9 minute read
A MOMENT IN TIME
Each CGA Strategic Conference marks a moment in time for California's grocery industry. This year's conference was no different.
BY NATE ROSE Director, Digital Communications, California Grocers Association
The CGA Strategic Conference is no easy thing to produce. Each year, hundreds of hours are spent by the Association and member partners, who make up the Strategic Conference Planning Committee, coordinating its details.
The process begins with a brainstorming meeting that takes the temperature of the industry. From there, a conference theme is born, sponsors are secured, and business meetings are scheduled.
These details are not shared with the intent of boring you with process details. Instead, the aim is to highlight the fact that each year’s conference marks a particular moment in time for California’s grocery community, and the community at large.
This year, the conference committee landed on the theme of “Minding the Gaps.” Whether you’re scanning headlines or just overhearing bits of conversation, it’s clear the grocery industry is in the midst of transition. The entire food distribution system is running fast and recreating their businesses day-by-day.
Like any period of disorder, there are divided opinions, innovative ideas from sometimes unlikely places, and plenty of opportunity in between. Still, there’s no easy way to point out the things we may be missing while mid-stride.
“The ‘Minding the Gaps’ theme felt right for this year’s show because it reflects where the industry stands today,” explained the CGA Strategic Conference Planning Committee chair, Phil Miller of C&S Wholesale Grocers. “The legacy grocery playbook is being reinvented on the fly.”
It was around this idea the industry gathered in Palm Springs, Calif. in late September for three days of educational programming, business meetings and networking. More than 800 retailers, suppliers and wholesalers heard from new voices, new brands, and the perspective of new technologies.
For the uninitiated, CGA also pre-scheduled more than 1,000 meetings between supplier vendors and wholesalers and retailers. “Despite how competitive the industry is, I think it’s fantastic we have this venue where we come together and plot our paths forward,” shared California Grocers Association President and CEO Ron Fong.
NEW FEATURES
Two hallmarks of the 21st century’s impact on retail are technological innovation and the emerging brands it helps blossom.
This year’s conference featured CGA’s firstever partnership with the Global Market Development Center (GMDC) and the Center for Advancing Retail Technology (CART) to produce a Retail Tomorrow technology pavilion. Hosting several unique retail technology startups, the pavilion offered private tours and in-depth product demos to conference attendees.
This year’s conference also featured the Retail Tomorrow Experience showcasing emerging grocery technology.
“This was our first attempt to infuse a future-looking retail experience into the conference, and it was great to hear all of the positive feedback,” said Doug Scholz, CGA Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Development.
The way customers shop has not only been transformed by the types of hardware and software displayed in the Retail Tomorrow pavilion but also by the emerging brands technology empowers. In a retail environment where consumers focus on brand experience, upstart companies often offer shoppers a unique perspective.
Emerging brands are also essential to the in-store grocery experience as a means of differentiation and a determining factor in retail brand affinity. The fact that new, direct-to-consumer brands are seeking out new channels like traditional brick-andmortar as their businesses mature only increases the growth opportunity for new types of retail partnerships.
“The Emerging Brands Marketplace was a pleasant surprise. As a retail buyer, you expect yourself to have a grasp of what’s out there. Yet, here were all these interesting brands I didn’t know about,” said Tim Murphy, Costco Wholesale. “I simply would have missed out on these types of opportunities if not for meeting these new brands and their founders.”
ON THE EDGE OF A NEW DECADE
The 2010s were shaped by the disruptive forces which grew out of the Great Recession. By 2019, this change element appears to either be diminished or to be such a feature of life that it is now commonplace.
Digital marketing is maturing. Incumbents have adopted the mindset of the upstarts. It seems likely the 2020s will be shaped by something else entirely. Opening Experience speaker Scott Stratten’s presentation confirmed this sentiment.
Titled “The Age of Disruption: Everything has Changed and Nothing is Different,” Stratten pointed towards the cyclical nature of generational commentary and the widespread recency bias in how we evaluate the times we live in.
His contention: The attention paid to all this “newness” shouldn’t stop with technology, but extend down to the people companies employ.
“Disruption is a very simple premise: it’s change without time to resist it,” Stratten told attendees. “That’s why there is a difference this time, with millennials coming in and the next groups…and millennials are a generation that has grown up in disruption, which makes them an asset.”
The following day, keynote Ron Tite presented his unique take on today’s retail economy and what it will take for grocers to stand out in a noisy world.
General Session Speaker Ron Tite
“I shouldn’t read your values; I should experience them,” he explained. Companies should think, do and say, according to Tite, CEO and founder of a leading advertising agency called Church+State. The online customer experience should mirror the in-person experience, driving tangible success through the type of business fundamentals that do not change, no matter the medium or channel.
LOOKING AHEAD
Pew Research reports the millennial generation will soon become the largest demographic in the United States, surpassing baby boomers. Right behind the millennials is Gen Z, the most diverse adult generation yet. This population trend means the workplace is due to dramatically change in the coming decades. Baby boomers are transitioning into their golden years while younger generations take the helm, bringing with them a new set of workplace expectations. The result is friction.
Tuesday’s Keynote Luncheon featured Chip Conley and an interview hosted by CGA Chair Kendra Doyel, Ralphs Grocery Company
“Power is moving to younger people faster than ever before,” said Tuesday’s Luncheon Keynote and Airbnb Advisor Chip Conley. “The more technologically-oriented the industry, the faster the power is moving.”
While this power transition can cause older employees to resent their younger, moretechnologically adept counterparts, the up-and-coming workforce seeks mentorship and guidance from the more emotionallyintelligent baby boomer generation.
Ultimately, a jumbled-together workplace presents opportunities to leverage diverse thinking and life experience.
“When we engage with one another, we have to look at each other first and foremost from a human and positive perspective,” shared Dr. Sharoni Little, who teaches at the USC Marshall School of Business and participated in a panel discussion on conscious inclusion moderated by CGA Chair, Kendra Doyel, Ralphs Grocery Co.
CGA Chair Kendra Doyel (L) led a panel discussion on conscious inclusion that included (L to R) Sharoni Little, USC Marshall School of Business; Justin Knighten, California Volunteers; and Subriana Pierce, Navigator Sales and Marketing.
“Implicit bias disrupts that ability, so we have to reframe the way we think and acknowledge the barriers we bring to the workplace and relationships.”
Beyond mentorship and self-evaluation, fellow panelist Justin Knighten, Director of Cal Volunteers for Gov. Gavin Newsom, recommends companies establish new talent pipelines by partnering with organizations like Americorps.
Rounding out the panel was Subriana Pierce, Managing Partner, Navigator Sales and Marketing.
Attendees also heard three disruptive voices during Tuesday’s Brain Food session.
Topics presented in the popular TED-style format included robotics and automation, direct-toconsumer digital brands, micro omnichannel partnerships and societal movements surrounding sustainability.
In addition to the conference’s general educational offering, this year’s annual industry gathering also featured targeted programming for independent retailers and enterprise risk protection directors.
(L to R) Greg McNiff, Ray Bridges, David Higginbotham, Stater Bros. Markets.
“Each year, I come home from Palm Springs with a notebook full of ideas for my team,” reflected Doyel. “This year, maybe, even more so. The conference changed the way I’ll evaluate my career, working with younger team members, and my children.”
Sunday’s Opening Reception helped kick-off this year’s conference.
THANK YOU SPONSORS, ILLUMINATORS
The Strategic Conference’s continued success is credited in large part to the tremendous support of its sponsoring companies.
“We are deeply indebted to the many sponsors that make this conference possible,” said CGA’s Fong. “Their support allows the conference team to explore new ways of bringing greater value, including our two new additions – the Emerging Brands Marketplace and Retail Tomorrow Pavilion.”
And of course, CGA wishes to thank its supplier partner, The Illuminators, for once again providing scrumptious breakfasts and lunches.
For over 90 years, The Illuminators has been an integral part of the conference, providing meals, entertainment and raising the level of camaraderie between grocery retailers and suppliers.
The Illuminators provided meals and entertainment during the Conference.
“On behalf of CGA, I wish to thank this year’s Headlite Tracy Lape, Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, and all the Illuminators attending this year for their continued support of the Conference,” said Fong.
Next year, we’ll kick off the new millennium’s own “Roaring Twenties” in Palm Springs from September 27-29. We’ll mark a new moment in time, together, and begin a new decade. ■
More 2019 CGA Strategic Conference photos can be found at www.cagrocers.com
CGA wishes to recognize and thank the many sponsors that helped to make this year’s conference a tremendous success.
Premium Suite Holders
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Bimbo Bakeries USA
C&S Wholesale Grocers
CA GROWN
Chobani
Coca-Cola North America/ Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling LLC
Hershey Company
Jel Sert Company
Jelly Belly Candy Company
Kellogg Company
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Kraft Heinz Company
MillerCoors
Nestle Purina PetCare
Nestle Waters North America
PepsiCo
Procter & Gamble
RMS, Inc.
TRUNO Retail Technology Solutions
Tyson Foods, Inc.
UNFI/SUPERVALU
Vilore Foods Company, Inc.
Executive Level
American Licorice Company
Campbell Soup Company
Chosen Foods
Classic Wines of California
Clinton Electronics
Clorox Company
Daisy Intelligence
Danone North America
Golden West Foods
Mondelēz International
Unilever
Opening Reception
E & J Gallo Winery
Mark Anthony Brands
Keynote Luncheon
California Table Grape Commission
Networking Lounge
Tyson Foods, Inc.
Registration Sponsor
Post Consumer Brands
Enterprise Risk Protection Summit Sponsors
Front Line
Safety Pinpoint Software, Inc.
RMS, Inc.
Retail Tomorrow Experience
Accelerate
Aperion
Eversight
Fit For Bucks Corporation
Smartsense by Digi
Whiteboard Session Sponsor
RMS, Inc.
President Level
Alkaline88, LLC
Amplify Snacks
California Lottery
Cascades Paper
The Coca-Cola Company
Command Packaging
Direct Energy Business
Ferrero USA
Flowers Foods
Freshop, Inc.
Frito-Lay Inc.
GateKeeper Systems, LLC
Harris Ranch Beef Company
Houweling’s Group
Idahoan Foods
Inmar
Itasca Retail Information Systems
Kashi Company
KeHE Distributors, LLC
Kushco Holdings
Loacker USA
Mettler Packaging LLC
NuCal Foods/Norco Ranch
OK Produce
Papyrus Recycled Greetings
Westlake Produce Company
Director Level
Alto US
AppCard
A.T.A.C., Inc.
Baloian Farms
Bemis Retail Solutions
BRdata Software Solutions
Bunzl California, LLC
Certified Federal Credit Union
Community Reinvestment Associates, LLC
Constellation Brands, Beer Division
Crown Poly. Inc.
ECOS by Earth Friendly Products
F. Gavina & Sons, Inc.
FMS Solutions, Inc.
HB Spirits Itab/Nordic Light America
Lone Peak Labeling Systems
Lotus Trolley Bag
MCKD Holdings LLC (Muscle MX)
Old Trapper
PBI Market Equipment, Inc.
Pivot3 Regional First Aid
Retail Data Systems
Re:THINK Ice Cream
Roplast Industries Inc.
Rose Arce Farms
Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.
Sioux Honey Association
SMC ZeroWaste
Tony Chachere Creole Foods
Unified Protective Services, Inc.
Worldpay from FIS
Zenith Insurance Company
