from across the industry. Missed a session? Don’t worry—you can watch all the sessions on demand here and discover how the F&B Guardians are shaping the future of our industry.
