Everyone to the Table!

By: Margaret Core, Vice President, Industry Events, Food Marketing Institute 

The Food Marketing Institute is inviting “Everyone to the Table,” and that invitation has at least two different, but important, meanings.

First, it represents an invitation on behalf of the entire food retail industry to everyone in the world who gathers for a meal, whether it be in their home or on the go. One thing everybody in the world has in common is that they eat and drink, and the industry’s retailers and suppliers are proud to offer, not just the products, but the innovations and new ideas that make the experience of eating and drinking so special.

Second, it is an invitation on the part of the association that represents food retail to everybody associated with the industry to join it in Chicago June 20-23 for FMI Connect. FMI wants to bring “Everyone to the Table” to learn about and stay current on the latest trends, innovations, ideas and engagement strategies that help consumers enjoy that experience of eating and drinking.

FMI Connect is that “table,” the platform upon which retailers, manufacturers and suppliers can gather to share information, introduce new ideas, analyze their businesses, track the pulse of the shopper and look for new ways to reach an evolving consumer base and profit from it.

The phrase also speaks to the changing nature of the food retail industry. This is no longer just a business made up of buyers and sellers – if it ever was. It is a global community of partners who must work together at countless levels to deliver the finest products to its customers.

Today, grocery stores are finding the products consumers want and delivering it to them from the other side of the world – and from farmers and growers half a mile down the road. As a consequence, it is vital that the industry have a meeting place like FMI Connect where each year it can gather for a few days and explore all the ways its stakeholders can serve their communities.

The food retail industry is local and global, all at the same time, so we must work together, every one of us, to make sure we deliver the best products and services in the most innovative ways possible to our increasingly discerning customers. What better way to do that than to invite ‘Everyone to the Table’” I look forward to seeing you in Chicago this June!