I'm in Manhattan tomorrow, speaking at an event for food, advertising and packaging companies on behalf of Readers Digest Food & Entertaining Division.

I'll be offering a late morning wrap up of observations about the high-velocity change that continues to envelop the sector, particularly the following trends. Dig through the blog -- particularly, the retail or consumer product categories -- and you'll find a little bit more insight about each of them.

• the new consumer is faster -- and innovation isn't just about new product design -- it's about reaching and interacting with the consumer in new and different ways
• the new consumer is connected -- and interactivity is the new brand foundation
• the new consumer is no longer nuclear -- and hyper-nicheing is the new brand reality
• the new consumer is influenced differently -- and social-networks are the new brand influencers
• the new consumer is shifting their focus faster -- and faster paced preference change is the new reality
• the new product is rapidly re-defined -- and time to market and corporate agility are the new corporate capabilities
• the new product is up-side down as innovation changes -- and partnership is the key method to speed things up

Here's one of the statistics in my deck -- 71% of consumers are choosing to prepare meals at home rather than eating out; restaurant trips have declined from 1.5 times a week in 2006 to 1.2 times today.

These statistics, from the Food Marketing 2008 US Grocery Shopper Trends report, came out before the economic challenges of mid-September and the problems on Wall Street.

One of my key messages is that we live in a time when "volatility is the new normal" -- a mantra I've been using for years -- and food companies must learn to innovate faster to capitalize on such fast moving trends.

We'll probably see this particular trend pick up steam -- and there's opportunity for new advertising messages, branding campaigns, not to mention new product offerings!

Faster is the new fast!