Laura Dembitzer is the marketing director at Imbibe, a Chicago-based flavor and beverage development company. Dembitzer works with beverage brands and retail chains to help them innovate and create products from the initial stages of development all the way through to commercialization and launch. She is focused on monitoring trends in the food and beverage industry in order to provide market insights to brand owners and senior decision makers. Her insights inform critical product-development decisions in order to formulate and develop products for long-term success. Dembitzer earned her bachelor’s degree from McGill University and her MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to joining Imbibe, Dembitzer launched a boutique bakery business and her products were sold at retailers throughout Chicagoland, as well as through a custom-built website focused on targeting kosher-conscious consumers. She ran all her own marketing and sales, so she knows a thing or two about brand building and trendspotting.