United Fresh Presents The Retail Revolution Seminar
June 21, 2016 | 3 min to read
United Fresh 2016 began its educational seminars with its inaugural “Fresh Foods: The Retail Revolution” program in Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center on Monday, June 20. The seminar was available to attendees with all access admission to the show, and was branded as a snapshot on produce’s current marketplace, sales opportunities and new products to support these opportunities.
Supermarket News, one of the event’s sponsors, presented its findings from the magazine’s 2016 study on the “State of Supermarket Fresh Foods.” This research evaluated fresh foods in today’s retail environment reported directly from retailers and suppliers.
The study was the publication’s second annual survey, which was conducted by New York City-based parent company Penton Media Food Group’s research division, and included 161 respondents. Liz Webber, the magazine’s senior digital manager, presented the findings, which showed produce and prepared foods as the industry’s primary growing categories. One of the biggest concerns for many produce executives is attracting and training qualified associates for these growing areas within the store.
The general trends reflected in the survey were: meal kits (such as Blue Apron), “ugly produce” (such as Hannaford’s Misfits), free produce for kids to sample in store, and fresh private label (such as King’s Culinary Herbs line or SuperValu’s Wild Harvest).
A supplier panel echoed these trends and presented answers to the fresh produce callings by consumers. The panel consisted of: Mark Campion, president of Taylor Farms; Alvaro Luque, president of the event sponsor, Avocados from Mexico; and Tristan Simpson, chief marketing officer for Ready Pac Foods.
With the advent of the pillow pack, triple-washed lettuce, and the Elevate superfood line, Ready Pac Foods is taking its business to the next level with culinary salad creations. Campion from Taylor Farms reported that by the year 2020, more than 70 percent of homes will be dual-income households. More ingredients are added to chopped salads to climb the value-added supply chain with the company’s chef-inspired products.
Moving these products into non-traditional outlets (such as airports and kiosks) outside of the retail environment is a strategy Taylor Farms views as important.
Avocados from Mexico unveiled an early preview of its 201617 trade program, which included new seasonal promotions, merchandising solutions and digital innovations to drive consumer demand and category growth. The multi-tiered program will be introduced through core usage occasions using guacamole, sandwiches, salads and snacking.
Finally, the retail perspective was represented by Steve Jarzombek, vice president of produce procurement and merchandising for Roundy’s Supermarkets; Paul Kneeland, vice president of fresh merchandising for Fresh Formats; and Andy Lunt, director of merchandising and sales for Qik-n-EZ Convenience Stores.
Tying in the arsenal of produce opportunities, Jarzombek shared how Roundy’s/Mariano’s stores use guacamole bars, prepared foods with $6 to $10 meal solutions, and juice bars to excite the customer and utilize fresh produce.
Kneeland likened Fresh Formats as “the Millennials of the supermarket world,” since the stores are designed for and inspired by the dominant generation.
Lunt boasts, “we’ve taken a stand on retail; we play that up,” in response to how Qik-n-EZ stores are embracing produce. Bananas are a huge seller for the convenience operation with more than 10 stores throughout the Mid-West. The stores also supply salads, parfaits and sandwiches with fresh produce.
Once the presentations were done, guests could sample foods by presenters and sponsors as well as explore networking opportunities for retail, packaging, supply and distribution by seeing these retail concepts come to life during a reception.
Source: PerishableNews.com