This year’s Alltech REBELation Symposium brought together a diverse audience of more than 3,000 people (10,000 if you also count the half marathon before the event}. But while there was diversity, there was a lot of similarity reflecting how the world’s consumers present that two-sided coin.

“Consumers are more diverse and more similar at the same time,” explained Alltech’s Dr. Mark Lyons. “They want safe, nutritious food, and they want to know where it comes from; they want that traceability aspect, everywhere, for different reasons. There’s also a lot of diversity in what they are looking for.”

Living and working in China for the past three years, Lyons has seen a switch in higher-end food tastes as the Chinese gain wealth and are able to see what’s available through social media channels. He said China is shifting to a consumption model, and that is opening trading opportunities for U.S. food producers to make inroads into that huge market, despite the differences from the U.S. free market model. “Manufacturing Americans selling in China is absolutely a reality today. And as their population changes, there is more of an open dialogue taking place.”

Listen to all of Chuck’s interview with Dr. Lyons here: Interview with Dr. Mark Lyons, Alltech

Don’t forget to check out photos from the event here: 2015 Alltech REBELation Photo Album