Voice of Food Retail Blog

University Profile: USC Marshall Food Industry Management Program Creates “Intrapreneurs”

As an adult, I sometimes dream about what it would be like to go back to school. Knowing what I know now, how would I do things differently and what courses would I take? I recently had the chance to learn more about the Food Industry Management (...

He Said, She Said on Private Brands and Health and Wellness

We both love the early 1990s romantic comedy He Said, She Said for its witty depiction of people’s different points-of-views. As a registered dietitian with many years in the health and wellness arena and a seasoned private brand professional, we ...

Photo Friday: Food Forward

FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin recently spoke at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Food Forward event and moderated a discussion on Mapping Consumer Trends with Nicole Davis, senior innovation manager of our brands for Kroger, and ...

The Transparency Imperative: The Foundation of Trust and Loyalty

“Transparency is an imperative for growing consumer trust and loyalty.” These wise words are offered by FMI’s Doug Baker, vice president, industry relations in assessing The Transparency Imperative research study released in September by FMI, with ...

Celebrating Outstanding Family Meals Programs: Gold Plate Awards

In the fourth year of the campaign, NFMM far exceeded expectations in the level of participation of the food retail ...

November Is Coming – Over 150 Initiatives On State Ballots November 6th

Although the sheer volume of initiatives has declined since then, this November, voters in 38 states will consider over 150 initiatives, referendums or other measures on their state ballots. And many of these will directly impact the food retail ...

Making Disruption Work for Your Business

Food retailers continue to see opportunities for differentiation as consumer expectations continue to shift and evolve. They have also become increasingly savvy, having to compete with an ever-growing set of rivals. We’re seeing a variety of ...

The Blurring Lines of Foodservice

For starters, although we're in the food retail business, we’re all consumers at the end of the day. Like the people who shop our stores (or who we want to shop at our stores), we may divide our meals during a typical week by eating out at ...

The Fresh Food Supply Chain: Combating Food Waste

The strawberry – featured in a video produced by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and shown at a panel discussion on Combating Food Waste during the recent FreshForward event in Chicago – doesn’t stand alone. According to panelist Dr. Frank Mitloehner, ...

Taking the Pulse of the Industry, It is Not Just About the Worry (Index)

This year, in analyzing the data from the questions that historically shaped the Worry Index, we found that there were as many factors that contributed positively to sales and profits as there were factors negatively impacting the bottom line. ...

Global Food Production and Fresh Foods

“When I was a boy, the world population was three billion. Now, we are at seven billion. Throughout our lifetime, human population on the planet will have tripled,” said Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor and air quality extension specialist in the ...

The Evolving Consumer: Tastes Change With The Times

The venue for the recent FreshForward event in Chicago, presented by FMI, underscored the inevitability of the evolving consumer. Held in a funky, colorful meeting space inside a former meatpacking building, the room’s décor was designed to spark ...

Community Outreach Awards: Making A Difference in Communities

It’s that time of year again when we like to recognize food retailers as the driving force behind these community and charitable events. Food retailers submit their best practice examples of programs designed to educate and mentor youth; impact the ...

Accomplish Transparency In Food Safety

To protect consumers, retailers are now expecting more from their supplier’s food safety and quality processes. We believe one way to accomplish this is to be transparent about your food safety and quality programs by implementing a rigorous food ...

From Private Label to Private Brand

When I started with FMI in 2014, one of the first goals I had was to move the industry from using the term “private label” to “private brand.” With the momentum, innovation and awareness the private brand industry was receiving, it felt like an ...