MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019
11:30 am – 5:30 pm
Greater Penguin Open Golf Tournament
The Raven Phoenix Golf Club
NFRA Fishing Tournament
Saguaro Lake
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Welcome Reception
Reception sponsored by:
TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019
6:30 am – 7:45 am
Breakfast
8:00 am – 8:45 am
Retailer Keynote
Kurt Schertle – Chief Operating Officer, Weis Markets, Inc.
8:45 am – 9:30 am
Retail Overview: Winners, Losers, Opportunities, Threats
Jackie Lewis – Director, Traditional Retail Council, Cleveland Research Company
Unprecedented change rattled the traditional retail market in 2018 and brought with it new challenges for suppliers to achieve the level of growth attained 3-5 years ago. How will you capture maximum growth with the growing penetration of private label, tighter inventory control, rising input costs, and structural pressure within the traditional retail space? Jackie will review the current state of the US retail industry, which retailers/channels are winning and losing, and best practices on how to approach emerging hurdles and opportunities within the retail landscape now and in the future.
9:30 am – 10:15 am
How CPG Marketers are Excelling in Digital Marketing
Zach Kahn – Head of Industry for Food & Beverages, Google
Zach will explore how Google uses data to help advertisers better reach their consumers and identify potential consumers of an item; to deliver direct marketing messaging timely; to provide advertising opportunities to the CPG industry; and to give insights on consumer behaviors. He will also share ways that Google uses data relevant to CPGs and retailers; how Google can provide insights on measurement and brand performance; how brands can better leverage Google’s approach; and digital trends that are shaping the way we live and do business.
10:15 am – 10:45 am
Break
10:45 am – 11:30 am
Uncovering Hidden Gems of Gens
Chris von der Linden – Executive Vice President, Consumer & Shopper Marketing, IRI
It is clear that more recent generations have approached the grocery store in very different ways than prior cohorts. Plant based dairy alternatives continue to grow, conventional dairy products are flat to declining, alternative sweeteners have opened up new innovation landscapes and many others. What other dynamics are being revealed in the vast amounts of data available? IRI conducted research into the drivers of the different dairy and frozen food categories by generation and uncovered some interesting (and hidden) gems.
11:30 am – 12:15 pm
2019 Global Food and Drink Trends: What it Means for Frozen and Refrigerated Foods
Lynn Dornblaser – Director of Innovation & Insight, Mintel
Hot topics today impacting what people eat include issues around enhanced convenience, a greater focus on sustainability, and optimizing health for consumers of all ages. This presentation will take a look at what is going on with each of these trends globally and discuss how frozen and refrigerated foods (and the companies who make them) can best capitalize on those trends.
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
Generational Differences in the Workplace: Working Better Together
Dr. John L. Stanton – Professor, Saint Joseph’s University
Food marketers have been focused on how to get the new generation to buy their products and shop their stores, but have you considered that they will also be your new employees? Everyone acknowledges that the new generation thinks and works differently than their predecessors, but what does that mean for you as a manager? In this session we’ll explore what to expect from new generation employees and how to make them contributing members of your team. Be aware, you’ll have to make some accommodations if you want to keep them!
1:45 pm– 2:30 pm
The Next Commerce Wave, Swell or Tsunami?
Ken Harris – Founder & Managing Partner, Cadent Consulting Group
There has been a lot of news on the next wave of commerce including block chain, price-pack architecture and last mile logistics. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Kroger are grabbing headlines about progress in these areas. Too often, frozen and refrigerated products are perceived as being distant from the impact that these initiatives have on consumer products and food. If the food industry is one step behind other consumer companies affected by the growing phenomenon of online sales, the perception is that frozen and refrigerated food is even further behind. In this session, Ken Harris explores the imminent nature of the new platforms to provide consumers with products in a more efficient and effective manner – including online, click and collect and last mile delivery. He also cuts through the hype. Importantly he will focus on the impact on frozen and refrigerated products and how companies in the space should be anticipating impact on their business.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
NFRA Committee Meetings
Frozen Promotions, Refrigerated Promotions, Ice Cream & Novelties
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Conference Reception
Reception sponsored by:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019
7:00 am – 8:00 am
Breakfast
8:00 am – 8:45 am
Wrap Up Discussion
Ken Harris – Founder & Managing Partner, Cadent Consulting Group
After a content packed first day, the key to value will be to take action on this information. Ken Harris from Cadent Consulting Group will lead a group exercise focusing on the most important takeaways from the presentations on Day 1. This will be an interactive group event that will rely on the participants to identify what matters most and to distill the messages of the presentations that will enable participants to take action when they return home. This will be an informative and crowd-sourced discussion that will create tangible takeaways from the conference.
9:00 am
Adjournment
