Voice of Food Retail Blog

New Synergies in the Food Association World

In a break with tradition, AFFI President Alison Boder and I agreed that an interview format might be a more interesting way to discuss the “State of Food Retail and What It Means for Frozen,” so she interviewed me on ...

The Significance of Primary Elections in 2018

With 435 U.S. House seats up for re-election this November, Texas’ primary is just the beginning of the 2018 Midterms. According to election analyst Charlie Cook, only 72 of those 435 seats are “swing districts”- meaning electoral analysis shows ...

7 Strategies for Foodservice at Retail Success

The home-cooked meal has been the heart of food retail for generations. Yet for many busy families, such meals are not always realistic. A recent FMI study, Power of Foodservice at Retail, finds the average household foregoes a home-cooked dinner ...

The New Meat Opportunities

For the past three days, we’ve been surrounded by meat at the annual Meat Conference hosted by FMI and North American Meat Institute in Nashville. As we talked to retail and supplier attendees, we heard a lot of discussion about the direction the ...

Emerging Technologies Transforming the Supply Chain: A Supply Chain Disruptor and Transformer

As advances in technology continue to disrupt the norm, more industry leaders look toward emerging technologies as solution providers for the diverse challenges existing in trading partners’ business ...

Attracting, Exciting, and Engaging with Families

SpartanNash Company stated that their goal for National Family Meals Month™ was to “attract, excite and engage with all of the families that shop in our store and encourage them to eat together at home again during the month of September,” ...

Traceability Today in a Global Food System

Food traceability is not a goal, but rather a backbone to many goals of the food system and plays a critical role in food safety and protecting our global food supply chain. Beyond food safety, traceability plays a role in achieving food security, ...

Energy Trends Reflecting Today’s Shopper

Contrary to numerous media stories, Millennials are still seeking in-store shopping experiences despite their growing interest in ecommerce. Retailers are working to create energy-efficient and sustainable shopping environments to not only meet the ...

Top Trends (and My Finds) from the 2018 Fancy Food Winter Show

Last month I traveled to San Francisco to staff the FMI and SQF food safety attendee information area at the Fancy Food Winter Show. We had a great booth experience with many attendees interested in our food safety accreditation program. In addition ...

Store Managers Are All Heart

In a world where social media, digital ads and the latest apps are all accessible, it becomes a point of differentiation to have quality, meaningful connections with people. That’s where store managers come in....

Midwinter in Retrospect

FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference always offers a whirlwind of ideas, experiences, exchanges, and activities, and the 2018 version was no exception. At Midwinter, so much happens so fast, I find it challenging to take in the significance of what ...

New Year, New FMI Tool to Access State Legislative Information

“Chaotic” seems almost too mild a word to describe the frenetic pace of legislation at the state level. To help prepare for this onslaught of state legislative activity, FMI releases the 50 State Legislative Outlook every January. Like the report, ...

Tackling the Eating Together Challenge

We know families appreciate the benefits of eating together—71 percent of parents say that ideally, they would like to eat dinner with their children every single night. Unfortunately, families succeed only half the time. Why do families fail at ...

Blockchain for Traceability and Independent Operators

Most food traceability systems are centralized or distributed. Blockchain allows for a decentralized system. It ensures appropriate visibility for each secure, authenticated and verifiable transaction. By getting everyone on the same page and using ...

Hackers and Auditors: A Love Story?

If there were two professions pulled together by unlikely fate, it’s auditors and hackers. This oft-unmentioned relationship always begins unknowingly, but the thrill of the challenge leads two polar opposite roles down a tumultuous path. A love ...