Ask the Retailer | FreshForward 2018 Wrap-Up

The fresh category in retail is turning the food retail business on its head. It’s the ultimate disruptive category when competing for business share.

FreshForward is a senior executive thought-leadership event—exclusive and invitation-only. We tackle the future of fresh at retail, generating new ideas and actionable steps.

Developed in Collaboration with

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Stephanie Lundquist, Target, to be interviewed by Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI

Stephanie Lundquist, executive vice president and president of food and beverage for Target, will be interviewed by Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI, at FreshForward.

During this ‘fireside chat’-style interview, she'll communicate Target's food and beverage vision and outline how its strategy has evolved, and how Target is prioritizing this segment of its business.

Stephanie and Leslie will address the unique role that food plays in a multi-category store, the imperative of fresh along with its unique challenges, and the importance of industry collaboration. The result will be an informative and insightful look at Target and the industry’s overall opportunities.

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Opening Keynote: Suzy Monford, Kroger

Suzy Monford is Kroger’s Group Vice President of Fresh Merchandising. In this role, Suzy oversees Kroger’s fresh departments of meat, seafood, produce, floral, deli & cheese, prepared foods, bakery and culinary.

Consumers are embracing food trends ranging from freshness to transparency, but their needs are far from one-size-fits-all. Retailers and suppliers need to better understand changing shopper fresh foods preferences across a wide range of demographics and channels.

Join Suzy as she discusses opportunities to improve how the fresh industry engages with consumers, and the prize is big for those who crack the code.

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FreshForward Offers:

STRATEGIZING

Stimulate fresh ideas in a unique learning environment
Industry leaders facilitate a distinctive learning experience

NETWORKING

Foster valuable, executive-level business relationships
Rotating discussion groups maximize valuable networking

CURRENT DATA

Tackle key, fresh perimeter issues
Strategic, high-level planning and candid, open discussions

Ask the Retailer

We're looking forward to the lively discussion at FreshForward 2019 on:

Disruptive technology in fresh foods
Food safety in fresh, and
Food loss prevention, packaging and sustainability strategies

Perhaps you have a few questions about these yourself? Submit a question below and we'll sort through them and post selected answers!

Thought Leaders' Answers to Tough Questions in Fresh

Food Safety & Fresh

John Ruane, Chief Merchandising Officer
Giant Food Stores, LLC

Question
We’ve been hearing more about the use of traceability technologies that may boost food safety, such as blockchain. What role does technology play in enhancing fresh food safety?

John's Answer
Technology is a very important component to advancing food safety, but there’s no silver bullet. While traceability technologies, such as blockchain, can play a fundamental role in enhancing food safety programs, advancing the overall food safety system requires improved supply chain collaboration, more consistent data-capturing procedures, and engagement with government officials. The best solution when it comes to fresh food safety is prevention of contamination throughout the entire supply chain.

Food Loss & Fresh

Terry Murphy, Group Vice President, Fresh
Wakefern Food Corp.

Question
The industry is hoping that ‘smart’ packaging will help reduce loss by extending the shelf-life of food. Is there concern that this might conflict with other retailer initiatives, such as reducing the use of plastic packaging?

Terry's Answer
Retailers are embracing sustainability and adopting practices to reduce the use of plastics and combat food waste. The use of smart packaging has a lot of promise to help achieve that goal. With smart packaging, the functionality of packaging expands beyond protecting and preserving the contents of a product. Smart packaging is packaging that monitors and provides information about the condition of a product, which has the potential to enhance the consumer perceptions on the freshness and quality of products. With any change, there is always the potential for unintended consequences; therefore, it is critical for supply chain partners to actively work together when adopting new strategies and programs for reducing waste.

Submit Your Own Questions

2018 FreshForward Wrap-up

The future of the food industry was the main topic of discussion during the inaugural FreshForward conference in Chicago, where leading grocers, marketers, shippers, growers, and processors gathered to discuss the latest trends and issues affecting the fresh food industry. Held for two days in September 2018, conference panel discussions focused on four major issues: The Evolving Consumer, Global Food Production, Combating Food Loss, and The Blurring Boundaries of Foodservice. Each panel consisted of industry experts, including representatives from some of the industry’s leading retailers, producers, and analysts.