Retail Operations

How the Food Industry Can Write the Next Normal

At our 2021 Midwinter Executive Conference, Leslie Sarasin, FMI president and CEO, addressed how the food industry can write the next normal post-COVID-19....

Honey, I Think We Need Another Freezer!

I have been working with our colleagues at the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) on our second Power of Frozen at Retail research report. As I reviewed the results of the consumer survey we conducted and the data provided by IRI, I could ...

Headlines from FMI’s Midwinter Executive Conference

Last week’s FMI Midwinter Executive Conference certainly made headlines with thought-provoking educational sessions, featuring diverse perspectives among food industry icons; predictions about the future of grocery amidst a global pandemic; ...

Showcasing Small Brand Innovations to Keep Food Retailers Buzzing

Seeking to identify new food product innovations that are entering the market and primed to solve for a consumer’s unmet needs is always a quest for food retailers. In today’s digital world, there are many product discovery tools and platforms for ...

100 Years of Educating Supermarket Associates

It’s not often you get to celebrate a 100-year anniversary, but this past weekend I had the opportunity to salute my colleagues at the Western Association of Food Chains (WAFC) who are marking their Centennial ...

Finding Solutions for Plastics and Packaging Waste Challenges

I joke that my entryway has turned into ‘Marjorie’s MRF’ because I have so many piles of material to find a new home for. There are extra paper bags to reuse or recycle, extra plastic bags to return to the stores with collection bins, cooler bags to ...

And the Supper Bowl Contenders Are….

There are only eleven days to go until we crown the first-ever Supper Bowl Champion, and the competition is intense. After two elimination rounds, the voices of 15,000 voters have spoken and the finalists proceeding to the championship round have ...

The Dreaded Words, “We Need to Talk”

Whether you receive them or deliver them, the words “we need to talk” are usually accompanied by a stomach churn. The reason is simple, that phrase usually means there is an area of concern that has been avoided, danced around, or alluded to, but ...

Celebrating Supermarket Employee Day

On February 22, 2021, I will be celebrating the hard-working heroes of the supermarket by joining with the industry to proclaim it Supermarket Employee Day. The supermarket has long been acknowledged as the backbone of our communities, but its role ...

Lessons Learned and Insights from Albertsons Companies

Susan Morris, executive vice president and COO at Albertsons Companies, is the 2021 Midwinter Executive Conference chairperson and she has proven to be an admirable guide in helping us plan our first-ever virtual Midwinter experience. Susan’s ...

The Future Is Now: The Impact of Technology and Innovation on Global Food Safety

The global food safety community has been adapting to unprecedented business operations and procedures at a breathtaking pace over the past eight-plus months....

Who Will Be In The First-Ever Supper Bowl Finals?

The road to the Supper Bowl is getting a bit more intense with the voting now open to determine which two of the eight semi-finalists proceed to the championship round. Go to FMI.org/SupperBowl for a snazzy video describing the remaining eight ...

“Make Every Bite Count” with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released as anticipated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) just before the end of 2020. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue emphasized that, “good food ...

Announcing The Class of 2020

As this calendar year ends, so does the FMI membership cycle. Active members in all FMI membership categories are asked to renew their affiliation with a fresh start on January 1st. But before we allow this year to pass, it’s important for us to ...

A COVID Carol

This year my traditional revisiting of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol resulted in an even more poignant experience given the COVID-19 context. I discovered some surprising parallels and lessons learned from this classic tale that surfaced by ...