ORTUNE
Natural Specialty Bakery
Newsletter June 2015 Volume 3 - Issue 6
C.A. Fortune Company Announcements ORTUNE Natural
Specialty
Bakery
June 2015 Vol. 3 - Issue 6 Inside This Issue
Dear Client & Customer Partners, C.A. Fortune is proud to unveil our new digital-friendly newsletter. We understand that obtaining industry news is essential and we aim to provide you with content that is easily accessible in various forms from computer to tablet to mobile-device.
Announcements 2-3
We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter and look forward to continuing to bring you quality and insightful information.
Consumer Trends 4-5
Sincerely,
Distributor News 5 Retailer News 6-10 Shows & Events 11
New Additions to the C.A. Fortune Team Matt Flores – Regional Sales Manager Central Region – Kansas City Market
Headquarter Central Region 141 Covington Drive Bloomingdale, IL 60108 630.539.3100
Matt comes to us highly regarded and well respected from the specialty distributor “world” after spending the last 11 years managing several key accounts in and around the Kansas City market. He started his career with us on May 26th, and already is hitting the ground running within his territory. He will assume control of Ashley Schoonover’s former responsibilities, and report directly to Brian Taylor, our VP of Sales in the Central Region.
East Region 2 Van Riper Rd Montvale, NJ 07645 201.307.9100
Allison Pilcher– Regional Sales Manager Central Region- Chicago & NW Indiana Markets
Offices
South Region 801 Stadium Dr. Ste. 107 Arlington, TX 76011 817.522.3200
Follow Us
2
Liz Borys Marketing Manager
Allison, a Chicago based graduate of University of Illinois’s food marketing department, joins C.A. Fortune from her former employer, Topco & Associates of 3 years. During her stay at Topco, she spent the majority of her time within their Sales & Category Management departments; both of which will play key roles within her new role on our sales team. With a start date of June 22nd, she will be joining Jim Tyska in the IL market, and taking over Tim Murphy’s prior RSM role. She will report directly to Brian Taylor.
C.A. Fortune Company Announcements James McCool – Regional Sales Manager East Region – Manhattan & Long Island, NY Markets James, a graduate of Lafayette College (Pennsylvania) Business school, joins our East Region sales team, as our newest Regional Sales Manager for the Manhattan and Long Island territories (formerly under the control of Gino Albanese). Based in the Queens, NY, he will report directly to J.D. Anastasi, Vice President of our East Region.
Dave Stephens – Account Manager Central Region - Wisconsin Market As we continue to expand our Account Manager level within the company (joining Cody Christensen & Andrew Thierer), Dave joins C.A. Fortune as our dedicated AM for the Wisconsin market. Dave’s (and the position in general) core functions will be to support Susie Goldsmith and Larry McGivern on all smaller natural independent account calls & overall merchandising efforts (conventional grocery & Whole Foods). As you would imagine, we’re ecstatic to announce the continued development of this team, and confident it’s going to add a tremendous amount of value within each strategic market. Dave will report directly to Susie and Larry.
Leah Huggins – Account Manager Central Region - Illinois Market Leah, an Indiana Wesleyan graduate, will join the Account Manager team here in the Central Region, however strictly focused on the Illinois market. Leah will be based downtown Chicago and support Jim and Allison on all similar functions listed above under Dave. Her direct reports will be Jim and Allison.
Nicole Lentz– Account Manager East Region - Florida/Georgia Markets Nicole, who has been on board for a number of weeks has already played a critical role in developing the independent natural business in the Southeast, in addition to providing our team with much stronger merchandising coverage at Whole Foods. She is based in Atlanta, GA and reports directly to Miki Wolff, Regional Sales Manager – East Region. Craig Lanza– Regional Sales Manager, Bakery Division Central Region – Wisconsin Market Under the leadership of Eric Syvertsen (Director of Bakery), our bakery division continues to excel, and as a result enabled us to bring on someone with the experience and talent of Craig. Prior to joining C.A. Fortune, Craig spent the last five years on Acosta’s bakery team. His sole responsibility will be to grow and manage our bakery business within the WI and MN markets. Craig will report directly to Eric.
3
Consumer Trends U.S. Shoppers Prefer Physical Outlets To Online While online shopping seems to threaten brick-and-mortar retailers, new findings from The Nielsen Co. indicate U.S. consumers prefer physical store visits, but are still active in digital spaces. More than half of U.S. consumers surveyed report having an “enjoyable and engaging experience” while shopping in grocery stores, while 57 percent say shopping at a brick-and-mortar outlet is a “fun day out for the family.” U.S. shoppers trail most of the world in future willingness to use digital retailing options, according to Nielsen. The highest level of acceptance is in developing nations, as 60 percent of shoppers in Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries report an interest in using online outlets, compared with 59 percent in Middle East and African regions, 52 percent in North America and 45 percent in Europe. Globally, online and mobile coupons and shopping lists are the most cited forms of in-store digital engagement, with two-thirds of respondents saying they would use these technologies in the future. Further, Nielsen reports 14 percent of the 30,000 shoppers surveyed have downloaded a loyalty program or retailer’s app to receive information and product offers, while 65 percent report willingness to do so in the future. Source
Health-Conscious Labeling the Future of Food The stats are in — Americans want to know what’s in their food. Nutritional labels are a popular read these days. In fact, 87 percent of Americans look at the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods and beverages at least sometimes, and 56 percent actively pay attention to what’s on nutrition labels, according to survey data from market research firm Packaged Facts. The new motto for ingredients seems to be, “simpler and fewer” — 67 percent of Americans prefer groceries with simpler and fewer ingredients. About the same percent consider nutritional content, ingredient-free and health benefit statements when choosing what to put in their grocery cart. In response to social media, focus groups, consumer surveys, and even petitions, the industry is adjusting to meet the concerns of what consumers do and do not want in their food and beverages. Major retailers and foodservice providers are adding their voices to the movement to convince the industry to respond. And respond they have. Major industry initiatives include eliminating artificial coloring and flavorings, replacing artificial preservatives with natural ones, reducing added sugars, switching to GMO-free ingredients, and reducing or eliminating routine antibiotics given to animals. Though the federal government requires Nutrition Facts panels and ingredients labels on all continues on next page...
4
Consumer Trends Health-Conscious Labeling the Future of Food cont. packaged foods and beverages, some marketers, retailers, and foodservice providers are taking a proactive stance on the issue. These companies are willing to overhaul even their most iconic brands, according to David Sprinkle, research director, Packaged Facts. Recent examples include:
l K raft Foods Group — Beginning in January 2016, Kraft will remove artificial colors and preservatives from their Original Macaroni & Cheese boxed dinner mixes.
l T he Hershey Co. — Announced that it will begin reformulating its products with simpler, easier-to-understand ingredients. They feature a three-prong strategy: simpler, more natural ingredients; transparency and ingredient information shared with consumers; and sourcing responsible and sustainable ingredients.
l N estlé USA — Announced it will stop using artificial colors and flavors in all its chocolate candy products by the end of 2015.
l T yson Foods — The country’s biggest poultry producer promised that by September 2017 it will expect to eliminate the use of antibiotics on chickens. Tyson is a major chicken supplier to McDonald’s, which announced that it will stop selling chicken raised with antibiotics in the next two years
Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a variety of topics. Source
Distributor News KeHE Adds To Its Connect Platform KeHE Distributors says it now provides route visibility through KeHE Connect, a proprietary platform that accelerates engagement between retailers, vendors and KeHE. This industry-first capability sends real-time order status to any device, according to Illinois-based KeHE. “This is an exciting time for KeHE and our retail customers,” said Scott Cousins, chief information officer at KeHE. “The KeHE Connect platform was proven with show technology last year. Route visibility is a valuable addition to our KeHE Connect platform. It’s an important step toward making it easy to do business with KeHE. We listened carefully to our retail customers and understand that in-store efficiency is essential to their bottom line. KeHE Connect delivers opt-in information that matters. Route visibility provides valuable information by text or email at critical points in the fulfillment lifecycle.” KeHe says that transparency is vital in today’s supply chain. Retailers need to know when orders will be delivered and alerted to any changes in estimated time of arrival.
Source
5
Retailer News United Supermarkets Opens Grocery, Convenience Stores In Brownwood The United Supermarkets opened June 17 in Brownwood. The United Family opened its first United Supermarkets and United Express fuel and convenience stores in Brownwood at 300 East Commerce on June 17. The grand opening ceremony for the 42,648-s.f. supermarket and 1,472 s.f. convenience store included a $10,000 check presentation to Good Samaritan Ministries, as well as a $1,200 donation to the Austin Avenue Church of Christ, the church that hosted job fair events. “This grand opening is the culmination of hard work and dedication demonstrated by many United Family team members and Brownwood community leaders,” said Robert Taylor, CEO of The United Family. “We are excited to introduce this community to our company’s special brand of service, while also providing a comprehensive selection of everyday items families need at an affordable price.” United Supermarkets features a large selection of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, including more than 100 organic options, fresh meat and seafood and experienced meat cutters. Other notable features include a full-service bakery and walk-in beer cooler, as well as Texas-made products, a large frozen food section and an extensive selection of gluten-free items. A drive-thru pharmacy is available and plans are under way for the addition of an in-store clinic. In addition to standard convenience items, the United Express store has sandwiches, breakfast burritos and other items available that are made fresh daily in the primary store. It also has a four-pump (eightdispenser) fuel station, which offers both gasoline and diesel. “This United Supermarkets represents our newest format for the banner, which Brownwood guests will really enjoy,” said Wes Jackson, chief merchandising officer for The United Family. “The store features an expanded offering of fresh foods including fresh prepared food complete with in-store dinning. In a very recent exciting development, we will also feature an in-store Starbucks opening later this year.” Store director Lynn Day comes to Brownwood from Graham, Texas, where he served as the assistant store director since 1994. Prior to his arrival at United, Day spent 14 years in the grocery retail business with other regional companies. “Not only will guests be able to fulfill their grocery, gas and pharmacy needs here, but this store serves as an asset to our community,” said Day. “We are proud to provide employment opportunities and enable further economic development within the Brownwood economy.” The 9.8-acre site is responsible for nearly 200 jobs in the community and an estimated payroll of $1.35 million per year. United Supermarkets is the flagship brand of The United Family, a Texas-based grocery chain that operates 66 stores in West Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth and New Mexico under five banners: United Supermarkets, Market Street, Amigos, Albertsons Market and United Express. The United Family is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertson’s LLC.
6
Source
Retailer News Lunds & Byerlys to Pilot Customer Experience Platform Platform powered by Unata
Lund Food Holdings, parent company of 27 Lunds & Byerlys supermarkets in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, will pilot a 1-to-1 customer engagement platform to drive unique online experiences for its shoppers. Over time, shoppers will have access to a 1-to-1 personalized homepage and personalized product recommendations across their entire shopping experience. Included in the omni-channel customer experiences are: 1-to-1 Personalized Homepage: Customers can easily access a 1-to-1 personalized list of the most relevant specials based on their purchase history, their most frequently purchased items and targeted content from Lunds & Byerlys. 1-to-1 Product Recommendations: Customers will be presented with product recommendations across the online
shopping experience, including related items to those added to their shopping cart. Plus, they will have access to a personalized version of the product catalogue, which presents the most relevant items for the shopper in each department. Shop by Attribute: Customers can organize and browse products based on attributes such as organic, local, gluten-free and more. Complex Promotion Support: Customers can access all in-store specials, including complex promotions, within the eCommerce experience. Discounts and offers are incorporated into the estimated cart total. Order Management: The grocer staff can manage online orders through a dashboard. Content Targeting: The grocer can target and manage promoted content to their customers. The program will be powered by Unata, an omni-commerce pro-
Source
vider, which will handle order management, content targeting and customer service tools for the stores. Phil Lombardo, chief marketing and merchandising officer for Lunds & Byerlys, said the platform will give his customers the best possible experience online. “Their focus on providing consistent and highly relevant customer experiences across all channels differentiates them from anyone we evaluated,” he said. “This combined with their expertise specific to the grocer category gives us the utmost confidence that the outcomes of this partnership will deliver even stronger shopping experiences for our customers.”
7
Retailer News June 30 Is Deadline For Retirement Of Coupon Barcodes The Connecticut Food Association has reported that Food Marketing Institute and members of the Joint Industry Coupon Committee are urging retailers to prepare for the retirement of UPC Prefix 5 barcodes from manufacturer coupons. These symbols will no longer be used after June 30, as manufacturers shift to exclusive use of the GS1 DataBar format for coupons. To ensure readiness, retailers may simply need to enable the functionality in their systems. In some instances, software and/or hardware modifications may be required.
Source
Wegmans on its first urban supermarket in Boston Construction of a Wegmans supermarket in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston -- the first to be built in the city proper -- is expected to be complete by 2018, the company said this week. The Rochester, New York-based grocery chain told the Boston Business Journal that Wegmans will be a “central piece” to the $500 million renovation and expansion of the historic Landmark Center on Park Drive. “We are still committed to the project ... and are making great progress,” Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale told The Journal. Natale said design plans are still in the making, but that the supermarket will likely be similar in size to the Wegmans in Chestnut Hill, which opened in April 2014. Wegmans has locations in Northborough and Burlington, and is slated to open a 122,000-square-foot store in Westwood this October. There are just over 80 Wegmans across the Northeast, according to the Washington Post. The Wegmans in urban Boston will serve as anchor for the food court on the ground level of Landmark Center. The renovated complex will feature hundreds of new apartments, offices and retail spaces once complete. Wegmans, known for its fresh produce and reasonable prices, has been named the No. 1 grocery store chain by Consumer Reports each year for the past decade.
8
Source
Retailer News Meijer builds connections with Millennials Meijer has been able to connect with Millennial consumers because much of its culture meshes well with these younger shoppers, JK Symancyk, the retailer’s president, said in a presentation Thursday. The 218-store retailer was founded during the Great Depression as a local operator, and that ongoing focus has come full circle with this generation, he said during a session at The Global Summit 2015, presented by The Consumer Goods Forum in New York. “Local connections is what we thought was important in 1934, and it’s also something that happens to be very important to Millennials,” he explained. While this generation represents the fastest growing group of customers, Meijer avoids the temptation of viewing Gen Y as a uniform entity, he said. “Don’t think of them as one group,” he explained. “A lot of them haven’t decided what they want to be. Don’t judge them. Listen and learn.” Despite the wide belief that younger consumers are the ones focused on transparency and trust, that’s too simplistic, he asserted. “It’s less about size and more about public versus private,” he said. “The fewer constituents you serve, the truer you can be to your mission. When you have responsibilities to investors and shareholders as well as customers, you have to decide which group to be right for. To have the freedom to be focused on customers 100% of the time is a blessing.” Symancyk urged the industry to keep the people factor in mind as companies grow their businesses. Meijer employs some 66,000 team members across its regions. “It comes down to your people,” he said. “Don’t lose sight of psychology and behavior as you work to catch up to technology. We want to invest in our people to be stewards for customers.” Symancyk made his remarks both in a short speech and during a one-on-one, on-stage interview with questioner Mark Batenic, president and CEO of IGA. Source
Kroger’s President And COO Retires The Kroger Co.’s president and COO, Mike Ellis, has retired after 40 years with the company. Ellis joined Fred Meyer in 1975 as a parcel clerk at age 16, and went on to serve in a series of operations and merchandising leadership positions in stores, division management and as a corporate officer. He was VP of Fred Meyer’s food group before joining The Kroger Co. as a senior officer in 2004. He returned to lead Fred Meyer as president in 2006. He was promoted to SVP of retail divisions in 2012, leading five operating divisions, as well as Kroger’s jewelry and convenience store businesses, and became president and COO on Jan. 1, 2014. Ellis’ successor will be named at a later date, according to Kroger. “We’re very grateful to Mike for his contributions over the past 40 years, and we wish him all the best in retirement,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO. “We have long taken a team approach to leadership and together our highly-experienced team of operators and merchandisers is focused on delivering on our aggressive growth goals.” Source
9
Retailer News Brookshire Grocery, Publix Eye Beacon Technology Brookshire Grocery Co. is exploring the use of iBeacons to incentivize shoppers to purchase products they may buy elsewhere. “If we know, through analytics, that a shopper never buys paper goods, we could send them a deep discount when they are near the paper goods aisle,” John D’Anna, Brookshire’s SVP and CIO, said Wednesday in an FMI Connect session in Chicago entitled, “Retail Relevance with the Digitally Engaged Consumer.” Beacons are devices that use Bluetooth technology to detect nearby smartphones and send them media such as ads, coupons or product information. “We could use beacons to determine where they are in the store, and better market to them,” he said. The retailer is exploring beacons as part of its 2015-2017 strategic plan. Publix Super Markets is also evaluating the use of beacons, noted Dave Bornmann, the retailer’s SVP, business development. “Beacons are exciting,” he said during the panel discussion. Bornmann noted that the retailer could benefit by using beacons to provide product information to consumers while they are shopping the store. “We can share category information that we have with consumers who told us they care about certain issues,” he said. For instance, shoppers who have noted their interest in natural and organic may get a Beacon message about the benefits of soy, almond or other milks when they are near that aisle, Bornmann said. Retailers will eventually reinvent the store around digital, mixing hard copy signage with digital signage via beacons, said Rhonda Stites, global head of industry solutions, retail, manufacturing, media and entertainment and technology for Google. Now that the cost of beacon technology is decreasing, Stites expects more companies to move to digital signage. “You’ll see it become the norm,” she said. Steve Barr, U.S. retail and consumer leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers, moderated the panel. John Mayer, VP of U.S. retail sales, J.M. Smucker Co., was another panelist.
10
Source
Shows & Events
Show
Location
Date
Brookshires / UNFI Show
Tyler, TX
July 1, 2015
Associated Wholesale Grocers Ft. Worth Fall Show
Arlington, TX
August 5, 2015
Southwest KeHE Tabletop
Dallas, TX
August 5, 2015
Valu Merchandisers Company Fall Show
Kansas City, MO
August 12-13, 2015
Affiliated Foods Fall Show
Amarillo, TX
August 13, 2015
Midwest KeHE Tabletop
Minneapolis, MN
August 19, 2015
Southwest KeHE Tabletop
St. Louis, MO
August 26, 2015
KeHE Natural Show
Long Beach, CA
September 9-10, 2015
Associated Wholesale Grocers Oklahoma Fall Show
Oklahoma City, OK
September 10, 2015
Great Lakes KeHE Tabletop
Bolingbrook, IL
September 16, 2015
Expo East
Baltimore, MD
September 16-18, 2015
Midwest KeHE Tabletop
Milwaukee, WI
September 23, 2015
Haddon House Fall Show
Uncasville, CT
Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2015
Associated Grocers Fall Show
Baton Rouge, LA
TBD September 2015
Southeast KeHE Tabletop
Orlando, FL
October 2, 2015
North East KeHE Tabletop
New York, NY
October 7, 2015
Great Lakes KeHE Tabletop
Fort Wayne, IN
October 14, 2015
Kosher Fest
Secaucus, NJ
TBD November, 2015
11