Grocer2015 issue 4 web

2015, ISSUE 4

C ALIFORNIA GROCERS A SSOCIATION

MINING THE NEXT

FOOD T RE ND IN THIS ISSUE • Local Government - Not Just Local Anymore • The Inspiring Apothecary • Partnerships for the Future • California’s Cultural Fusion

For the latest industry news visit www.cagrocers.com

CONTENTS

local Government

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Not Just Local Anymore

F E AT U R ES

COLU M NS

Local Government - Not Just Local Anymore

President’s Message Americans with Disabilities Act – The Bedrock for Frivolous Litigation.......................5

California grocers are experiencing firsthand the rise of local government. Increasingly in California, and across the nation, local governments are beginning to view themselves as policy innovators and leaders.

Mining the Next Food Trend

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We are living in a gold rush of food trends, mined with ladles and saucepans, instead of pickaxes and dynamite, says David Sax, a leading expert on food trends and speaker at the 2015 CGA Strategic Conference.

Partnerships for the Future

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CGA’s partnership with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo represents an investment in the future of the grocery industry and its workforce.

The Inspiring Apothecary

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The sky’s the limit for Albert Enemuoh. A native of Nigeria, Albert has demonstrated that hard work, a positive attitude and a willingness to go the extra mile, are keys to reaching personal success

California’s Cultural Fusion

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| Issue 4

From The Chair Caddie Factor........................................................6 Foundation Message Tapping Into the Millennial Workforce....................8 Viewpoint—Kevin Coupe Ecosystems, The Final Retail Frontier....................10 Capitol Insider Does California’s Recycling Program Need Recycling?................................................ 13 California Politics Circular Reasoning: When Public Policies Run Counter to State Objectives................................. 14

DEPA RT M EN TS Washington Report...................................... 18, 20 CGA News..........................................................26

California is a microcosm of the U.S.,drawing its energy, ideas, tastes and innovations from everywhere and everyone and the grocery industry is no exception to the rule.

Know the Law.....................................................28 Member Profile...................................................34 Advertiser Index .................................................60

CALIFORNIA GROCERS ASSOCIATION President/CEO Ronald Fong

Senior Vice President, Business Development & Marketing Doug Scholz Vice President, Communications Dave Heylen

Director, Events & Sponsorship Beth Wright Director, CGA Educational Foundation Brianne Page Director, Local Government Relations Laura Peralta

For association members, subscription is included in membership dues.

Subscription rate for non-members is $100 and does not include CGA Buyers’ Guide. © 2015 California Grocers Association

Publisher Ronald Fong E-mail: rfong@cagrocers.com Editor Dave Heylen E-mail: dheylen@cagrocers.com Associate Editor Tony Ortega E-mail: tortega@cagrocers.com For advertising information contact: Tony Ortega E-mail: tortega@cagrocers.com

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California Grocer is the official publication of the California Grocers Association.

1215 K Street, Suite 700 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 448-3545 (916) 448-2793 Fax www.cagrocers.com

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy Keri Askew Bailey

Executive Director, CGA Educational Foundation Shiloh London

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Like California’s rich culture of food, the CGA Strategic Conference is fresh, fun, innovative, and committed to delivering on quality without compromising efficiency.

Every year, hundreds of professionals representing the broad spectrum of the California grocery industry convene in Palm Springs to learn about trends, collaborate and discuss strategies for the future.

Attendees routinely praise the CGA Strategic Conference as the most productive and enjoyable networking event of the year. We blend our high-energy educational programming and business meetings with relaxed social events to foster an environment for genuine discussion and quality time in the company of acquaintances new and old.

Join us this September for three super-charged days featuring cutting-edge presenters, rewarding forum discussions, and other top-notch educational programming designed to propel your business forward.

September 27-29, 2015 | Palm Springs, CA

REGISTER NOW

Early bird registration discount through September 3, 2015 Conference registration includes: All educational sessions & programs Complete access to the conference expo floor Breakfast & Lunch provided by The Illuminators ( Monday & Tuesday) Networking events including Opening Reception, After Hours Social, Craft Brew Social and Illuminators’ Special Event Each paid registration includes two The Illuminators Special Event tickets CGA members receive 5% discount on conference registration fees.

For complete information and to register visit

www.cgastrategicconference.com

“There is no other conference where one is able to learn nearly as much about the current state of the California grocery industry, as this one. That and the fact that you leave the conference with a very thorough understanding of the marketing strategies for major manufacturers & suppliers, for the following year. The entire conference is extremely well planned and executed.”

Kurt Erickson

Chief Operating Officer Vallarta Supermarkets

Featured Speakers Our educational programming blends a variety of learning formats from keynote presentations to breakout groups. In energizing, entertaining sessions featuring industry veterans and unexpected voices, we will help you discover how to take advantage of new opportunities in technology, new product trends, and new approaches to retail and marketing.

Food Trends

Supplier Exclusive Shane Sampson

David Sax Author

David Sax is a journalist and writer specializing in business and food. His writing appears regularly in the New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Saveur, and other publications.

Sponsored by Costco Wholesale

Shawn Achor

William Rosenzweig

Best Selling Author

Shawn Achor is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness.” His TED talk is one of the most popular of all time with over 10 million views

Executives in the grocery retail, wholesale and supplier industries Buyers, purchasing, operations and marketing managers representing small, medium and large retailers – especially those with responsibilities for dry grocery, frozen, dairy, deli, bakery, salty snacks and candy, perishable, produce, liquor and soft drinks Suppliers doing business with the California grocery industry Trade press

NEW! Independent Grocers Forum This year, the California Grocers Association has expanded the conference offerings for independent grocery operators. Join your fellow independent grocers for special sessions featuring presentations from national manufacturers, valuable networking events and educational opportunities tailored to independent grocers.

Shane Sampson has spent over 35 years in the grocery industry working at several chains, and currently serves as Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer.

Food Entrepreneurs

Company Culture

Who Should Attend?

Chief Marketing & Merchandising Officer, Albertsons Companies, Inc.

Dean & Executive Director, The Food Business School William Rosenzweig has spent his career as an educator, serial entrepreneur, and venture investor. Will was founding CEO of The Republic of Tea.

Whiteboard Sessions These collaborative share group discussions address everything from strategy development to the latest data on customer trends and tactical issues that affect both retailer and supplier. We have scheduled multiple sessions, moderated by industry experts, to help keep the conversation moving.

Emerging Eating Trends

Darren Seifer, Executive Director, The NPD Group®

Restaurant Competition

Brian De Lancey, Vice President of Shopper Marketing, Trepoint

Grocery Personalization and Digital ROI

Angee Walls, SVP of Retail Business Development, Eversight

Merchandising & Store Design

Christopher Studach, Creative Director, King Retail Solutions

Employee Engagement

Catherine Hartmann, Senior Consultant, Towers Watson Michelle Seidel, Senior Consultant, Towers Watson

The Illuminators Thank you to The Illuminators for their continued, generous support of the CGA Strategic Conference. Your outstanding meal functions and entertaining social events greatly enhance the Conference.

CGA

| Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

CHAIRMAN APPOINTMENTS

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C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

DIRECTORS

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Chairman of the Board Joe Falvey Unified Grocers, Inc.

Second Vice Chair Diana Godfrey Smart & Final Stores

Secretary Bob Parriott Twain Harte Market

First Vice Chair Kevin Konkel Raley’s

Treasurer Jim Wallace Albertsons LLC

Kevin Arceneaux Mondelez International Inc.

Kendra Doyel Ralphs Grocery Company

Dave Jones Kellogg Company

Raul Aguilar Anheuser-Busch InBev

Dennis Darling Foods Etc.

Lynn Melillo Bristol Farms

Denny Silva Coca-Cola Refreshments

Jon Alden Jelly Belly Candy Co.

Brian Dowling Safeway Inc.

Dan Meyer Stater Bros. Markets

Renee Amen Super A Foods

Jon Giannini Nutricion Fundamental, Inc.

Phil Miller C & S Wholesale Grocers

Naresh Solanki Bestway/Gardena Supermarkets

Teresa Anaya Northgate Gonzalez Markets

Dick Gong G & G Supermarket, Inc.

Hee-Sook Nelson Gelson’s Markets

Joe Angulo El Super (Bodega Latina)

Robin Graf Whole Foods Market

Keith Olscamp Campbell Soup Company

Rich Arnold Oberto Brands

Rickey Hamacher Bimbo Bakeries, USA

Kelly Augustin United Markets, Inc.

Arthur D. Jackson, Jr. Costco Wholesale

Chris Podesto Food 4 Less (Stockton)/ Rancho San Miguel Markets

Jennifer Bosma Harvest Market

Michel LeClerc North State Grocery Inc.

Bob Bukovec Tyson Foods, Inc.

Eric Lindberg, Jr. Grocery Outlet, Inc.

Paul Cooke Nestlé Purina PetCare

Dave Madden MillerCoors

Brent Cotten The Hershey Company

Casey McQuaid E & J Gallo Winery

Mike Stamper Nestlé Sales Division Kim Stokes Unilever Dirk Stump Stump’s Markets John Swindell Food 4 Less/Foods Co.

Bob Richardson The Clorox Company

Doug Todd PepsiCo Inc.

Mike Ridenour Kraft Foods Group

Jim Van Gorkom NuCal Foods

Casey Rodacker Mar-Val Food Stores, Inc.

Kevin Young Young’s Payless Market IGA

Dean Ryan Tops Fresh Market

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Americans with Disabilities Act – The Bedrock for Frivolous Litigation CGA President Ron Fong continues his review of key State legislative and regulatory issues and the impact – in “plain English” – that they have on your business. This month: the Americans with Disabilities Act. Owning and operating a supermarket can be as challenging as it is rewarding — especially in California. As a licensed food facility that also sells household items, chemicals and other general retail items, the grocery industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the state. This is one of the core messages that our lobby team continues to convey to state and local lawmakers.

An issue that has long been the bedrock for frivolous litigation is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Enacted by the federal government in 1990, the ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disabilities, similar to the way the Civil rights Act of 1964 provides protection against discrimination based on race, religion, sex etc.

The key difference between the two laws is that ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to covered employees, as well as certain accessibility requirements for the general public.

Specifically, ADA’s Title III addresses public accommodations for businesses and non-profit service providers. This includes private entities who own, lease, lease to, or operate facilities such as restaurants, retail stores, hotels, movie theatres, private schools, convention centers etc.

President/CEO

Additionally, public accommodations must remove barriers in existing buildings where it is easy to do so without much difficulty or expense, given the public accommodations resources.

There have been several cases across the state where attorneys have filed nearly identical ADA lawsuits against hundreds of businesses alleging violation of accessibility requirements to and in retail stores. Businesses are vulnerable as it is less expensive to settle out of court than spend the considerable amount of time and money on litigation. Senator Richard Roth (D-Riverside) has authored Senate Bill 251 that would provide an extended “notice and cure” timeline that would allow small businesses to repair access violations before they are civilly liable. The measure has received bi-partisan support and is currently in the Assembly*.

It should be noted that California enacted the Fair Employment and Housing Act in 1974, which falls under the ADA and covers many other areas. Major reforms to address harassment protection and employment discrimination due to age, ancestry, color, creed, denial of family and medical care leave, disability (mental and physical) including HIV and AIDS, marital status, medical condition (cancer and genetic characteristics), national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation were enacted in 2000. n

altered buildings; reasonable modifications to policies, practices and procedures; effective

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Public accommodations must comply with basic non-discrimination requirements that prohibit exclusion, segregation, and unequal treatment.

They also must comply with specific requirements related to architectural standards for new and

communication with people with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities; and other access requirements.

RONALD FONG

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*Editors Note: SB 251 status and location as of July 07,2015.

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FROM THE CHAIR

Caddie Factor J OE FALV E Y CGA Chair of the Board Executive Vice President Unified Grocers, Inc. President, Market Centre

If you’ve ever played a round of golf you realize that even with the proper skill set and practice, you still need continuous help and support in mastering the game.

Having a caddie with course knowledge and helpful club selection, would no doubt, improve anyone’s score. With a caddie at your side, you learn quickly how important it is to have assistance in navigating a new course, reading the greens, or assisting with your swing.

In one of my meetings with a California representative, I witnessed how this really works.

A question was asked of the representative who obviously had no clue as to the answer. The staffer stepped in, made helpful comments and answered the question succinctly. We all smiled

In all our daily lives, a caddie could certainly make our home and work environments run more efficiently. Actually, all of us have offices with cubicles and desks filled with invaluable staff members “carrying the score card and scheduling tee times.”

as the representative said, “I agree with Susan’s assessment of the situation.”

Without the assistance of someone turning the lights on, many businesses would fail miserably.

I experience daily the importance of those supporting my efforts and goals by sharing their ideas and implementing important decisions.

Thankfulness and appreciation is not often enough expressed. I must have Marnie put that reminder on my calendar.

Navigating through the state or federal capitals also requires a “caddie” to successfully maneuver through and influence the complex legislative agendas.

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A government representative or Senator has a “caddie,” more commonly known as a “staffer.” It is this support team or staff that do the homework and assist in making effective decisions for creating and approving laws.

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After our CGA trip to Washington D.C. for the annual FMI/NGA lobby day and our own Grocers Day at the Capitol in Sacramento, I have witnessed the importance of these staffers. I used to think meeting with this person was a waste of my time because I traveled to see a legislator or Senator.

Now I understand the importance and critical need for them. It is the staffer that gives the advice on “how to hit the next shot, what club to use and how far I am from success.”

I am now thankful for the influence of the “caddie factor” in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. and I hate to think about the impact of not having these key individuals present to keep things in order.

Over this past year as Chairman, I have discovered how the members and staff of CGA possess similar skills as the valuable caddie. They often perform as a teacher, team player and coach when influencing the political arena for the benefit of all of us connected to the grocery industry.

I most definitely cannot go forward without expressing my appreciation and thankfulness for the support of my “caddie” at home. In fact, I would lose all course privileges without acknowledging the importance of her by my side. Dolly keeps me lined up straight and focused on my game.

Whether it is golf, some other sport or our businesses, our success or failure is dependant upon the whole team. From the foundation to the top, all levels are interconnected and necessary for survival and growth.

Thank you all for keeping many of us out of the bunkers and this industry running. n

F O U N D AT I O N M E S S A G E

Tapping Into the Millennial Workforce Profound change is coming to the workplace and to succeed in the future, we need to know more about the generational shift that’s occurring and its implications.

SHI L O H LONDON Executive Director CGA Educational Foundation

Over three decades ago, sweet little Carol Anne Freeling sat in front of a television and spoke those infamous words, “They’re heeerreee” and it sent chills down our spines.

Well, another Poltergeist phenomenon is invading your lives: Millennials, the 54 million adult Americans aged between 18 and 34 that now make up one-third of the American workforce, are the largest generation at work. They’re special, like a snowflake. They are your new workforce. They’re heeerrre... are you ready?

Millennials are integral to the future of business: tech driven, rapid responses, and hard skills reign. They are well adapted to change and poised to unleash innovation — when given the right environment, support and autonomy.

The companies that do well to recruit and retain Millennials stand out for their ability to recognize their talents and give them a significant role where they can make a difference.

The CGA Educational Foundation’s partnership with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has afforded me the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with this (sometimes misunderstood) generation.

These students are brilliant, compassionate, hard-working, inspiring, and interested in working in our industry. This cohort of students

is driven and passionate, and wants to bring creative ideas to the table.

In this edition of California Grocer, writer Daniele Hagen explores several opportunities for our industry to engage with this younger generation, in “Partnerships for the Future” (page 44).

Millennials are “comfortable with numbers and data, and are interested in creating efficiencies that will reduce overhead and increase profit.”

A few of our member companies have taken note of this opportunity and are creating a Millennial-friendly workplace. These workplaces exhibit open, two-way communication; a high tolerance for risk-taking; cooperation and support among employees; and reduced roadblocks to innovation, such as internal politics. Wouldn’t we all want to work at such a place?

We are quick to dismiss Millennials because they don’t value 20th century workplace rules or they need to have their voices heard. But consider how these attributes might help your company- they are a generation of hackers, tinkerers and want the best, most efficient and logical approach.

What if you were to define a process by which you can uncover your team’s best thinking and make better decisions accordingly?

Food for thought.

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C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

One last thing – on behalf of the CGAEF Board of Trustees, I’m honored to introduce you to our first five Cal Poly Food Retail Management Program scholarship winners, page 47. I think you’ll see that they are, in fact, a phenomenal group of students, whom one day, will rule the world. n

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We are proud to support the California Grocers Association Educational Foundation.

Congratulations to The Safeway Foundation Scholarship recipients.

Rebecca Lynn Farr

Henry Qiu

Rubina Gala

Megan Ratto

Katrina Galloway

Tyler Rodgers

Claire Hyde

Kyle Ruiz

Andrew Nelson

Xylina Rusit

Ashlin Oglesby-Neal

Brandon Tomlinson

Your accomplishments inspire all of us.

VIEWPOINT

Ecosystems - The Final Retail Frontier KEV IN C OU P E

The notion of retail ecosystems has captured my imagination lately, largely because they seem poised also to capture so many of my dollars.

In the context of how a business ecosystem works, perhaps the most obvious modern example is Apple.

Think about it. If you have an iPhone, you probably work on a Mac. You probably have or had an iPod. Maybe an iPad. Some of us even have Apple TV (and most of those who do, love it ... and get all tingly when the rumors break about a set-top box that will be Apple TV’s next generation.)

And, a few of us even have Apple Watches; I think the main challenge to Apple is persuading people that its new smartwatch is, in fact, an indispensable part of its growing and highly functional ecosystem.

In so many ways, this would seem to be what Amazon is trying to do – create an ecosystem in which its e-commerce services are always the shopper’s first option and often the best option for pretty much everything.

That’s why, in addition to just selling stuff, it has invested in services like Amazon Prime, which creates the illusion of free shipping, the reality of cheap shipping if you order often, and that continually seems to expand its suite of advantages with things like free streaming of music, TV shows and movies.

It’s also why Amazon offers things like Subscribe-and-Save, which provides automatic replenishment to consumers of products that they consume regularly and frequently. (Why no other retailer that I know of has tried to replicate this concept is beyond me. Once you are using a product and getting it via Subscribe-and-Save, it becomes incredibly unlikely that you’ll ever buy another brand in the category from any other retailer ever again.)

It is why Amazon has gone into the Fresh business… because the company knows that if you use Fresh, the number of transactions you make from Amazon’s core business goes way up.

In so many ways, Fresh doesn’t have to make money; it just has to break even, because Amazon is making money on all the other stuff it is selling to Fresh customers. And it is why Amazon seems to be trying to figure out its whole “Dash” concept – creating technology that will allow for easy re-ordering.

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C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

They’ve tested a wand that scans bar codes and takes voice commands, and now are selling Dash Buttons, which can be affixed to various locations around the house so you can reorder heavily used items easily (Attach one to a washing machine, and you can reorder the kind of Tide you use most often with just the touch of a button).

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Think of it as the path of least resistance between the shopper and the store... in this case, an online store that wants to be able to sell

VIEWPOINT

pretty much anything, and will enable other retailers, through its highly profitable Marketplace business, to sell tons of stuff as well, with total transparency about who has the best price, even if Amazon doesn’t.

Sometimes, the whole Amazon ecosystem thing seems to get a little bit crazy, as when it promotes the use of drones for the delivery of commercial goods, or a test with Audi and DHL in Germany to see if it makes sense to deliver to people’s cars in addition to their homes and offices. Seems crazy, until the concept actually begins working, and we all find ourselves saying, “When did that happen? How did Amazon see something we didn’t see?”

The thing is, it isn’t just Amazon that is thinking this way.

Wired recently had a story about how Facebook announced “that it has begun testing virtual storefronts on company Pages, so consumers can shop without ever leaving its app or site. Google too is now testing an e-commerce option to let mobile users make purchases directly in search results via shopping ads that pop up at the top.”

Google too is now testing an e-commerce option to let mobile users make purchases directly in search results via shopping ads that pop up at the top.

Which is why Amazon is getting into the Angie’s List business with its new Amazon Home Services offering, and why Google, according to a recent Re/code report, seems poised to do the same thing.

To keep consumers engaged and part of their ecosystem, it no longer is enough just to communicate with them through their computers and mobile devices.

Here’s the deal. If you are a brick-and-mortar retailer, even one with an e-commerce offering, matching or approximating this kind of reach is incredibly different.

It is hard enough to compete with quick service restaurants, fast feeders and all sorts of other players for the shopper’s food dollars... getting into all this other stuff is completely impractical, way out of your comfort zone, and beyond any sort of expertise that you may have.

No question about it.

That said, these ecosystem purveyors all want to figure out how to grab a piece of your business. It almost doesn’t matter what kind of retailer you happen to be, they want some of your traffic, some of your transactions, and some of your profit. They don’t need a lot of it... just enough to make them profitable and make you look a little less relevant.

Which is why, as I look at this fast-evolving retail landscape, food purveyors have to focus with as much power and dedication as possible on what I would call the “and”... the facet of your business that distinguishes you from everybody else, that gives your format or concept a differential advantage, and that makes people want to go to a store that may not necessarily be the most convenient. It is because of, to use the title of the great Tom Hanks movie, “that thing you do.”

And I’ll have more about that in our next issue. n

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Twitter also is testing “buy buttons”, the story noted, because “the push into more naturally integrated e-commerce makes sense, even if the real goal isn’t to become a retail hub.” It is all about engagement... many of these sites already have it (the BBC recently reported that “half of the world’s estimated online population now check in to the social networking giant Facebook at least once a month”), but they know that the path to sustained success even in the face of new competition (and there always is new competition) requires nurturing users and providing reasons and ways for them to come back again and again.

To keep consumers engaged and part of their ecosystem, it no longer is enough just to communicate with them through their computers and mobile devices. They feel the need to often help people connect with the plumbers, painters, carpenters and all sorts of other service providers who help us take care of the rest of our lives.

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The CGA Educational Foundation’s Scholarship Program is one more way that Gelson’s Markets is enriching the lives of its associates and their families through high-quality educational opportunities” JACQUIE SLOBOM SENIOR DIRECTOR, STORE OPERATIONS GELSON’S MARKETS

The California Grocers Association Educational Foundation provides financial assistance to advance the educational goals of CGA member employees and their dependents and offers educational programs for the grocery industry.

California Grocers Association Educational Foundation 1215 K Street, #700 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 448-3545 foundation@cagrocers.com

CAPITOL INSIDER

Does California’s Recycling Program Need Recycling?

How many companies do you know that have been in business for nearly 30 years without changing the way they do business?

It’s hard to believe in 2015 of doing the same as one did in 1987. However, that’s pretty much the story with California’s bottle bill program, officially known as the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act or AB 2020.

Over the past few years, changes have been made to various calculations used and collection methods in order to make the fund more stable.

However, there have been no major reforms to the program’s core elements since inception.

In 1987, it was deemed there needed to be a convenience zone recycler within one-half mile of a supermarket in order to provide the incentive needed to encourage consumers to recycle.

Since that time, CalRecycle has identified store locations on maps and drawn circles around each creating recycling zones. The only change since the creation of the law is computers now draw the maps!

Meanwhile, communities have evolved. Urban planning is much different today than it was in 1987. While supermarkets are often the anchor tenant of a shopping center, it is not always the case. Other large format stores are becoming more commonplace. In addition, curbside trash service has become the norm in most communities over the last 30 years, providing the ultimate in recycling convenience.

These are issues CGA has been raising with CalRecycle for a number of years. In 2014, CalRecycle contracted with a consulting firm to analyze the law and provide recommendations for moving forward. CGA participated in the stakeholder sessions. In the end the consultant concluded that the issue of convenience was one that needed further study. Unfortunately, CalRecycle chose to postpone this discussion until a later date.

Recent activity at the local level may actually force CalRecycle to take the discussion more serious. Consumers around the state are also becoming more concerned with the presence of convenience zone recyclers located so close to their neighborhoods.

Neighborhood groups in San Francisco and Fresno have petitioned their local government to change the rules of where recyclers can be located. In San Francisco, this has created a major issue with the closure of a popular non-profit recycling center. It still remains to be seen what action will be taken in Fresno but it is likely to act soon. As these two communities act, others are watching.

As I have stated in this column previously, it takes noise to create pressure that ultimately results in change. We are now starting to witness the noise of CGA and our partners in local government create the pressure to force discussions on how to update this law.

It is too soon to know what the results will be but you can be certain CGA will be at the table doing what it can to make this law work better for grocers in 2015 and beyond. n

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As a result of this law, we have created industries, changed consumer practice and improved the environment.

Partner in the Sacramento office of Kahn, Soares and Conway, LLP.

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Since 1987, recycling has become a common practice. We now have multiple generations of Californians that have been raised recycling containers and don’t know the world without recycling bins. There are now multi-million dollar corporations purchasing recycled material to be used in manufacturing.

Notwithstanding the success of the program, it needs reform in order to remain relevant. Is it still necessary to draw circles around supermarkets?

Does one-half mile create the same level of convenience in 2015 as it did in 1987?

L OUIE BROW N

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CALIFORNIA POLITICS

Circular Reasoning: When Public Policies Run Counter to State Objectives DA N E H U TC HINGS Manager, State Government Relations

California state lawmakers have been pushing the envelope – sparking policy fires that spread across the nation for decades.

Party leaders on both sides of the aisle are charged with creating and implementing policies that fall in line with their respective core values.

For democrats, social issues tied to restoring funding of social programs to pre-recession levels, affordable housing, expansion of healthcare to cover undocumented workers and minimum wage increases take center stage.

Additionally, democrats have lofty environmental goals, seeking to increase restrictions on green house gas emissions, more accountability with hydraulic fracturing and increase funding for renewable energy sources—to name a few.

As the “minority” party, republicans have fewer top priorities they can advance – moreover, there is little if any traction on broad based policy goals given that every policy committee is lop-sided in favor of the majority party. That said republicans tend to focus on issues such as water storage, infrastructure repair, increased funding for veteran services, public pension reform and various deregulations for the employer community.

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Regardless of party affiliation, an elected official’s primary responsibility is to serve the constituents who elected them to office.

Political reality dictates that electeds also have dueling, sometimes competing objectives which include trying to keep their job and grow their party influence.

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This inevitable clash of public service and political gamesmanship often manifests in the form of policies that may run counter to overarching policy objectives established, resulting in thousands of measures introduced each year.

In the 2013-14 legislative cycle there were nearly 4,800 bills introduced. Many never see the light

of day – but out of those 4,800 bills, more than 1,000 became law. With this flurry of proposals it’s no wonder why measures, even introduced by the same party, run counter to one another.

Take for example Assembly Bill 676 authored

by Assemblymember Ian Calderon (D-Whittier) which would prohibit a public or private employer from asking a prospective employee about their current employment status. As the saying goes “it’s easier to get a job when you have a job.”

Regardless of party affiliation, an elected official’s primary responsibility is to serve the constituents who elected them to office.

Keeping that in mind, the author claims that employers, private or otherwise may discriminate against applicants who are unemployed. This measure is aimed at fixing that problem – a laudable goal. There are incredibly qualified people who are ready and willing to work. No one should be discounted simply because they are currently not working.

But one could argue that this measure runs counter to AB 359, authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) which would require that upon a sale of a grocery store the new owner must create a preferential hiring list based on seniority and make an offer of employment to that list of employees before considering others in the community – who may be unemployed and better suited for the new owners particular format of grocery store (e.g. language and cultural competency). Both measures were

CALIFORNIA POLITICS

capitol investment for independent grocery chains and maintaining consistent inventory needs to meet the standards outline by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (CalFresh) and the California Women Infant and Children’s program (WIC).

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presented in the same senate policy committee, on the same day – and both passed on a four-to-one partyline vote.

So, on the one hand you have a bill that says you can’t discriminate against someone who is seeking a job if they are unemployed. On the other you have a measure that says you can’t initially consider any other applicants for a position, regardless of their qualifications (or employment status) without first hiring from a preferential hiring list – seems odd.

In the wake of the Great Recession, California was caught in a tailspin including significant state budget shortfalls and a staggering unemployment rate that spiked as high as 23 percent in some regions according to The Public Policy Institute of California.

Since its aftermath, the unemployment rate has begun to decrease and the state now has a budget surplus.

But recent data from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that nearly 4 million Californian’s still struggle with food insecurity. This plays into the broader policy issue of food access.

Let’s set aside (for a moment) the multiple attempts to raise the costs on the general employer community through various state minimum wage proposals as high as $13 per hour. Or AB 357 authored by freshman Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) which would have tied significant financial penalties and costly litigation to employer scheduling practices.

Or even AB 305, also authored by Assemblymember Gonzalez which would essentially eliminate the apportionment process for a number of non-industrial injuries within the workers compensation system.

But instead let’s look at AB 93 the 2014 Assembly Budget Committee measure that was signed by the Governor. Assembly Bill 94 provided significant reforms in the state’s Enterprise Zone program (EZ).

EZ’s are specific geographic areas that are deemed underserved and the intent of the program is attracting new development in these areas through various hiring credits, sales-tax exemptions and other tax credits.

Sounds like a sound policy to attract new jobs, and economic development to a community in need. One Continued on p. 16

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The report sites specific barriers such as higher operating costs in inner city communities, insufficient

CDFA recommended a wide range of policy suggestions to the Legislature to try and find ways to increase new grocery stores in underserved areas. Suggestions included utilization of the California FreshWorks Fund, decreasing regulatory barriers for grocery stores to open and working with non-profits and local governments to attract more grocery locations. Yet since this report was given there have been dozens of measures that run counter to these objectives.

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

In 2012, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) released a report and briefed the legislature on food access issues. This report highlighted four recommended target areas that need to be addressed in creating broader food access – chief among them was expanding retail operations for healthy food.

Additionally, the report cites the time and resources it takes to find land that meets local zoning requirements and apply for the necessary permits. Specifically, “finding space for a ‘standard’ size grocery store in an inner city can be difficult – the available land parcels are often too small and purchasing adjacent parcels is costly and time consuming. This, in combination with the minimum parcel size necessary for the store, often leaves few, if any, available parcels large enough for new stores.”

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CALIFORNIA POLITICS

Continued from p. 15

problem, the reforms carved out grocery retail, making them no longer eligible for the program – oops.

Once again, on the one hand we have a commission of experts advising the legislature to adopt sound policies that would cut cost for traditional grocery and provide pathways to incentivize development for underserved areas.

At the same time the legislature adopts policies counter to those recommendations that drive up the operating cost for grocers even more and spurn incentives to develop by exempting them from programs designed to help economically challenged parts of the state.

Examples such as these are far too common – especially with regards to the traditional grocery industry. And while it could be argued that our industry will never leave the state because people will always need to eat, wouldn’t it be advantageous for all parties if there were more grocery stores in California?

Our industry would welcome the opportunity to be used as a resource when devising long-term objectives dealing with ways to promote the development and growth of the industry within our state.

Traditional grocery companies want to be an active participant in the legislative process. Our industry would welcome the opportunity to be used as a resource when devising long-term objectives dealing with ways to promote the development and growth of the industry within our state. n

Congratulations to our 2015-16 CGA Educational Foundation Scholarship Award Recipients Wendy Hernandez San Jose State University Joseph Garfield California State University-Stanislaus Rodolfo Ramirez Jr. Reedley College Jeremiah Rodriguez

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C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Employee - Food 4 Less Ceres

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Jaedon Tracy

California State University-Sacramento

Alejandra Gallegos

University of California-Davis

WASHIN GT O N R EP O RT

Collaborating with Competitors – Don’t Call the Lawyers FOR THE GROCERY INDUSTRY TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN WASHINGTON, DC OR SACRAMENTO, CALIF., GROCERY RETAILERS MUST APPROACH GOVERNMENT RELATIONS WITH THE SAME INTENSITY THEY DEMONSTRATE EVERY DAY IN THEIR STORES. I just left the Food Marketing Institute’s two-day State Issues Planning meeting – a gathering of 26 state association executives and 19 FMI retailer/wholesaler government relations professionals.

I came away from the meeting with pages of notes and a number of very good ideas, but most importantly, a renewed sense of optimism and pride in our industry. There is no industry more competitive than the supermarket industry.

We compete over penny savings and speedy checkout lines, cleanliness, loyalty points, fresh produce, quality meats, and fun décor, but when it comes to issues relating to government relations, those same fierce competitors use the same intensity to collaborate. This is the type of collaboration that does not concern antitrust lawyers.

Henry Ford is known for a quote that seems to express our members’ feelings on this type of collaboration – “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

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Jennifer Hatcher Senior Vice President Government and Public Affairs, Food Marketing Institute

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you facing for October 1 deadline and how can we help; swipe fees, pharmacy take back, food safety, GMO labeling (VT style!), Designing a 21st century WIC program, minimum wage, patent trolls, menu labeling, front of package labeling and nutrition facts panel changes, sick leave legislation, eCigarettes (what are the rules in XYZ?), ban the box, plastic bag and polystyrene bans, security breach/data security, taxes of all types, weights and measures, family meals, crisis communication tips, pharmacy Issues/ biosimilars/MAC pricing and PBMs, SNAP changes, beverage and snack taxes, health care and mergers of health insurance companies, hazardous waste/RCRA, impact of new energy policies, chip and PIN, mobile payments, best practices in local advocacy, preemptions of municipalities, animal welfare issues, net neutrality, running an issue campaign, WAFC, FMI and the Retail Management Certificate, Speaks Lite – the latest shopper trends research, identifying other associations and groups to work with and eating crab cakes.

We all appreciated hearing Ron Fong and Keri Bailey provide their update from the Left Coast, which serves as a wakeup call to the rest of the country, but also a tribute to the work you and they must do to try to interject sense into some of these regulations and legislation.

We all appreciated hearing Ron Fong and Keri Bailey provide their update from the Left Coast, which serves as a wakeup call to the rest of the country.

Their outlook provided a perspective that allows us to feel like we really cannot complain about having a minimum wage bill, a predictive scheduling bill and a paid sick leave bill to try to fix in the same legislative session while Ron and Keri are facing a dozen different ordinances on minimum wage across multiple localities for instance and likely facing an equal number of challenges on each of the other issues.

This is an incredible array of issues and would stump any of us individually, but with the ideas, humor and lessons learned from our competitors moving us all ahead, we sure have a much better chance to succeed.

Now you may ask, what do competitors collaborate on in the grocery world? Alcohol licensing – beer, wine and spirits; EMV preparations – what challenges are

FMI’s years of government relations experience is enhanced tenfold by the participation of our member companies and the network of strong state associations in the public policy and idea sharing process.

If any of these issues seem new to you or you just want to know what we found out, discussed or shared, don’t hesitate to reach out. n

WASHIN GT O N R EP O RT |

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Peter J. Larkin President and CEO, National Grocers Association

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Repeal of Country of Origin Labeling on the Clock AFTER YEARS OF BACK AND FORTH ON THE UNITED STATES’ MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING (COOL) RULES, THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN SECTIONS OF COOL IS ON THE HORIZON AND AN END TO THIS SAGA IS NEAR. As many in the food industry recall, the mandatory COOL rules for meat products were enacted in 2002 as a part of the Farm Bill and amended in subsequent bills passed in 2008 and 2014.

The rule originally required retailers to provide labeling indicating where fruits, vegetables, fish, shellfish, peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, ginseng, meat and poultry originated. The rule was expanded in 2013 to require retailers to include each production step for muscle cuts of meats to include where the animal was ‘born, raised, and slaughtered.’

Following the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, Canada and Mexico initiated World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement proceedings against the U.S., claiming that the meat provision of COOL discriminated against their livestock exports. After years of appeals and reviews, the WTO issued its fourth and final decision in May of this year stating that the COOL requirements for meat products are discriminatory to Canada and Mexico.

In response, the U.S. House of Representatives passed in June H.R. 2393, the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act of 2015, sponsored by Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee Michael Conaway, to repeal COOL for beef, pork and chicken products.

The U.S. Senate however adjourned in early August without passing a bill to address COOL, putting added pressure on the Senate to act before Canada and Mexico impose retaliatory tariffs on a wide variety of U.S. exports.

While the WTO originally put the U.S. on a 60 -day timeline after reaching their decision in May, which was scheduled to expire during the August recess, it has effectively extended that deadline by scheduling two arbitration hearings in Geneva in mid-September, allowing time for the Senate to act when they return from recess on September 8.

NGA has long expressed concerns over the mandatory COOL requirements. Aside from impacting supermarket operators’ bottom line, should the U.S. remain non-compliant with the WTO’s rules, it will cause market and supply dislocations, adversely affect jobs, business operations, and international trade.

Mandatory COOL labeling has imposed significant disproportionate costs on retailers, wholesalers, processors, and suppliers, all to provide a label that is ultimately of very little value to the consumer.

A report mandated by the 2014 Farm Bill to provide an economic analysis of COOL, which was released by the USDA in April 2015, states that “…the increased costs of producing, processing, and marketing food products to comply with COOL without a commensurate measurable increase in consumer demand results in economic losses to producers, packers, retailers, and consumers and leads to a smaller overall industry with higher consumer prices and less product available.”

Additionally, the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2015 Food and Health Survey found that 85 percent of consumers do not look at the COOL label when deciding what food to purchase.

Independent supermarkets are known for their full service meat departments that have on premise butchers providing value, variety, and exceptional service to our customers. NGA will continue to urge the Senate to pass common sense legislation to provide regulatory relief to those who produce and sell beef, pork and chicken.

It is clear that COOL creates an unnecessary regulatory burden without providing a tangible benefit to the consumer, and in order for the U.S. to avoid retaliatory tariffs from Canada and Mexico, it is critical for the Senate to act quickly upon returning to Washington in September to bring the U.S. back into compliance with our international trade obligations. n

El Super would like to congratulate all scholarship recipients.

Congratulations!

Alejandra Bacilio

Alejandra Cervantes

Emily Gamboa

Nallely Gutierrez

Carlos Hermosillo

Angela Hernandez

Andrea Hernandez

Alondra Hurtado

Elva Moran

Leslie Ramirez

Celina Ramirez

Jonathan Solorio

Margarita Vargas

Desiree Vera

Angelica Zesatti

LOC AL GOVERNMENTS NOT JUST LOC AL ANYMORE

local Government

Not Just Local Anymore WE ARE TAUGHT IN OUR YOUTH HOW THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT WORKS. IT’S A DEMOCRACY. THERE ARE THREE BRANCHES – LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GREATER THAN THE STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS AT THE BOTTOM. IF YOU DIDN’T GIVE THOSE ANSWERS ON YOUR CIVICS

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EXAM YOU FAILED THE TEST. BUT IS IT ALL STILL ACCURATE?

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Despite what some may think, we are still in a democracy and there remain three branches of government. But is the federal government the greater entity? Do states really set policies for local governments to simply follow? Are local governments truly a subservient governing body? For those watching California local government in the last

decade you know it is time to rewrite the civics lesson because the system has been flipped on its head.

California grocers are experiencing firsthand the rise of local government. Increasingly in California, and across the nation, local governments are beginning to view themselves as policy innovators and leaders.

LOC AL GOVERNMENTS NOT JUST LOC AL ANYMORE

Ambitious and frustrated local elected officials are exploding notions that local governments only exist to implement some other elected body’s vision.

Increasingly, local governments are at the forefront of some of the most challenging policy issues in the nation, such as climate change and employer regulation.

Ambitious and frustrated local elected officials are exploding notions that local governments only exist to implement some other elected body’s vision.

So why are local governments pushing a paradigm shift in the balance of power between government bodies? It’s for several reasons, but first it is frustration built up over decades with their state and federal overseers which has taught them ingenuity.

Both federal and state governments regularly require local governments to govern in a specific manner, limit their powers of home rule, and shrink or eliminate funds to perform their duties. In turn, local governments have created the communities they desire by finding increasingly creative ways to work around state and federal barriers.

Pushing through, around, or over these obstacles has made them experts at successfully tackling any issue they desire regardless of the impediments.

Another reality for local governments that has led to their rise in the leadership ranks is that they are responsible for nearly every aspect of our daily life.

When you stop at a light, they lit it. If you need a police officer or firefighter, they send them. For the grocery industry, they permit us to occupy a building, license us to do business, and ensure we sell food in a safe manner.

This leads to the phenomenon which is speeding up the rise of local government at an exponential pace – government gridlock. When you hear political rhetoric spill out of the U.S. or State Capitol it is usually a clear sign that nothing of substance is taking place.

Local governments don’t appreciate being dictated to and they clearly understand that doing nothing is not an option. While Congress and the State Legislature can caucus and filibuster, local governments are left holding the responsibility. Local elected officials are no longer accepting their role as apologists, instead they are responding by taking leadership.

Local governments have grown past being frustrated with inaction on policy issues of national and statewide concern which impact their communities.

New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia is credited for saying “There is no Democratic or Republican way of fixing a sewer,” and he was right. Combined with their ingenuity and appreciation for quick action, cities are leaving their traditional role and becoming this country’s policy innovators.

As an example, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson – speaking to peers at the U.S. Conference of Mayors –recognized the world’s largest taxi company, Uber, owns no cars and Airbnb, soon to be the largest hotel chain, owns no hotels.

These companies are having a direct and immediate impact on city economies. It would be irresponsible for local government leaders to stand by and wait for federal or state governments to develop policies to help guide the growth of these companies.

Bruce Katz, author of “The Metropolitan Revolution,” writes that local governments across the nation have recognized, “the cavalry is not coming,” and it is up to them to develop their own economies and policy solutions.

Specific to California, many local governments have embraced their new role as policy pioneers.

One of the more surprising arenas for leadership is climate change. Most California cities have pursued regulations and policies in an effort to reduce waste, greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

All of this is to highlight that local governments were designed to ensure daily life to be as comfortable and safe as possible. It is also important to note that local government takes the brunt of what goes wrong.

When the sewer backs up, law enforcement is slow to respond, or a budget doesn’t balance and parks or libraries have to close, it’s local governments most communities hold liable. This level of responsibility to

keep social order intact has taught local governments the dire consequences of inaction and delay.

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Continued on p. 24

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LOC AL GOVERNMENTS NOT JUST LOC AL ANYMORE

C O N TI NU E D

Continued from p. 23

Local climate change leadership has not only been appreciated by state leaders, it has been encouraged.

Governor Jerry Brown speaking at the Vatican told mayors from across the world, including several from California, “it’s up to you guys” to act on global warming, citing the lack of action by nations and states.

One of the more interesting local climate change efforts is Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), which allows cities to choose the source of their electricity – bypassing their traditional private utility provider. Marin County, an early pioneer of CCA, allows users to choose from a menu of renewable energy options including receiving 100 percent renewable energy. With a population of only a quarter million people, the benefit from Marin may be small, but they have since been joined by more than 25 cities and counties across California.

In 2003, Santa Fe, N.M. and San Francisco became the first cities in the U.S. to implement a local minimum wage higher than their states’ minimum wages. This action gave birth to a movement across the nation which has resulted in several of the nation’s largest cities adopting minimum wage laws taking effect over the next few years, with the highest increases set at $15 an hour.

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On the heels of Los Angeles County increasing its minimum wage, it will next regulate employee wage theft. In early 2015, San Francisco took a first-inthe-nation step of regulating employee hours and scheduling for private businesses operating in the city.

These issues have long been the purview of federal and state governments with massive bureaucratic

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departments charged with their enforcement, but now businesses will need to answer to city hall as well.

All of these local attempts to regulate private business and environmental concerns are not solely a result of local government’s frustration with the current system. Advocates of these laws are just as frustrated with the gridlock in state capitols and Congress.

Just as cities have recognized they can work around the traditional processes, policy advocates for the environment, unions, public safety, and many other issues are parlaying this mutual frustration into a grassroots movement.

As the grocery industry has seen on several fronts, advocates encourage cities and counties to pass laws they wish to see at the state or federal level.

As the grocery industry has seen on several fronts, advocates encourage cities and counties to pass laws they wish to see at the state or federal level. As more and more jurisdictions choose to pass these new policies, state and federal elected officials are pressured to champion similar proposals.

Minimum wage increases, carryout bag bans, and tobacco restrictions at higher levels have their roots in dozens, if not hundreds, of local government ordinances.

LOC AL GOVERNMENTS NOT JUST LOC AL ANYMORE

It is clear the grocery industry needs to rethink the political and policy processes that regulate how businesses operate. Long gone are the days of waiting for the state legislature or Congress to catch up to an issue. Future policy threats and opportunities for the grocery industry just as easily, and more likely, will arise from a city hall than the State Legislature.

It is clear the grocery industry needs to rethink the political and policy processes that regulate how businesses operate.

As the answers to the civics exam of our youth are rewritten, the grocery industry must also rewrite how it approaches government relations. A broader view, greater attention to detail, and deeper relationships with local government decision makers will be required to meet the new reality that local government is not just local anymore. n

iStock

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Your local dairy since 1910

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Berkeley Farms would like to congratulate Draeger’s Supermarkets on 90 years in business.

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C GA N EWS

CGA Purchases Future Headquarters The California Grocers Association recently purchased an office building located at 1005 12th Street in downtown Sacramento, Calif. The Association will manage the building under the name Aisle 3 Concepts, LLC. The 20,544 square foot three-level structure, built in 1925, is anchored by a FedEx Office Print & Ship Center on the corner of J and 12th Street. Additional retail spaces, including a Wells Fargo ATM, occupy the ground level.

Aisle 3 Concepts will renovate the second floor and move CGA’s offices in 2018 after its lease at 1215 K Street in Sacramento expires. The lower floor will be renovated for potential tenant space.

“As CGA expands its member programs it became apparent the Association needed more space. For some time CGA has wanted to purchase a building that could allow for that expansion.” said CGA President/CEO Ron Fong.

“This purchase represents a sound investment for the Association. Its location is perfect for our government relations activities,“ he added.

CGA Chair Joe Falvey, Unified Grocers, Inc., said the building purchase will stabilize rent and save the Association a significant amount of money in the coming years.

“This building purchase will be CGA’s legacy for the future,” Falvey said. “Our members will own their own building and be a part of the revitalization of Sacramento’s downtown business district.” n

SEC Tours Andronico’s Community Markets CGA Supplier Executive Council members recently learned first hand about Andronico’s Community Market from company Chief Executive Officer Suzy Monford, during a store tour of their Shattuck Ave. store in Berkeley, Calif.

Monford, who took over the company reigns earlier this year, led the aisle-by-aisle tour and shared

insights into the company’s operational philosophy and her vision for Andronico’s future.

The August 5 tour was the third of four SEC tours scheduled this year. Previously, SEC members toured FoodMaxx and Fresh & Easy. The final 2015 store tour will be Superior Grocers in Southern California on Nov. 3. n

New Members

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C A L I F OR NI A G R OC E R

CGA WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS.

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Waste to Water, LLC 433 S Main St Ste 328 West Hartford, CT 06110 -2812 Contact: Dennis Soriano, Chief Executive Officer E-mail: dsoriano@wastetowater.com Tel: (860) 559 -9333 Website: www.wastetowater.com

Grocery Outlet – Rancho Cordova 2801 Zinfandel Dr Rancho Cordova, 95670 -5664 Contact: Gina Navarro, Co-Owner E-mail: ranchocordova@groceryoutlet.com Tel: (916) 390 - 0988 Website: www.groceryoutlet.com

congrats!

UNIFIED GROCERS proudly salutes Draeger’s Market and their commitment to provide the best in food, wine and service.

KN O W T HE L AW

Failure to Follow WIC Stocking Requirements Can Endanger Your Program Status IF YOUR STORE IS A PARTICIPANT IN THE WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN (WIC) PROGRAM, FAILURE TO VIGILANTLY KEEP MANDATED FOODS ON THE SHELF AND REMOVE “OUTDATED” INVENTORY COULD PUT YOUR STORE AT RISK OF DISQUALIFICATION FROM THE PROGRAM. Maintaining the proper inventory of WIC products can be difficult, especially during a busy shopping day when inventory is quickly depleted.

However, during a WIC inspection, something as small as having only eight items on the shelf when the minimum stocking requirement is 10, or having even slightly “outdated” merchandise on the shelf, are violations that can in some instances result in your store’s disqualification from the program.

All WIC program participants, from small mom-andpop stores up to big box retailers, enter into a Vendor Agreement which, among other things, mandates that certain types and quantities of foods be kept on the shelf, and that such foods not be “outdated.”

Vendors are responsible for training their employees in all WIC program rules, including what merchandise must be on the shelves at all times. Such vigilance is important because WIC investigators conduct routine monitoring visits to ensure compliance with the program rules, and failure to follow these rules may result in violations that can lead to disqualification from the program by the California Department of Health Care Services.

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We have seen the WIC rules enforced strictly, even when the rules are ambiguous.

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For example, Title 22, California Code of Regulations, Section 40741(a)(6), which is incorporated into the Vendor Agreement, prohibits the sale of “outdated merchandise.” But, neither the regulation nor the Vendor Agreement define the term “outdated merchandise.”

Labeling terminology varies, and includes terms like “Best By,” “Best Before,” “Use By,” and “Sell By,” with no uniform standard for the use of these terms.

Labels that include “Best By” and “Best Before” dates are generally used by food manufacturers to communicate to retailers when that item will reach

peak quality, rather than convey a date beyond which the food should not be consumed.

Food items that include terms like “Use By” and “Sell By” provide more clarity for store owners regarding when they can no longer sell the product.

Many store owners treat all of these label dates the same, regardless of the different meaning that the manufacturers intends them to convey, and endeavor not to have any items on their shelves that are beyond the “Best By,” “Best Before,” “Use By,” or “Sell By” date on any given item.

Vendors are responsible for training their employees in all WIC program rules, including what merchandise must be on the shelves at all times.

When it comes to WIC merchandise, it’s especially prudent to take a conservative approach and keep all WIC products off the shelves that are beyond any of these dates in order to avoid a WIC violation for selling “outdated merchandise.”

Despite the fact that California regulations do not define what is meant by “outdated merchandise” and USDA literature recognizes that food items sold beyond a “Best By” or “Best Before” date may be beyond their peak quality but are not necessarily spoiled, WIC has taken the position that such food items are “outdated” and having them on the store shelf is a violation of WIC rules.

In a WIC appeal on behalf of one of our clients, an Administrative Law Judge recently agreed with WIC and ruled that “outdated merchandise” includes all foods stocked after the “Best By” date, regardless of any actual safety risk.

K N O W T H E L AW

In the ruling, the Administrative Law Judge recognized the ambiguity in such labeling, but took a “better safe than sorry” approach. While this ruling does not set binding legal precedent on this issue, we believe that other Administrative Law judges would likely reach the same result.

WIC vendors are advised to treat all WIC products that are beyond the “Best By” or “Best Before” dates as being “outdated” under WIC rules.

WIC vendors are advised to treat all WIC products that are beyond the “Best By” or “Best Before” dates as being “outdated” under WIC rules.

WIC is also especially strict when it comes to the program’s minimum stocking requirements.

at all times. Failure to meet these minimum stocking requirements is a violation that, in cases of multiple or repeat violations, can lead to disqualification from the program.

The minimum stocking requirements are very specific, not only as to the type of the product, but also as to the package size. Because of WIC’s strict enforcement practices, vendors participating in the WIC program should be vigilant in following the WIC stocking requirements. n Brett Henderson and Steve Hymas are attorneys in the Privacy and Data Integrity Practice Group at Downey Brand in Sacramento, California. The focus of their practice is on representing clients with complex business technology transactions including assessing and minimizing the risks associated with gathering, transferring and storing of sensitive data.

It is a violation of the WIC rules not to have a minimum number of certain products on the shelf

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

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15 MIN UT ES WIT H…

15 MINUTES WITH…

Suzy Monford, CEO Andronico’s Community Markets AFTER YEARS OF BACK AND FORTH ON THE UNITED STATES’ MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING (COOL) RULES, THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN SECTIONS OF COOL IS ON THE HORIZON AND AN END TO THIS SAGA IS NEAR. It’s a long way from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to San Francisco Bay – an 8,000 -mile journey fraught with peril from sudden storms, unfriendly denizens of the deep and unpredictable currents that can easily take you off course.

All in all, a perfect metaphor for the state of the retail industry. But Suzy Monford, CEO of Andronico’s Community Markets, seems to have made the voyage unscathed and ready to transform the five-store chain into an innovative lifestyle-centric retailer combining food, health and fitness.

Monford knows all three of these elements intimately.

She was the founder of Texas-based Food Sport International, a fresh food and consumer lifestyle consulting firm, whose mission was to create innovative health-centric solutions for people and communities.

She is a certified holistic health coach and exercise instructor and has worked on strategic planning and implementation with retailers in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia, including H.E. Butt Grocery Co., Loblaw’s, Morrison’s, Giant Eagle, Coles and most recently, as executive head of innovation for Australia-based Woolworths.

While plans for Andronico’s are still in the works, Monford sat down with California Grocer to discuss the company’s future and her take on U.S. retailing.

CG: Let’s talk about your time with Woolworth’s in Australia.

“Absolutely. I started my consultancy in 2008, after I left HEB and went to Australia to first work with Coles supermarkets. My focal point for them, Woolworths and other retailers in the U.S. and United Kingdom has been strategic change management.”

Is that the strategy you’ve mapped out for Andronico’s?

I think you called it ‘health and wellness-centric shopping’. What does that mean?

“I was recruited by Andronico’s to help innovate and grow the company across all categories and to reinstate stores as a compelling destination – a true lifestyle shopping experience. That’s what we’re doing. Part of that, and something that’s always been part of our DNA, is to champion organics, natural and clean label products. This carries through to traditional departments like health and wellness. Plans are underway to innovate what every other grocer in the world considers health and wellness.”

How so?

“I think our new program will offer a fresh, modern approach to providing people with a more holistic health and wellness lifestyle. Some elements of the program will commence when we launch InstaCart in August at the Berkeley store.

Then we’ll be putting out specific information on the new programs for customers and for our team members.”

Can you share a few details?

Continued on p. 32

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Right now we’re calling the program Fit Shop. The name is a bit of a placeholder and it may change.

It will provide a healthy lifestyle shopping path for Andronico’s shoppers. Broadly speaking, it encompasses recipes for healthy living – in both the culinary and fitness sense. We’re also going to

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Monford: “I was with them for a year. I was recruited to lead innovation across all fresh and international joint ventures. As a member of the senior executive team I worked across strategy and projects ranging from supply chain to store design as well as focusing on the wellness initiative.”

So a lot more than the food side of the business?

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15 MINUTES WITH…

Continued from p. 31

dovetail that into an entirely new approach for our own corporate wellness program.”

Does this mean a new store format for Andronico’s?

“No. I think supermarkets have the opportunity today to serve customers in a much more holistic way. But they don’t do it. Based on my experiences in the grocery and fitness industries, I’m convinced we can synergize the two.”

How do you approach that?

“By offering new coaching to answer the demands of our customers. They want help in understanding how to lead a healthy life. It’s a matter of balancing that with their culinary needs.

We’re also the neighborhood merchant that will be there with convenience, variety and things you won’t find anywhere else.”

Can we learn anything from the Australians?

“Frankly, Australian supermarkets were lagging behind the U.S. and Europe for some time. But chains like Woolworth and Coles brought in international teams to catch up on demand for products that are gluten-free or low in sodium and sugar. Now, they’re starting to bring dieticians and other health professionals in the store to help customers.”

Do your plans for U.S. stores include a focus on local products?

“We’ve been doing that since 1929 – before it was cool. We’re still championing local artisan manufacturers and growers.”

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Does that include a new take on prepared foods, or maybe a separate foodservice venue?

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“We have five stores where we make exceptional quality foods from scratch every day in our kitchen – items like locally sourced grilled or poached salmon and all organic side dishes. We’re continuing to expand and remodel some stores.

This will give us the opportunity to offer different dietary menus – items for people who might be following a Paleo or Mediterranean diet.

“As we acquire new stores and grow, the food halls I will design will take the best elements of what we do today and provide an even more heightened experience.”

Have you considered a restaurant specializing in health and wellness?

“That would be lovely. At this point we’re focused on being a world-class retailer. I’ve been talking to our real estate people about the enormous potential for micro-markets – locations where we can be part of apartment and condo developments and just be a great local grocer.

How micro are we talking about?

“We’re looking at 6,000 to 10,000 sq. ft. That would enable us to carry the right amount of fresh and center store products and a food hall with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for people on their way to and from work. Our kitchens would maximize production and help us control quality.”

Where are you looking?

“I have my eye on some locations in the East Bay. We’re just beginning to investigate it.“

Having done a lot of international work in food, health and fitness, you must have a unique perspective on the California market.

“There’s an interesting conundrum in California.

You tend to get a more sophisticated shopper because they’re used to having a variety of stores to choose from. So their expectations run high.

We also have an ethnically diverse market whose needs must be filled.”

There are probably similarities?

“Sure. People want to know the origin of their food and where it was prepared. Of course, they are increasingly demanding value, but demand for value belies the enormous cost that’s built into bringing products to consumers. So there may be enough demand, but the business model to fulfill that demand is costly after factoring in real estate and labor costs.”

Then there’s the competitive picture?

“It will be interesting to see what happens when Whole Foods’ 365 hits the market and how Trader Joe’s competes against them. But basically, the business is about being a great merchant every day – advocating and caring for our customers.” n

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MEM B ER P R O FILE

Draeger’s Market Turns 90 IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR THE DEFINITION OF SURVIVOR, CHECK THE DICTIONARY AND YOU JUST MIGHT SEE A PICTURE OF DRAEGER’S MARKET, THE SAN MATEO-BASED RETAILER THAT HAS COME TO EPITOMIZE THE EVOLUTION OF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RETAIL EXPERIENCE. However, to many in the industry, Draeger’s, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year and nurturing a fourth generation of family management, is more than just a survivor of the turbulent West Coast grocery scene. It is a trendsetter that’s narrowed the gap between retail and foodservice, enabling this independent to truly think and act outside the box.

“Knowing this is our 90th anniversary kind of makes me feel old,” quips Richard Draeger, owner of the family-owned chain, whose grandfather Gustav, a Prussian immigrant, opened his deli and liquor store in San Francisco’s Richmond district in 1925.

“The business is a lot more challenging now,” he says, “but it’s also highly enjoyable because new things are happening all the time. It’s a great feeling having gotten to this point in the business since so many others never reach it.”

But the dynasty is far from maturity. A future generation of management – including two of his brothers’ children – are already establishing themselves in the areas of human resources, finance, marketing and advertising.

Meanwhile, a variety of events are being planned around the milestone 90th year celebration.

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“The majority will take place in the fall,” Draeger says.

“Right now, it’s a work in progress.”

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Some of these events will also highlight Viognier, the chain’s 18 -year-old gourmet restaurant that focuses on local and seasonal cuisine. There will also be some events related to vendors that have had a long-standing relationship with the company.

The business is a lot more challenging now, but it’s also highly enjoyable because new things are happening all the time.

“Having the restaurant and supermarket together for all these years has worked in our favor and created something of a symbiotic relationship,” he says. “I sometimes think real innovation in this business starts with the chefs. They come up with concepts a good 10 years in advance of the grocery industry.

“So a lot of the things we see in our restaurant, like charcuterie, and being presented in our cooking school, helps us think outside the box as grocers and adopt some real innovations,” he adds.

Draeger says the restaurant’s chefs are bringing in new products all the time and if the store doesn’t have it, they get it.

“It usually ends up being carried on a continuous basis,” Draeger says, also noting certain styles of presentation and cookware chefs favor have become very important in expanding the stores’ housewares, cookware and tabletop departments.

All these things combined contribute to the California food culture that is such an integral part of Draeger’s operation.

“A lot of it has to do with the fact we have the best young chefs in the country here,” he says. “We have the CIA in Napa and we literally have some of the world’s best produce and wines in our backyard.”

MEMBER PROFILE

On the consumer side, the San Francisco Bay Area is home to some of the greatest educational institutions, like Stanford and Berkeley.

We find that the Millennials are highly educated and care a lot about their time. As such, they are willing to shop online more than other generations.

“These schools graduate people that travel extensively due to their involvement with Silicon Valley and they bring back an interest in international products and the desire to buy new products they’ve come across elsewhere, or have them served in our restaurants,” he says.

“It enables us to sell products from the best growing regions without having to explain everything to our customers,” Draeger says. “They already know the attributes necessary for a great product and often care more about that than price. This customer has a different value proposition. Price is important, but it’s something that’s intelligently calculated by that consumer depending on the value of the product.”

Asked about the impact of California’s protracted drought, Draeger said it’s likely that more product will increasingly come from outside the state.

“I have a feeling production may be limited over the next couple of years,” he says. “In fact, it’s already happening with pricing feeling the impact of transporting produce from more distant growing areas.”

On the positive side, beef prices are expected to come down,” according to Draeger.

“There’s always going to be great product available, it will just cost more money,” he says, adding that high quality product from places like Mexico, Chile and New Zealand are likely to become a larger part of the store mix.

Meanwhile, changing demographics will continue to have a significant impact on retailing, “We find that the Millennials are highly educated and care a lot about their time,” he says. “As such, they are willing to shop online more than other generations.

We as a company, and an industry, have to reach out to them in order to acquire their business.”

But there’s an even greater challenge then how and where these consumers shop, according to Draeger.

“They are not buying for value but values,” he points out. “They believe in supporting communitybased businesses and local products. They will also, over time, give their business to companies that support, not just local communities, but a wide Continued on p. 36

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Continued from p. 35

array of best practices. Sustainability is still the watchword and that’s another reason people prefer to shop at local stores.”

For Draeger’s, this means continuing in-store promotions of local products.

“As a small retailer, it’s always been in our DNA to focus heavily on producers from places like Pescadero, Watsonville, Salinas and the best wineries in Napa and Sonoma rather than the big Fortune 500 companies,” he notes.

Looking ahead, one of the biggest issues is the differentiation in pricing for small and large retailers, says Draeger. It’s putting the small retailer at a competitive disadvantage and it’s become more pronounced in the marketplace.

Beyond that, the regulatory hurdles seem to be getting higher and increasingly overlap.

“These regulations have become very intrusive as well as redundant and they cost retailers a fortune,”he laments. “Small businesses pay much more for all this as a percentage of their business than a large retailer.”

Draeger didn’t single out any one issue.

“It’s on a continuum,” he says. “But regulatory compliance for grocers has increased 400 percent over the last 10 years from Washington, Sacramento and local jurisdictions.”

The regulations range from including bag regulations, recycling, new refrigerant reporting that require hours and the cost involved in phasing out refrigerants due to legacy refrigeration systems.

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“Then there are the minimum wage regulations that will affect the entire grocery industry,” he says adding that in one sense it will level the playing field.

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What’s next for Draeger’s?

“I do believe business will continue to get better,” he forecasts. “The most important initiative will be marketing ourselves more aggressively around our core values and making it clear to our consumer why we as a company believe so strongly in supporting the community.”

I believe we’ve just scratched the surface. It’s all about validating the customer’s trip to your store and that means finding things they can’t get anywhere else.

Additionally, he says the company is continually striving to be more attuned to what categories need to be augmented from a data mining standpoint, which deserve more overt displays in our merchandising plans and which categories need to be de-emphasized.

“There was a story recently about Target demoting some national brands’” Draeger says. “Our consumers mostly care about finding products they can’t find at other stores. In all honesty, national brands don’t have the same attraction for them. We’re going to become more focused on this as we go forward.”

Part of the solution to differentiation is private label.

“We have our own kitchens that employ about 78 people,” Draeger says. “So we already have a lot of our own private label. I believe we’ve just scratched the surface. It’s all about validating the customer’s trip to your store and that means finding things they can’t get anywhere else,” he said.

And that’s what might keep them coming back to Draeger’s for another 90 years. n

Clo’s Friends Congratulations to my close friends at Draeger’s Market on their 90th Anniversary!

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MINING THE NEXT FOOD TREND

BY DAVID SAX

MINING THE NEXT FOOD TREND

MINING THE NEXT

FOOD T RE N D ONCE THE PROVINCE OF A FEW RICH GOURMANDS, FOOD TRENDS ARE NOW A MAINSTAY OF POPULAR CULTURE. FOOD TREND NEWS, REVIEWS, AND TOP TEN LISTS ARE SPLASHED ACROSS THE PAGES AND SCREENS OF THE MEDIA IN AN ENDLESS, INCESSANT LOOP. WE ARE LIVING IN A GOLD RUSH OF FOOD TRENDS, MINED WITH LADLES AND SAUCEPANS, INSTEAD OF PICKAXES AND DYNAMITE.

Food trends are nothing new.

They’re a natural byproduct of civilization’s evolution from hunter-gatherers who ate whatever they could track down, to farmers, merchants, and traders, who had some choice in the matter.

No one chased a wooly mammoth with a spear because the head of their tribe declared mammoth to be the hot protein in the Paleolithic era (back then, the Paleo diet was the only option), but once we developed the economic means to select from a variety of foods, certain ones inevitably became more popular than others.

Food became a fashion item, a status symbol, and a means of exerting power.

It was a growing taste for exotic spices that drove explorers from Europe out into the unknown Atlantic, the prize of coriander, turmeric, and other edible Indian treasures as enticing as the gold and silk waiting across the void. Coffee spread from an obscure crop in Ethiopia, to a global food trend that now anchors the morning of nearly half the planet, and is grown wherever it can be cultivated.

In my three plus decades on this earth, I have witnessed the cyclical nature of food trends, including the chicken finger boom of my youth, the dismal Atkins diet years, and a bull market for fajitas during high school. I was born as sushi made its way to American shores as a rare delicacy Continued on p. 40

MINING THE NEXT FOOD TREND

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Continued from p. 39

alongside Japan’s rising business culture, and witnessed its transformation into a cheap takeout dinner for the masses, available at convenience stores and gas stations.

I have read about trends that exist only in history books (the Roman royal habit of stuffing as many animals into each other for roasting as possible, like deboned matryoshka dolls), and personally witnessed once strong trends fade as they were usurped by competitors (those same fajitas and sushi platters giving way first to burritos and ramen soups, and then to fish tacos and izakayas), while trends like espresso coffee have assumed a permanent role in my diet.

I’ve also seen heavily hyped trends vanish as suddenly as they have appeared, like thin snow hitting the ground. Watching Superbowl XXVII in 1993, I, like millions of others, was spellbound by the halftime commercial for Crystal Pepsi with its new age messages saying “Right now, the future is ahead of you”, set to the tune of Van Halen’s “Right Now”.

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Suddenly, all the soda companies were rushing out with clear drinks of their own, eager to catch the transparent momentum.

I remember going on a lunch break from high school with a group of friends to the nearest convenience store, literally lining up 10 deep in order to buy our first bottle of Crystal Pepsi.

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We hustled to a nearby park, sat in a circle, and cracked open the bottle, passing it from one to another like hoboes around a campfire. Instead of ushering in a new era of transparent refreshment, my first eagerly awaited sip of Crystal Pepsi was a disappointing dram of uninspired sugar water.

Everywhere I look these days, I see food trends, and what I see are trends springing up quicker, and growing faster, than they ever did before.

Each new trend that I witnessed in recent years left me to wonder how this whole ecosystem functioned.

Why were certain items colonizing restaurant menus suddenly (fried chicken, pork belly, bourbon), while others, like paninis, seemingly disappeared after setting the trend just years before?

What made a diet healthy one week , then unhealthy the next? How did everyone crave hamburgers all of a sudden, simply because some blogger proclaimed it Burger Week? And do we really think, as eaters, that it is a good idea to infuse bacon into everything?

At its worst, when you’ve eaten your fifth mediocre fish taco in a week, you realize that this onslaught of food trends can be relentless, vapid and exhausting.

Why does food have to be trendy? Why can’t it just taste good on its own merits? I often find myself just wanting to be given a grilled cheese left alone. Not “artesenal” aged cheese, mind you, or ancient grain bread. Just cheese. And bread.

Unless we all move to the woods and forage for our meals, it is inevitable that what we eat on a day to day basis will inevitably be shaped, in some way, by food trends (in fact, foraging is a big trend with chefs these days). Besides, I’m as guilty as anyone of following them.

For all the times I may gripe about the invasion of ramen bars or the colonization of the yogurt section by the Greeks, I am also the first to line up for a proper bowl of springy ramen noodles in a rich broth, and I haven’t bought non-Hellenic yogurt since I first bought a tub of Fage in 2008. Not once.

If food trends are overtaking our thinking about the what, where, when, how, and even why of eating, then surely there must be something to them.

Ever since the 1980s, the impact of food trends began to spread more into our diets, as the culture of food (and that of the foodies who drove it), became more and more mainstream. Thanks to increased travel and immigration, culinary influences and flavors from beyond continental Europe began occupying an increasingly prominent place on the North American dinner plate.

Sushi began as a rare, often terrifying luxury, and evolved into a casual meal and style of preparation that soon blanketed global menus. Bold ingredients

MINING THE NEXT FOOD TREND

like wasabi, soy sauce, curry, and jalapeño soon became commonplace.

Driven by California’s post-hippie farm movement, freshness and seasonality eventually became buzzwords that found their way onto fast food menus as big as McDonald’s. Salads went from a wedge of iceberg with bacon and Thousand Island dressing, to a multi-billion dollar organic mixed greens industry, turning balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil into all-American condiments that were mandatory on every table.

By the first decade of the 21st century, the foodies had shed their exclusivity along with their bowties and conquered mass culture, as popular television chefs like Anthony Bourdain, Emeril Lagasse, and even Guy Fieri made it socially acceptable for men to sit around a campfire, talking about the proper way to brown meat for a stock.

Chefs are the creative class of the food world. Sure, the majority of chefs cooking in restaurants aren’t culinary Picassos and Beethovens. Most execute

Today, chef-driven trends are more powerful and visible than ever before. the same recipes day in and day out, because the dining public expects a high level of consistency in restaurants, and for good reason.

No one wants their roast chicken and potatoes reinvented each time it’s ordered, but even in the most tightly controlled kitchen, there’s a degree of inventiveness, whether it’s the chef’s ability to look into the fridge and concoct a nightly special from an abundance of turnips that someone ordered, or her idea to use sesame oil, instead of olive oil, in a salad.

The popularization of chef culture is a change to the industry as powerful as the invention of recorded music on musicians. Before the phonograph, bands and singers could only build their audience, and influence on the stage, one show at a time. Once they could sell records, their impact was limited only by where those recordings could sell.

Today’s chefs are no different. No longer constrained to their physical kitchens, they can create and shape food trends quicker, more widely, and with a greater impact than any generation that preceded them.

Their ideas trickle down from a single kitchen to a city’s restaurant scene, spreading out across nations and oceans, until one day you find yourself asking the butcher in your supermarket if he carries beef cheeks, without even knowing how you developed a taste for them.

Continued on p. 42

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Today, chef-driven trends are more powerful and visible than ever before. The media attention chefs have embraced over the past two decades, brought

on by the rise of the Food Network, competition shows such as Top Chef (which releases 21 freshly minted “celebrity chefs” into the restaurant world each season), and a ravenous online ecosystem of food blogs, review sites, and social media opportunities, has not only cemented the idea of the chef as artist and celebrity, but it has given chefs everywhere a vastly greater audience, well beyond those who actually come into their restaurants and eat their food.

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Occasionally, that slight change, brought on by a combination of experience and imagination, of circumstance and dumb assed luck, sometimes leads to a dining trend that can raise the fortunes of that chef and their restaurant. If it is big enough, a food trend created by a chef even has the power to fundamentally alter the way we all eat.

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Continued from p. 41

Today, your average suburban supermarket now carries a vastly greater variety of foods, flavors, and products than it did just two decades back. Just think of the selection of barbecue sauces in your local supermarket, or the size of the mustard section, and you have an inkling of how much food trends have penetrated your palate.

Where once stood the single, perfect variety of Heinz ketchup, today you’ll find balsamic, jalapeño, organic, salt free, reduced sugar, and all-natural varieties from Heinz, in addition to the other ketchup competitors that have sprung up in flavors ranging from curry to cranberry.

These aren’t just sold at specialty shops like Dean and Deluca. They’re in mainstream supermarkets like Ralphs, Wegman’s, Safeway, and even big box fixtures, like Wal-Mart and Costco, which even carries its own brand of single malt scotch.

But why should we care about food trends?

It is easy to view the culture of trends as the vapid expression of a society obsessed with materialism, as insubstantial fads. We dine out for entertainment, watch hours of food being cooked and eaten on television, and plan road trips to taste the latest hot meal.

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Food has become fashion, chefs are hailed as rock stars, and photos of the latest dishes are our art.

Caught up in the seasonal fashion cycle of flavor fads, we tend to miss the subtle shift under the surface that food trends are exerting. But if you think back to what you ate 10, 20, or even 30 years ago, their effect is apparent and it is glorious. It is hard to believe that there was a time, well into my teenage years, when I had never tasted pad Thai, sushi, or ceviche.

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These days, appetizer platters are filled with garlicky hummus and fluffy pita, golden tortilla chips and spicy salsa verde. One of the big reasons why food trends matter is that they have the power to pick up one culture’s cuisine and push it above the fray of cheap, marginalized, ethnic foods, to the point where it becomes part of our everyday diet.

Food trends drive economic growth. Each cupcake shop, aspiring hipster Indian restaurant, food truck, or small company bringing a new form of jerky to supermarket shelves, represents the hopes

David Sax will explore the impact food trends have on the grocery industry during his presentation at the 2015 CGA Strategic Conference on Sunday, Sept. 27, in Palm Springs, Calif.

of several entrepreneurs who can possibly create hundreds or even thousands of jobs on the strength of those food trends.

These are jobs in farms, offices, restaurants, and warehouses, jobs for highly educated individuals and jobs for those who need steady entry level work at a decent wage. Food trends represent capitalism at their finest: a good idea that the market rewards with dollars, which create jobs, tax revenues, and economies of scale as they expand.

It is easy to view the culture of trends as the vapid expression of a society obsessed with materialism, as insubstantial fads.

With that economic might, too, comes the possibility of even more change. People had been crying about the lack of street food options for decades in North American cities and nothing happened. Only when gourmet food trucks became a trend did change actually occur and work its way into law.

The same thing happened with local and organic agriculture, which languished for decades as an easily dismissed hippie cause, but suddenly grew widespread when eating that way became a food trend, to the point where retailers like Wal-Mart carry a whole suite of organic products. If enough people get behind a way of eating, policy will eventually follow.

We really are what we eat. n

PA R T N E R S H I P S F O R T H E F U T U R E

BY DANIE LE HAGE N

Partnerships for the Future

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PA R T N E R S H I P S F O R T H E F U T U R E

THE PA RTNERSHIP BET W EEN THE CA LIFORNI A GROCERS ASSOCI ATION EDUCATIONA L FOUNDATION (CGA EF) A ND CA LIFORNI A POLY TECHNIC UNI V ERSIT Y (CA L POLY) AGRIBUSINESS FOOD RETA IL M A NAGEMENT PROGR A M (CPA FRM), W HICH WAS A NNOUNCED L AST FA LL, REPRESENTS A N IN V ESTMENT IN THE FUTURE OF THE GROCERY INDUSTRY A ND ITS WORKFORCE – BOTH OF W HICH A RE W ITNESSING R A PID A ND SIGNIFICA NT CH A NGES. The nature of the grocery industry has changed over the past 15 years. Where the norm in the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s was a concentration of large stores that all essentially carried the same types of products; that is not the case today.

As niche retailers have emerged, the market share has shifted to big box retailers, and the demand for more specialized shopping experiences and products has expanded, the retail landscape has become much more competitive.

As the Baby Boomers (those born between 1947 and 1974) begin to retire in record numbers, decades of institutional knowledge and practice are disappearing from the workforce. This void has left the industry wide open for news ways of thinking about and doing business.

Terry Ann Bodwin, vice president and chief human resources officer for Unified Grocers, Inc., observed that, “The emerging workforce has knowledge and skills that match the changes that are taking place in the workplace today, especially around technology, so part of our goal when bringing in new talent is to foster an environment that will lead to and facilitate cross-generational mentorship.”

The good news is that with change comes opportunity. The partnership between Cal Poly and the CGAEF is positioned right at the intersection of change and opportunity.

In the Classroom Dr. Jay Noel, former chair of the Agribusiness department at Cal Poly, and was instrumental in facilitating the partnership with CGAEF, has watched the study of agribusiness evolve from focusing mainly on farm and ranch management, to a more complete picture of the food system as a whole, saying that, “Because the teaching of agribusiness has shifted through the years to include finance, distribution, transportation, processing, marketing, and now retail management, students today understand how products make it to the shelves in a way they didn’t before.”

The emerging workforce has knowledge and skills that match the changes that are taking place in the workplace today.

Echoing Dr. Noel’s sentiments, Dr. Richard Volpe, a food retail management instructor at Cal Poly said, “In the past, food retailing was one topic on the syllabus of a class on the economics of food; here, it is a whole class.”

Volpe’s class, AGB- 404 Food Retail Management, a favorite among Agribusiness majors at Cal Poly (see sidebar) includes topics like: Location, Location, Location

Category Management and Retailer Performance Understanding how managers conceptualize their stores and how performance is measured

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How retailers choose where to operate, and how physical location shapes competition and consumer choice.

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Continued on p. 46

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quantitatively. Performance is much harder to measure in retailing than in manufacturing.

In addition to traditional lectures and homework assignments, one of the major components in Volpe’s class is a simulation where groups of students operate a mock store for five weeks.

During the simulation, students are required to choose products, then price, market, and sell them.

At the end of the exercise, students look at various performance metrics and evaluate their bottom line.

That new level of understanding, combined with the hands-on experience these students are exposed to in the classroom and through industry internships, should be exciting to the retailers and suppliers who have to replace retiring workers. The young people entering the grocery industry workforce are so much better prepared than their counterparts of even just a decade ago.

The Emerging Workforce “These students see everything from a food perspective,” said Noel. “They are well-rounded and ready to work at the store, or corporate level on day one.”

This cohort of students is also driven and passionate, and wants to bring creative ideas to the table. They are comfortable with numbers and data, and are interested in creating efficiencies that will reduce overhead and increase profit.

That said, Volpe is quick to mention that if retailers and suppliers see a gap in what’s being taught, he and his fellow instructors want to know.

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“We’re not in the trenches,” he said. “We want to know what the industry needs from future employees.”

Public-private partnerships like the one between Cal Poly and CGAEF open the door to those conversations.

Beyond the Classroom A critical component to preparing the emerging grocery industry workforce outside the classroom is through internships. But, bringing a college student in to stock shelves or shuffle paper isn’t going to cut it.

“These students see everything from a food perspective. They are well-rounded and ready to work at the store, or corporate level on day one.”

Interns need to see how industry and store operations work in real life and in real time, which means job shadowing at all levels. It can be daunting to think about creating meaningful internships, but the benefits far outweigh the up-front investment in human resources.

Students who participate in internships, especially those who feel they were able to contribute ideas and make a difference, are far more likely to want to stay on as full-time employees, because they feel valued – which is something extremely important to this emerging workforce.

Unified Grocers, a company that has developed a college internship program for students over the last couple of years, can attest to the benefit of hiring interns.

“A couple of our interns from last year’s program were offered full-time positions because they had very valuable skills,” said Unified Grocers’ Terry Ann Bodwin. “Our human resources intern and marketing intern were instrumental in bridging the needs of two departments by building and launching social media campaigns for recruitment. It was a mutually beneficial experience for both the interns, (now our two new associates) and for Unified getting the benefit of hiring great talent.”

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California Grocer Association President, Ron Fong, said, “Our goal for this partnership is to create a model for future public-private partnerships that benefit both the members we serve, and the students who are the future of the industry.” n

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MEE T T HE SC H O L A R S

PA R T N E R S H I P S F O R T H E F U T U R E

California Grocer is pleased to introduce the first group of students to benefit from the partnership between the California Grocers Association Educational Foundation and California Polytechnic State University’s Agribusiness Food Retail Management Program. Each of these students received a $5,000 scholarship, and has participated in one or more internships as part of his or her degree program.

Name: Raushni “Jasmine” Singh

In his own words:

Hometown: Yuba City, California

“I chose Agricultural Systems Management because I felt it would give me a greater understanding of how products get from raw commodities to the grocery store. This scholarship is greatly reducing my tuition, and the fact that it comes from a sector of business that I hope to one day work in means even more. I hope to return the favor some day by giving a student the same amazing opportunity.”

Cal Poly Class of 2016 Major: Agribusiness Favorite Class: Logistics in Global Agribusiness and Agribusiness Policy Favorite Food: “My mom’s tortillas!”

In her own words: “Coming from generations of fruit and nut tree growers, I learned to appreciate what the agriculture industry does for the population. I also wanted an education that would allow me to contribute to the agriculture industry as well as help continue and expand the family’s business. As one of the scholarship recipients, I am incredibly thankful. With the extra financial support, I know I will be able to focus more on my grades.”

Name: Jeffrey Tyler “JT” Janowski Hometown: Rocklin, California Cal Poly Class of 2016 Major: Agricultural Business major with emphasis in Food Retail Management and Finance and a minor in Economics.

Favorite Class: Food Retail Management and Natural Resource Economics

Name: Kathleen “Katie” Carolyn Keaton

Favorite Food: Tri tip

Hometown: Sacramento, California

In his own words:

Major: Agricultural Business

“I picked my major because I loved science as I was growing up, but my senior year of high school I became fascinated with the business world and economics. This scholarship means the world to me. It means I don’t have to take out more student loans. It means I don’t have to get a second job while in school to cover the rising cost of living. In one word, it means security.”

Cal Poly Class of 2016 Favorite Class: Food Retail Management with Dr. Volpe Favorite Food: Jumbo sunflower seeds In her own words: “I chose this major [Agricultural Business] because everyone has to eat! I figured I would go into an industry that I know will always be in demand. In my spare time I try to take advantage of the scenery by hiking, spending time at the beach, and indulging in fish tacos.

This scholarship means that my hard work is finally paying off and being recognized. I feel truly honored that I was chosen as one of the recipients.”

Name: Marko Gera Hometown: Saratoga, California Cal Poly Class of 2016 Major: Agricultural Business Favorite Class: Establishing International Supply Chains Favorite Food: “Blood oranges and vanilla ice cream.”

Name: Jordan Mahrt

In his own words:

Hometown: Petaluma, California

“I would love to run a company that creates an innovative food product that changes the way people eat. It would be incredible to be responsible for helping people think about their food in a new way. I am very honored and absolutely thrilled to receive the scholarship. It makes me extremely motivated to continue to work hard in school and do everything I can to prepare myself for a career in the food industry.”

Cal Poly Class of 2016 Major: Agricultural Systems Management with a minor in Agricultural Business Favorite Class: Advanced Sales Favorite Food: “Eggs are my favorite food because when I’m in a hurry I can make them quickly for any meal. They are nutritious, inexpensive and taste great!”

Daniele Hagen is a freelance writer, editor, and marketing communications expert from Stockton, Calif.

Proud to Support the CGA Educational Foundation

Congratulations to Our 2015 Scholarship Recipients!

Akel Al Asady Amber Baron Brianna Benicia Rhonda Brown-Palacios George Cha Patrick Casis Ana Figueroa Jessica Goehring Lauren Golem David Gonzalez

Parker Hall Andrea Jaramillo Elizabeth Lujan Dulce Macedo Maritza Macias Sandra Martinez Juan Moreno Donald Pass Alyssa de Ramos Mark Redin

Anthony Rodriguez Ashley Schwartz Shantay Siens Lindsay Sifuentes Shannon Sweitzer Gloria Themaras Tomin Tran Benjamin Walsh Katherine Way

FULFILL A DREAM

CGA Educational Foundation Helps Fulfill A Dream

KATIE HORVATH WAS JUST 8 WHEN SHE DISCOVERED WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO WHEN SHE GREW UP. Her mother, who worked in the grocery industry, took the Burbank, Calif. native to the opening of a new Hughes Market.

Horvath was amazed to see the happy, helpful clerks and the shelves filled with new products, smell the wonderful home-cooked aroma that came from the service deli, and watch her mother compete in a grocery bagging contest.

Thanks to the help of the California Grocers Association Educational Foundation, Horvath has fulfilled her dream of working within the food industry.

Horvath had nurtured her interest in food science and nutrition as a member of 4 -H. Through hundreds of hands-on projects, she learned about agriculture and natural resources, animal science, nutrition and healthy living. She also gained valuable lessons in leadership and public speaking.

Continued on p. 50

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When she enrolled at Cal Poly Pomona, Horvath took a part-time sales associate job in the dairy industry to help pay her expenses. She found out about the CGAEF scholarship from her mother, who saw a

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

“I knew that my place was going to be here one day — perhaps not retail, but within the food industry,” Horvath recalls.

She earned a Foundation college scholarship while studying food marketing and agribusiness management at Cal Poly Pomona. After graduating in 2008, she worked for Wild Rocket Foods, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, and other food manufacturers and retailers.

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Continued from p. 49

posting at her grocery store and encouraged her daughter to apply.

“The scholarship helped me by taking some of the financial burden off my shoulders to focus on my education. Scholarships just like the Foundation’s are so important for students today,” she says. “Many of us forget the impact that others have made in our life.

This little gift of $500 might not seem much to you, but to a student every little bit helps.”

Horvath took a detour from the food industry to help her family’s cage-free, dog-boarding business with marketing and financial budgeting. She then decided in 2012 to get a master’s of business administration with a focus in consumer marketing.

She used her training and experience as a sales operation manager for Excelline Food Products, a frozen Mexican food company.

During this time, Horvath served as a guest lecturer and mentor to senior students at Cal Poly Pomona who wanted to work in the food industry.

She has since become a part-time, adjunct faculty member there.

As for the future, Horvath sees herself continuing to work in the consumer packaged goods industry, providing her marketing, consumer insight and brand management expertise. But she also expects to serve to teach in some form.

“I love to give back and help others in any way I can,” Horvath says. “As Cal Poly Pomona alumni, we still believe in learning through doing. I want to help these students become successful in the industry, to help mold kids and help them know what the food industry wants.” n

NORTH STATE GROCERY, INC.

Congratulations

Congratulations to the CGA Educational Foundation scholarship recipients!

to our 2015-16 Scholarship Winners

Regan Albee Jonathan Berlin Donovan Farwell

Alyssa Kenealy Celine LeClerc Jennifer Marinelli

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Mathew Reese

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THE INSPIRING APOTHEC ARY

BY C ASSANDR A P Y E

The Inspiring

APOTHECARY

THE INSPIRING APOTHEC ARY

Chiola (which means angel) Enemuoh says that just looking at her husband makes her exhausted.

“When he’s up, he’s all the way up. There are no limitations with him and he can do practically anything. I think it’s an ability he has that I don’t think I’ve seen in a lot of people. People who work with him say how hard he works. That’s how he is at home.” Albert, she adds, doesn’t drink coffee.

Chiola Enemuoh, also Nigerian, arrived in the United States ahead of her husband and completed her studies at Chico State and the Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy (she currently works as an inpatient staff pharmacist for Kaiser Permanente in South Sacramento).

It appears he doesn’t need to.

Albert, who had already obtained a degree in microbiology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria, seemed to be on a path to medical school.

He says the decision to go to pharmacy school was two-fold. He genuinely enjoyed the patient interaction in the pharmacy setting and he had serious concern regarding the length of time it would take to become a practicing physician.

Albert Enemuoh is a pharmacist for Sacramentobased Raley’s Supermarkets. He was hired at a Bel Air store as a courtesy clerk, in 2005, shortly after immigrating to the United States from Nigeria.* The work ethic his wife speaks of was abundantly apparent from the outset: he was promoted within three weeks of being hired and moved from general clerk to dairy to bakery to cashier.

Early on, Albert made a key decision which had a lasting impact on his grocery industry career due, in part, to coaching and support from a colleague.

“Anything I could do in the store, I was trained to do,” he recalls.

Early on, Albert made a key decision which had a lasting impact on his grocery industry career due, in part, to coaching and support from a colleague.

Jason Holt, then a customer service manager at Bel Air, encouraged him to enroll in a language course to strengthen his communication skills.

“If one cannot express oneself in the language used where one lives, it is hard to progress or get a wellpaying job,” according to Albert. He enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) course at Sierra College in Rocklin, California and improved his customer relations skills dramatically. As a trained cashier, he worked in the store pharmacy checking out customers, from time to time.

Continued on p. 58

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*According to a 2006 American Community Survey, there were about 266,000 U.S. residents claiming Nigerian heritage. Nigerian immigrants have the highest education attainment level in the United States, surpassing every other ethnic group in the country, according to U.S Bureau Census data.

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After a handful of shifts in the pharmacy department, Albert says he found his passion: talking to patients.

From there, he made the decision to become a pharmacist. The rest, as they say, is history.

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C O N TI NU E D

Continued from p. 53

“I was advised that it would take a long time to become a practicing physician,” he states. “In 2008, my nephew was accepted into medical school and he’s still there. I’m thinking about that – I would still be in school right now. People like me – I like pushing it to the limit – we want to get going right away. I wanted to make a difference; that’s what counts.”

Albert enrolled in the California Northstate University College of Pharmacy in 2008 and received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2012. And, he worked – fulltime – while he sought his credentials.

“Albert has always been very focused and very driven – in terms of the load he carried – but he always had so much energy,” Chiola says. “He would come home and want to take a quick drive to the next town. I’m like ‘It’s been a stressful day, I need to rest’ but he can keep going. If I didn’t live with him, I would think he’s on something. He is such an inspiration.”

Albert’s inspiration, he says, is his family. He has three children whom he credits with driving him every day to do what he does. Chiola describes, with a great deal of tenderness, her pregnancy and the subsequent premature birth of their daughter, Eva. Albert was in pharmacy school during the couple’s first pregnancy and learned, early on, that the baby wasn’t receiving very much oxygen. After being counseled by physicians to prepare for the worst outcome and being warned that, should she survive, their baby would not likely walk or talk, Chiola delivered her daughter at six-months. The baby girl weighed just one pound.

Once born, the Enemuohs were told that Eva’s prospects would be limited. Today, now five years old, she is walking and talking.

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“She’s a work-in progress; she has some difficulties, but she’s here,” Chiola says. “Albert fought for her like a tiger. And, she’s come a long way.”

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Albert is part advocate, part counselor and he possesses a clarity around his contribution to Raley’s customers.

“We are on the front line if something goes wrong,” he states. “Last week, I had a patient come in who was short of breath. I assessed her and referred her to the emergency room right away. I told her ‘don’t go home;

can you have someone drive you to the hospital?’ She came back two days ago and told me she had a blood clot in her lung. She could have died if I had not sent her to emergency.”

Albert relishes his time at health fairs and typically attends two or three events in a month. Chiola says he simply can’t help himself.

Albert relishes his time at health fairs and typically attends two or three events in a month. Chiola says he simply can’t help himself.

“He is a people person and loves to help people. If we go to Walmart and someone drops something or their cart is moving backwards – he has to stop and help.

He would have been a wonderful doctor – he has the intelligence for it – so that’s something he could have done. He chose not to. My brother is still pressuring him. He would be a great doctor; no matter what, he has to work in a field where he’s helping people.”

Albert seems to be exactly where he is meant to be: behind the pharmacy counter.

“We’re the front line,” he insists. “A lot of people who come in go to pharmacists to ask questions they wouldn’t ask their doctors. With that being said, we’re the front line of the medical field.

Continued on p. 54

THE INSPIRING APOTHEC ARY

People get comfortable talking to us – more so than even doctors.”

Mike Pennino is the Pharmacy Manager for the Bel Air in Elk Grove, California, and has known Albert since the early days, when Albert worked in the milk box at store #525. When they met, Albert was finishing up his undergraduate work while supporting his young family. He, too, calls Albert an inspiration.

“Albert is the kind of person that can lift the spirits of everyone he comes into contact [with],” he says. “His positive attitude and constant smile is just a reflection of who he is: a hard-working man who loves his God, family, colleagues and the patients he serves.”

Where will he be in 10 years? “I haven’t answered that question for myself,” Albert replies. “Pretty much because of my kids (who are 5, 2 and 1), I don’t want to take on a management position. My employer appreciates what I do and understands where I come from and how important family is. I expect I’ll go back WholeFoodsMarket_CaliforniaGrocer_2015.pdf

1

A DRE A M FULFILLED Albert Enemuoh shared his life story, including how receiving a CGA Educational Foundation College Scholarship helped fulfill his dream of becoming a pharmacist, at the 2015 CGAEF Hall of Achievement Awards Dinner in Sacramento.

to management. I can’t imagine my life being too different than it is right now.”

His passion, he says, is to be helpful to society. He’s doing exactly what he believes he’s been called to do. n

8/12/15

11:49 AM

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Congratulations to this year’s scholarship winners!

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C A L I F O R N I A’ S C U LT U R A L F U S I O N

BY LEN LE W IS

California’s

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How would you define the California culture?

To some, it’s best represented by the automobile, drive-in or drive-thru restaurants; music ranging from the mellow sounds of the Beach Boys to the hardedged rock of Guns N’ Roses; from Disneyland to Silicon Valley; the melding of populations from Latin America, Asia and the Eastern states.

It is the epicenter of agricultural and marine environmentalism and the place where food and retail trends – from McDonald’s and food trucks to unique store formats and Michelin-starred restaurants – are born and sometimes die.

Others believe the thing that has best defined and disrupted California’s corporate culture over the past two decades has been the rise, fall and subsequent rebirth of Silicon Valley with companies like Apple, Google, Oracle, Yahoo and HewlettPackard influencing the way people do business and attracting highly educated and diverse talent from around the world.

Basically, there is no wrong answer – except maybe the term “California culture” is something of an oxymoron. The reason is that, in all its iterations, this state is a microcosm of the United States, drawing its energy, ideas, tastes and innovations from everywhere and everyone and the supermarket business is no exception to this rule.

Political rhetoric aside, it is a place where cultures not only co-exist, but blend together in a cultural fusion that created the post World War II shopping malls, sprawling suburban supermarkets and now, a return to urban centers with smaller, specialty store formats

The most recent example of this inner city rebirth is Raley’s which, after an absence of 30 years, wants to return to downtown Sacramento with a smaller farmer’s market style store that focuses on local foods and the needs of urban consumers.

However, it’s not always a new entry that can disrupt the retail marketplace. Recently, Save Mart introduced Lucky California, an old name in California retailing, to Daly City, which the company is calling a new twist on conventional supermarkets, a store-within-a-store concept that borrows from both food retailing and foodservice.

In describing the new concept, a spokesman noted: “It will reflect the diverse cultures, delicious cuisine and locally grown foods that have been inspired in this region. The store’s new display concept will feature constantly changing snack and meal hubs where shoppers will be encouraged to try new flavors.”

Meanwhile, the small store discount battle is heating up again. Despite the failure of Tesco-owned Fresh & Easy to crack the California market, German deep discounters Lidl and Aldi are gearing up for West Coast expansion and are likely to add a new dimension to the retail scene.

Aldi, whose German parent also owns Trader Joe’s, and now operates about 1,400 stores across the U.S. is spending an estimated $3 billion to ramp up expansion before its archrival Lidl opens its doors in the U.S., including an immediate 25-50 stores in the hotly contested California market by the end of 2016.

These Aldi stores will be supplied by a new regional headquarters and distribution center in Moreno Valley.

These new entries into the California market reflect the growing emphasis by grocery retailers and vendors to develop culture as a differentiator in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

California is a microcosm of the United States, drawing its energ y, ideas, tastes and innovations from everywhere and everyone and the supermarket business is no exception to this rule.

that, in some ways, is taking retailing back to its 19th century roots.

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Continued on p. 58

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Continued from p. 57

From top-level management to entry-level employees, savvy companies are identifying, building and communicating their unique culture in an effort to grow customer loyalty.

Shoppers want convenient, healthy, sustainable and locally sourced products. Retailers and brands are creating a more customized, highly personalized shopping experience for their customers that reflect the direct relationship customers want with the food they consume.

Consumers are also concerned about the environment which has always been one of the hallmarks of California’s unique culture and has deep roots in the food business.

Thanks to the fertile landscape of the Central Valley and other areas, California has become the center of the farm-to-table and local food movements that have inspired a new generation of chefs and made restaurants, as well as supermarkets, an integral part of every community.

This has resulted in significant changes over the past several decades, according to Bill Briwa, a chef and instructor with the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, Calif.

“The notion of good food has shifted,” Briwa said. “We still have great restaurants but food has become more democratic. People who can afford to eat in fancier restaurants are eating in more casual venues with people of lesser means.

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“It’s because everyone appreciates quality. And quality no longer simply means expensive food and

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ingredients. It has to do with freshness and the source of the ingredients,” he said.

While health and wellness slipped off the radar screen for a while, consumers are going back to eating fewer calories. There’s a shift back to healthier foods and consumers are taking notice of establishments offering healthier options, said Briwa, noting that the terms “local” and “sustainable” are stories that consumers want to hear.

Asked how he defines the term “local,” he replied, “For me it has less to do with miles then it does telling a story and having a relationship with the people who grow the food. Americans in general and in California specifically, have fostered a distrust of agribusiness and processed foods. This has left them looking for a more authentic food experience.”

Authentic used to mean cultural authenticity, but it’s also a matter of people wanting to connect with where the food comes from and whether it’s a healthy, sustainable source, Briwa said.

However, cultural authenticity is still an important factor. This is particularly evident in the phenomenal growth of California’s Latino population, which has changed the dynamics of the food business across the state and helped create the most extensive network of Hispanic-focused supermarkets in the country.

The need for ethnic supermarkets is expected to grow with the population. The influx of immigrants from several Latin countries is continuing and California’s Latino population is becoming older and more settled with higher rates of home ownership and education than other population centers.

While most of the attention is heaped on the potential of Hispanic consumers, an increase in the Asian population continues to have an impact on marketers and retailers. California was the gateway for the introduction of Chinese food in the U.S. and the expansion of fusion cuisine combining Hispanic and Asian foods and flavors – Chinese, Japanese and Korean – have become staples in restaurants and food stores.

As author and Nobel Laureate Alison Lurie has said: “As one went to Europe to see the living past, so one must visit California to observe the future.” n

Congratulations on your 90th anniversary and here’s to 90 more!

Quik Stop Markets, Inc.

Wishes to Congratulate Our 2015-2016 Scholarship Recipient

Rotten Robbie in Hayward, CA

63 Paul Drive San Rafeal, CA 94903 Phone: 415/479-1200

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WWW.MARINCHEESE.COM

C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

Larry Kranich Memorial Scholarship Sheetal Prasad Daughter of Jessy Prasad

Congratulations to the Draeger family on the anniversary of a spectacular benchmark of 90 years of sophisticated service to your Bay Area Customers.

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ADVE RTIS E R INDE X C A L I F OR N I A G R OC E R

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PAGE

COMPANY

PHONE

FAX

EMAIL

WEBSITE

17

Anheuser-Busch InBev

909-597-0460

909-597-0460

raul.aguilar@anheuser-busch.com

www.anheuser-busch.com

25

Berkeley Farms

510-265-8758

510-265-8776

dan_atkins@deanfoods.com

www.berkeleyfarms.com

37

Clover Stornetta Farms, Inc.

707-778-8448

707-778-7545

marcus@cloverstornetta.com

www.cloverstornetta.com

BC

Coca-Cola Refreshments

213-746-5555

213-744-8765

mikanderson@coca-cola.com

www.cokecce.com

21

El Super (Bodega Latina Corp.)

562-616-8800

562-616-8647

16

Food 4 Less (Stockton)/Rancho San Miguel Markets

209-957-4917

209-956-8550

50

Fresh & Easy

310-341-1200

310-341-1501

www.freshandeasy.com

19,43

Gelson’s Markets

818-906-5709

818-990-7877

www.gelsons.com

59

Key Mechanical

925-294-8111

59

Marin Cheese Company

415-479-1200

IBC

MillerCoors

916-801-9897

50

North State Grocery, Inc. dba Holiday/ Sav-Mor Foods

530-347-4621

IFC

Pepsi Beverages Company – WBU

949-330-5804

949-643-5765

59

Quik Stop Markets, Inc.

510-657-8500

510-657-1544

www.quikstop.com

55

Raley’s

916-373-3333

916-444-3733

www.raleys.com

48

Ralphs Grocery Company/Food 4 Less/ Foods Co.

310-884-9000

310-884-2600

www.ralphs.com

9

Safeway Inc.

925-467-3000

925-467-3323

www.safeway.com

33

Stonewall Kitchen, LLC.

888-326-5678

29

Superior Grocers

562-345-9000

562-345-9054

7,27

Unified Grocers, Inc.

323-264-5200

323-262-0658

55

Whole Foods Market Southern Pacific Region

818-501-8484

818-501-6908

www.elsupermarkets.com

www.food-4-less.com

www.cswg.com

askforinfo@keymechanical.com

www.keymechanical.com

415-479-1247

marcusrossi@marincheese.com

www.marincheese.com

916-786-9396

chris.mathews@millercoors.com

www.millercoors.com

www.shophqf.com

douglas.todd@pepsico.com

wholesale@stonewallkitchen.com

www.pepsi.com

www.stonewallkitchen.com www.superiorgrocers.com

customercare@unifiedgrocers.com

www.unifiedgrocers.com

www.wholefoods.com

miller coors

©2015 BLUEBLUE MOON BREWING COMPANY, GOLDEN, CO ©2015 MOON BREWING COMPANY, GOLDEN, CO BELGIAN WHITE, BELGIAN-STYLE WHEAT ALE

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