PG_0623

GREATER FULFILLMENT

Grocers harness latest tech to keep shoppers happy DRINK UP

Juice-based beverages, energy drinks offer cleaner pro les

PREPARED TO SUCCEED

Takeout packaging is better than ever

Features

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Find

You Are What You Drink

Juice-based

119

Burst of Energy

The category makes some savvy moves in response to rising consumer demands for cleaner ingredients and innovative flavors.

124

Pretty and Practical

Prepared food packaging is becoming more aesthetic, versatile and convenient in this rapidly growing category.

129 TECHNOLOGY

Warehouses of the Future

How are grocers tapping into the latest fulfillment technology to keep customers content?

133 EQUIPMENT & DESIGN

Form and Function

A global design firm offers creative ways to tackle some of grocers’ biggest challenges.

136 SOLUTIONS

Defining Loyalty

A recent study from 84.51° offers shopper insights and recommendations for brands and retailers.

By Gina Acosta

Sparking Change

IN BENTONVILLE, WALMART ACCELERATES ITS REGENERATIVE STRATEGY.

riving into the parking lot of Walmart’s innovation hub, Store 100, near the company’s home office in Bentonville, Ark., shoppers might focus on the flying machines in the sky: large white drones lifting off a platform near the curbside pickup area, carrying rotisserie chicken or ice cream for customers in the neighborhood who want 30-minute delivery.

But when they park their cars and walk into the store, something even more innovative comes into view: a sign that reads: “Spark Change.” Under those words are key tenets of the retailer’s regenerative value proposition: “Creating opportunity,” “Advancing sustainability” and “Strengthening community.” These three core values were on display this month during the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Bentonville.

More than a dozen executives took turns on the stage during a threeday media event focused on, among other themes, how Walmart is creating opportunity — or speeding up the supply chain — by leveraging technology in every part of the enterprise, from the aforementioned drone delivery to launching what it calls Market Fulfillment Centers to expanding its use of generative AI.

“Walmart has always done the EDLP/ EDLC flywheel. But as we think about some new businesses that are contributing to the flywheel in different ways, they are going to create a different balance sheet for the company,” said Dan Bartlett, EVP, corporate affairs. “I think what we’re showing over the last several years is that we have a core advantage and we’re taking advantage of that core advantage, which is being approximate in communities.”

Core Values on Display

As for advancing sustainability, the retailer made a lot of news during shareholders week by announcing that it will transition from plastic to recyclable paper mailers, right-size cardboard box packaging, give customers the option to consolidate shipping on e-commerce orders, allow them to opt out of single-use plastic bags for online pickup orders, and increase last-mile delivery efficiencies to reduce mileage and delivery times. The paper mailer transition is expected to eliminate 65 million plastic bag mailers, or more than 2,000 tons of plastic from circulation in the United States by the end of the current fiscal year.

“Customers have told us how excited they are about these enhancements to make it easier for them to make more sustainable choices

that support the planet and the next generation,” said Karisa Sprague, SVP, fulfillment network operations, Walmart U.S.

Additionally, all Walmart customers shopping online can now request consolidation of multiple items into fewer boxes, reducing waste as well as the number of shipments. All of these changes, powered by technology, are emblematic of how the retailer is doubling down on its commitment to becoming a more regenerative retailer.

Walmart also made a move related to its core value in regard to community by increasing wages and benefits for pharmacists and opticians; these health care workers, pharmacists especially, are becoming increasingly scarce and at the same time more important in communities across the United States. The average annual salary for Walmart pharmacists will now be more than $140,000, not including bonuses and incentives. In addition, Walmart is also raising the pay for its more than 4,000 opticians to more than $22.50 an hour.

For the thousands of Walmart associates celebrating in Bentonville and the millions of associates around the world executing on that purpose, as long as the company they work for continues its focus on creating the kind of change that makes the world a better (and cheaper) place, the future looks bright indeed.

Gina Acosta Editor-In-Chief gacosta@ensembleiq.com

More than a dozen executives took turns on the stage during a three-day media event focused on, among other themes, how Walmart is creating opportunity — or speeding up the supply chain — by leveraging technology in every part of the enterprise.

6

It’s not only National Friendship Day, but also National Sisters Day, which makes it a fine time to celebrate BFFs who are just like family.

1 Colorado Day. Spotlight a range of foods and beverages from the Centennial State.

Black Business Month

Family Fun Month

National Back to School Month

National Brownies at Brunch Month

2 National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. Play up these cool treats with vibrant door clings in the frozen food aisle.

3

India Pale Ale Day. Organize an in-store tasting to spark interest in local purveyors of this hoppy beer variety.

National Dog Month

National Goat Cheese Month

National Sandwich Month

National Wellness Month

4 National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Storebought options are fine, but what beats a freshly baked batch?

5 National Couscous Day. This Middle Eastern staple makes a great side dish when you’re tired of rice or potatoes.

7 National Lighthouse Day. How about a little recognition for that mainstay of masculinethemed greeting cards?

8 National CBD Day. Make customers aware of your offering in this wellness segment, and how they can best use these products.

9 National Book Lovers Day. Ask each store employee about the one book that changed their life, and post the recommendations on the bulletin board in the breakroom.

10

Duran Duran Appreciation Day. You know what that means, but don’t just stick to the hits – play some of their deep cuts as well.

11

National Fufu Day. Showcase this West African fingerfood favorite with an in-store demo on how to make it.

12 National Gooey Butter Cake Day. Help spread the word about this beloved St. Louisarea baked good.

13 National Filet Mignon Day. Remind shoppers to pick up the other necessities for a memorable steak dinner.

14 U.S. Victory Day. For this commemoration of the end of WWII, pay tribute to the Greatest Generation that fought in it.

15 National Relaxation Day. Advise customers to kick back and chill out after visiting your HBW section for some self-care ideas.

16 National Authenticity Day. Make sure that your associates are comfortable bringing their real selves to work.

17 National Massachusetts Day. Enable your customers to explore the cuisine of the Bay State.

18

Kool Aid Day. Just don’t have the famous brand mascot burst through one of your walls.

19 National Photography Day. Hold a contest enabling customers and associates to demonstrate their mastery of the art form.

20 National Lemonade Day. Raise a glass to the ideal warm-weather beverage, whether yellow or pink.

27

Crab Soup Day. Have a recipe card on hand in the seafood department so shoppers can create this dish at home.

21 National Sweet Tea Day. This iconic Southern refresher gives lemonade a real run for its money.

28

Crackers Over the Keyboard Day. Do your part to prevent this by inviting customers to pick up lunch in your prepared food section and then stay to enjoy it at your instore dining area.

22 National Tooth Fairy Day. Good oral care starts early, so suggest that parents place under pillows the occasional new toothbrush along with money for each tooth lost.

29

National Sports Day. Whatever team they root for, ask shoppers and associates to don the jerseys of their favorite players.

23

Cheap Flight Day. Encourage folks to swing by your store(s) for necessities and more on their way to or from the airport.

30

National Toasted Marshmallow Day. Get customers to stock up before they gather around the campfire.

24 National Peach Pie Day National Burger Day

25 National Secondhand Wardrobe Day. Encourage the donation of gently used clothing by setting up a donation bin.

31

Eat Outside Day. Cookout, picnic or whatever – a leisurely meal in the open air can lift spirits on a late-summer day.

26

Women’s Equality Day. Are you paying female associates the same as male associates for comparable work?

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PEOPLE: awarded Great Place to Work since 2018

White and Dark Spirits

Market Insights

The spirits market has outperformed the total alcoholic beverage market, with beer and wine threatened by consumer interest in premium spirits.

The post-pandemic return to onpremise drinking hasn’t dampened at-home cocktail creation, and if fi nancial pressures continue, spirit brands can lean on the fact that while consumers may retreat to their homes, they will remain interested in premium and their favorite brands.

Key Issues

Vodka remains far above the rest among white spirits; however, tequila’s rapid growth is stealing share across segments as it moves past rum in volume sales.

Among dark spirits, the U.S. whiskey market remains a thriving segment of the total alcoholic beverage industry, and demand for premium whiskies has only grown over time. The flat-volume performance of some whiskey categories reflects the decline of value-tier products and the growth of higher-end products.

Nearly half (49%) of consumers agree that they’re flexible on a spirit’s price if it’s from a brand they trust.

What Consumers Want, and Why

Total spirits sales are projected to surpass $100 billion by 2025, even in the face of economic uncertainty.

Spirit consumers have remained brand loyal in the face of inflation, and engagement efforts that drive retention should be top of mind.

By Barbara Ruhs, MS, RDN

Plant-Based Eating for Health

elping shoppers with plant-based eating is a smart business strategy and opportunity for retailers to grow sales across the entire store. Plant-based food sales grew 6.6% over the previous year to reach $8 billion in total sales in 2022 in the United States, growing at a rate faster than animal-based food and total food and beverage sales. Health is a key factor driving shoppers to purchase plant-based food products, despite inflation and rising food costs.

According to the “2023 US Grocery Shopper Trends Report” from FMI — The Food Industry Association, 44% of consumers are making a greater effort to select more nutritious options versus a year ago. To help shoppers, retail-based Food as Medicine programs such as produce prescription initiatives empower shoppers to buy more plant foods, with the explicit goal of improving diet-related health conditions. The American Heart Association and the American Institute for Cancer Research both promote “plant-based” diets. When it comes down to speaking to consumers, however, there’s confusion about the foods that are included (and excluded) in plant-based eating. Following is what retailers need to know about healthier plant-based eating.

Who is the Plant-Based Shopper?

Everyone. Most individuals purchasing plant-based foods identify as “flexitarians,” meaning that they eat a wide range of foods, including

animal foods, in addition to a wide range of other foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seafood, eggs and dairy. Shoppers who identify as vegetarians (may consume eggs and dairy) and vegans (no animal products) represent the minority of shoppers and less than 10% of the U.S. population.

According to “The Power of Plant-Based Foods,” a new report published in 2022 by FMI, younger generations, including Gen Z and Millennials, purchase more plant-based alternatives and make a greater effort compared with older generations, including Gen X and Boomers, in selecting plant-based foods and beverages.

Are All Plant-Based Products Better for You?

No. Highly processed or ultra-processed foods, whether they’re conventional or plant-based, may contain similar levels of artificial ingredients, preservatives, added sugar, sodium and fat that are associated with poor diet quality. Don’t be fooled by the plant-based “health halo” on processed deli meat, frozen pizza and entrées, and snack foods — most contain similar levels of calories, saturated fat and sodium when comparing nutrition facts on the label. To maximize the benefits of eating plants, choose whole-food forms: nuts, seeds, whole grains, and more fruits and vegetables.

Key Plant-Based Food Sales Metrics and Purchase Dynamics 2022

WHAT RETAILERS NEED TO KNOW WHEN IT COMES TO PROMOTING THESE FOODS.

How Can Retailers Retain and Attract more Plant-Based Shoppers?

“There’s an opportunity for retail grocers to capitalize both on the plant-based eating trend and the growth in consumer demand for prepared foods,” notes Marie Molde, MBA, RD, of food and beverage market research and intelligence platform Datassential. “By highlighting the convenience and value of plant-based prepared foods available in store for immediate or future consumption to their shoppers, supermarkets have an advantage over restaurants.”

For on-trend plant-forward menu inspiration focused on real plants: Burgers: Try grilled mushroom burgers or blended-meat burgers. Pizza: Plant-based vegetarian pizza with roasted vegetables, or Mediterranean pizza with artichokes, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, with the option of dairy or dairy-free cheese.

Taco Tuesday: Walnut “meat” tacos are on trend, while beans (plant-based protein) offer endless possibilities.

Vegetable Butchers: Create a destination and buzz with your customers.

Plant Protein Additions: Nuts, seeds, beans, tofu/soy, meat alternatives (beef, chicken, pork)

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR TOP WOMEN IN GROCERY!

As credentialed health care professionals, registered dietitians (RDs) are uniquely qualifed to help shoppers identify plant-based products that are suitable for specific health concerns. For example, the graphic on page 14 illustrates that plant-based milk is among the largest categories in sales and household penetration. Compared with dairy milk, however, most plant-based milks offer much less protein — a macronutrient that’s top of mind for many consumers today. Dietitians can advise shoppers with particular concens about protein on the best plant milk alternatives.

Health is a key factor driving shoppers to purchase plantbased food products, despite inflation and rising food costs.

Barbara Ruhs, MS, RDN, is the owner of MarketRD.com, a marketing agency that provides nutrition and health strategy to food brands. A former retail dietitian, she launched and directed an annual supermarket RD symposium for eight years. Connect @BarbRuhsRD on Instagram and LinkedIn.

We are proud and thankful for your leadership and commitment to excellence, which fuels our ambition to be Trusted to Always Deliver for our retail partners and their customers.

Milagros Urena de Diaz Distribution Operations Manager Rising Star

Nancy Aguilera Inventory and Receiving Manager Rising Star

Simply the Best

PG presents another outstanding class of female Senior-Level Executives, Rising Stars and Store Managers.

By PG Staff

t’s no exaggeration to say that every year, it gets harder to select our cohort of Top Women in Grocery (TWIG) honorees. The reason for this is that the quality of the nominees has steadily risen over the years, making the judges’ job even more difficult. With such a stellar slate of contenders, how can we possibly choose a limited number to celebrate as Top Women, not only in the pages of this issue, but also online across our social media channels, on our popular podcast and culminating in our eagerly anticipated Leadership Development Program and Gala awards ceremony in Orlando, Fla., this coming November?

As always, we let ourselves be led by the stories told by the nominators: submissions detailing perseverance, hard work, self-improvement, a commitment to excellence, an ability to balance multiple priorities effortlessly, and an imperative to give back, whether to co-workers, colleagues or members of the wider community. In fact, professional and

community outreach has become such an integral part of TWIG that this is the first year that we’ve made it a requirement for selection.

Although judging has grown tougher over the years, we still wouldn’t trade it for anything. TWIG is more than an awards program — it’s a movement of empowered women who, through their dedication and willingness to transcend barriers, are helping to make the grocery industry more inclusive and equitable — in short, a better place to work. We congratulate this year’s 400-strong class of Top Women — chosen from more than 1,000 nominees — and invite you to read their inspiring stories, as well as those of our esteemed Trailblazers, Donna Tweeten, president at Hy-Vee, and Hanneke Faber, global president, Nutrition Business Group at Unilever. You’re sure to find our honorees, as the late, great Tina Turner — like many of those featured in the following pages, no stranger to reinvention — so memorably sang, “simply the best.”

COVER FEATURE 2023 Top Women in Grocery

DONNA TWEETEN

Hy-Vee’s highest-ranking woman executive details the value of leading with grace and compassion.

By Gina Acosta

As the highest-ranking woman leader at the Iowa grocery powerhouse Hy-Vee, President Donna Tweeten has made countless impacts at the retailer over her 20-year career there, overseeing all aspects of marketing and digital development, as well as private brands and merchandising at the $13 billion grocery chain. Tweeten has led all aspects of the retailer’s private-brand strategy, from deciding on offerings and go-to-market approaches to how private-brand products are marketed to increase customer interest. She works to drive creativity and innovation, and has positioned Hy-Vee’s store brands as experiential, value-driven and customer-focused.

Part of the marketing evolution at Hy-Vee involved the expansion of its private brands. To that end, Tweeten and her team have curated a lineup of private brands that meet a wide variety of consumer needs in nearly every category, including canned goods, bread, snacks, drinks, health and wellness, meal solutions, and premium products. Under her leadership, Hy-Vee has expanded into sports marketing and negotiated key partnerships with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Kirk Cousins. Last year, HyVee sponsored the NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader races, in Newton, Iowa, which offered a festival-like atmosphere with music, food and family-focused entertainment. The weekend was one of the most attended races of the series last year, with the exception of the Indianapolis 500.

Progressive Grocer: You’ve got a big job, Donna, and we’ll get into the details of all of it, but before we do, take a minute to think back: What was appealing to you about marketing and communications as a college student?

Donna Tweeten: Marketing allowed me to use my strengths in combination with one another. I’ve always

been a planner. Planners by nature are strategic, and most marketers find their strategic mindset is what guides them. My other asset is being innately pulled to creative thought and ideation and looking for unique ways to present messaging in both the written and visual form of communication.

PG: What do you remember about those first few days after college and getting a job, the work and interacting with customers?

DT: I feel very fortunate to find a job in the field that I went to college to learn, which eventually turned into a profession. Working in an advertising agency was my goal and my dream job. I started living my dream very early on in my career.

PG: Can you elaborate on the time when you realized you were going to make a career in the world of food retailing?

DT: It was 1994 and the agency I worked for landed the Hy-Vee account. I was chosen to be the creative lead on the business, and by the end of 1994, Hy-Vee purchased the agency. That’s when I thought my business relationship with the food retailing industry might last a while — and I was right.

PG: Talk about some of your early influences, who they were and what lessons you learned from them. Were there women role models that you looked up to early on?

DT: I worked for an advertising agency in Chicago named Davis Harrison Dion.

“A well-run store has an energy that you can see and feel, and it’s displayed in the behavior of the employees. In a well-run store, employees are aggressive in a good way. They ask how your day is going and if you need help fi nding anything. They look you in the eye and smile with confidence.”

—Donna Tweeten, President, Hy-Vee

Sue Harrison was a partner/owner in the firm and my boss. She taught me how to lead people, and how to have critical conversations coupled with grace and compassion. It’s important to also mention that Hy-Vee Executive Chairman Randy Edeker influenced my creative thinking process and to think bigger at all costs.

PG: You’ve spent a lot of time in stores and know how they operate. How can you tell whether a store is well run when you first enter the building?

DT: I can see it in the employees the second I walk in the door. A well-run store has an energy that you can see and feel, and it’s displayed in the behavior of the employees. In a well-run store, employees are aggressive in a good way. They ask how your day is going and if you need help finding anything. They look you in the eye and smile with confidence.

PG: How would you describe your leadership style, and how was it developed?

DT: I am very trusting. I give people a long leash, and I don’t micromanage. However, I’m not afraid to get into the weeds if I’m being called upon or my guidance is being requested.

PG: How do you strive to inspire others, to instill a spirit of helpfulness and service to the customer — “A helpful smile in every aisle” — that drives retail success regardless of how shoppers engage with Hy-Vee?

DT: I follow Hy-Vee’s mission, which guides my decision-making, period. That mission is to make people’s lives easier, healthier and happier no matter what, even if they are not a customer.

PG: Which one new retail technology or trend do you believe will have the biggest impact on the grocery industry, and why?

DT: Retail media networks. They will singlehandedly influence how brands sell their goods, services, features and benefits to consumers. These networks will impact how they reach them, entice them and talk to them in order to forge a business-to-consumer relationship.

PG: What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Hy-Vee?

DT: Highlights would be helping to position the company as a mid-major regional grocery chain that has the operational savviness of any national retailer and the service model to compete against any retailer. In doing so, we gained the attention of influencers and celebrities who were willing to align their brand with ours, including Mark Wahlberg, Oprah Winfrey, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Drew Barrymore, Curtis Stone, Caitlin Clark and Pink.

PG: If you had a teenage daughter going to work as an hourly associate in a Hy-Vee store today, what advice would you give her as she headed out the door to begin her first day?

DT: Make a difference today and make someone’s day. And know you have the power to do both every day.

2023 TRAILBLAZER

HANNEKE FABER

Unilever’s food business guru talks about how she tries to live by the motto

By Gina Acosta

Hanneke Faber is the global president of Unilever’s Nutrition Business Group, a $13 billion business present in more than 150 countries. It’s known for iconic global brands Knorr and Hellmann’s and emerging brands such as Maille and The Vegetarian Butcher, as well as Horlicks malt drinks in India, Bango soy sauce in Indonesia, and Calve peanut butter in the Netherlands. Prior to becoming Nutrition’s president, Faber was president of Unilever’s Foods & Refreshment Division. Under Faber’s leadership, the division’s growth accelerated significantly. During her tenure, Foods & Refreshment was named No. 1 in the World Benchmarking Alliance’s rating of 350 food and agriculture brands for responsible and sustainable business. Faber joined Unilever in January 2018 as president, Unilever Europe. She has been a member of the Unilever leadership executive team since that time. Before joining Unilever, she was a member of the executive committee of global retailer Ahold Delhaize and held various international leadership roles at Procter & Gamble.

Progressive Grocer: Hanneke, you attended college in Texas on a full athletic diving scholarship! How did you ever decide to dive into the grocery and consumables industry?

Hanneke Faber: After university, I first “dove” into the world of consumer goods at Procter & Gamble (P&G), and I loved the industry from the moment I walked in the door. Like sports, consumer goods is fast-paced and competitive, and it takes teamwork. Like my sport, diving, winning in consumer goods requires a bit of risk-taking every now and again. And maybe most importantly, like in college, I loved my “teammates” and “coaches,” i.e., my colleagues and bosses. Life is too short not to spend it with great people!

“Do well by doing good.”

PG: Can you talk about your experiences at Procter & Gamble and Ahold Delhaize?

HF: I worked across various beauty roles at P&G for over 20 years around the world, so beauty is where I really grew up. P&G is a wonderful “school” for business leaders, and I am grateful for the opportunity I had there to work in different markets in both Europe and the U.S. At Ahold Delhaize, I had the opportunity, among other things, to lead their e-commerce business. We grew it from less than $1 billion to more than $3 billion in four years, which was a pretty wild and fun ride. I enjoyed the speed of the grocery business, and the intense everyday focus on customer satisfaction.

PG: What do you remember about those first few days, the work and interacting with customers?

HF: At P&G, like in most consumer goods companies, I started my career with sales training. In my case, that meant a winter of selling Vicks Cough & Cold products to small stores in Holland from the back of my car. Dealing with independent drug store owners was a great lesson. You had to have your act together, listen carefully to what they needed, and deliver on it, or you’d be shown the door pretty quickly. I do have to admit that I’ve never been as happy about a cold and dreary winter, or about people catching colds, as that year!

PG: Consumer packaged goods was a male-dominated industry when your career began. Were there female role models that you looked up to early on? Talk about some of your early influences, who they were and what lessons you learned from them.

HF: I have been fortunate throughout my career to have great female role models. You cannot be what you cannot see — but I always had a few fantastic women to look up to. Susan Arnold, most recently the chair at Disney, and Gina Drosos, now the CEO of Signet Jewelers, are great examples of female leaders in whose organizations I had the pleasure of working. They showed that you can have superb results, a fantastic career, and lead a fulfilling life with a partner and children.

PG: Unilever is such an amazing company. What’s the most rewarding part of working there?

HF: At Unilever, our purpose is “To Make Sustainable Living Common-

place.” That’s what makes Unilever special. We expect our people to “Do well by doing good”: to deliver superior financial results by doing things that are better for people and the planet. In the Nutrition business, that means we are passionate about delivering brands and products that taste great and are healthier for our consumers and the planet. And when we do that well, we win!

Hellmann’s is a great example. It’s a superior mayonnaise, preferred for its taste and creaminess by consumers around the world. It’s also unique in that it comes in 100% recycled packaging, is made with cage-free eggs and runs a global campaign called Make Taste Not Waste. Add to that a nice dose of pop culture — think Super Bowl! — and you have a brand that has been growing by double digits for years.

PG: Unilever has set some impressive goals when it comes to transforming food systems. Can you talk about those goals?

HF: The global food system is strained. A billion people are hungry. Two billion people are overweight or obese. Almost one-third of greenhouse gases are emitted by the food industry, and yet we throw away one-third of the food we produce.

As one of the largest food manufacturers in the world, we have a responsibility to help shape a fairer, healthier, more sustainable food system.

“I have been fortunate throughout my career to have great female role models. You cannot be what you cannot see — but I always had a few fantastic women to look up to.”

—Hanneke Faber, Global President, Nutrition Business Group, Unilever

That is why I launched our Future Foods commitments in November 2020. It’s our plan to help people transition towards healthier diets and reduce the environmental impact of the food chain.

PG: What is being done to move the needle on gender diversity at Unilever at all levels to ensure the company has a strong pipeline of female talent?

HF: Back in 2010, when women accounted for just 38% of Unilever’s managers, Unilever set a public goal to achieve gender balance in managerial roles. We met that goal in 2019, and last year, 54% of managers across Unilever’s global business were women.

To deliver these results, target setting, senior management sponsorship, policies and networks have been critical. Unilever was brave in setting a public goal early on. We also have strong, flexible working policies for all genders, including a generous global paternity leave policy, and sponsor both an internal gender diversity network and external ones like Catalyst and LEAD.

PG: What do you think is the role of a leader? How would you describe your leadership style, and how was it developed?

HF: In our Nutrition Business Group, we like to describe our culture as one in which we are all “chefs.” Chefs in the culinary sense, but also chefs in the sense of being “chiefs,” or bosses. People who lead, make things happen, take fate in their own hands.

My role, as “the Chef of all Chefs,” is to inspire, set stretching targets, make choices and support the teams around the world. I’ve set an ambition for us to be a world-class force for good in food. We have made some very clear strategic choices on how to do that. To deliver, much of my day-to-day work takes me outside of our headquarters to listen to consumers in their kitchens, to partner with our retail and foodservice customers, and to work with our 17,000 chefs in our offices and factories around the world.

PG: Can you talk about how consumer behavior has changed in U.S. grocery in the past year?

HF: We see two big long-term-mega trends.

First, healthier living. People are ever more focused on making sure the food they and their families consume is healthier for them. We also see people are increasingly conscious about the impact of what they eat on the planet. Plant-based, local, low or no sugar and salt — all of these will remain important. At Unilever, we have market-leading commitments for a healthier portfolio.

Second, everything will be ever more digital. From omnichannel shopping to AI-generated recipes to robots waiting on restaurant tables, digital technology will continue to help make eating tastier, easier and healthier. Omni is one of the biggest trends in the U.S.

Closer in, the COVID “cooking renaissance” has endured to some extent. Many people rediscovered cooking at home during the pandemic, and although eating out is definitely back, we still see an elevated level of cooking at home versus

pre-COVID. Our condiments and dressings portfolio is particularly well suited to this trend. Many people want to cook with fresh ingredients, and our taste-enhancing brands like Knorr and Hellmann’s help them do so.

PG: What’s next for grocery shopping? Can you elaborate on the trends affecting the CPG landscape (e-commerce, inflation, ESG, etc.)?

HF: First of all, let me say that food is a great place to be. The food market will continue to grow robustly, driven by global population growth and the trends I just described. Eating out will grow ahead of eating in, driven by urbanization. Fifty-five percent of people live in cities now, but that will rise to almost 70% by 2050, and that means more access to restaurants. A growing middle class, higher female participation in the workforce and more travel/tourism all drive eating out, too. At Unilever, we are excited about the potential of our Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) business, which already serves more than 1 million restaurants and chefs around the world. UFS’ chefmanship, solutions for foodservice professionals and digital go-to-market know-how are best in class in the industry.

Across the grocery and foodservice channels, food inflation may well continue to be a challenge. The availability and prices of the farm ingredients we depend on are directly linked to climate. As the world faces more droughts, floods and other extreme weather events, this will become more challenging. Unilever is committed to supporting farmers around the world with new regenerative practices that help make their soil healthier and more resilient. Our program supporting soybean farmers in Iowa across 65,000 hectares is a great example. We look forward to working closely with farmers, customers, suppliers, governments and NGOs around the world to expand our regenerative-agriculture footprint.

PG: If you had a daughter starting a job at Unilever today, what advice would you give her as she headed out the door to begin her first day?

HF: It’s funny you should ask. We have a 23-yearold son and two daughters, who are 21 and 18 — and one or two of them may just be starting out in consumer goods soon. My advice is to be curious, to work hard and aim to help solve the biggest challenge our industry faces: to continue to grow and feed the world while delivering a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050 and a 40% reduction by 2030. At a personal level, I would tell them to enjoy the present instead of worrying too much about what’s next in a career. Carpe Diem!

STORE LEADER

Lorena Aguilar Food 4 Less

Tracy Blanchard Central

Amber Carter Cincinnati

Summer Clingo Columbus

Lauren Cross Fred Meyer

Danielle Deaton Cincinnati

Rachael Dewey King Soopers

Debbie Frey Mid-Atlantic

Jennifer Jenkins Louisville

Barbara Johnson Fry’s

Monique JonesMurphy Columbus

Rachel Lister Dillons

Katherine Lunde Fry’s

Kerri Parkins Mid-Atlantic

Mary Reske Roundy’s

Elle Smith Louisville

Shalma Smith Ralphs

Rachel Somers Nashville

Erika Spear Fred Meyer

Angie Vanater QFC

Michele Mabery QFC

April Orrand Merchandising

Felicia Parmer Cincinnati

Jessica Quintana King Soopers

Hannah Reasor Louisville

Tiffany Sanders Corporate Affairs

Amanda Trent Human Resources

Tasha Turner King Soopers

Jennifer Wickline Columbus

Teagan Williams Cincinnati

Senior-Level Executives

Diamond conducted multiple training sessions for the Acosta core leadership team to help acclimate them to the distributor business.

She also created an 80page training and reference manual for the company’s KeHE/Central team.

Diamond originated a volunteer committee to pledge to quarterly volunteer events in the community for her team to participate in; this effort led to more than 24 individual volunteer events per year in various communities.

Findlay drove increased staffing levels from 74% to 84% during one of the most challenging labor markets in history.

She led a talent acquisition transformation, including implementation of a new strategy, organizational design, and selection and identification of new AI-driven technology to accelerate hiring.

Findlay revamped the company’s recruitment marketing strategy and career site to attract more qualified and diverse talent.

Responsible for driving client relationships across all of Acosta’s nonfood businesses, Hodock improved integration and communication at Acosta by implementing monthly meetings.

She invested in the organization by accepting the position of executive ambassador for NextUp and volunteered to partner with HR to drive recruiting and engagement with the University of Tennessee through its Sales Leadership Forum event.

Hodock also created a firstof-its-kind proprietary strategic partnership with FMI, which will be fully realized through multiple events throughout 2023.

Oxner led her team to deliver strategic pricing projects for clients that informed consumers’ willingness to pay for products, combined with pricing elasticity modeling and simulations, and identified emotional thresholds to avoid when taking pricing actions.

She launched a strategic upskilling initiative at Acosta Group to improve financial acumen and fundamental revenue growth management skills.

Oxner published pieces on pricing elasticity predictability in an inflationary market; she was also a board member leading programming for NextUp in Northern California.

Rogers led the

Acosta team to exceed the Simply Good Foods 2022 quota by 5%, resulting in an historically high performance-based bonus paid to Acosta by Simply Good Foods

She led the Acosta team to exceed Gojo’s annual share targets for the traditional grocery channel three months early, exceeding share goals by two full points at year’s end.

Rogers’ superior partnership with her clients led to higher-than-average client engagement scores in the 2022 client survey, illustrating her strong client service and exceptional business results.

Stalbaum transitioned midyear to leading a broader client development team amid a significant internal system changeover that included extensive new procedures and training.

Her efforts with training and development were instrumental in helping the Walmart team deliver 6% growth in revenue in 2022 versus the prior year while achieving more than 100% growth in EBITDA.

Stalbaum was nominated in 2022 for Acosta’s Aspire Award, which recognizes and rewards top performers for building a high-performance culture and driving results.

Shannon Hodock SVP, Client Development Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

Jessica Diamond VP Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

Marie Findlay SVP, Talent Acquisition Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

Michia Stalbaum VP Client Development Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

Lacey Rogers VP, Client Development Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

Julie Oxner SVP, Business Intelligence Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

you separated yourself from the pack.

Meijer congratulates all the top women in grocery, including our own.

Jenn Abramowski

Jordan Aldrich

Becky Bronkema

Kristin Brouwers

Jenny Coon

Kim Edsenga

Jasmine Edwards

Jovana Garcia

Marla Hellings

Emily Henao

Nicole Kidd

Mary Kimbrough

Morgan Lackey

Robin Owczarzak

Miranda Pfledderer

Catherine Renton

Irisi Tole

Kalli Zielbauer

Mandee Day Director of Communications

Lisa Kinney VP – Insights and Market Intelligence CORPORATE

Kelli Elson VP – Operations

Karen Watkins VP Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

With perseverance and determination, Watkins was able to gain distribution for a brand’s seven items, or an estimated $3.5 million in sales, with Sprouts Farmers Market.

Another deal with another brand led to the SVP of sales saying: “Your insights on Sprouts were a big part of getting the business. You are one of the best at what you do!”

Over the Christmas holiday, Watkins enlisted her team to assist at St. Mary’s Food bank to package food bags for the homeless; they were able to pack 300-plus bags to help the less fortunate.

Marianne Shick VP, Business Development Advantage Solutions/ Advantage Sales

Shick created Broker Back to Basics training as a refresher of the fundamentals that may have lost by working from home and with new hires onboarded during COVID.

She also created a companywide mentorship program called WayViser, with a budget, an application and a training module.

Shick recently became a co-chair for 2023 of employee resource group Women’s Interactive Network (WIN) after serving as a member and chair of the enrichment committee of WIN since its inception in 2020.

Vicki Combs VP, Operations Advantage Solutions/Retail Odyssey

When Combs took over the King Soopers account, she worked hard to build her team, which, by the end of the year, hit its target goal of 100% staffing.

Her consistent building of culture has attracted diverse and talented members to the travel team, which maintained a 95% or better completion rate for the customer.

When a customer asked for additional projects to be completed, Combs and her team took on those projects and finished the year with all accounts doing better in revenue than the prior year.

Deborah Sabo SVP, Marketing Food Lion LLC

With consumers facing record inflation, Sabo’s team refocused marketing messages and creative materials to emphasize affordability and savings.

Her team grew Food Lion’s omnichannel presence, giving customers more shopping options; Food Lion to Go launched at 100 more stores, while home delivery reached more ZIP codes.

In 2022, thanks to Sabo’s work, Food Lion achieved 21% growth in customers loading digital coupons to their MVP customer loyalty cards, and 26% growth in engaged Shop & Earn customers year over year.

Teresa White VP of Financial Planning and Analysis Retail

Business Services (RBS)

White led financial planning and reporting activities and was the key facilitator of financial management activities that extended to IT and capital portfolio planning.

She delivered the 2022 budget with 1% forecast accuracy and ensured the success of an annual executive-level business strategy review by engaging with stakeholders following the company’s transition to the SAP platform software.

White led the talent recruitment and management pillar on the RBS Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council and was executive sponsor of the EDGE Black business resource group; she was also a member of Chief, a private network for women executives.

Alcorn developed standard and localized merchandising modules to optimize and evaluate each store based on customer needs, operational efficiencies and automation, with a goal of enabling easier and faster navigation and checkout.

She helped develop increased focus on health and pharmacy to drive connection throughout the store and provide the right digital and e-commerce services.

A member of the Pride associate resource group, Alcorn facilitated sessions of Living Our Purpose Workshop; supported the United Way Auction, Book Clean Up and Food Bank; and assisted with a Harvard Business School executive project.

Argyilan led the efforts to launch Albertsons Media Collective, which includes recruiting and hiring talent and positioning them where their skillsets could be leveraged, thereby ensuring that revenue goals are exceeded and the best offerings are created and leveraged by vendor partners.

She was recognized as a 2022 US Fellow by The Marketing Academy, as well as being named a Media Maven and Woman to Watch in 2022 by Ad Age.

Argilyan has held numerous board seats, some of which include roles with MMA Global North America, ZEFR, and Hold Your Horses, an equine therapy facility specializing in trauma.

Alice Chan VP — Merchandising Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Chan designed a curriculum to provide training for the center-ofstore merchandising team, rolled out a YouTube-style library of archived trainings, and created a subject-matter expert process.

She co-developed the Master POD and POD meeting structure, a critical timeline process Excel roadmap, the cadence for wiring with functional partners for clear timelines and reporting, and feedback mechanisms with national and divisional teams and functional partners.

Chan, the Albertsons National Asian Network associate resource group leader, helped develop a best-in-class enterprise strategy for the company’s pet category to deliver double-digit growth over the next three years.

Kristi Argyilan SVP — Retail Media Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Robin Alcorn VP — Store Design and Planning Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

leader mentor achiever creator innovator trailblazer

Three-time Top Women in Grocery honoree Donna Tweeten has been the driving force behind some of Hy-Vee’s most iconic brands and campaigns for more than 20 years . . . and counting. Her creativity and insights will forever have an impact on the retail industry and Hy-Vee.

Congratulations, Donna, on your well-deserved Top Women in Grocery Trailblazer Award!

Donna Tweeten President, Hy-Vee, Inc.

2023 Top Women in Grocery

Cathy East VP Meat/Seafood Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

East transformed the meat and seafood department into a strategic team focused on delivering long-term differentiation through collaborative leadership, and she restructured talent to focus on customer- and data-led decisions.

She led her team through several successful supply projects, including sustainable sourcing and the Proposition 12 pork law supply project, ensuring supply in an ever-changing commodity market.

East was chair of the National Pork Board Retail Advisory Committee, a member of the planning committee for the Annual Meat Conference and a Trust in Animal Protein Task Force member at the North American Meat Institute.

Suzanne Long Chief Sustainability and Transformation Officer Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Long launched various innovative collaborations to keep Albertsons on the leading edge of grocery industry sustainability, building relationships with vendor partners, public organizations and academic institutions.

She oversaw the launch of the environmental, social and governance strategy called Recipe for Change, leading the assessment to identify focus areas and guiding the cross-functional teams to set goals for each focus area.

Long led the company-wide launch of a store food donation program, which involved ensuring that each store could deliver food and minimize waste.

Ramiya Iyer SVP — Digital, Data, Merchandising and RX Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Iyer led the Engineering Excellence transformation, creating workstreams that focus on improving excellence in the engineering discipline across Albertsons’ technology.

In pharmacy tech, she led the transformation from a traditional pharmacy business to a healthand-wellness business, helping deliver the digital Sincerely Health platform to 16 banners.

While an active member of the Albertsons Cos. Foundation, the Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network (WIIN) and the NRF CIO Council, Iyer also took over leading the HR tech transformation midstream, providing guidance and strategy in a postgo-live environment.

Kelly Mullin President Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Instrumental in developing a strategy to raise associate engagement using her company’s digital marketing platform, Mullin grew employee participation by 25% in one month.

She drove all elements of Safeway’s back-to-office initiative by creating a feedback committee and holding roundtable meetings to create an environment where employees felt safe and valued going back to the office.

Because of Mullin’s drive to move women forward, her division had an all-time-high number of female associates at the store director level, and backstage director female placement was also at an all-time high.

Rupangi Kadakia Senior Director — Engineering Ops, Program and Portfolio, Albertsons Cos./Corporate

Kadakia helped the project management office team improve its performance and impact, which freed up resources for other high-value initiatives and resulted in approximately $1.5 million in savings last year.

In addition to securing multimillion-dollar savings for the organization through negotiation, she led the progress for the DevOps organization in enhancing the quality of releases and delivering valuable outcomes to customers.

Kadakia helped establish the Fresh College Graduate Program, a comprehensive initiative to support and develop recent college graduates, as well as the first Moms Returning to Work Program for Albertsons.

Tina Lucero SVP — Marketing and Merchandising Albertsons Cos./ Denver Division

Lucero was instrumental in identifying varying ways to reach the grocer’s digitally engaged households while also helping to grow and support its e-commerce business.

When Colorado voted in late 2022 to allow wine sales in grocery outlets, Lucero coordinated store resets throughout the state and also worked with wine vendors to ensure that all stores had product for sale when the new law went into effect.

Lucero was a board member for the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Association and was on the steering committee for the Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network (WIIN) at Albertsons.

Lisa Kinney VP — Insights and Market Intelligence Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Kinney and her team empowered the company with self-serve tools by building PowerBI dashboards and The Knowledge Hub, which democratizes learning so that the whole organization can put customer and data at the center of decision-making.

She loverhauled how the company measures performance with customers by embedding net promoter score (NPS) measurement into all aspects of the customer experience and conducting NPS measurement among all shoppers.

In addition to volunteering for Idaho women’s corrections facilities and the Idaho Humane Society, Kinney was appointed global retail leader advisor at George Mason University.

Kelli Elson VP — Operations, NorCal Albertsons Cos./ Northern California Division

Known as a servant leader who’s never afraid to work side by side with her teammates and help remove roadblocks or simplify tasks to make their jobs easier, Elson developed lasting solutions and training that have been rolled out to the entire division.

She was responsible for spearheading e-commerce for her district, and her partnership with national and local teams has resulted in company-leading online sales and a lift in orders of more than 15%.

When not at her job, Elson volunteered for the local Lions Club, Special Olympics and the San Jose Food Bank.

SELLING BRAND

Kyla Cardillo Area VP Albertsons Cos./ Southwest Division

Cardillo created methods to boost sales, including having each department identify a push item and challenging her operations team to drive the results, which generated positive sales and made selling fun in her stores.

She aided division labor negotiations by providing analysis and support in determining the financial impact of the contract negotiation strategies.

A Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network (WIIN) chapter president, Cardillo facilitated such activities as creating baskets for women transitioning to new homes, helping homeless children, school supply shopping for foster families, assembling emergency boxes for food banks and supporting breast cancer research.

Nicole Glisson GVP — Supply Chain, Finance Albertsons Cos./ Supply Chain

Glisson led the strategic sourcing organization to overachieve against its fiscal year 2022 targets by more than 20% in a highly challenging and inflationary year.

In addition to creating a three-year plan to exceed the company’s $1.5 billion productivity target, she volunteered for the Idaho Foodbank and provided counseling to fellow church members.

Glisson showed strong leadership in the supply chain transformation initiative and led the development of a center of excellence to create consistent methods for managing major projects and financial results.

Marissa Crab VP — Replenishment Center of Store Albertsons Cos./ Supply Chain

As a member of the replenishment leadership team, Crab helped deliver more than $3 million in cost savings year to date; additionally, she was a member of Albertsons’ Idea Council, which is focused on diversity, equity and inclusion education.

She helped launch a new capability to nationally plan for volume and strategically allocate constrained inventory based on customer-facing data attributes and a new algorithm.

She launched a new team to partner with national merchants in the center of store to drive vendor performance, focus on market share, and ensure a meaningful connection with each division to execute with excellence both locally and nationally.

Tanya Edwards Regional Director of Key Accounts Avocados From Mexico

Edwards was the first in her company to get branded packaging into retail stores, and over the past year, she and her team promoted the Avocados From Mexico Educational Bag in ALDI stores across the nation, as well as in select divisions at Costco.

Additionally, and for the first time, she promoted avocado bags at Albertsons stores, and one of the full-month promotions resulted in a 40-plus volume increase.

Edwards recently received the Golden Avocado award from her company, was a Susan G. Komen participant, and provided mentorship and support to others in the industry.

The in the home improvement category ... now available for grocery retailers nationwide!

Sarah Steven VP of Marketing Big Y Foods

Steven’s marketing efforts across flyers, social media, email and targeted media drove an increase in myBigY digital membership enrollment; she also launched the brand onto new social platforms, namely YouTube and Pinterest, to reach a new audience.

After spearheading her company’s first-ever attitude and usage study, Steven built upon those learnings and used insights to create cross-departmental strategies that have paved the way to a year of sales growth and increased market share.

Steven served on a committee for the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen communities through philanthropy and leadership.

Brit Cattey VP, Support C.A. Fortune

A member of the leadership team, Cattey guided services groups in order management, deduction reconciliation and trade fund management that collectively optimized retailer shipments and client trade budgets to run promotions and sell in new items.

Her leadership and tech savviness led her to exceed the goal of automating client order processing and cut unreconciled dashboard orders by 81%.

A Make-A-Wish Foundation volunteer who’s active in her church’s music worship team, Cattey supported the Salt and Light Coalition, which heals educates and empowers female victims of human trafficking.

Rebecca Torpie Director of Marketing BriarPatch Food Co-op

As BriarPatch grew beyond one store, Torpie mobilized the marketing department from a passive one to a creative and dynamic team that focuses on how to make the world a better place through its work.

Torpie negotiated annual sponsorship agreements with local nonprofit partners, approved donation requests, and identified donation opportunities, including creating the store’s Apples for Gardens program.

Through the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International, Torpie volunteered as a USAID marketing consultant for a farmers’ coffee cooperative in El Salvador, reporting back her experience to store management and the community at large.

Jessica Schmidt SVP, Business Intelligence C.A. Fortune

Having worked her way up through the CPG space for 15 years, Schmidt oversaw business intelligence at C.A. Fortune to elevate client brands and also led retailer-dedicated analyst teams.

She started quarterly presentations on relevant factors influencing the industry for client brand and internal teams; spearheaded the company’s shopper analytics platform, which looks at the health of clients’ brands; and developed personalized training plans for each of her employees.

A board chair at her church, Schmidt held workshops on resumé writing and communication for women who have survived human trafficking.

Jen Carter VP of Sales, Kroger Campbell Soup Co.

Managing the business relationship and profitand-loss progress for Campbell’s meals and beverage business with Kroger, Carter led a sales team that drove share, volume and sales growth.

She led her group to exceed its growth target and grow marketing share in eight of 13 categories; she also strengthened the relationship between Campbell and Kroger and hosted a meeting that included a tour of the retailer’s Ocado-operated fulfillment warehouse.

An active member of Campbell’s Women Inclusion Network and the local chapter of NextUp, Carter also led the company’s Community Cares program in Cincinnati.

Lindsey Enwright VP, Customer Engagement Campbell

Soup Co.

Enwright headed up a team that fostered collaboration between Campbell and its retailers to develop mutually beneficial solutions in supply chain areas such as transportation, inventory, and forecasting and distribution management.

She led shelf restoration efforts that resulted in stocks remaining 10%-20% higher than average case fill rates; she also delivered multimillion-dollar savings in costto-serve projects and developed a new customer inventory tool.

Active in Campbell’s Latino Network and the Bridge Network organization, which connects generations across different positions, Enwright volunteered as a youth travel soccer coach.

Michelle Morale VP, Digital Commerce and Omni Shopper Marketing Campbell Soup Co.

Leading digital commerce sales for Campbell’s $5 billion meals and beverage divisions, Morale created a seamless shopper experience for retail partners.

Her group continued its double-digit e-commerce growth and was on pace to deliver a 17% boost in sales over the previous year; under her watch, digital shelf health improved 10% and the team updated more than 1,400 digital assets.

A thought leader who often speaks at industry conferences and a member of the FMCG Institute, Morale led small-group mentoring circles at Campbell while also volunteering as a travel basketball coach.

Orma Haywood Assistant Controller Cardenas Markets

Haywood ensured that the retailer’s accounting records were accurate and led annual audit and tax work while also adopting new processes and software to maximize efficiencies.

She played a key role in the transaction process when Cardenas Markets changed private-equity ownership, and onboarded sister company Tony’s Fresh Markets to Cardenas’ accounting platforms and programs; she also spearheaded new systems and processes that halved the days to close.

Haywood joined the new women’s employee resource group and received accolades for helping retain high performers in her group.

Meghan Howard Chief Revenue Officer Chicory

Responsible for Chicory’s growth plans and revenue operations, Howard oversaw sales and account management teams, created outreach strategies, and built client engagement strategies; her team contributed 100% of the company’s total revenue.

Since joining the company, she has grown the sales team sixfold and increased revenue nearly ninefold; from April 2022 to March 2023, Chicory reached its highest annual revenue year to date.

During the search for a new head of marketing, Howard mentored the all-women marketing team while attending industry events and leading growth and development pillars at NextUp.

Kristin Crouse Principal, MidMarket Client Insights Circana

In a key role at Circana, Crouse led a diverse portfolio of midsized CPG clients across a range of categories that represented $10 billion in annual retail sales.

She created and oversaw a commercialized approach to get customized thought leadership insights leaders at small/midsized manufacturer partners, and also launched Circana’s mid-market strategic engagement approach, resulting in an 82% increase in strategic meetings.

A board member of the food marketing program at Western Michigan University, Crouse shared her experiences with next-generation leaders; she also founded Kansas City’s popular Parkville Microbrew Festival.

Jonna Parker

Principal, Fresh Center of Excellence Circana

Parker’s work led to the development of Circana’s Integrated Fresh Solution, the first factbased total food and beverage solution that provides retailers and CPGs a complete view of the fresh food market.

She also introduced a monthly insights publication; launched Passport Fresh, which allows for Big Data to be budget-friendly and actionable; and guided her clients to expand their distribution and market share.

A member of the Phoenix Women’s Leadership Council and the Phoenix Professional Women’s Giving Circle, Parker helped form Circana’s Working Caregivers employee resource group.

Circana

Wyatt managed Circana’s center store and produce practice and worked with more than 160 clients.

She and her team achieved a 100% renewal rate for all clients,while internally, she became an active member of Circana’s new global thought leadership team at the recently merged IRI and NPD Group; she was also chosen to lead a new internal global initiative for the company’s top 20 clients.

Wyatt was executive sponsor of Circana’s Early Career employee resource group; a board member of Arkearth, a group that focuses on saving pollinating species; and a volunteer for Soup Mobile in Dallas.

Colleen

Manager, Data Analytics Rising

Sally Lyons Wyatt EVP and Practice Leader, Client Insights

Chelsea de Leon VP, Customer Management

Coca-Cola Consolidated

Leading 23 managers and directors who work with 180 chains, de Leon created and helped execute national retailer beverage strategies.

She partnered with Target to develop a beverage space strategy resulting in a 43% sales increase across the sparkling beverage category and teamed with Sam’s Club to develop two new packages; she also launched a new organization design for Walmart that doubled the team’s headcount investment.

De Leon and her team received the Sam’s Club Game-Changer Award over all U.S. bottlers, and she recently established a local school sponsorship to support staff and students.

Jami McDermid President, Sales Agency CROSSMARK,

A WIS International Company

McDermid successfully led CROSSMARK through a revenue mix rationalization, which allowed the organization to improve bottom-line profitability by about 10 points versus the prior three years, with several business units delivering their most profitable year on record.

She focused her team on strategic planning and helped develop role-specific seller training, leading CROSSMARK to gain more than 20 new client additions and key expansions with 15-plus clients.

McDermid is an active leader in NextUp, regularly attending its leadership summits, and she’s also the WIS International executive sponsor.

Shannon Durham VP, Customer Management Coca-Cola

Consolidated

Promoted to lead the grocery channel at the onset of the pandemic, Durham stewarded nonalcoholic beverage category strategies for more than 300 brands and 50 grocers for Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States.

Her team sold more than 123 million cases and delivered more than $1.6 billion in revenue for Coke Consolidated, along with 17% revenue growth; she also rolled out a new training method for front-line sales associates.

Durham co-founded the Women’s Leadership group at the company and launched peer mentoring circles in tandem with a mentor handbook.

Ashley Tussing VP, Sales and Operations

CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Having taken ownership of the digital and e-commerce teams, Tussing spearheaded the development of such service offerings as a content management team that provides timely, cost-effective services for clients.

She boosted commission visibility and team ownership by deploying a buying point matrix that automatically reviews all selling/buying points across the organization and the business owners responsible for each.

Tussing was a board member at North Texas Performing Arts Fairview Youth Theater, a noprofit that seeks to enable growth in students through the arts, where she oversees finances and theater programming.

Katy Avila Chief Human Resources Officer CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Avila joined the company shortly after the acquisition of CROSSMARK by WIS International and leveraged her mergers-and-acquisition expertise to guide the integration.

She integrated HR teams from three legacy companies to create an enterprise team, led the first enterprise-wide employee engagement survey, unified the performance management program, and harmonized three U.S. health care plans without material costs to the employee or the employer, among other accomplishments.

Avila served on the ID360 Leadership Advisory Council and was an active mentor with the Dallas HR mentorship program.

Nawshi Williams VP, Analytics and Insights

Under Williams’ leadership, the Accelerator analytic platform is continuously evolving, coming out with new releases and enhancements that include not just improvements and optimization of current capabilities, but also new capabilities.

She and her team are now gathering requirements and creating customized Accelerator-powered retailer dashboards specific to each retailer’s data and requirements.

Williams’ many professional honors include receiving a Path to Purchase Women of Excellence Award for technology and being named a Top Woman in Health, Wellness and Beauty by Drug Store News (both are Progressive Grocer sister divisions).

Kristin Frontario VP, Global Business Services CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

In a department supporting more than 200 clients and 350 U.S. retailers, Frontario’s scope of work included financial, operational, technology and business processes; she managed the company’s partnership with IBM and helped stand up robotics and automation in her area.

Through these robots and other process optimizations, her team cut turnaround time for deductions; she also launched a process-mining software that garnered deeper insights and processed three years of data within a week, saving 1,900 hours of reporting analysis.

Frontario served on the board of the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network.

Amanda Villa VP, Planning and Integration Product Connections,

a WIS International Company

Responsible for six teams, Villa steered marketing programs and support through efforts like in-store activation, digital media campaigns, video production and creative services.

Among other efficiencies, she led the integration of four marketing agencies into one, cutting video production costs by 93% and reducing lead times by 12 weeks to 48 hours; she also executed processes and systems for the Target sampling business, leading to a 9% bump in program revenue, and contributed to an 11% lift in revenue for the Sam’s Club program.

Villa shared her time with Bentonville, Ark., public schools and a local dog rescue group.

CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

FROM TREE TO TABLE SINCE 1922

Theon Danet CIO/Director of Information Technology Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

When DeCA faced challenges with its IT contract, Danet assessed contracting officer roles, recruited a program management officer, realigned personnel, restructured the IT portfolio and launched a new procurement strategy; these changes saved DeCA approximately $1.5 million annually.

She implemented a process to allow Department of Defense patrons to shop online using SNAP EBT benefits, access curbside delivery and pay in store.

A member of Federally Employed Women (FEW), which works to improve the status of female federal workers, Danet also provided free financial counsel to military widows.

Linda Nordgren Proprietor, CEO and President Encore Associates

Nordgren defined new business opportunities that drove double-digit growth at Encore Associates, and assessed the company’s resource needs to invest in capital and human resources to achieve new business growth.

She was personally involved in finding the best new team members out of a pool of more than 300 candidates, based on their attitudes and potential skill sets, with the aim of fostering their career development and abilities.

Nordgren volunteered with the Northern California chapter of NextUp and facilitated a grocery industry event on how to effectively manage teams remotely and in hybrid settings.

Christine Frey Director, Overseas Financial Operations Division Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Frey developed a cross-functional, collaborative strategic plan pertaining to DeCA’s only chill-and-freeze distribution center in Europe, which required host nation approval to continue operation under adverse operating conditions until a new system goes online in about two years.

She worked with lawyers to find disposable, biodegradable bags that were durable, environmentally friendly and accepted in all of the European countries where DeCA has commissaries.

The recipient of numerous awards for her work with the military, Frey was also a speaker, volunteer and mentor for the American Society of Military Comptrollers.

Jenny Johnson VP-Active Nutrition/ Grocery/HBC/ Our Brands Feldkamp

Marketing

Johnson’s teams exceeded retail budget targets and contributed $270 million in sales volume to Feldkamp, accounting for more than 25% of total company retail dollars; from a company revenue standpoint, this was a 12% increase from 2021 revenue actuals.

She was heavily involved in securing the representation of a large collection of sport nutrition brands, bringing in an incremental $30 million annually in retail sales.

As well as contributing as a leader to foster a positive, energetic and appreciative work environment, Johnson regularly attends NextUp speaking and networking events in the Cincinnati area.

Tiffany Minyo Director of Human Resources and Talent Development Dom’s Kitchen & Market

Minyo dramatically improved employee retention during unprecedented times through numerous tactical initiatives, among them the creation and launch of MYND, a mentoring program that develops the experience and careers of high-potential employees.

She also reduced health care costs through a process of negotiation and plan rationalization, and saved nearly $40,000 for a hiring center by repurposing an existing space.

Minyo’s various community outreach efforts included working to feed thousands of hungry and homeless people in Chicago by forging a relationship with Nourishing Hope, a nonprofit that works to address food insecurity.

Katerina Jones Chief Marketing Officer Fleet Advantage

Jones demonstrated her thought leadership by coauthoring a highly essential industry report, “The Future of Heavy-Duty Trucks: Building a Bridge to Alternative Energies for U.S. Long-Haul Transportation — the Backbone of Our National Supply Chain.”

She also built an educational campaign to help improve fleet efficiency and reduce costs associated with food shrink, which inspired grocers and distributors to adopt new ways to approach the issue, such as a closer focus on improving on-time deliveries.

Beyond her position at Fleet Advantage, Jones developed and ran the annual International Food Distribution Association Truck Driving Championship Kids’ Essay Contest.

Anne Feder VP of Client Growth eGrowcery

Feder embarked on a process of re-engineering that enabled eGrowcery to produce more features within a shorter timeframe with no sacrifice in quality, resulting in a net productivity impact increase of 14% both internationally and abroad.

She led the rollout of eGrowcery’s partnership with DoorDash to provide retailers with an integrated white-label delivery solution; participating retailers saw sales increases ranging from 35% to 130%.

Feder and her team supported the digital/omnichannel experience at retail partner Hitchcock’s Markets, which received a Creative Choice Award from the National Grocers Association in the Connections Through Omnichannel category.

Stephanie Harris General Counsel and Chief Regulatory Officer FMI

— The Food Industry Association

Harris reviewed and interpreted a 597-page rule intended to implement Section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act regarding additional traceability of high-risk foods; she determined that the rule’s requirements will demand tremendous investments of time and resources across the entire food industry and significantly exceed the statutory authority of Congress.

She promoted collaboration between FDA and the grocery industry so that the agency can better understand dynamic supply chains, and the industry can help achieve shared public-health goals.

Harris oversaw the FMI Legal Affairs Committee.

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Kasey Sheffer VP of Own Brands Giant Eagle

Sheffer led own-brand center store sales penetration to 8.4% growth year over year, while center store sales rose 12% year over year and margin has increased 6% over the last 26 weeks.

She drove growth through dedicated product development that involved filling gaps and creating innovative items, rightsized planograms to position own brands front and center and provide higher minimum facings, and ensured that items provide the best value while making them key drivers of the loyalty program.

Sheffer sits on the board of the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance and volunteers with Junior Achievement, which supports the school system.

Leslie Lee VP of Digital Experience Hormel Foods

Under Lee’s leadership, Hormel Foods’ investments in its omnichannel approach allowed the company to deliver an outstanding experience across all consumer touchpoints; last year, online sales for the organization set an all-time record.

She led the initiative to create and deploy an in-house search strategy team, saving Hormel $1 million in expenses year over year.

Lee’s dedication to serving as a mentor to team members was recognized with Hormel’s Pride of the Jersey, an award given to team members who embody the company’s cultural beliefs.

Katie Hotze Founder and CEO Grocery Shopii

Hotze leveraged her company’s initial performance data to take its machine-learning enhanced recipe technology to market; she closed 280 stores under contact.

She championed the launch of a retail media network for recipes, earning the trust and business of such brands as Unilever and Splenda; this offering generated her company’s largest sales quarter ever.

Hotze belongs to FMI’s Technology Advisory Council, where she volunteers her time supporting the expansion of technology topics across FMI’s leadership and educational platforms; she’s also on the board of the Western Michigan University Food Marketing Program.

Tammy DeBoer President Harris Teeter

DeBoer launched the Harris Teeter Delivery e-commerce business, widening the company’s reach into new communities, including many without a brick-and-mortar Harris Teeter; she also refreshed the company’s brand identity with a modernized logo and new marketing campaign.

Having developed and articulated Harris Teeter’s purpose (Enriching Lives — one meal, one family, one associate and one community at a time) , she is deeply committed to connecting with associates and learning how the company can improve their lives.

DeBoer serves as an advisory board member for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.

Stacey Johnson VP, Government, Relations and Corporate Compliance

Hy-Vee

Johnson and her team worked with federal and state lawmakers to pass meaningful reform legislation affecting direct and indirect remuneration fees, which can be devastating for retail pharmacies, especially in rural areas.

She oversaw the launch of Hy-Vee’s OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summits, pitch competitions that awarded $150,000 in seed money to minority- or women-owned businesses.

Her team’s relationships with federal officials led to Hy-Vee’s inclusion in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.

Amy Wadstrom COO Vivid Clear Rx (A Hy-Vee Subsidiary)

Under Wadstrom’s leadership, Vivid Clear Rx more than tripled its client base and saw record financial results; the partnership she formed with Banjo Health streamlined the pharmacy benefit manager’s in-house prior-authorization process, allowing the company to focus on serving members.

She built Vivid Clear Rx’s customer call center on a “one-call resolution” model, ensuring that members and client concerns were resolved as quickly as possible in a single call.

Wadstrom served on the steering committee for Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute.

Sara Dunaj Partner/VP, Content and Strategy High Wide & Handsome

Dunaj created and launched the Dole Whip Day social media campaign, the brand’s best-performing social media activation; it exceeded impression key performance indicators by 1,000 times, with 98% positive net sentiment.

She built a new social media marketing program for Coppola Wine that surpassed industry and recall benchmarks by 50%, increased engagement by 100 times in the first three months, and improved social return on ad spend by 1,462%.

As part of the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, Dunaj worked to increase inclusivity among staff, vendors, partners and talent.

Ali Miller VP of Product Management Instacart

Miller spearheaded an expanded advertiser toolkit that includes shoppable video ads and shoppable display ads, curated brand pages, popups, and promotions designed to help advertisers tell a cohesive brand story on Instacart.

She led her team to unlock new optimization products, including sales lift metrics, A/B testing, objective-based buying capabilities and optimized bidding features that help brands maximize campaign performance on Instacart.

Miller performed as a violinist in the Oakland Symphony and was a member of the Women@ Instacart employee resource group.

Asha Sharma COO Instacart

Sharma’s team rolled out several new features designed to make online grocery more affordable, including an Instacart+ membership, free and no-rush delivery options with discounts and a “Savings Tab,” and a feature that lets customers add items from additional retailers to their trip at no extra cost.

She oversaw efforts to digitize EBT/SNAP programs with more than 70 retailers across 8,000 stores in 49 states and Washington, D.C., making online grocery more accessible for people experiencing food insecurity.

A board member at several nonprofit organizations, Sharma was named one of San Francisco Business Times’ 40 Under 40 honorees in 2023.

Heather Prach VP of Education International Dairy Deli Bakery Association

Prach prioritized the digitalization and monthly updates of the organization’s trends publication, and she ncreased visibility of industry data through the IDDBA app and webinar series.

Her strong sales background helped propel What’s In Store Live sponsorship to record highs, she was instrumental in the launch and served as a cohost of the What’s In Store podcast, and she continued to find new ways to provide opportunities for IDDBA’s global member base through education, data, and connecting global and domestic audiences.

Prach spearheaded an IDDBA partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

Stephanie Adkinson VP Sales, Beef JBS USA

Adkinson and her team were recognized as C&S Meat Supplier of the Year 2022 for superior partnership, sales results and customer service; she also helped develop and execute the JBS One Company Customer Survey and drove cross-company synergies.

Partnering with Meijer on two strategic initiatives, she spearheaded the team launch and expansion of Grass Run Farms beef at Meijer, and the test and launch of POG Crumbles at Meijer; this resulted in the launch of POG Crumbles nationwide.

Adkinson is an active member of NextUp.

Waller led the Walmart team through the most challenging time in the company’s history, driving record sales and share increases amid unprecedented supply and logistical issues.

She helped confirm several significant programs with Walmart, including securing the retailer as a sustainability partner with rice farmers’ InGrained program, linking Kellogg sustainability goals with the customer.

At the same time, during historic labor shortages, Waller created a strong culture within her own team via roundtables, assimilation sessions and developmental workshops.

Laura Morgan VP, Development and Quality Assurance Invafresh

Morgan steered her team to deliver Invafresh’s first-ever mobile-native app and the release of the Recipe Manager solution, as well as a number of new features and functionalities to help grocers reduce waste, increase sales and optimize processes.

She implemented a more agile test-driven development procedure that resulted in improved quality, and she pinpointed ways to improve product knowledge transfer across teams, capture customer environment data and improve the incident management process.

Morgan worked with the Alzheimer’s Day program and with many charitable Alzheimer’s disease events.

Jenn Hahn Founder/CEO J Recruiting

Hahn cultivated new relationships that contributed to record-setting revenue for her company; the business development framework she implemented led to several key relationships/business opportunities to support the hiring functions of several large companies.

She created a successful podcast with several c-suite leaders as guests, developed a stronger social media presence, and created a unique follow-up process to streamline the scheduling process between clients and submitted candidates.

A volunteer with American Corporate Partners as a mentor, Hahn helped acclimate returning veterans to the civilian corporate environment.

Poponyak led a sales center of excellence for KDP’s hot and cold warehouse-direct beverages, which overdelivered on annual volume sales targets and share growth goals; she also delivered a best-in-class multiyear joint business partnership with a leading grocery retailer.

She built KDP’s proprietary e-commerce analytics suite to garner insight into omnichannel shopping behavior and measure sales and share in market.

As co-chair of the Women & Allies employee resource group at KDP, Poponyak helped foster a strong culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Kris KowalskiChristiansen CEO Kowalski’s Markets

Kowalski-Christiansen led the company’s implementation of a new approach to policy making at Kowalski’s, which took a look at how educational tracks within the company advanced stakeholders’ understanding of civic business principles.

After the COVID-19 pandemic affected employees’ mental health, she authorized a campaign to educate affected stakeholders about available resources within the company and beyond.

Kowalski-Christiansen currently sits on the board of Kowalski’s 4 Kids, a nonprofit devoted to atrisk youth in the Twin Cities.

Tara Poponyak VP, Amazon Sales Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP)

Jessica Waller VP Mass Channel Kellogg Co.

2023 Top Women in Grocery

Emily Gibbons VP, Science and Technology, Commercial

Insights and Loyalty

The Kroger Co./84.51°

Gibbons’ leadership was critical to enabling growth in a business that thrives on the ability for data, science and technology to work in harmony to create value.

She improved the data science teams’ efficiency, enabling 33% more projects than in past years, helped develop 14 new solutions and aided in the deployment of 12 solution enhancements.

Gibbons was named the colead of Women’s EDGE, 84.51°’s people-led team focused on creating a work environment where women can bring their whole selves to work and are valued for their own unique contributions.

Erin Liber VP, Data Ventures and Partnerships

The Kroger Co./84.51°

Liber used her leadership and experience to overcome market headwinds and still beat all of her business- and talent-related goals for 2023, which benefited Kroger customers as well as the wider Kroger/84.51° business teams.

She managed the partnership structure within digital incentives, which delivered more than $1 billion in customer savings in 2022.

Liber also shaped the company’s full five-year vision for data ventures and has become clearly established as the go-to business leader across key enterprise strategies.

Erin Rolfes Director, Corporate Communications and Media Relations

The Kroger Co./ Corporate Affairs

Within Rolfes’ first week in her current role, she booked the company’s CEO for a speaking engagement and a live interview on CNBC.

She helped build the company’s narrative around the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday, working with the head of merchandising communications to uncover Kroger’s holiday value proposition.

Rolfes was key in shaping the company’s message regarding its pending merger with Albertsons Cos.; one visible piece of this work was the Kroger CEO’s testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Kathy Hanna VP, Payments Acceptance and Services

The Kroger Co./

Finance

Hanna implemented a card transaction reconciliation system across all business lines to ensure customer card payments, resulting in annual substantial savings.

She implemented a multipronged fraud strategy by partnering with multiple internal and external partners to improve the shopping experience; this development detects fraudulent activity prior to the completion of transactions, ultimately resulting in significant financial savings.

Hanna forged partnerships to create an accelerator for testing concepts related to customer choice and payment activity.

Cynthia Kirol Store Manager

April Mock Chief of Staff & Director of Communications & CSR

Michelle Rex Store Manager

Roxanne Merritt Store Manager

Hasija Hodzic Store Manager

Julianne Sarcone Vonderheide Manager, Circular Distribution & Production

Heather Potthoff Store Manager

Christin Berry Manager, Asset Protection

Senchal Murphy Senior Director of Human Resources —Training, Onboarding and Talent Development

The Kroger Co./ Human Resources

Murphy and her team helped develop and deploy new Active Assailant Response and Emergency Exit trainings.

She led the deployment of Microsoft Teams rooms and teleconference capabilities throughout the enterprise; the $18 million project helped associates across the company stay seamlessly connected.

Murphy expanded the Fresh Start (Axonify) platform, a training application that can be used in-store or via personal devices; with this initiative, her team could deploy training in real time.

Rebekah Manis Senior Director, Kroger Delivery FCs (Fulfillment Centers)

The Kroger Co./ Merchandising

Manis’ strong financial and planning background were instrumental in kick-starting the launch of Kroger’s delivery program, increasing fulfillment center sales more than fivefold.

She blazed a new trail for Kroger through an industry-leading automation solution with exclusive partner Ocado that uses vertical integration, machine learning and robotics to process online grocery orders.

Manis was pivotal in leading the the delivery expansion to larger geographic footprints in areas without a physical footprint and produced best-in-class net promoter scores that drove customers to shop more, leading to higher retention rates.

Veronica Nester Regional HR Business Partner

The Kroger Co./ Human Resources

Nester was key in the introduction of the district HR specialist role in the organization; prior to this, the company had inconsistent ownership of basic HR functions across the footprint. Today, 362 associates have this role in the organization.

Nester was also instrumental in a strategic investment in Kroger’s store leadership compensation structure.

In 2022, Nester helped the Ruler division redesign its operations organization structure to better serve business needs and create career paths within Ruler and the Kroger Family of Companies.

Catherine Mosich Senior Director, Apparel, General Merchandise

The Kroger Co./ Merchandising

Mosich developed relationships with the electronics industry to launch a five-store test bringing top-tier electronics brands to Kroger customers.

In the cell accessories business, she helped guide contract negotiations to update the program to scan-based trading, which will deliver an additional $8 million annually in margin.

Mosich worked closely with the Fred Meyer division to curate an assortment unique to Alaskan customers, bringing new businesses such as ice fishing, toboggans, snowshoeing and high-end kayaks to the customer, and delivering an additional $2 million in sales for only 11 stores.

2023 Top Women in Grocery

Jennifer Schmitz Director, Promotional Execution

The Kroger Co./ Merchandising

Schmitz’s team launched an interim shoppable ad solution on Kroger.com that drove more than 3,000 new digital accounts.

She led the development of a new shoppable digital ad experience through a team connecting merchandising systems, circular production data, customer-facing details, and web and app customer experience.

Schmitz’s team deployed QR codes across multiple channels, increasing site and app visits by 138%, growing digital coupon clips year over year by 194% and creating 100,000-plus new digital accounts.

Lydia Stroup VP of Operations

The Kroger Co./ Nashville Division

Under Stroup’s leadership, the division had a record sales and profit year and several in-store processes saw significant improvement, including a reduction in the number of items not found for pickup/e-commerce customers.

Her division was the first to successfully pilot Kroger delivery through Instacart; additionally, by leveraging and executing various technological tools, she improved overall operational results.

In addition to being the executive sponsor for two associate resource groups, Stroup developed individualized plans for growth and succession planning.

Nicole Bodde Director of Operational

Improvement

The Kroger Co./ Retail Operations

Bodde led the team to advocate for a more data-driven approach to business reviews for store, district and division leadership to influence divisions to focus on profitability instead of sales alone.

She teamed with merchandising to analyze and remove underperforming food venues and stations, replacing them with grab-and-go options for customers, which resulted in a $15 million labor savings for the year.

Among her many admirable accomplishments in the community, Bodde received recognition from the Alzheimer’s Association for fundraising.

Tara Rouse Senior Director, End-to-End Fresh

The Kroger Co./ Retail Operations

Rouse led development of an end-to-end fresh produce program, which elevated fresh and quality standards along the entire produce journey; this resulted in incremental produce sales beating budget by more than $75 million.

She volunteered at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House, and was a volunteer coach for Special Olympics of Kentucky.

Rouse completed United Way’s Board Orientation and Leadership Development Program, and chaired United Way, Artswave and INTERAlliance of Greater Cincinnati.

Erin Bailey Chief Client Officer Matrixx

CPG

Bailey helped overhaul Matrixx CPG’s new-hire onboarding and training process to reflect a hybrid work model, and the adjustments have significantly decreased onboarding times.

She launched a Super Bowl promotion for a client based in Arizona that activated touchpoints across in-store, out of home and online, and beat benchmarks by more than 300%.

When Bailey wasn’t at work, she supported easy access to mental health services and dedicated a portion of her time to volunteering for a crisis line as a trained crisis counselor.

Jenn Abramowski

VP, Finance Meijer

Following a tornado strike at a Meijer distribution facility, Abramowski jumped into action to ensure minimal business interruption; her process to evaluate, quantify and sort affected inventory was deemed by the insurance broker team as one of the best that the members had seen.

She led the project to simplify the processing of intercompany accounting, eliminating millions of non-value-added transactions.

Abramowski sits on the board of the Women at Meijer committee for NextUp, and also volunteers at such organizations as Kids Food Basket and Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Becca May SVP of Marketing Nature Nate’s Honey

May elevated influencer engagement of Nature Nate’s Honey with key foodie and lifestyle influencers, garnering more than 45 million impressions, and also led her team to achieve more than 172 million in paid impressions below industry benchmark CPMs.

Under her leadership, Nate’s donated more than 70,000 pounds of honey to 35 food banks, food pantries and other nonprofit organizations.

May is an active volunteer and advisory board member for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, and is also a member of Chief, a private women’s networking group.

Jenny McLeod

VP Operations Next Phase Enterprises

McLeod was directly responsible for launching more than 50 items, leading to new income of more than $15 million and contributing to record-setting 65%-plus year-over-year company growth.

She developed and implemented a new organizational structure within the company’s logistics team to enhance scalability, improve training and establish team leads for individualized support.

A member of the board of directors for the Ben Hughes Foundation, McLeod is deeply involved with planning and executing its annual charity golf tournament, along with fundraising throughout the year.

2023 Top Women in Grocery

Shannon Bennett VP of Retail SalesPBNA West Division PepsiCo

Inc.

Bennett was responsible for leading a $4.5 billion-plus business for her division and led a team of 110 retail sales employees, 15 of whom were directors and senior directors with more than 360 customers.

She led PBNA’s West division to be the country’s leader in revenue performance in 2022, while also maintaining, accelerating and exceeding profit, despite challenges and rising inflation.

Additionally, Bennett was an active member of PepsiCo Pinnacle, the company’s women’s leadership program, focused on strengthening female sales talent through career development and leadership training.

Larissa Rodriguez Jarvis

Frito-Lay Albertsons Team Lead PepsiCo Inc.

Guiding customer strategy, customer P&L, people leadership, and customer relationships spanning buyers to chief merchants, Jarvis led a team that interacted with Albertsons across sales, shopper marketing, finance, category management insights and supply chain functions.

Her customer strategy efforts resulted in 20.1% sales growth; she also stepped up to serve as the total PepsiCo lead for the Albertsons business.

Jarvis was a member of two employee resource groups, a United Way Tocqueville society leader and chair of the Parents Step Ahead nonprofit.

Shannon Palmer SVP of Distribution Red Bull

Supporting all channel sales teams and distributor partners, Palmer guided a distribution and field support team and oversaw a multimillion-dollar operating budget.

She steered record-breaking growth for the company, the energy drink category and within total beverage while advocating for more investments in large-format stores; the grocery channel grew 37% in that time, attributable in part to consumers’ shift from singles to bulk buying and to driving volume through innovation.

Palmer was active in the nonprofit Wings for Life and the women’s employee resource group at Red Bull.

The first female board officer at Rice Fruit Co. and the only non-family member officer, Briggs directed the company’s sales and marketing functions for imports and exports.

Her team won a top service award from the country’s largest retail chain this year, and Rice Fruit Co. also became the preferred eastern apple shipper for Lidl; she worked to improve the company’s operational efficiencies and led the effort to use eco-friendly packaging materials.

Briggs and the board of USApple, which she chairs, visited the White House for a meeting on the Farm Bill, trade issues and other topics.

Michele Lauer Director of Analytics RecorGroup

LLC/ Recor Intelligence

As a member of the executive management team heading up the data and insights organization, Lauer informed and guided clients through innovative approaches; she helped shape the strategy of 25-plus companies.

The business unit she created doubled in size in 2022 and was successfully rebranded as Recor Intelligence; largely due to her efforts, one of her largest clients doubled its distribution at a major retailer last year, and she and her team went on to pioneer new technology offerings.

Lauer was an active member of the Category Management Association and a board member at NextUp.

Kim Evanoff SVP Sales, Large Format Red Bull

Evanoff’s scope of work included strategic business planning, oversight of large-format key accounts, and cross-functional partnerships across mass, grocery and club channels, providing the “voice” of the customer within Red Bull North America.

Under her guidance, Red Bull North America grew more dollar sales than any other CPG company and was highlighted as the best-in-class supplier to leverage Walmart Luminate shopper data at the Walmart Supplier Summit; she also bolstered the global partnership of Red Bull Racing and Walmart.

Evanoff was a member of NextUp and the women’s employee resource group at Red Bull.

Lori Nortrup VP of Planning and Control Save A Lot

Hopper ensured that the company’s implementation of technology evolved to meet or exceed the changing needs of the modern consumer.

As the company moved from a retail to a wholesale business, she reached key deliverables and completed the disengagement from a legacy IT system operated by the former parent company.

Hopper partnered with nonprofit LaunchCode, which offers free tech education and job placement to underrepresented groups, and was also a mentor for the Regional Business Council of St. Louis and a member of the business and IT advisory board for Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Assuming control of 16 stores from two struggling retail partners, Nortrup worked with both to surrender control back to Save A Lot, taking responsibility for all back-end operations, including accounts receivable, accounts payable and payroll processing.

She led her team to modify the sourcing intake process and improve customer service while processing 422-plus contracts, all without disrupting service; the new process resulted in a reduction of about 1,100 hours.

Nortrup volunteered for St. Louis’ Operation Food Search, a local food bank ensuring that schoolkids have backpacks of meals for dinner during the school year and the summer.

Jennifer Hopper Chief Information and Digital Officer Save A Lot

Brenda Briggs VP of Sales and Marketing Rice Fruit Co.

Avery Dennison is proud to honor Susan Flake and the exceptional women being recognized as Top Women in Grocery.

Susan’s passion to achieve greater food safety and food waste reduction through digital solutions is transforming the food industry for grocers and restaurants, and paving the way for positive social and environmental impact.

Congratulations!

2023 Top Women in Grocery

Larissa Lewis VP Market Operations Shipt

Lewis reduced market clearance costs by more than 20% while improving on-time performance through incentivization structures and shopper targeting.

She launched and completed a guided cross-functional mentorship program for five organizations to connect senior leaders and aspiring talent, and stood up two new central verticals, absorbing significant portions of work from three partner teams in the process.

Lewis also established relationships with multiple teams that were not previously connected to operations, and made structural changes to enable better business outcomes and faster action on operational processes and launches.

Gayle Shields Chief of Stores and Pharmacies Southeastern Grocers

(SEG)

Throughout most of 2022, Shields held the role of VP of own brands and pharmacy, leading highly successful strategic initiatives and programs; due to her instrumental leadership in the private label and pharmacy space, she was promoted to her current role.

In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian in southwest Florida, she oversaw the activation of mobile pharmacies in place of stores closed for repairs, giving associates and customers access to vital pharmaceutical support.

Shields served as the executive sponsor of SEG associate resource group African Americans F.O.C.U.S. (Fostering Organizational Culture to Unite SEG).

Brindha Raman VP Engineering Shipt

Raman and her team delivered a tech system to support the sortation center network strategy of Target, Shipt’s parent company, ensuring an aligned vision, delivering value for Target and helping unlock faster last-mile deliveries for Target customers.

Thanks to her leadership and implementation of tech solutions, Shipt has also fully modernized its distributed tech stack to scale with the business’s future, shortened the time it takes to onboard new retail partners and enhanced the experience with product catalogs.

Following Raman’s tech stack enhancements, Shipt saw a greater than 200% improvement in the efficiency of retailer launches.

Liz Bleakley Head of Public Relations and Communications St Pierre Groupe

Overseeing communications for the United States and several other countries, Bleakley secured 1,200plus pieces of coverage in 2022, with more than 800 appearing in U.S. publications. By contrast, in 2020, U.S. coverage pieces totaled only 15.

She reduced outgoings to agencies by more than £215,000 and saved more than £100,000 on media rate cards to secure exposure for the brands and business; when St Pierre was acquired by bakery giant Grupo Bimbo, she secured record coverage levels.

Bleakley was instrumental in the company being named a finalist for 2022 U.K. Marketer of the Year.

Leslie Atkinson VP, Marketing Skogen’s Festival Foods

Atkinson beat the marketing department’s annual budget expectations by more than 10% while elevating Festival Foods’ marketing efforts to a new level.

She discontinued the use of lesser-known and underperforming platforms and brought the print production process in-house, a change that not only drove significant cost savings for the organization, but also allowed for better control and creative direction, along with reduced lead times.

As well as serving as a formal and informal mentor to many of Festival Foods’ up-and-coming female leaders, Atkinson is a Green Bay, Wis., Habitat for Humanity board member and part of its marketing task force.

Rachel Hadaway SVP, Product Management, CPG Solutions SymphonyAI

Retail CPG

Joining Symphony in January 2022, Hadaway became responsible for all software products under Symphony’s customer and category management solutions; that same year, she went from managing one business unit to overseeing two.

She developed a compelling strategy and repositioning of Symphony’s customer insights AI product, and also spearheaded conceptualization of an Insights Builder product that deepens use of modern technology and AI for grocers and CPGs.

Hadaway was a participant, mentor and speaker for several nonprofits dedicated to advancing women and girls in technology.

Tracy Aquila VP, Dairy and Frozen Merchandising Southeastern Grocers (SEG)

Through the cultivation of strong supplier partnerships, Aquila led her departments to exceed target sales by a substantial amount and obtained greater market share for the dairy department.

Collaborating with her partners, she implemented a new strategic direction for natural and betterfor-you product offerings by streamlining the process to one team member; this streamlined assortment and promotional decisions.

Aquila sits on the board of SEG’s charitable arm, the SEG Gives Foundation, and is involved in the Women’s Development Network, an associate resource group that aims to empower and engage women and allies.

Lori Mills SVP CPG Engagement SymphonyAI Retail CPG

Accountable for ongoing relationships with more than 220 CPGs that are engaged with the shopper insight program of a major retailer, Mills overachieved on her 2022 new business plan by 13%, while business with existing clients increased by 11%.

She led efforts to commercialize a new technology solution that helps CPG partners collaborate with retailers on taking a customer-centric, fact-based approach to product assortment decisions; also, by investing time to build her team’s skill sets, she saw the CPG sentiment score increase by 7%.

In her St. Louis community, Mills served as an election supervisor for local and national elections.

LLC

Kristine Wydro VP of Human Resources Tops Markets

Wydro played a major role following the Tops-Price Chopper merger: When the process for identifying synergies began, her transparency and honesty helped minimize attrition.

She was lead negotiator on a contract covering 9,000-plus associates; the successful negotiation took place amid difficult circumstances, as the country had just emerged from the pandemic and Tops was trying to recruit during a severe labor shortage and high worker demand.

Wydro supported associates following a racially motivated mass shooting at a Tops store in Buffalo, N.Y.; one of the first members of Tops leadership to arrive at the store, she continued to help in the ensuing months.

Elysia Gonzales President and CEO Twang

Gonzales encouraged her sales and marketing teams to produce shippers and other nonconventional display materials to showcase Twang’s products; the new display vehicles and approaches, along with strong organic business growth and new distribution opportunities, led to aggressive revenue.

She worked with the VP of business development to attract new foodservice customers and expand offerings with existing foodservice customers, efforts that led to double-digit sales growth in foodservice.

A San Antonio Business Journal Women’s Leadership Awards honoree, Gonzales works with Thru Project, an organization that helps bridge the gap between foster care and adulthood.

Laura Taylor VP, Brand Strategy and Insights UNFI

Taylor developed customer experience feedback surveys to better identify why customers do business with UNFI and pinpoint key drivers of their satisfaction going forward, and she then used the findings to develop actionable recommendations and determine benchmark metrics for ongoing customer experience.

She quarterbacked the creation of UNFI’s first Independent Grocer’s Guidebook, which highlights best practices and case studies and is designed to inspire smaller independent customers; due to its success, another volume is planned.

Taylor launched the Circle Mentoring program, pairing junior associates with senior mentors across UNFI.

Carrie Quigley SVP of Professional Services Upshop

During the recent Itasca Retail-Upshop merger, Quigley ensured optimized customer transitions throughout the process; her mentorship role to the professional services team — which has doubled in size since she joined Upshop — was crucial to the customer-centric structure of the organization.

She helped to create the Upshop Customer Journey Playbook, a radical system designed to streamline the customer journey every step of the way; the system has already been used by Kroger, Wegmans, Cardenas Markets and Big Y.

Quigley volunteered with the Girls on the Run program, the Miles for Moffitt race in support of cancer research, and the American Cancer Society.

Your leadership makes a difference and creates a path for us all to grow.

Anita Baldwinson

Jolie Bourque

Nicole Burns Stacey Carew

Shawna Collins

Vicki Combs

Laura Cosgrove

Rachel Dippel

Connie Germoso

Angela Hopkinson

Karen Hunstiger

Theresa Hutchison

Kandayce M. Lee

Julie Moore

Megan Morgan

Marianne Shick

Megan Shumaker

Nicole Spaulding

Susan Strzok

Lindsay Thomas

Melinda Wilson

Kendal Callender Senior Sales Director, West Vestcom

A critical member of the Vestcom media solutions team, Callender delivered consistent results, more than doubling her revenue contribution in 2022.

She expanded Vestcom’s partnership with Procter & Gamble through continued value creation and stellar client engagement, partnered with Albertsons Media Collective to develop a new tactic enabling CPGs to extend digital media campaigns in store to drive shopper engagement at shelf and bridge digital and physical messaging, and was instrumental in launching digital offer deep-link shelf-edge tags at H-E-B that increased coupon redemption and consumer savings.

Callendar served as a mentor to team members.

Sosnovik

Sosnovik took the lead in defining to vendor partners the “size of the prize” for which to strive: a collective $10 billion market, and in turn, opportunity, by setting new standards.

Through this, she spearheaded vendor/customer leadership meetings where the team saw the results of new business, expanded business, and, most important, better relationships at both the leadership and category manager level.

Sosnovik also worked on how best to engage with different demographics and trends in the market to improve assortments, opportunities and overall better business practices for partners.

Catherine Magistrelli VP Dairy-Deli/ Frozen Wakefern Food Corp.

Magistrelli exceeded all of her divisions’ financial objectives and led Wakefern through the transformation of its own-brand fluid milk strategy by identifying operating efficiencies and reducing costs by more than $10 million annually.

She onboarded a new dairy supplier while working through the closure of the previous supplier, ensuring the continuation of milk delivery to 300-plus stores.

Passionate about helping families in need, Magistrelli volunteered with local charities and food banks to help fight food insecurity; as a female leader and role model dedicated to the development of women in the industry, she has mentored numerous associates.

Rising Stars

Carew was invited on various occasions to provide hands-on assistance in set planning, offer validation, or lead assortment changes and shelf flow.

Her skills helped build category dollars for retailers while keeping shoppers’ needs in mind.

Carew’s unerring ability to unite retailer and manufacturer objectives for the betterment of a category, and ultimately consumers, led to her being a frequent guest speaker at the Boise State University Marketing 424: Principles of Category Management class.

Germoso worked with the Unilever and Wakefern business teams on a store-level selling program with ShopRite group owners that led to a successful on-shelf availability average of 96.4% for the year, as well more than $4.4 million in revenue.

She helped the Unilever direct retail team in its fundraising efforts for Feeding America; the team as a whole has raised more than $5,000 toward the cause.

Germoso participated in the Northeast Unilever Future Leaders Program, which enables young associates to engage with direct retail team sales reps.

Wilson established monthly, midyear and annual review calls providing client insight and analysis of successes and opportunities for each of the departments servicing stores on behalf of the client.

Under her direction, Power BI (business intelligence) reports were introduced and updated to include detail-oriented data to meet the needs of the client, reducing the need for time spent creating manual midcycle scorecards.

Wilson launched a new SharePoint site allowing mutual sharing of files, eliminating the previous use of drive sharing.

McKenna

Director, Sales Acosta, an Acosta Group Agency

Melinda Wilson Retail Operations Director Advantage Solutions/ Advantage Sales

Connie Germoso Retail Operations Manager Advantage Solutions/ Advantage Sales

Stacey Carew Team Leader Category Management Advantage Solutions/ Advantage Intelligence

Megan Morgan Senior Business Manager Advantage Solutions/Daymon

Morgan led a major tier-one marketing launch in a company’s stainless steel coffee pod business, and created new tools and templates that are helping teams deliver customer success and increased revenue.

In her category management efforts, she led the team in ownbrand sales and revenue growth year over year in 2022 and has several new programs launching in 2023 to help further drive sales and private-brand penetration.

Morgan was recently selected to attend Cornell’s food executive program this summer, due to her upward potential in the company and industry.

Anita Baldwinson Marketing Director Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

Baldwinson launched a complete brand refresh and built out a brand book and toolbox of assets to create a coherent, consistent brand message for outwardand inward-facing presentations and communications.

She contributed to several successful request-for-proposal projects; one led to the attainment of a $175 million account.

Baldwinson launched a Leadership Summit for high-potential business leaders and customers as part of a top-down cultural change initiative.

Megan Shumaker Senior Manager, Category Solutions

Advantage Solutions/Daymon

Shumaker developed a category management process with a major retailer that streamlined the completion of 35 category reviews, resulting in the development of 135 new private-brand items.

She also developed thought leadership perspectives, including a guide on navigating the next recession with private brands.

Shumaker led the launch of Daymon’s proprietary Innovation Pillars, which link innovation trends to actionable product development plans, creating a comprehensive strategy for how private brands can accelerate innovation.

Nicole Spaulding Director, Sourcing

Advantage Solutions/Daymon

Spaulding launched Daymon’s proprietary Supplier Portal, which has revolutionized the way that manufacturers, importers and exporters interact with customers.

She was also at the forefront of tackling supply chain challenges, implementing a proactive sourcing approach to combat shortages and inflation.

Spaulding worked with Daymon’s client services, thought leadership and category insights teams on customized solutions to retailer and supplier partners, influencing product and category recommendations, buying decisions, and sourcing strategies.

Jolie Bourque Director of Technology

Advantage Solutions/SAS

Retail Services

Despite the combination of two systems as a result of a merger, Bourque and her team created a tech environment with zero downtime; still, she always reviewed business processes to make them simpler and reduce the impact on 9,000 employees.

She was awarded the SAS Above and Beyond — MVP Award for 2022.

Bourque is a mentor and co-captain of the Innovate—Strategic Work Action Group (SWAG), an employee resource group focused on innovation at SAS.

Nicole Burns Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

Under Burns’ guidance, her team went from hiring one to two people per month to 16 to 20 per month, resulting in 1,573 hires last year.

She also worked hard on retention initiatives by coordinating with operations for a successful handoff; this led to the rollout of several initiatives that helped new hires feel more comfortable.

All of these extraordinary efforts have taken staffing from the original level of 62% staffed to the current level of 95% staffed; this change occurred within a mere six months.

Lindsay Thomas Marketing Manager Advantage Solutions/Daymon

Thomas organized and drove the initiatives for execution of a client’s low-price program, which incorporated 200-plus items.

She was also instrumental in leading the expansion of a natural and organic campaign geared toward the success of health-and-wellness products with shoppers.

Live Naturally grew sales versus last year and captured the Millennial shopper; Thomas led this program with monthly digital flysheets and store bib tags, building a period-long program to kick off 2023 and resulting in strong sales growth of natural and organic items.

Shawna Collins Director of Operations Central Division/Walmart Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

Collins worked closely with her regional managers, helping them learn retail and remote territory management to increase return on investment for every client.

Recognizing that Walmart category managers have multiple categories, she developed a highly specific game plan to negotiate space.

Collins also partnered very closely with the training department to ensure that everyone is aligned with how the work is completed, and put guard rails in place to operate within.

GROCERY

Stacey Johnson Senior Vice President, Government Relations & Corporate Compliance

Anne Roth Senior Director, Government Relations

Amy Wadstrom Chief Operating Officer, Vivid Clear Rx (a Hy-Vee subsidiary)

Rachel Dippel Director of Retail Operations/ Walmart Syndicated Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

By strategizing and implementing new improvements, Dippel helped increase the team’s service level from 82% to 98% within four months of implementation, resulting in a $1 million monthly improvement in revenue for the business.

She created a new platform for paid-time-off data insights that provides current and future staffing visibility for region managers and supervisors.

Dippel collaborated with the training development division to incorporate a Development Day platform that has increased new-hire engagement by 11%.

Kandayce M. Lee Director of Talent Development Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

Lee and her team helped improve the orientation completion rate from 49% to 76%.

The team has also developed a professional orientation for all associates who have been promoted into leadership positions; more than 400 attendees gave it a nearly five-star ranking, increasing retention to 91%.

Lee hosted the “Welcome to ADV” enterprise onboarding calls as well as the employee resource group open-house call, which was extended to all new hires across the total enterprise of 65,000-plus associates.

Angela Hopkinson Director of Retail Operations Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

Hopkinson, through the support of a nationally based Zelus and SAS Retail field operations team, led the Costco LOVESAC National Roadshow to an on-time execution rate of 100%.

She was instrumental in supporting the operations team with the onboarding of a large continuity team that SAS acquired, and she helped lead in-store execution results to 91% on average.

Hopkinson was invited by the Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services leadership team to complete online Advantage Enterprise Certification training.

Karen Hunstiger Senior Director of Training Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

Hunstiger found opportunities to enhance the orientation process and improve the new-hire experience.

Thanks to her partnership with IT, the hiring process was automated and a live dashboard was created; the company hosted 650 live new-hire orientation sessions and onboarded 20,000plus new associates.

New-hire orientation also contributed to a 10% decrease in part-time turnover from the first half to the second half of 2022; based on the average amount to hire a new associate, her team helped save nearly $2 million dollars in talent acquisition costs.

Theresa Hutchison Director of Talent Acquisition Advantage Solutions/SAS Retail Services

Hutchison worked tirelessly to help relaunch a new talent platform; her team’s efforts led the complete adoption of this new platform, and the company promoted her to the director level.

She was a co-leader of both the ATTRACT CONNECT and Strategic Work Action Group (SWAG) teams, internal company-sponsored groups of volunteers that are driving positive change in the organization.

Hutchison was instrumental in the Launch of CODA (Celebrating Our Diverse Associates) and the SAS Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council.

Julie Moore Creative Director Advantage Solutions/Waypoint

Strzok developed a team playbook to streamline communication between clients and Advantage direct retail team leadership, outlining national focus programs for all accounts throughout the year.

She was the liaison for the Unilever Future Leaders Program, which gives new Unilever associates exposure to the Advantage Solutions retail experience.

Strzok organized the upcoming National Leadership Conference, where team and client leadership will come together to learn, participate in team-building activities and strategize.

For Walmart Baby Days Category Events, Cosgrove led the Advantage sales team in recruiting competitive brands to participate, bringing in $2.9 million in revenue.

She boosted a January online pickup and delivery sampling push for the household chemicals category to capitalize on Walmart’s New Year, New You campaign.

Cosgrove supported charities in her community, including Saving Grace, The Little Free Pantry, Clothed With Compassion and Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

Moore helped launch Waypoint Sees, a texting platform to be company’s “eyes” in the field, and BrainChow, a biweekly short video communication offering small knowledge bites for sellers.

She and her team developed Waypoint SideKick, an internal-facing communication auto-sent to sellers and containing recent sales on featured clients, resulting in an increase in selling interactions.

Moore is part of the Waypoint Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and volunteers for her local March of Dimes chapter.

Laura Cosgrove Associate Industry Director/Walmart Consumables Advantage Solutions/Walmart Retailtainment

Susan Strzok Retail Operations Manager Advantage Solutions/Unilever Direct Retail Team

Nancy Aguilera Receiving Operations Manager

ADUSA Distribution

Aguilera’s team hit an all-time high number in freezer capacity in 2022, delivering back-to-back months of 10 cases per hour above goal.

Her team consistently led the distribution center in productivity, with most of her associates able to run at a 100% production rate within their first 13 weeks of employment.

Aguilera was part of the team that developed the Associate Connections program, which helped establish Leadership Roundtable discussions that prompted improved retention rates and higher associate engagement scores.

Milagros Urena de Diaz Distribution Operations Manager

ADUSA Distribution

Urena de Diaz helped execute an on-hold process improvement project, which saved the company $10 million related to dead and atrisk inventory across the supply chain network.

She also participated in a Force Adjustments Shrinks Research Project, which identified a system gap that was causing more than $5 million in force adjustment shrink.

Urena de Diaz collaborated with ADUSA Transportation’s leadership to decrease salvage escalations, provide a better customer experience and drive third-party labor accountability.

Allison Krollman Manager, Insights ADUSA Procurement

Krollman played a key part in a supply chain pod pilot model aimed at boosting service levels, associate engagement and productivity, as well as reducing cost.

She was the planning lead for the procurement track of a supply chain operating model reorganization project, designing the procurement track project structure, governance, forums and cadences, workstreams, overall plan, and milestones.

Krollman also identified, sourced and validated certified LGBTQ-owned suppliers to address a lack of organizational spend with this supplier class.

Colleen Kinniburgh Manager Data Analytics

Ahold Delhaize USA

Kinniburgh led four consecutive quarters of environmental, social and governance-related reporting initiatives requiring considerable coordination and management of internal stakeholders and data to achieve the quarterly close process.

She helped navigate a new beverage algorithm change with category managers and privatebrand teams that helped Ahold Delhaize review and consider new ways to view healthy sales.

Kinniburgh voluteered for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and the Salvation Army, among others.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the Top Women in Grocery

Heather Applegarth Instructional Design Specialist Food Lion LLC

A self-taught animator, Applegarth created a new animated associate relations mentoring team, Hugo and Eve, to enable retail leaders to learn and understand important policies.

Contributing her creativity across the company, she was a major contributor to an HR project as part of a team dedicated to helping associates easily access benefits and programs.

Having earned a doctorate in educational leadership, Applegarth was a member of the National Association for Talent Development, for which she spoke at international conferences on the topics of education, accessibility, intercultural communications and digital literacy.

LaTonya King Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Organizational Development and Talent Acquisition Food Lion LLC

King advised executives on building a culture of inclusion and belonging and led talent acquisition efforts.

Food Lion is the official grocer of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CCIA), which encompasses 12 historically black colleges and universities; King’s team recruited heavily at CCIA for Food Lion’s Retail Management Trainee program.

During the past year, she drafted common language and definitions for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); launched DEI Conversation Café podcasts in which she discussed this topic with colleagues company-wide; and led DEI leadership workshops.

Debbie Bowers Director of Operations Food Lion LLC

Responsible for the financial performance of 17 stores in six counties, Bowers used her strong communications skills to develop associates into high-performing leaders.

Thanks to her work, annual sales exceeded budget by more than 13%, customer count grew by more than 5% and her team exceeded budgeted profits by almost 8%.

Bowers’ region was the first to successfully roll out an online-based mobile solution providing advanced forecasting and brand expertise to develop production plans in fresh departments; her team also implemented GlobalWorx to optimize communication between stores and suppliers.

Bruna

The 22 stores overseen by Maraccini in North Carolina’s Chapel Hill-Sanford region saw sales increases exceeding 11% — the highest sales growth within the 240-store division.

In 2022, she was instrumental in developing a specialized recruiting team to address global labor challenges, which was critical to Food Lion for appropriately staffing stores and was adopted banner-wide; she also promoted two assistant managers to store managers.

Last year, Maraccini’s region opened a new store that exceeded all financial targets, while another of her locations received a company award for the amount of food it saved from landfills and donated to food-insecure neighbors.

Margarita Caraballo Category Manager Food Lion LLC

Caraballo leads the commercial bakery and While Supplies Last Program, which were experiencing low category sales and morale; encouraging her team and leading by example, she was able to restore profits and employees’ confidence.

Her team negotiated trade with key suppliers, growing private-brand sales by more than 30%, while units grew 15%; it increased competitive market share by 64 basis points and unit share by 50 basis points.

Caraballo was recently appointed co-chair of Food Lion’s Hispanic resource group and is also a member of the African American and women’s business resource groups.

Christy “Cricket” Goforth Director of Operations

Food Lion LLC

Goforth began overseeing 22 Central division locations, the largest number of stores within any region, employing 1,500 associates and spanning diverse urban, rural and suburban communities.

She developed new data tracking to better align her team and improved communications and engagement by installing in-store webcams; previously, associates could participate in team meetings only via telephone.

Her understanding of diverse shoppers’ needs helped her stores outpace the division in same-store sales growth, with all budgeted financial goals achieved: Top-line sales increased 11%.

The Giant Co.

Berry’s territory is the chain’s largest region; her hands-on approach helped it experience record-breaking performances in sales, shrink and underlying operating income in 2022.

Every month, she, a manager from a top-performing store and the regional coordinator would walk the six lowest-performing stores, speaking to teams and addressing issues and concerns; a benficiary of this process was the Phoenixville, Pa., store, whose net promoter score climbed from the low 30s to 67 within three months.

Berry implemented several new technologies to assist stores with shrink; she recently noticed a gap in front end leadership communication and began working on a project to rectify this.

April Mock Director, Communications and Chief of Staff

The Giant Co.

Overseeing internal and external communications and social responsibility efforts, Mock led her team to achieve 11 media placements and 440,000 potential media impressions.

Her team members accrued more than 49,000 voluntary hours, up from 28,000 in 2021, and raised more than $720,000 via the 2022 annual team giving campaign; additionally, Giant, its suppliers and customers donated more than $16 million in money and products for hunger relief efforts and raised almost $1.7 million to fund environmental organizations.

Mock supported company growth through three new store openings and 37 remodels, and also advised Giant’s women’s LINC group.

Cristin Berry Manager, Asset Protection

Maraccini Director of Operations Food Lion LLC

Julianne Sarcone Vonderheide Manager, Circular Distribution and Production

The Giant Co.

Vonderheide led her team through ZIP code optimization, partnering with data analysts to scrutinize sales by ZIP code and eliminate printed circulars in ineffective areas, thereby saving Giant more than seven figures in distribution costs.

At the billing level, she identified overpayments for invoicing and billing to distribution partners; in 2022, she changed partners.

Vonderheide was an active member of LINC, an internal group focused on individual growth; she also volunteered at SNORT, a rescue organization for short-nosed dog breeds, and taught dance classes for adults and children.

Cassie Harmer Director, Compensation Retail Business Services (RBS)

Harmer supported compensation programs and processes for all Ahold Delhaize USA (ADUSA) companies, supporting more than 240,000 associates.

Having steered the department through multiple company reorganizations, she led all comp-cycle work related to merit programs, with nearly 100% accuracy, and effectively managed short- and long-term incentive plans; she also helped build an online knowledge center dedicated to compensation documents.

A member of World at Work and the Society for Human Resources Management, Harmer was chosen to attend an executive development program at the University of North Carolina’s business school.

Kristin Apperson Manager III Category

Giant Food

Responsible for the financial health of Giant Food’s Rewards program and commercial bakery for 165 stores, Apperson led her team to achieve year-over-year increases and exceed budget, despite supply chain challenges.

She grew omnichannel sales by implementing value prices and large packages for rewards as well as delivery, increased holiday bakery sales through better processes for defining shoppers’ best-in-class assortment and timely store-specific allocations, and grew local ownership of vendor commitments.

Every month, Apperson volunteered with Giant’s Coke partners, stuffing backpacks for underprivileged kids.

Deanna Rush Director, IT Business Relationship Management

Retail Business Services (RBS)

Rush oversaw IT services for Food Lion and recently added more responsibilities as part of the RBS Evolve IT Program, an initiative to create a user-centric, product-based organization that will modernize technology, infrastructure and ways of working.

Under her direction, the learning and development team created a “boot camp” training week focusing on Agile foundations and skill building; she also collaborated with Food Lion to launch and execute a Retail Immersion Program, a hands-on technology walk-through of an entire store.

A member of NextUp, Rush became a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Program Consultant in 2021.

Brandi Petway HR Facility Lead Giant Food

Handling HR processes across 19 locations, Petway promoted 50 associates to department manager or lead positions and six to assistant store manager or store manager; her team hired more than 1,250 new union associates, with a best-in-class turnover of 58%.

Her support of onboarding and associate engagement helped increase the district engagement score by 1% to 89%, the highest result at Giant.

Petway completed the McKinsey Accelerator Management Program, received the COVID Response Team award for her work ensuring HR support throughout the pandemic and co-chaired the THRIVE people of color business resource group.

Shelly Roias Assistant Category Manager Stop & Shop

Collaborating with merchandising services and vendor partners, Roias reflowed the cereal and wholesome planogram sets for the Stop & Shop brand, creating a best-in-class experience.

She developed a process for supply train tracking on promotional inventory for her portfolio team, training members on mainframe management, rules, and triggers on in-stock and replenishment to enhance reporting capabilities; by collaborating with supply chain and operations partners, she significantly improved service levels.

Along with key vendor partners, Roias collaborated with a local organization to obtain multiple pallets of cereal and kids’ snacks; these donations helped local schools provide breakfasts.

Sharisa Shorts HR Business Partner Giant Food

With responsibility for HR functions at 18 stores in Maryland and Washington, D.C., Shorts promoted 94 associates to department manager or lead positions and 15 people to assistant store manager or store manager; she also moved 80 clerks into full-time positions.

Her team hired more than 2,000 new union associates, with a best-in-class turnover rate of 58%, and her support of onboarding and associate engagement helped the district achieve an engagement score of 82%, above the brand average.

A champion of diversity, Shorts took a lead role on the THRIVE people of color and Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN) business resource groups.

Gianna Davis Director — Asset Protection Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Davis launched such large-scale projects as camera initiatives using technology to reduce the risk to customers and employees, and a training program for tracking, investigating and properly communicating incidents involving workplace violence.

Her biggest successes included pharmacy investigations: identifying areas to improve upon collaboration, reporting, communication and partnerships to drive results and dramatically improve standards and performance.

Davis’ participation and leadership with key partners resulted in fewer fraud transactions and improved retail sales as she identified the abuse of fraud tactics by repeat offenders and implemented mitigation and new company policies to avoid loss.

Mandee Day Director of Communications Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Day helped expand the Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network (WIIN) associate resource group from five chapters across a few divisions to 15 chapters across all divisions and backstage locations, and also led the Men that WIIN event.

She managed the redesign and launch of Albertsons’ new external website to include improved functionality, transparency to all facets of the business, investor relations and connection to company banners.

In addition to holding leadership roles at Albertsons’ Pride Alliance and diverseABILIITIES associate resource groups, Day sits on the board of directors for Faces of Hope, assisting survivors of interpersonal violence.

Heather Halpape Public Affairs Manager Albertsons Cos./ Denver Division

Halpape established the Denver Division Retail Blast, which is a collection of company updates sent to more than 8,000 associates daily.

She spearheaded a holiday fundraising program with the Albertson Cos. Foundation and its national gift card partner to distribute more than $1.8 million in gift cards to families in need.

Halpape was a committee member of the Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network (WIIN) associate resource group and We Care, Albertsons’ internal associate assistance program; she also volunteered for the Denver Rescue Mission, Volunteers of America and Special Olympics Colorado.

Jeannie Freis Senior Manager — Strategic Partnerships Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Freis led the evaluation, development and launch of SNAP/EBT payment options on Albertsons storefronts on the Instacart marketplace and added customizable hot and prepared foods to the Instacart catalog, enabling customers to purchase made-to-order sandwiches and meals.

She implemented marketplace facilitator tax compliance across all applicable states and piloted a QR code technology to streamline tax suppression for front end operations teams, saving time and reducing lines at checkout.

Freis volunteered at the Innovation Center, in Longmont, Colo., to help high school entrepreneurship students with their business plans.

Caitlin Malone Director — Pharmacy Procurement Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

As manager of the specialty pharmacy category, Malone brought in more than 20 new contracts with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Her current role gave her oversight of a multibillion-dollar wholesaler agreement, and she also assumed responsibility for tens of millions of dollars in cost savings productivity measures in pharmacy each year; her expertise meant that she was often sought out by her peers to provide feedback on projects and brainstorm new initiatives.

Additionally, Malone was a board member of the Pharmacy Women’s Inspiration (WIIN) and Inclusion Network and led the group’s communications committee for pharmacy.

Melissa DesRochers Bakery Operations Specialist Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

Overseeing 18 bakery retail locations in eastern Washington state, McCleary helped her stores achieve the top sales growth in the Seattle division; her gross profitability was the best in the area and ahead of the division average.

She helped spearhead her division’s food safety culture, and for the past two quarters her bakeries have been green in food safety and sanitation, logging only three infractions in 36 visits.

McCleary is a two-time division champion in Albertsons’ cookie contests, and recently represented the company at local bridal expos in both Spokane and Yakima, Wash., in an effort to aid business growth.

DesRochers

rose above the challenges of the company’s hiring needs and at the same time rolled out innovations in the bakery department, helping to exceed in sales, gross and bottom-line performance for her district.

She helped to elevate all of the new managers in her division to the next level, imparting her wisdom on how to be self-sustained in their stores.

In addition to mentoring other women to help them advance their professional careers, DesRochers volunteers at a local school, working with special needs children, and also helps out at a women’s shelter in her community.

Neha Sharma Senior Manager — Tech and Engineering Albertsons Cos./ Corporate

Sharma had budget oversight for close to $10 million, with nine employees on her team and direct responsibility for the business-facing product management function in Albertsons’ new human capital management (HCM) platform.

She successfully led her team in transitioning to a product management type of organization and in kicking off a new onboarding workstream, along with mentoring and coaching her analysts and managing their deliverables.

Outside of work, Sharma volunteered with HandsOn Phoenix and was involved with its veteran assistance program, and also helped out the morning kitchen crew at a local church.

Maha Eldabaja Center Store Operations Specialist Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

Eldabaja helped attain No. 1 status in out-ofstocks for the entire division for 56 consecutive weeks, and also enabled the division to reach the No. 1 spot in back-room numbers.

She also achieved No. 1 status in shrink in the division and placed first in perpetual inventory adjustments.

Dedicated to helping other women overcome any professional obstacles, Eldabaja serves on the diversity board for the Southern division and is a committee member for the Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network (WIIN) associate resource group while also supporting local food banks.

Carol McCleary Bakery Operations Specialist Albertsons Cos./ Seattle Division

EMILY KELLY Senior National Account Executive

KELLY LaVERGNE Director, Business Development

MEIGAN GOODWIN Senior Director, Business Development

JESSICA WALLER VP Mass Channel

Summer Firsich Deli Operations — District 3 Albertsons Companies/ Southern Division

Firsich rose to the challenge of rolling out innovations in the deli department, such as ready meals.

Elevating execution levels, she was No. 1 in overall sales and averaged $300 more than any other district on average sales per store in the Kings Hawaiian Contest, and also finished the third quarter with all delis running positive identical sales — the only department in the district to achieve this.

In addition to finding inventive ways to support her team and creating a transparent atmosphere, she provided meals for families in need.

Clarissa Hebert District Manager Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

Hebert began working for Albertsons as a bagger at the age of 15 and ultimately became a district manager overseeing 15 Randalls stores with approximately 1,500 associates in and around Houston.

With a district sales contribution of $85 million-$100 million quarterly, she took the district’s stores to new heights in terms of sales, gross, shrink, and overall profit and loss, but one of her most rewarding achievements was mentoring and developing talent for the company.

Heber began working toward her retail management certificate to show others that learning is an ongoing process.

Christy Lara Director — Public Relations Albertsons/ Southern Division

Lara facilitated register campaigns that raised more than $1 million in foundation grant work with community partners, and also launched the We Care personal-hardship grant program for associates.

She helped implement the Fresh Rescue program in all stores throughout the division while serving on numerous boards for the Texas Retailers Association, the Louisiana Retailers Association Legislative Committee and the Tarrant Area Food Bank, among others.

Lara is a board member for the North Texas chapter of the American Cancer Society.

Claudia Hernandez Maintenance Manager Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

Hernandez effectively identified and removed vendors not providing “company honest” and ethical billing.

She drove substantial savings on building and equipment repairs on division profit and loss through vendor assessment, realignment and contract reviews, resulting in substantial savings.

Hernandez helped launch four associate retail groups in the last 18 months as executive administrator on the SoCal Diversity and Inclusion Council and serves as a key member of the SoCal division’s Hispanic Leadership network, where she frequently donates her time giving back to the community.

King spearheaded the development and pilot study of the Deli Chub Tracker Program, resulting in a 2.6% reduction in deli meat/cheese out-of-codes, a decrease in health violations and a company-wide rollout of the program as a One Best Method.

She helped her team highlight an associate who demonstrated exemplary food safety and sanitation behaviors in the monthly Food Safety Choice newsletter, promoting the work and behaviors she wanted associates to emulate.

A subject-matter expert, King was a member of the National Environmental Health Association and the California Environmental Health Association.

Tegge was responsible for liquor operations, program execution and people development in 87 stores across four districts, working with leadership in each store to maximize sales and profits.

Through her management of four wholesaler leads who assist with merchandising, resets and remodels, she had a significant impact on maximizing flowthrough on incremental sales and improving the liquor average gross profit.

Tegge partnered with local wineries in the Temecula Valley, Calif., area to build a one-stop destination within her district’s stores while also partnering with area breweries and establishing further relationships.

Courtney Carranza Director of Communications and Public Affairs Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

Carranza helped create weekly video vignettes in which the division president discussed such topics as industry trends, company/division news, and personal and professional development.

She supported the Associate Engagement Survey through daily communications and recognition, increasing overall participation by 3%, and also helped grow Holiday Hunger bag donations by 45%.

Carranza is a board member of RSM Cares, a food pantry and hunger relief organization.

Nancy Keane Senior Director of Public Affairs and Communications Albertsons

Southwest Division

Keane formed educational campaigns to promote the importance of COVID vaccines/boosters and cancer screenings in conjunction with public television and radio.

She helped raise awareness and revenue in support of a nearly $3 million dollar holiday gift card program to support food bank/food pantry partners and other nonprofits, churches and schools that serve food-insecure individuals.

Keane received an award from the 645th ICTC Army Reserve Unit in Las Vegas for community support and served on the boards of directors for such organizations as the Teal It Up Ovarian Cancer Foundation and the Cooper State Fly-in.

Cos./

Brenda Tegge Liquor Operations Specialist Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

Sara King Director of Food Safety Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

Amanda Hawkins Plant Manager Albertsons Cos./ Supply Chain

In 2022, Hawkins led her team to crush all plant metrics, with Clackamas Milk beating its operating budget by $800,000.

She helped Clackamas Milk become the first plant to install distilled water capability in 2022 — providing Albertsons stores in the Pacific Northwest with gallons of distilled water after its provider pulled out of the market, leaving shelves bare.

In addition to being awarded the Dairy Manufacturing Rock Star award for her accomplishments in the Clackamas Milk plant, Hawkins was also praised for identifying new market opportunities and partnering with LFI to maintain and land new business.

Brittany Susnik Director, Retail Sales Anheuser-Busch

Responsible for managing a team of sales, pricing and category managers for Meijer, Susnik has driven top-line growth, share of market growth and share of Anheuser-Busch (AB) total at the retailer; AB has also grown market share in all six of Meijer’s operations regions.

She has played a key role in category initiatives, including Meijer’s return to the AB Collaboration Center for a second year.

Susnik was elected to represent AB Region 3 in a Women in Beer spotlight event, and was active in furthering diversity and inclusion initiatives; she also spearheaded a custom program highlighting AB Women in Brewing for Meijer.

Amanda Russell Marketing and Advertising Director-Reasor’s Brookshire Grocery Co.

In her role leading all marketing and advertising efforts for the 17 Reasor’s stores in Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma, Russell has been an integral part of the integration process since the banner was acquired by Brookshire Grocery Co. in January 2022.

She also led a new single-store program that involved enhancing price perception by lowering prices on thousands of items at one location; this led to an 11% increase in year-over-year sales.

Russell was active in the community outside of work, serving in her church’s coffee shop and children’s area, and also as a member of the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and in women’s leadership events.

Denise Naeck Manager, Customer Service C&S Wholesale Grocers

Working with senior leaders across departments, Naeck improved processes and policies supporting growth initiatives and helped create and achieve key performance indicators for customer service.

She launched two automated processes that led to faster processing times for order adjustments and claims, helped implement a new workforce management tool, and overachieved on key performance indicators for call volume and quality to get the highest customer satisfaction score in the department’s history.

Naeck participated in the C&S women’s employee resource group, the Adopt a Family program and the customer service events committee.

Susan Flake Director, Global Business Development

Avery Dennison

Flake drove next-generation digital solutions and growth strategies in the food space, with a focus on achieving item-level freshness, traceability, transparency, labor efficiency and food waste reduction for the grocery industry.

She led a major grocery chain to pilot intelligent labeling for item-level freshness and item-level, in-store inventory management, and helped unveil the causes of grocery overproduction and underproduction.

A contributing member to Avery Dennison’s employee resource group, Elevate, Flake strove for a diverse and inclusive work environment while advancing women at the company.

Jayne Henerey Retail Maintenance Manager C&S Wholesale Services/Retail

Leading the retail refrigeration and store management group for Piggly Wiggly stores in the Southeastern region, Henerey, along with her team of 10 technicians, supported the integration of 14 stores in New York that were converted into C&S-owned locations.

Thanks to her leadership and work with vendor partnerships and training, stores were able to operate in a cost-effective way, especially those in small and rural communities.

Henery developed technicians for the South Carolina Ready to Work Program and trade schools and provided training to small retailer partners to assist them in safety and employee health-andwellness efforts.

April Carchietta Director of Employee Experience and Organizational Development

Big Y Foods

Carchietta oversaw all functions of training and development for Big Y’s 10,500 employees, including budgeting, recognition platforms, internal communications and learning management systems.

Taking into account employee feedback that identified professional public speaking as an area of opportunity, she chartered the grocer’s first Toastmasters Club at the store support center.

Carchietta and her team oversaw the myBig Y Voice program to help employees throughout the company feel heard; the initiative increased employee engagement and helped reduce turnover by 10%.

Niki Reznicek Corporate Marketing Manager

C.A. Fortune

Reznicek managed the master brand for C.A. Fortune by leading creative, project management and strategic planning efforts ranging from social media content to corporate marketing projects to vendor and partner relationships.

She launched the first company-wide SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and competitive analysis; executed 75 selling capabilities presentations for client opportunities; and developed the redefined company values, among other outstanding results.

Reznicek co-founded the company social committee and volunteered for a workforce development program that helps human-trafficking victims thrive.

Helen Hu

Customer Sales Lead, Walmart Campbell Soup Co.

Hu, who has one Campbell’s largest sales lead roles, developed and implemented joint business plans to drive volume and profit for the company within Walmart’s soup category.

She fueled multimillion-dollar sales growth in her categories and spearheaded major shelving improvements at more than 2,000 stores, leading to a 5% bump in category sales; she also shepherded the acceptance of five new items after a five-year lull in co-created products.

The winner of four elite sales awards at Campbell, Hu was honored for her dedication to living the company’s values; she was also active in NextUp and the Asian Network employee resource group.

Lorena

Hernandez Marketing Director Cardenas Markets LLC

Hernandez managed marketing strategies and oversaw budget stewardship, ominchannel marketing communications, event planning and other marketing initiatives that generate revenue.

She launched an annual marketing program called Loteria that resulted in 30% year-over-year growth for participating brands, and used an integrated approach to introduce new marketing campaigns that drove vendor participation and customer recognition/ redemption rates of up to 20% of customer base participation.

Hernandez played a key role in the annual Cardenas Foundation Golf Tournament by improving partner involvement and contributing to improvements.

Lauren Manekshaw Category Analytics and Insights Manager, Walmart

HQ

The Coca-Cola Co.

Manekshaw was responsible for more than $3 billion worth of sales for the company’s largest customer, Walmart, and led consumer research and strategic storytelling while also influencing brand partners.

She collaborated with multiple teams to lead Coca-Cola’s still sell-in story to increase distribution by 35% across several brands and partnered with Walmart to spearhead three category deep dives; additionally, she built out capabilities for the team across Walmart’s new Luminate platform.

Manekshaw organized events for the team to help at a Dallas women’s shelter where she regularly volunteered.

Morgan Hamel Director of Customer Development,

E-Commerce

Coca-Cola

Consolidated

Hamel was tasked with leading the e-commerce business for Target and all e-commerce customers for Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest independent bottler in the United States.

She closed year-end results at $84.2 million, up 16% over the prior year; was instrumental in a 50-store pilot at Target that bolstered case capacity by 22% and led to a 43% sales lift in three months; and launched a Consolidated-only new 6-pack at 50 Target stores.

Hamel was heavily involved with the company’s Leadership Development Program, an active member of NextUp, and a homework tutor at UrbanPromise Charlotte, in North Carolina.

Abigail Vaerten E-Commerce Consultant Circana

Vaerten oversaw U.S. commercial and product support for e-commerce and omnichannel measurement solution within the center store, protein and dairy/bakery areas, helping industry professionals measure and track the evolving e-commerce landscape to make informed decisions for growth.

She created a formal e-commerce market measurement certification program, started a Circana internal subject-matter expert program and delved into best practice training verticals.

Vaerten won Circana’s GPS Accelerator Award for internal and industry impacts; she was also nominated and took part in NextUp’s Rising Star Leadership Development program.

Cynthia Allen Director, Global Business Services CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

As the liaison between CROSSMARK’s service delivery center, headquarters sales teams, clients and customers, Allen oversaw trade management deduction management, order processing, customer service and administrative functions.

She led efforts to address inefficiencies affecting the turnaround time for administrative requests, cutting it down from six to three days, and launched a tool that allows users to filter check request details by client, customer, invoice number or dollar amount.

Allen was chosen to attend the NextUp Leadership Summit and volunteered with the nonprofit organization Love for Kids Inc.

Katie DelSignore Director, Ahold Delhaize The Coca-Cola Co.

Leading marketing growth strategies for the $1.1 billion Ahold Delhaize customer team, DelSignore designed programs that organically engaged shoppers and drove revenue growth.

Among other accomplishments, she achieved 98% selling-in of Coca-Cola Starlight at her customer to propel $1.4 million in sales and created a customer-first meals strategy with cross-category promotions to increase permanent spaces in multiple categories.

DelSignore has received Coca-Cola’s Emerging Talent Award for the past six years and was active in other groups, including NextUp and the Greg Hill Foundation.

Jen Anderson Business and Customer Account Manager CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Anderson used a comprehensive knowledge of retailer operations and merchandising strategies to drive client growth across Clorox’s charcoal, shelf-stable food and cat litter divisions for the Associated Wholesale Grocers wholesale team.

She delivered three years of increased shipment indices for her client and helped create an approach to improve its business by 15.5%; thank to her efforts, a promotion for Show Me Beef and Kingsford won a 2022 NGA Creative Choice Award.

A member of NextUp, Anderson served as a volunteer coordinator for a Gather and Grow dinner series benefiting the BoysGrow organization.

Becca Brewer Senior Insights Analyst CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Brewer supported Galderma in the grocery channel by providing insights that drove decisions about assortment, promotions, category trends and more; she also helped train employees on the company’s Accelerator tool.

Finding products that work best for both CPGs and retailers, she created a selection process that led to 78 more placements and an 8% sales lift; additionally, she guided customers through UPC transitions and was selected for a new insights pilot team.

Brewer received a SPIRIT award from CROSSMARK’s baby, beauty and household team and was involved with the University of Tennessee’s performance theater.

Desiree Jakubs Business Account Manager CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Jakubs created a template for trade planning to facilitate the accuracy and efficiency of data put into CROSSMARK’s customer relationship management system.

She also implemented a digital and e-commerce “bucket” of trade that was successfully piloted by a client across the food/ drug/mass channel.

A sponsor and volunteer at Retrieve a Golden of the Midwest, a nonprofit dog rescue organization focused on golden retriever and golden retriever mixes, Jakubs additionally spent her time taking part in the local women’s leadership networking community through her membership in NextUp Twin Cities.

Stephanie Clark Director of Client Operations, CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Clark proved her mettle through her work managing the company’s field support call center and overseeing a $1.3 million budget.

She took a lead role in ensuring that client and retail teams received excellent customer service during the WIS merger, implementing new call center lines, creating a new virtual training program and successfully negotiating contract renewals that minimized cost impacts to the organization.

As a volunteer on the NextUp Texas programming and development committee, she added revenue to the chapter through a successful silent auction that was shared with other chapters as an example.

Maureen Jander Director of Customer Development

CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Jander led strategy, collaboration and execution for CROSSMARK’s clients supplying customers in the Southwest, driving a double-digit 2022 sales revenue increase across several top-tier vendors and generating extra commissions.

She managed an open sales territory from September through December 2022 and led negotiations that secured new business gains across the company’s client base, as well as selling an incremental display program to a key retailer that ordered 15 shippers per store to support a major promotional program.

Jander supports such charities as the American Red Cross and Border Collie Save and Rescue.

Melissa Doriski Senior Insights Analyst CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Doriski supported the convenience and grocery business with Clif Bar & Co. across more than 71,000 store locations and communicated the state of convenience back to internal sales and business insights teams.

Despite lingering pandemic and supply chain issues, she helped her client achieve 14% sales growth, secured nearly 13,000 points of distribution, exceeded client key performance indicators and shared best practice templates used to train new employees.

An active member of NextUp, Doriski attended the group’s summit meeting and brought back ideas and innovations for improvements.

Nikki Schriever Director of HQ Sales and Marketing CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Schriever provided smarter, faster and more efficient solutions, driving brand sales and delivering 102% to the revenue budget for such key clients as Chicken of the Sea, Signature Brands, Betty Crocker Dessert Decorating and Better Body Foods.

She helped facilitate the strategy, development and execution of CROSSMARK’s new Minnesota headquarters office, driving collaboration and streamlining efficiencies for growth.

As an active member of NextUp Twin Cities, Schriever advocated for the advancement of women in all areas of business, but particularly in the grocery industry.

Christine Halloran Customer Business Manager, CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Halloran worked with customers such as Core-Mark, Burklund Distributors and Circle K Heartland across distribution, promotions, pricing, merchandising and financial management functions.

Her combined sales for 2022 rose 20% from the prior year: She supported the combined Core-Mark business (previously Eby Brown) as it became one of the largest c-store distributors in North America, and she expanded participation in regional trade shows and vendor day meetings, leading to greater sell-in.

Halloran was a board member at Magdalene House in Chicago, which helps women survivors of sex trafficking.

Ann Weinhardt Director, Customer Development CROSSMARK, A WIS International Company

Weinhardt developed and led a new third-party customer-specific strategic initiative to maximize customer growth and expand services; the resulting cross-functional team created a financial modeling tool and new recruitment and hiring practices, meeting the project timeline in just three months.

She strategically realigned 45% of the Associated Wholesale Grocers team to meet the evolving requirements of customers and clients, thereby building a truly sustainable team of experts.

In her spare time, Weinhardt was not only an engaged member of NextUp, which focuses on advancing all women in business, but she also served as a volunteer basketball coach.

Jennifer Maynard Business Development Manager Product Connections, a WIS International Company

As a part of the Sam’s Club events team, Maynard worked closely with merchants and suppliers to schedule in-store club demos, and also helped train new business development managers.

She exceeded her demo budget by organizing and managing account budgets, providing exceptional customer service to suppliers and influencing suppliers to invest in demos with strong analytics.

The mother of a son with Prader-Willi syndrome, Maynard enrolled her family in studies designed to further advancements in knowledge and medicines regarding the genetic disorder.

Paula Lewis Supervisory Commissary Management Specialist, Zone 12 Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Lewis’s development of zone training, mentoring, guiding, planning and holding senior leaders accountable have made a positive difference in the efficiency, productivity, output and quality of work being performed.

Her Alaska stores participated in numerous “drop advance” on-site sales to enable the ordering, sale and delivery of groceries at remote sites.

Lewis has completed Cornell University Food Industry Management Program correspondence courses and DeCA’s Commissary Management Course, as well as other agency leadership programs.

Sarah Gregg Regional Director Inventory Operations WIS

International

In a struggling market, Gregg reduced hourly turnover by more than 150% by implementing a best practice for screening candidates, focusing on continuous development and coaching hourly associates on their skillsets.

By encouraging promotion from within and focusing on longevity and training, Gregg improved capacity in leadership roles from 40% to 100%; in the Texas market, she improved inventory revenue by nearly $500,000 by realigning districts’ territory to ensure the highest profitability, taking a strategic approach to scheduling, encouraging additional customers and focusing on in-store production.

Gregg regularly volunteered at local elementary schools.

Category

By herself, Collins successfully built out the independent grocer’s first store on the nonperishable side, including product layouts, merchandising schemes, and promotional activities and events for about 10,000 SKUs, and her nonperishable categories always beat sales and margin objectives.

Promoted to her current role during this time, she led a team of three to open Dom’s second store, a much larger unit with double the space and offerings.

Collins was recognized in trade magazines and articles for her curated liquor department, while her grocery, dairy and frozen departments received acclaim in many periodicals.

Navita Bahel Team Lead, System Manager EDW/ BO/COMS/e2E/ DeCACOM Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Bahel’s efforts toward DeCA’s business intelligence rationalization contributed to optimized data collections, reliability and accuracy for the organization, as well as putting it on track to save approximately $62.5 million over the next five years.

Her enterprise data warehouse work allowed all offices within DeCA headquarters to access critical, reliable and vital data, which in turn enabled these offices to judge sales trends, accurately set prices and manage warehouse inventory, positioning the organization to better serve military and embassy families.

Bahel volunteered for numerous programs at her church.

Nicole Harrison Senior Account Executive Duracell

Harrison delivered 124% of her 2022 sales target by leveraging key cross-functional subject-matter experts to influence distribution and reopening closed negotiations or navigating fixed contracts to set the foundation for additional future distribution gains.

She also improved return on investment with regard to retail partnerships and integrated key cross-functional and leadership stakeholders into account conversations to elevate intimacy at key decision points.

Harrison is the co-founder of Faces of Faith, a philanthropic nonprofit that helps children in underdeveloped Chicago-area communities.

Kathryn Carfrey Chief Business Financial Manager Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Exercising exemplary fiscal stewardship and leveraging her keen knowledge of fiduciary regulations and boundaries, Carfrey successfully executed nearly 100% of DeCA’s $160 million fiscal 2022 IT funding, enabling the generation of $4 billion-plus in annual sales.

Her work allowed DeCA to realize the full replacement and modernization of the point-ofsale hardware and software at all of the organization’s stores worldwide.

Carfrey tirelessly volunteered for local Special Olympics activities in a variety of capacities, from acting as an assistant coach and an athletic chaperone to providing support for fundraising efforts and campaigns.

Kelly Weaver Senior Director, National Accounts Fairlife

Weaver led two cross-functional teams, developing plans that secured a 23% increase in space within value-added dairy and a 50% SKU increase within readyto-drink sports nutrition, as well as closing all remaining voids within Albertsons Cos.

She completed the year with record growth for the Core Power brand within Albertsons: It was up 76% in units and 85% in dollars versus the prior year, while display total distribution points grew 58%, share of visual inventory increased 25% and unit share of category rose 11 points.

For her successful efforts, Weaver and her team received the 2022 Q3 Fairlife Legend Award in the dairy category.

Kelsey Collins Senior

Manager Dom’s Kitchen & Market

Shanme Dalton Account Executive Ferrara

In her first year with the company, Dalton elevated Ferrara’s relationship with Albertsons Cos., which has been upgraded to a strategic investment account with Ferrara leadership.

Thanks to her efforts, which included coordinating Ferrara’s very first top-to-top innovation summit with Albertsons, the account’s business grew an impressive 54%, with Ferrara on track to back that up with 40% growth this year.

Dalton was a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion business resource group at Ferrara, and she and her team received a Ferrara Values Award as a best-in-class example of leadership through empowerment.

Rachel Cox Senior Manager, Curbside Operations

Giant Eagle

Cox’s team successfully opened eight new pickup/delivery sites, generating more than $600,000 in additional sales, and also conducted eight remodels; efforts involved training dozens of team members, marketing and installing equipment.

She launched an opportunity store program, which entailed working with departments that were overspending on customer demand-based wages to create best practices, and working with field specialists on training; to date, these departments have saved $1 million on labor.

Cox was co-chair of the networking committee for Giant Eagle’s Women in Business resource group, and she volunteered with Bethlehem Haven.

Catherine Misour Own Brands Innovation Manager

Giant Eagle

Misour developed a cost increase tracker to ensure that the retailer can secure better vendor pricing when markets soften; she also created a monthly commodity tracker that provides market condition updates for the merchandising team.

She developed 130 unique own-brand items totaling about $8.7 million in sales and $3.4 million in margin, and she also sourced, created and received line-of-business alignment on 16 new fall holiday items.

Misour executed a summer limited-time program from scratch; it totaled 21 SKUs with an estimated potential of $1.2 million in sales and $448,000 in margin.

Katie Pacanowski Director, Transportation Giant Eagle

Responsible for three transportation hubs and 430 employees, Pacanowski and her team delivered more than 55,000 loads with consistent on-time performance, despite driver shortages; since April, they’ve beaten budget by $3 million-plus and last year’s expenses by $1.5 million.

Faced with rising fuel costs, she improved connections between buildings and retail to maximize resources and reduce both loads and miles; she also helped minimize losses related to power outages and other emergencies.

Pacanowski was a chair of the women’s business resource group and a member of Pittsburgh Women in Supply Chain.

Fatimah

Pillow Operations Manager Giant Eagle

Overseeing 200 union and 26 nonunion employees in Cleveland’s grocery and office services departments warehouse, Pillow led the slotting committee in identifying issues whose rectification could improve the selection process and the ability to build pallets for selectors.

She spearheaded changes in the warm room and in floral products to increase the efficiency of pick patterns throughout the perishable departments.

Since taking on the new role of operations manager over the grocery department, Pillow has already helped identify and address inefficiencies: Over the next few months, changes will increase proficiency and accountability.

Lindsay Capozziello Senior Manager Pharmacy Harris Teeter LLC

Committed to improving customers’ health through preventive vaccinations, Capozziello led her team to administer 370,000 vaccines last year, which generated $900,000 in sales; she also supported the development and implementation of Harris Teeter’s Technician Vaccination Program and a Post Grad Year 1 Community Pharmacy Residency Program.

She helped refresh pharmacy training and supported investments in pharmacy automation and workflow simplification processes that allow pharmacists to spend more time on patient care.

Capozziello served on the policy and advocacy committee for the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists.

Sara Coyle District Manager Harris Teeter LLC

In the Summerville, S.C., store she managed, Coyle achieved high profits, provided consistent world-class customer service, sustained a loyal customer base and helped associates grow professionally.

Promoted to district manager in South Carolina’s Charleston County, she focused on setup times, closing duties, improving controllable out-of-stocks and involving all stores in selling events, ultimately leading her district to place first in total store sales and total items trends and second in fresh food trends.

Coyle volunteered with many different organizations, including the Low Country Food Bank, where she helped sort, pack and deliver groceries to families dealing with food insecurity.

Christian Emory Director, Benefits and Compensation Harris Teeter LLC

Emory implemented new associate health initiatives, including a diabetes prevention/adherence program in which participants lost an average of 10 pounds in four weeks; she also enhanced medical plans to include fertility coverage, transgender benefits and varicose veins coverage, and led training for senior store leadership on mental health emergencies.

She guided medical and pharmacy pricing negotiations that saved more than $8 million and enhanced the 401(K)-employer match, with a net neutral impact to the overall budget.

An active member of the Women’s Empowerment Group at Harris Teeter, Emory also volunteered in her community.

Stacey Simpson Customer Sales Executive

The Hershey Co.

Simpson was awarded Vendor of the Year for her partnership with Albertsons, where she worked with 14 buyers and nine retail teams, as well as broker partners, to increase sales by 11% and boost lead share by 39 basis points.

Working on the Kroger team, she increased checklanes, gained space from competitors and led top-down discussions to correct mint fill rates, leading to a 40% increase and a 125% spike in year-to-date sales.

Recognized as a best-in-class partner by both Kroger and Hershey, Simpson was selected to lead the latter’s Sales Conference for Top Performers; she was also involved with NextUp and the Women’s Business Resource Group at Hershey.

Kelsie Kapple Marketing Manager JBS USA

Kapple launched the fastest-growing value-added meat brand in the United States, guiding La Herencia Marinated Meats to $25 million in sales and a 50% repeat purchase rate in the brand’s first year on the market; she also led the launch of Just Bare Beef on Amazon Fresh, supporting $50 million in sales growth with Amazon Fresh.

She sold in and managed marketing for JBS brand Aspen Ridge Natural Angus Beef in a partnership with Albertsons that delivered 40% growth in 2022.

Kapple led two Women’s Meat Industry Network webinar events and was a key leader in support of JBS’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Wendy Weintraub Team Leader The Hershey Co.

Through strategic planning, customer collaboration and distribution gains, Weintraub drove Hershey baking category sales growth ahead 36% in 2022, outpacing the market and winning significant share; she drove taxonomy and shopability improvements, resulting in a 3% findability increase for Hershey.

She negotiated a more productive front end racking solution, repurposed nonworking capital of more than $1 million into working capital, and drove and enhanced ROI and greater sales and profitability for the customer and Hershey.

Weintraub volunteered at Yellow Brick Road Rescue and Lucky Lives Rescue, helping to save and rehab injured animals.

Misty Deskins Director of Loyalty Marketing and

E-Commerce

K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. d/b/a Food City

Deskins implemented several new loyalty campaigns, including associate rewards, curbside pickup, targeted emails, store-brand digital coupon campaigns and three transformational direct-mail strategies, that yielded more than $12 million in incremental sales for the company.

She introduced the innovative fuel program Ticket to Ride, which yielded a 289% increase in incremental sales for the brands that participated in the program.

Deskins’ team helped coordinate the annual Food City Charity Golf Tournament and Food City Invitational Tournament for Education to aid local organizations.

Anne Roth Senior Director, Government Relations Hy-Vee

Roth was integral in helping pass a comprehensive pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform bill in Iowa that creates a fairer playing field for pharmacies by prohibiting clawbacks, mandating that PBMs update their maximum allowable cost lists and creating the framework for the insurance commissioner to gather detailed data for future reform efforts.

On the federal level, she worked on direct and indirect remueration fee reform and interchange fee reform and helped engage members of Congress on these issues.

Roth worked with the Mind & Spirit Counseling Center to fund mental health counseling and education for uninsured or underinsured people.

Katie Penny District Manager, Chattanooga

Division

K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. d/b/a Food City

Penny’s oversight of a foodservice remodel for one location resulted in 20% sales growth and a 16% increase in gross profit for the store; another total store remodel that she supervised resulted in a 15% sales increase and and an 18% increase in income.

She played a key role in the company’s acquisition of six Fresh n’ Low/Cooke’s supermarkets/pharmacies and assisted with onboarding more than 200 new team members.

Penny received the 2022 Claude Varney Volunteerism Award and The Salvation Army Outstanding Corporate Philanthropy Award.

Laura Wassong Director of Store and Front End Operations Indiana Grocery Group LLC

As VP of the Associate Assistance Plan, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance to associates in need in Indiana, Wassong raised more than $16,000 at her home location and $21,000plus overall last year.

She served on the Company Diversity Council, which provides resources and support to help implement policies, practices and programs that ensure that associates at every level reflect, welcome, celebrate and benefit from diversity.

As chair of the Women’s Council at Indiana Grocery Group, Wassong arranged for guest speakers and organized events to facilitate team and network building to empower women.

Meigan Goodwin Senior Director, Business Development Kellogg Co.

Working across functions, Goodwin delivered a Made to Stock program on key displays, lifting in-stock to retailers from low 70s to high 90s on key brands; she led 20 teams whose scanning and shipment data research and recommendations for categories resulted in more in-and-out product and larger size offerings for the grocery channel in 2022.

She facilitated the rollout of the U.S. Regional Academy, skill training that enlists teammates to help others build their skills.

Goodwin volunteered at area animal shelters and regularly participated in Kellogg Better Days food bank volunteer activities.

Congratulations Rising Stars! to our o

Amanda Bauman Director of Marketing

Alison Gregas Director of Private Brands

Amy Meusel District Manager

Emily Kelly Senior National Account Executive Kellogg Co.

Kelly drove the Kellogg Costco team’s performance to be one of the best in the U.S. business; her data-driven insights helped build selling stories and close on distribution gains for the Cheez-it and PopTarts brands.

She led a Costco data platform revamp with IRI that included updated reporting, educating the sales team and putting best practices in place to employ data; she also co-led a cereal re-engagement plan that grew share at the retailer.

Kelly received St. Joseph University’s 2022 Food Industry Rising Star award for her career, community and university contributions; she also supported the company’s Lean on Me mental health program.

Jenny Wickline Division E-Commerce Manager The Kroger Co./ Columbus Division

In 2021, Wickline’s division was at max capacity for 25% of the available pickup timeslots; as a result of her changes, pickup in the division has grown by an average of 64 orders per day, exceeding the division goal.

At the end of fiscal year 2022, she decreased wait times to an average of four minutes and 28 seconds, shaving nearly a minute off the division’s 2021 wait time and making pickup time 32 seconds faster than the division goal time of five minutes.

Wickline also worked with enterprise leadership to test innovative pickup programs; her team was one of the first to roll out ModFS, a new e-commerce software.

Kelly LaVergne Director, Business Development Kellogg Co.

For a key customer, LaVergne led execution for Mission Tiger to fund athletic equipment for two junior high schools in the St. Louis metro area; she worked with Kellogg’s shopper marketing to build out custom, retailer-specific assets aimed at driving sustainability education and targeting multicultural households.

She founded and co-led the Kellogg African American resource group, served as moderator for a Women in Leadership Panel on which top Kellogg leaders shared career advice and spearheaded the Learn a Role speaker series for associates.

For her consistently excellent work, LaVergne was awarded Kellogg’s Golden K for Channels Salesperson of the Year.

The Kroger Co./ Corporate Affairs

Sanders oversaw the distribution of more than $8 million in cash and in-kind donations to support local nonprofit organizations; through her charitable giving strategy, the company provided average donations of nearly $40,000 per store location.

She achieved 100 earned-media stories with 10 million-plus impressions to enhance the company’s reputation and unique story, attracting new customers.

Sanders worked relentlessly to drive change and bring awareness to hunger and waste; her leadership resulted in 65% of Kroger’s waste diverted from landfills and the rescue of 6.5 million pounds of safe food that could no longer be sold in stores.

Felicia Parmer Produce Merchandising/ Floral Field Specialist The

Kroger Co./ Cincinnati Division

When Parmer started in her role four and a half years ago, the floral department was down $4 million; today, thanks to her stellar efforts, the floral business turns a $3.5 million profit.

Parmer introduced the popular Pink Princess Philodendron to the enterprise, and over the course of four weeks, the division made more than $100,000 in sales; offering this rare plant in Kroger stores opened the enterprise up to a wider customer base of plant enthusiasts.

Among the organizations that Parmer supported was the Boys and Girls Club of Cincinnati, whose warehouse she organized and cleaned so it could better serve the community.

Kristin Krueger Controller of Sales Planning & Merchandising

The Kroger Co./ Finance

Krueger led the support team that enabled the merchandising department to overachieve on 2022 sales and selling gross budget.

She also played a key role as the financial business partner within the merchandising workstream; helped by her partnership, this workstream’s 2022 projects executed $865 million in sales, and she was a strategic partner supporting the team’s investment of millions in capital, generating a positive return on investment capital.

A CPA in the state of Ohio, Krueger gave back to the community at the Free Store Food Bank while also sponsoring a family through United Way during the holiday season.

Teagan Williams Division Assistant HR Leader

The Kroger Co./ Cincinnati Division

Williams led and executed a change in the time and attendance system that included training all 20,000 associates on system differences and the transition.

This system change resulted in a simpler user experience for associates and offered them the opportunity to use the system on their personal devices or ones found within their stores.

Williams also led and executed the complete system modernization of all HR systems, encompassing anything having to do with associate records and payroll; a major benefit of this new system is that the technology tracks all associate information throughout their career progression at Kroger.

Lisa Duvall Apparel Field Merchandiser

The Kroger Co./ Fred Meyer Division

Duvall headed the Fred Meyer apparel division of 122 apparel managers and six field specialists, along with five Smith’s division apparel managers; she led the apparel team to more than $500 million in sales.

She also led a team to create and complete innovative merchandising for five Stores of the Future.

Enthusiastic about developing talent for her merchandising team and store teams, Duvall has onboarded three new field specialists over this past year and 40 apparel managers in four states; she has also teamed with local schools on Christmas for Kids, which invites needy children to shop at Fred Meyer for the holidays.

Tiffany Sanders Corporate Affairs Manager

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2023 Top Women in Grocery

Megan Houck District Manager

The Kroger

Co./

Fry’s Division

Since taking on her role, Houck has led her district to finish second in year-to-date identical sales in the division, with a 5.6% increase; her district was the only one to achieve the stretch goal above 9.2% for identical sales in the fourth quarter.

She also promoted two new store leaders and exceeded her mystery shops’ customer experience goal — a year-to-date increase of 4.1% over last year.

Houck volunteered at the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, serving meals to community members in need; as a store leader, she was a member of her store’s Promise Team, an internal group of associates dedicated to creating a positive workplace culture.

Shayna Barrett Deli/Bakery Merchandising Field Specialist

The Kroger Co./ Houston Division

Overseeing 92 department heads and about 1,300 deli and bakery associates at 46 stores, in partnership with three district managers, Barrett successfully led her store teams through three remodels in fiscal 2022.

She also developed 26 associates who were promoted within her three districts for fiscal 2022.

As a team lead on the Young Professionals associate resource group for Kroger’s Houston division, Barrett oversaw the membership committee and contributed to identifying new members with her chair and co-chair, along with engaging in district manager and merchandiser collaboration.

Amanda Trent Talent Development Strategist The Kroger

Co./ Human Resources

Trent led the development and testing of service training in late 2022; during a six-week, 5,000-associate pilot, she achieved defined training outcomes, clearing the path to invest an incremental $15 million in service training in 2023.

She partnered closely with retail operations to develop and scale training to support various total store, fresh and front end shrink initiatives that drove operational excellence across 2,700plus locations and bottom-line improvement.

Trent was an active member of the Ronald McDonald House organization, where she volunteered regularly; she has also been a member of the Kroger Internship Mentor Program for the past two years.

Jessica

Quintana and her team placed first in all indoor floral sales, second in total floral sales and third in gross margin, with sales versus the previous year up 1.4% at King Soopers.

She created an environment where associates felt valued and heard, while her focus on coaching proved to be an effective and compassionate way of addressing performance concerns and helping associates reach their full potential.

Quintana graduated from the Western Association of Food Chains Retail Management Certificate Program and was part of the Hispanic Heritage associate resource group, which strives to develop future leaders through mentorship.

Crystal Davison Health and Wellness Pharmacy Practice Coordinator

The Kroger Co./ Houston Division

Davison led an enterprise-wide pilot to enhance and maximize Kroger’s Auto Refill service; through her drive and input, the company quickly adapted to an improved platform, nearly doubling the number of enrollments.

She also launched the first Wellness associate resource group in the Houston division, which focuses on the pillars of mental, physical, nutritional and financial wellness.

Davison was recognized as a Kroger Health Wellness 180 Ambassador award winner for focusing on her personal health as well as promoting healthy lifestyles for all.

Tasha Turner Division Assistant HR Leader

The Kroger Co./ King Soopers Division

Turner elevated recruitment efforts by implementing a branded hiring van and a campus recruiting program that attracted 59% more applicants than previous events.

Her commitment to consistent onboard training helped to improve employee retention, with the division surpassing its assigned turnover goal of 58.8% by achieving a 54.6% rate during the first 12 periods of 2022.

Through her Sourcing Project, Turner hired two temporary workers to review the applicant pool and identify missed opportunities, which indeed uncovered a wealth of qualified candidates and revealed that the company simply needed to implement a consistent process for contacting and interviewing applicants.

Kristin Cukauskas HR Operations and Governance Leader

The Kroger Co./ Human Resources

Cukauskas directed a complicated organization design and change management deployment with the Shared Services Center, Corporate Affairs and Talent Development Center of Excellence.

She developed a biweekly newsletter, People on the Move, for HR to showcase promotions and new members of the HR team, as well as to highlight open HR roles.

Cukauskas also coordinated the development of a General Office executive administrative manual, which is a tool for newto-role and existing administrative assistants, HR business partners, generalists, and associate HR representatives.

Jane Dierkers Community Affairs Manager

The Kroger Co./ Kroger Health

Dierkers and her team ensured that the operations and execution were seamless for Kroger’s annual Wellness Festival, which brought more than 125,000 people to greater Cincinnati, and to make certain that the numerous CPG vendor partners were supported throughout the event.

She coordinated Kroger’s Life is Why campaign to support the American Heart Association, allowing Kroger to educate 7.1 million customers on science-based content across multiple channels.

In addition to being recognized by the American Heart Association as an outstanding volunteer and advocate for the organization, Dierkers was professionally involved with the American Cancer Society and Easter Seals on various levels.

Quintana Division Floral Field Specialist The Kroger Co./ King Soopers Division

Hannah Reasor Center Store Field Specialist

The Kroger Co./ Louisville Division

Both of Reasor’s districts averaged a 10.31% gross margin increase due to her going after Kroger’s Our Brands with 100% execution, which contributed $9 million to the Louisville division in EBITDA.

She worked with Coca-Cola on revamping the overnight delivery process by spearheading the training for the division, creating a step-by-step training video that’s now used throughout the Kroger enterprise.

Reasor also worked with each vendor to coordinate standards walks at stores to align the expectations for each store and help hold each vendor accountable for knowing the standards.

Carrie Fenn Division E-Commerce Manager

The Kroger Co./ Mid-Atlantic Division

Fenn made great strides in a short period on improving maxed-out time slots in many stores by enhancing processes and workflows in e-commerce back rooms, resulting in more sale opportunities for customers to place orders.

She helped improve maxedout time slots year over year by 65% during her first three quarters as division e-commerce manager and increased the in-stock metric year over year in those same three quarters by 5.6%.

Fenn was active in the division Women’s EDGE associate resource group and raised funds to fight breast cancer.

Meghan Barton Category Manager

The Kroger Co./ Merchandising

Barton navigated prolonged chicken supply challenges by working to secure any additional product and prioritize divisions based on inventory position, share need and supplier ability to move within the network.

She maneuvered more than eight months of supply interruptions and major transitions across the Our Brands business and pivoted to offset declines on brand with the majority share of category by developing meaningful national-brand partnerships.

Barton partnered with Conagra Brands and Xavier University to play the role of a retailer in the Intro to Category Management college-level course.

Karla Goings Division ProduceFloral Merchandiser

The Kroger Co./ Mid-Atlantic Division

Goings collaborated with General Office partners on ideas to support company initiatives within drug/ general merchandise and was invited to participate in the multicultural ideation session.

She outpaced her budget on selling gross (up 1.59% year over year) and shrink (improved 92 basis points versus budget and 69 basis points versus last year), with sales up 1.27% from last year.

A member of NAACP Silver Life and the division Women’s EDGE associate resource group and co-chair for the division African American associate resource group, Goings also sits on the boards of several organizations.

Amber Burkhart Campaign Pricing Communication Manager The

Kroger Co./ Merchandising

Burkhart developed a strategic enhancement for an existing third-party product that will reduce store labor expense and deliver $2 million in annual savings back to the business on printing costs.

She identified several errors and inefficiencies in billing between Kroger and partner organizations that resulted in more than $2 million in marketing budget relief.

Burkhart led the centralization of third-party invoices in a single system, which will create more accurate forecasts and reduce invoicing by more than 50%, and helped develop and deploy an electronic shelf-edge solution.

Stephanie Jordan Division Asset Protection and Safety Manager

The Kroger Co./ Nashville Division

Jordan guided the Nashville division to become No. 1 in the company in associate accident reduction, with an improvement rate of 20% versus 2021, and the division finished second in the Kroger enterprise in total accident reduction, with 16% improvement.

Under her guidance, Nashville was one of only two divisions to achieve its shrink budget for the fiscal year.

In addition to participating in the company’s Leadership Excellence Acceleration program, Jordan co-chairs Nashville’s African American associate resource group and serves as secretary at her local church.

Orrand Category Manager

April

The Kroger Co./ Merchandising

Orrand was instrumental in helping Kroger’s color cosmetics and nail care segments build positive gains for the future, thanks to her moving cosmetics to a direct store delivery (DSD) program that proactively solved the issue of increased out-of-stocks and tightened labor market issues; those divisions that moved to DSD achieved on average a 5% sales increase.

She implemented a new product-fixturing structure to help streamline products and create gains in sales.

Orrand took part in Kroger’s EDGE associate resource group and served as a subject-matter expert.

Michele Mabery Deli/Bakery Field Specialist

The Kroger Co./ QFC Division

Mabery helped her teams navigate the rollout of fresh production, planogram standup, Boar’s Head grab-and-go sandwiches and salads, and mobile order pay for Starbucks, and led the Retrain the Trainer Boar’s Head program for all of QFC.

She was involved in QFC’s Office Associate Survey Action Planning Committee, in which capacity she helped come up with solutions and focus areas.

Besides being integral to the creation of new schematics that have been crucial to driving Kroger sales, Mabery was part of the Cultural Council and QFC’s Women’s EDGE group, and volunteered at her local middle school.

Evelyn Alvarez Regional Construction Manager The Kroger

Co./ Real Estate Development

Alvarez helped division merchants identify the need for more diverse offerings in the Richmond, Va., market by hosting a tour that focused on Latin staples that have proved profitable in multiple market service areas within the division.

She was a key contributor to a five-year strategic investment plan for her division and embraced a new technology to streamline collaborations among four regional offices.

Alvarez helped create the first Leadership Academy for Achieving My Purpose, a nonprofit organization focused on helping young women of color find and attain their goals.

Nicole Fickau Division HR Leader

The Kroger Co./ Roundy’s

Fickau developed a strategic people plan for the division, which featured succession planning for key leadership roles, focused on elevating talent and provided associates with experience to further their careers.

She relaunched associate resource groups, which play a valuable role at Roundy’s by providing perspective in discussions on important topics relating to associates, division operations and the industry.

In addition to guiding the HR team through the challenges of the MyInfo payroll, outside of work, Fickau adopted a family for Christmas in 2022 through a nonprofit organization called Next Door Milwaukee Foundation.

Becky Bronkema Director of Merchandising, Dairy/Frozen Meijer

Through Bronkema’s initiative and ideation, Meijer became one of the few leading retailers offering discounts on produce and free delivery from Meijer.com for SNAP recipients; these offers allowed the retailer to improve access to food while also growing households and sales.

She helped drive significant private label growth, resulting in Meijer brands being the top growth drivers of the business, up more than 13% for the year.

Bronkema was part of the Moms at Meijer committee to help mentor associates, support events and advocate for mothers in the workplace.

Kristin Brouwers Manager, Marketing Campaigns Meijer

Brouwers was responsible for storytelling across Meijer’s brand portfolio, which includes more than 260 locations across six states, servicing more than 6 million customers.

Through her marketing and creative leadership, the Frederik’s by Meijer brand exceeded sales plans, bringing in incremental customers and quickly emerging as the No. 3 own brand at Meijer by sales volume.

As an active Meijer Campus Ambassador, Brouwers supported team member engagement, led tours, coordinated events and welcomed new team members at Snack Chat, a new meet-andmingle event at which attendees can learn more about Meijer.

Jennifer Enoch Director, Talent Acquisition Lowes Foods LLC

Enoch created new ways to attract and identify talent that included finding new partners, reinventing job fairs as “hiring parties” and improving candidate experience — all of which helped cut the company’s time to apply in half.

Through her unrelenting tenacity in finding new partners and new ways to attract candidates, she led the company to experience increases in applicant flow by more than 25% year over year.

Enoch led a pilot to centralize recruiting for retail stores, leading to a reduction in hosts needed, an improvement in overall candidate quality and improved turnover performance (20% better compared with the control group).

Jenny Coon Plant Manager (Fresh Assembly) Meijer

Coon developed and successfully led a diverse workforce, and also found creative ways to ensure that associates are fully trained and stay connected with the team through ongoing communications; this helped her achieve full staffing percentages for the first time since the pandemic began.

She and her team developed and launched a new line of snack items containing seven finished products; she worked closely with the product development team to conceptualize items and conduct a plant trial.

Within the community, Coon is helped adult learners improve their reading skills and supported local animal shelters.

Jordan Aldrich Corporate Human Resources Director Meijer

Aldrich’s passion for diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) inspired her to lead thoughtful discussions on key DE&I topics, actively support team member resource groups and mentor diverse talent.

She led Meijer’s return-to-work program, and the company’s flexible new arrangement enabled it to compete for top talent while also achieving a 4% decrease in hybrid team member turnover and a 10% decrease in flex remote/remote voluntary team member turnover.

In 2022, Aldrich was appointed to Grand Valley State University’s HR Advisory Council to provide perspective on the institution’s HR curriculum, hiring trends and company needs.

Kim Edsenga Associate General Counsel Meijer

Edsenga’s job spanned legal and regulatory support for Meijer’s retail operations, retail and specialty pharmacies, and real estate and store design teams; she also managed Meijer’s centralized corporate compliance team.

She took the lead on work with the USDA to obtain a waiver of equal-treatment rules for SNAP recipients, which opened the door for many healthy food offerings specifically targeting this customer base.

In addition to being a member of the Michigan Retailers Association, Edsenga was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the board of the Food Security Council for the State of Michigan, serving through 2022.

Jovana Garcia Senior Recruiter Meijer

Garcia conducted a comprehensive analysis of the recruitment process, recommending the implementation of a centralized recruitment budget; the project is expected to save between $300,000 and $500,000 in annual hourly recruiting-related expenses.

She led a successful pilot program of a recruitment automation tool that resulted in a 69% reduction in the time it took to schedule an interview.

Garcia was a member of the Holland Museum’s Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion Committee, in Michiagan, and also active in Women of Color Give, which helps allocate funds to community agencies that support the BIPOC population.

Kalli Zielbauer Internal Communications Manager Meijer

Zielbauer developed a communication process that enables her to support six centers of excellence and the chief human resources officer simultaneously; the process has been universally adopted by the team and shared with other teams as a model for communication support.

In addition to her HR work, she worked as a product owner for the company’s intranet, where she identified top priorities for the development team.

A two-time recipient of the company’s Exceeding Expectations award, Zielbauer was a member of the Women at Meijer and YoPro team member resource groups.

Emily Henao Director, Customer Loyalty Meijer

Henao led the strategy and implementation of Meijer’s new mPerks loyalty program, pulling off a flawless transition with more than $11 million of customer value transferred from the old platform into the new platform, with no negative customer impact.

She and her team also rolled out a new customer insights tool that allows stores to monitor real-time customer feedback and net promoter score reporting to enable real-time customer outreach and experience optimization.

While currently pursuing her MBA at the University of Michigan, Henao was chosen to participate in a company talent development program.

Nicole Kidd Market Director Meijer

Kidd led her South Indianapolis market of nine stores through the rollout of the Flashfood initiative, as well as self-checkout deployment, offering targeted training to leaders and self-checkout team members, coaching in the moment, and explaining the why behind the technology.

Kidd worked closely with community partners, including the Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Brothers United and Girls Club of Indianapolis.

Through her work on the executive board of the Women at Meijer resource group, she helped facilitate many events to drive awareness in regard to mental health, breast cancer and heart health.

Annette Reitano Director, Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Northeast

Shared Services

Reitano was responsible for all digital marketing and e-commerce at Price Chopper/Market 32 and oversaw more than $150 million in annual e-commerce sales through 123 stores.

She led the conversion of e-commerce pickup orders from a third party to teammate shopping, which led to pickup nearly doubling as a percentage of overall e-commerce.

Reitano’s team implemented in-depth UTM tracking processes, establishing best-in-class qualification of all site visitors while driving up site traffic with the company’s other targeted tactics and reducing bounce rates to below 1%.

Rachel Tefft Senior Manager, Community Food Systems PCC Community Markets

Through her stewardship of the Growing for Good program, Tefft advocated for hunger relief organizations and farmers to cultivate a future for Pacific Northwest food security.

She drove the statewide expansion of PCC’s nutrition security initiative, Friends of PCC, which helps facilitate sourcing opportunities for food bank partners to obtain organic products.

Tefft contributed to Sound Consumer, PCC’s newspaper dedicated to informing and inspiring the cooperative grocer’s community through a vision of advancing the health and well-being of people, their neighborhoods and the planet.

Irisi Tole Manager, Information Technology Meijer

Tole developed and maintained a set of user experience design standards and guidelines for the Meijer organization, which moved the company from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile in the dunnhumby Retail Index.

As the user experience leader of the new mPerks experience, she exceeded target audiences’ expectations, resulting in 88.6% of customers reporting high levels of satisfaction, and a 25% increase in loyal customer growth.

Tole played a leading role in the creation of a new resource subgroup for women in technology to help amplify their voices and offer greater support to women in this field.

Elsie Cordero Director, Shopper Strategy, PepsiCo Shopper Analytics and Insights PepsiCo Inc.

Cordero’s unique approach to joint business planning in 2022 helped ensure that her company had a more equal seat at the table.

She created clear roles and responsibilities for her team to improve process efficiency, implemented process improvements, and updated documentation to help enable new team members to get up to speed quickly and effectively.

Cordero completed the Breakthrough Organizational Leadership Development Mastermind course, which helps to create a network of Black and Latino professionals who focus on career goals and strategies and develop additional leadership capabilities.

Jodi Dame Quaker Senior Foodservice Manager PepsiCo Inc.

A PepsiCo veteran of more than 22 years in multiple sales positions, Dame supported national accounts and new business across the globe, aiding in the implementation of Quaker Foodservice’s strategy across some of PepsiCo’s largest customers.

She worked with the company’s top three customers to build strategic roadmaps for growth across the entire portfolio, and helped another partner convert more than $2 million in revenue away from its competition.

This past February, Dame was awarded the Chairman’s Ring of Honor, which is the highest achievement within the PepsiCo organization.

Staceyann Dawson Senior Director, Southeast Region, Frito-Lay PepsiCo Inc.

Responsible for leading the customer sales team for the Southeast region, with $3.8 billion in business, Dawson ensured that the team had operating plans and initiatives designed to win share, deliver revenue and execute on profit plans.

She and her team sold in-line dip at Publix, which will result in more than 1.5 additional feet of space across all 1,300 Publix accounts; she also secured a customized Lay’s Local event, resulting in 300 incremental end caps and merchandising throughout the chain.

An FMI member, Dawson also played a key role in PepsiCo’s employee resource groups.

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT!

Jennifer Duffner

Senior Key Account Manager, PepsiCo Foods North America PepsiCo Inc.

Duffner led all field communication and execution within Meijer on behalf of Frito-Lay; she also ensured that field teams had best-in-class playbooks and also led digital activation and penetration efforts.

She sold in all price increases and worked closely with Meijer to align on the biggest opportunities to drive share, as well as optimizing the calendar to lean into those share opportunity weeks; she also sold the first-ever standalone Doritos Dip display to support the launch.

Duffner was the regional leader for the Adelante employee resource group with the North Central region of Frito-Lay North America.

Kristy Glykofridis Target Team Lead, PepsiCo Foods PepsiCo Inc.

Glykofridis was responsible for managing sales for the Frito-Lay portfolio, as well as customer strategy and building partnerships with all retail environments for the Frito-Lay West region.

She led pricing harmonization for West of Rockies and East of Rockies, which required cross-functional collaboration internally and the development of execution plans and customer communication implementation.

Additionally, Glykofridis was a mentor of the Stacy’s Rise Project; a Pinnacle Pod lead, in which capacity she mentored female leaders within PepsiCo; and the district executive sponsor for the Women of Color employee resource group.

KATY AVILA Senior-Level Executive

KRISTIN FRONTARIO Senior-Level Executive

JAMI MCDERMID Senior-Level Executive

ASHLEY TUSSING Senior-Level Executive

AMANDA VILLA Senior-Level Executive

NAWSHI WILLIAMS Senior-Level Executive

CYNTHIA ALLEN Rising Star JEN ANDERSON Rising Star BECCA BREWER Rising Star

STEPHANIE CLARK Rising Star MELISSA DORISKI Rising Star SARAH GREGG Rising Star

CHRISTINE HALLORAN Rising Star DESIREE JAKUBS Rising Star MAUREEN JANDER Rising Star

JENNIFER MAYNARD Rising Star NIKKI SCHRIEVER Rising Star ANN WEINHARDT Rising Star

Jenny HarveyHernandez Senior Director PepsiCo Inc.

Tasked with the overall performance of Pepsi Beverages North America’s portfolio for Costco U.S., Harvey-Hernandez was promoted to lead a $500 million business that included sales and strategies for brands like Pepsi, Gatorade, Muscle Milk, Rockstar and Pure Leaf.

She overdelivered on the net revenue plan for the year while managing industry headwinds; she also established a re-packer partnership with the customer and created a depot delivery to improve in-stock rates.

Harvey-Hernandez won a company Platinum Smiles Award in 2022 and was an executive lead for the Women’s Inclusion Network in her division.

Audrey Haston Director, Shopper Strategy, Demand Accelerator PepsiCo Inc.

Haston set the shopper strategy agenda across PepsiCo Foods North America (PFNA), which contributed $27 billion in retail sales in 2023, up 15% from the prior year; she worked with sales, strategy, category leadership, marketing and insights partners in all retail channels.

Even in a volatile year, she contributed to PFNA’s solid results, which included a 19.3% lift in Frito-Lay’s net revenue and a 15% gain net revenue for Quaker, and managed the Demand Accelerator mentorship program.

Haston was chosen to take part in PepsiCo’s Leadership Assessment and Development program in 2022.

Sara Ann Pogorely Senior Manager, Demand Accelerator Space Capabilities PepsiCo

Inc.

Pogorely partnered with insights, brand and commercial teams to align on best-in-class space productivity principles and collected and disseminated best practice approaches among category leadership across the entire PepsiCo enterprise.

She commercialized new space capabilities, including new incrementality models with IRI assortment optimization, and pushed for improvement in many legacy digital space capabilities; she also shared these space capabilities across PepsiCo’s global teams.

Pogorely received the H2 2022 DX Accelerator Award for her support of space gains.

Julie Rubin Director, Retail Media PepsiCo

Inc.

Collaborating with other performance

marketing teams at PepsiCo, Rubin unlocked the potential of retail media networks, driving omnichnannel media efficiencies and effectiveness.

She delivered 25% improvement in retail media ROI, overhauled tools that spurred new efficiencies, enhanced retail media networks’ side-by-side scorecards, standardized reporting networks and launched a new ROI process for retail media.

Rubin led PepsiCo’s team to second place in the 2022 International Marketing Data Strategy of the Year Echo Awards from the Association of National Advertisers.

Barbara Schwartz Frito-Lay Customer Management Director PepsiCo Inc.

Leading the region’s small business for PepsiCo, Schwartz oversaw a team of 27 across 15 states to support chain, national and independent customers.

Thanks to her efforts, independent business rose 13% and Dollar General’s business climbed 25%, and she was instrumental in the development of a relationship with Casey’s; Schwartz built her team to accelerate independent business transformations and created a strategy for chain and independent stores.

The executive sponsor of the Equal employee resource group, Schwartz led teams taking part in Pride parades.

Jessica Webb Customer Management Director of Sales PepsiCo Inc.

Webb’s responsibilities included leading the Frito-Lay core portfolio business at Kroger, a $1.6 billion business.

Her leadership led to a 14.3% increase in core snack sales, outpacing total retailer growth by 3%; she spearheaded a project to add 10% of innovation in 2022 and 2023 into distribution with full marketing campaigns; and she played a pivotal part in the company’s diversity and inclusion mission, serving as the lead for PepsiCo Foods Women of Color employee resource group.

Webb won the Quaker Foods Sales Team of the Year Award for her work with Kroger.

Sheryl Albert Senior Growth Analyst, North America Market Operations, Corporate Sales Procter & Gamble

Albert tackled the oral care category for P&G’s regional grocery sales group by leveraging data to identify opportunities for improvements.

Under her watch, the company’s oral care sales increased significantly and she sold in more than 40 incremental items; after she identified children’s products as a priority, those sales categories went up, too, and she also championed an effective new approach with wholesalers.

Albert received the P&G CEO Award last year, given to only 5% of global employees, and took part in a letter-writing campaign encouraging people to vote.

Sarah Beischel Account/ Client/Service Coordinator, North America Market Operations Procter & Gamble

A grooming category expert serving the Kroger customer team, Beischel worked closely on new item and conversion submissions, promotion and display recommendations, contracts, performance verification, and more.

She helped turn around a challenged grooming business while also improving the company’s promotional and marketing spend efficiencies and widening its e-commerce availability.

A two-time recipient of the P&G Kroger Team Expert of the Year Award, Beischel recently won the People First Award and the Accountable Award at P&G.

is proud to recognize cog

and the outstanding women leading the way in our industry

Laura Coupal Senior Manager, North America Market Operations, Customer HQ

Selling Procter & Gamble

Responsible for a multimillion-dollar portfolio across multiple Northeast grocery customers, Coupal developed joint business plans, coordinated marketing events and served as the P&G baby care and feminine care leader.

She overdelivered on category metrics across the Demoulas Market Basket and Price Chopper grocery store chains, achieving the first baby care reset at Demoulas in more than five years.

Coupal was named the company’s first Ultimate Sales Battle Champion in 2022 and volunteered in her community.

Jordan

Gray

Director, Customer Market Knowledge, Urban Innovation Procter & Gamble

Focusing on urban innovation, Gray led analytics and insights for P&G regional grocery and corporate customers, focusing on partners and retailers in mainly urban areas, and working with all P&G categories.

She pioneered the design, development and execution of breakthrough integrated local consumer insights and analytics capabilities for the P&G Urban Innovation team, playing a key role in delivering that team’s bold vision of making P&G top in the market.

Gray was inducted to in the P&G Analytics and Insights Mastery Society in 2022; outside of work, she mentored children.

Brooke Opalach North America Market Operations, Analyst Procter & Gamble

Opalach handled P&G’s consumer marketing for the Harris Teeter customer team, where her duties included activating national and regional marketing initiatives, and fully customized initiatives.

She was instrumental in launching P&G’s fully customized citizenship platform, Aisles for All, in partnership with Harris Teeter; year-long events led to the donation of more than $100,000 to community organizations, and the program delivered significant increases for both companies.

P&G awarded Opalach its prestigious CEO Award and the Equality and Inclusion Annual Award; she was also active in the company’s women’s network.

Caroline Sanchez Director, Baby Care, Customer HQ

Selling Procter & Gamble

In addition to her role as a baby care leader, Sanchez guided the company’s Top Grocery management system, an internship program and various culture initiatives.

While overdelivering on metrics, she led a customer threeyear joint business plan pilot, which has now been executed in other P&G categories, and developed the first Kroger and Pampers community event supporting Black maternal health equity in Cincinnati.

A leader in P&G’s Hispanic network and owner of the manufacturer’s LBGTQ+ ally awareness initiatives, Sanchez also coached soccer and basketball.

Kim Becker Senior Financial Analyst Tech

Save A Lot

In a recently expanded role in IT, Becker oversaw financials for the entire department and created effective business partnerships with the sourcing department to efficiently process new or renewed software.

One example of her recent accomplishments was the development of process improvements to better manage expenses by product; additionally, her attention to detail helped generate more than $1 million of missed capital expense in 2022.

She volunteered at the St. Vincent De Paul Society, preparing monthly dinners for homeless shelters, and provided assistance to those in need through grocery gift cards, utility assistance and clothing donations.

Nicole Crites Director, Business Development Financial Planning

and Analysis Save A Lot

Crites created incentives to drive new growth in stores and improve their profitability; her duties ranged from providing business and financial models during the new store opening process to assisting stores through remodeling.

Instrumental in helping the company transition to a wholesale business, she helped introduce a price book that improved margins, and she launched a financial calculator tool for retail partners.

Crites joined The Almira Circle executive committee, a women’s empowerment group, through her alma mater, Greenville University, and was on the selection committee of the school’s Women in Leadership scholarship committee.

Diane Botonis Director, IT Business Management

Save A Lot

In a newly created role, Botonis worked closely with the CIO and IT and business teams on operational efficiencies, work management, mentoring and budget alignment.

She identified nearly $1 million in operating expenses that should have been marked as capital expenses, a move that raised EBITDA results; guided the switch to system-driven budgets and expense management; and established management guidelines.

She supported Brace for Impact, a group that builds and maintains a children’s home in Haiti, and was a member of the Greek Orthodox Philoptochos Society, which aids those in need.

Kathy Lessmann Senior IT Data Management Specialist, Data Insights Save A Lot

One of Lessmann’s notable achievements was decommissioning the Tableau reporting platform at Save A Lot; her work enabled this to be done with very little business disruption and saved the company $100,000 annually.

Identifying a need to improve a process in which financial estimates were gathered, she developed a system-oriented workflow using Microsoft Power Apps technology.

As a volunteer for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Lessmann met with low-income families in her area, helped facilitate payments of utilities, offered food and clothing assistance, and served as the coordinator of the holiday Adopt A Family program.

Carrol Cheatwood

Area Business Consultant Save A Lot

Supporting Save

A Lot’s largest retail partner, with 89 stores in eight states, Cheatwood worked to increase retail partner profitability and wholesale purchases.

In 2022 and 2023, she helped coordinate resets and remodels for 35 stores and was slated to help with 18 more; her work helped her retail partner boost sales and profitability by 8.2% year over year.

Working with the Save A Lot marketing and sales teams, Cheatwood coordinated the grocer’s annual Bags for A Brighter Holiday charitable event, which sold nearly 50,000 bags in less than two months; in 2022, Save A Lot recognized her achievements by naming her a Q1 MVP for her region.

Alicia Cook Category Director Save A Lot

Responsible for such categories as beverages, candy, snacks, coffee/tea, condiments, baking, spices, cookies, crackers, cereal and ethnic foods, Cook oversaw supplier relationships and managed promotional ad planning and pricing strategies; she was promoted in October 2022.

She grew same-store salty snack sales by 6.3% from April to August 2022, led a 17.9% gain in a private label potato chip program and spurred a 42% year-over-year gain in total seasonal candy purchases by Save A Lot retail partners.

A volunteer at Friends of Kids with Cancer, Cook will be inducted into the Private Label Industry Hall of Fame in the class of 2023.

Kelsey Carter Transportation Director

The Save Mart Cos.

The Save Mart Cos.

Campbell established design standards for all stores, from department-level branding to shelf-level promotional content and messaging, and secured new relationships with external design partners, resulting in quicker execution timing and continuity.

She oversaw the successful implementation of a customer-centric environmental sign package that communicates and emphasizes the FoodMaxx “price as hero” strategy, teaming with store leadership and the banner’s VP of operations to monitor, evaluate and tailor the project.

Campbell is on a team developing a grocery store and café exhibit for the Modesto Children’s Museum, in California, the first institution of its kind in the region.

Carter developed and implemented the JJ Keller Driver Training Program at the Merced and Lathrop, Calif., transportation locations, ensuring that 14 new drivers passed the training course in six months and began driving for The Save Mart Cos.

Through her leadership, third-party reduction improved by more than 86% in the first quarter of 2022.

Carter has volunteered for Love Oakdale for the past three years, participated in the California Trucking Association’s San Joaquin chapter events, and supported Save Mart’s community outreach programs by coordinating truck deliveries to food banks and events like Farm to Fork and Chinese New Year throughout California and Nevada.

Rosalind Campbell Senior Manager, InStore Environment

Rachel Caruso Wakefern Food Corp.

Chelsea Stanton SRS

Megan Kehrle Wakefern Food Corp.

Elizabeth Stubbs SRS

Cathy Magistrelli Wakefern Food Corp.

Amanda Fischer Village Super Market, Inc.

Maria Guarriello Village Super Market, Inc.

Dehliah Martinez-Wilson Village Super Market, Inc.

Elaine Williams SRS Kameka Curtis SRS

2023 Top Women in Grocery

Jessica Daniel Human Resources Director, Talent Development

The Save Mart Cos.

As interim VP of human resources for several months, Daniel seamlessly stepped into a leadership role, directly overseeing all HR functions for 15,000-plus associates, 200 stores, and multiple corporate offices and distribution centers; during this time, she oversaw several critical initiatives.

She developed and delivered structured leadership development training to all 200 store managers to strengthen their people leadership, improve customer service and increase associate engagement.

Daniel volunteered regularly as a kindergarten teaching assistant in the classroom of her local elementary school and supported school fundraising efforts.

Rachael Peot Director of Category

Management Schwan’s Consumer Brands (A Subsidiary of Schwan’s Co.)

Peot’s category strategies and plans played an integral part in helping to drive the total business up by double digits versus the prior year across the portfolio.

She led a strategic project outside of her normal responsibility set to create an internal platform to share relevant needto-know information regarding the consumer brands business; the platform now serves as the single source of truth for the consumer brands organization.

Peot helped organize the annual national sales meeting and had ownership over building category narratives, which were used to align category opportunities with internal strategies.

Cori Nobriga Senior Category

Manager, Service Deli

The Save Mart Cos.

After 31 years in operations, Nobriga successfully made the move to merchandising, where her operational background has proved to be her most valuable asset, enabling her to improve inventory management, ordering and merchandising processes.

Through simplifying inventory processes, standardizing inventory validation and constant manager coaching, she achieved a more than 200-basis-point reduction in service deli shrink versus the prior year; she also focused on reducing overall costs through vendor negotiations and partnerships.

Nobriga was an active board member of the Save Mart Employee Association.

Anupriya Agrawal, PhD. Principal Data Scientist Schnuck Markets Inc.

Agrawal’s tean created and deployed personalized omnichannel experiences, AI-based financial planning and forecasting, and data-driven operations and merchandising.

Her patent-pending work products generated 400 million-plus personalized omnichannel offers annually while enabling CPGs to target customers with the right product offers at the right time via the customer’s preferred engagement channel; this capability alone gave Schnucks a strategic competitive advantage in the markets that it serves.

Agrawal participated in the LEAP program, which is geared toward high-potential Schnucks employees.

Anamaria Rodriguez Executive Office Manager Sedano’s Supermarkets

Having joined the company at 15 as a cashier and steadily risen through the ranks, Rodriguez was promoted to her present role by the VP because of her exemplary performance.

Overseeing the day-to-day operations of all 33 Sedano’s stores and managing billing and communications with vendors, she was a champion of communication and an effective problem solver, as well as a mentor to her team.

Dedicated to keeping the company’s traditions alive, Rodriguez was involved in Sedano’s numerous relief efforts, which included sponsoring families, donating meals, and giving back to local causes and organizations.

Williams’ district leads the company in mitigating risk through compliance management, consistently exceeding 95% compliance — far outpacing other districts as well as company-wide compliance goals.

Despite a challenging recruiting environment, she ensured that 10 regional stores met all staffing needs, achieving this through such means as company-wide job fairs, virtual job fairs, in-store hiring events and on-the-spot interviews.

During the pandemic, Williams headed a program to provide meals for nurses at local hospitals, and her efforts have led her district to contribute generously to various company fundraising initiatives.

Diane D’Angelo Director of Club Channel Sales Schwan’s Consumer Brands (A Subsidiary of Schwan’s Co.)

D’Angelo delivered significant sales growth in 2022 for the third consecutive year with her two club store accounts: One account saw total sales growth of 29.5%, while the other saw growth of 19.5%.

She played a critical role in the integration of the new CJ Foods sales team, training them on Schwan’s internal forecasting tools and sharing the company’s strategic approach to trade management and investment.

D’Angelo has provided retail insights on the club channel to Cleveland Research for the past several years; this has enabled the firm to issue publications on shopper dynamics and trends.

Betsy Bianchi Marketing Manager Skogen’s Festival Foods

Bianchi led all facets of marketing integration for Festival Food’s improved Gas Rewards program — in-store, broadcast, digital, social and out-of-home — as well as handling the coordinating logistics and marketing with fuel partner Kwik Trip.

After marketing requested ownership of in-store décor as a guest-facing communication, she took on the responsibility of coordinating updated décor graphics, store-specific deadlines and on-time installations for five location renovations and one new store opening.

As a free-lance photographer, Bianchi provided free photo sessions for various nonprofit organizations in and around the Green Bay, Wis., area.

Elaine Williams HR Specialist ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.

Crystal Seiler Senior Director, Finance and Accounting Skogen’s Festival Foods

Thanks to Seiler’s deft financial oversight, not only did EBITDA exceed the annual operating plan by 10.17%, but contribution to overhead also exceeded the plan by 4.3%.

As the finance owner and sponsor of a master data management project known as Project Symphony, she leveraged her experience from working on other projects of this magnitude to coach and guide the team on a design incorporating industry best practices and ensured that all business needs were accounted for in the midst of change.

In addition to her busy work schedule, Seiler served as a mentor to several of Festival Foods’ emerging female leaders.

Jacklyn Avila Director of Marketing, Media and Shopper Marketing Smart & Final

In her role as Smart & Final’s shopper marketing lead, Avila launched a bestin-class retail media network to leverage the company’s owned assets and data to capture vendor co-op dollars; this has achieved 100% revenue growth since its inception in 2022.

She also introduced digital coupons, an enterprise-wide project in 2022, which drove a record amount of new customers to Smart & Final’s digital platforms, website and app.

In her free time, Avila regularly participated in March of Dimes walks in honor of her healthy daughter who was born prematurely, and volunteered for beach cleanups.

Karen Layten Business Analyst Smart & Final

Layten’s major accomplishment was leading the demand and fulfill project for all 253 stores and approximately 15,000 SKUs — no small endeavor, as it was tried before and failed; her successful efforts positively affected the stores, the sales team and, ultimately, the company’s bottom line.

As well as finding and troubleshooting all issues within the program, she trained buyers in the new system and updated the senior leadership team on the progress of the rollout.

Layten regularly volunteered at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, in California, handing out free ice cream to the kids and participating in arts and crafts days.

& Final

Lopez single-handedly revamped Smart & Final’s entire purchasing and capital-tracking process for the store development and construction department, which helped the company better manage its $65 million in capital expenditures

She was promoted to the newly created role of construction capital manager, which reflected the importance of having tight integration among store design, construction, purchasing and maintenance, and of controlling the capital flowing through these departments.

Passionate about the battle to cure and treat cancer, Lopez was involved with company efforts in partnership with City of Hope.

Katrina Brooks Manager, Talent Development and Engagement Smart & Final

Brooks’ stellar efforts in relation to associate engagement led to a 4% increase in overall associate engagement and a 41% increase in the amount of recognition given among associates.

The development programs that she headed for more than 50 company leaders resulted in promotions for five of them in the same year; additionally, she led the performance management process to a remarkable 98% completion rate — the highest that Smart & Final has ever seen.

A GROW Coaching Certified Facilitator who guides people to unlock their potential, Brooks was also deeply involved in NextUp to aid the advancement of all women.

Natalie Carmona Talent Development Partner Smart & Final

Promoted from assistant store manager, Carmona made numerous suggestions that led to cost-saving revisions of training programs, helping her district achieve a 3% improvement in turnover year over year and improve its shrink results by 15%.

Based on her performance, Carmona was selected for the company’s annual management development program, which admits only about 40 associates out of 11,000.

Carmona participated in events at the Sacramento, Calif., LGBT Center, donated clothing to the Sacramento Gender Health Center, and was a part of a small group, Queersactrash, that does community trash pickup days.

Tia M. Billups Director of Business Development SpartanNash

Billups took a key role in successfully negotiating a fouryear contract extension with SpartanNash and the Defense Commissary Agency.

She created innovative systems that resulted in reduced private label shrink, thereby preventing waste, freeing up front-line associates and saving the company more than $100,000.

When SpartanNash hosted its company-wide Helping Hands Day, Billups took a main role, curating a list of charitable organizations, working with charitable partners to coordinate the day, assisting individual leads at each site and bringing in a food truck at the closing event to show appreciation to associates.

Kate Blauwkamp Director of Benefits and Payroll SpartanNash

Blauwkamp played an integral role in reducing year-over-year spend in health benefits while increasing benefit levels, as well as in raising pay by an average of 7.4% for all entry-level roles in retail and supply chain, representing approximately 90% of associates.

She helped roll out a school leave program that enables associates who are pursuing degrees to continue their employment while they further their education.

Blauwkamp was on the board of directors of GATE, an after-school program that supports food-insecure youth, and regularly volunteered with Hand 2 Hand, a local food ministry.

Cynthia Lopez Construction Capital Manager Smart

Cynthia Collins Warehouse Operations Supervisor SpartanNash

The Omaha, Neb., distribution center’s first Black supervisor, Collins took on the most complex role in the division; she ensured that everyone on her team was well trained, reduced turnover and made the workplace a happier environment.

Thanks to her organizational improvements, damage reduction was in the mid double digits, inventory adjustments improved by more 65%, selector productivity increased by more than 25%, and accuracy was up, resulting in dramatic increases in earnings and EBITDA.

Collins’ spot on the safety and damage committee enabled her to garner valuable information on warehouse improvements.

Marti

Hitchings

Marketing Operations Manager

SpartanNash

In charge of marketing for 2,100 independent grocery customers, Hitchings beat the profitability budget by almost 40% in 2022 by appreciating each retailer’s unique position.

She organized seminars for independents at the SpartanNash Food Expos and championed a Webinar Wednesday platform.

Hitchings created a refined digital marketing menu that prompted 50 additional stores to embrace marketing services, and she launched the Support Services Group, a tracking platform that lets SpartanNash assess program participation, detect voids and develop growth opportunities for 14 business platforms.

Billiejo Vanloon Business Analyst IV SpartanNash

Filling a traditionally male-dominated role, Vanloon was a front-line exemplar in identifying IT solutions across 150 corporate stores, 2,100 independents and 17,500 employees; “Your dedicated support of the end user is beyond what most would commit to,” noted one team member.

Her resolution rate was 82%, while her response and resolution service levels were 99% and 96% respectively; she also contributed to an overall 15% reduction in calls to computer support.

Vanloon volunteered at Streams of Hope, a nonprofit fostering healthier communities through food, medical assistance and developmental programs.

Director,

Blazier grew many key client relationships, which included the expansion of a program involving product assortment optimization; the net retention rate was 110%, with her team renewing almost 20 longterm agreements.

Through a tier-one retailer’s collaboration program and with her leadership and coaching, clients identified more than $10 million in opportunities for growth of their brands at retail.

Blazier helped develop the popular Brunch and Learn series, which gives CPG executive participants a crash course in understanding and leveraging complex data analytics to deliver better proposals.

Beth Murphy Director, Promotional Programs SpartanNash

Murphy developed the Monthly Savings Book, a selling tool that communicates promotional plans tailored to each independent grocery customer; since the launch of the book, which includes key pre-sells and regional offers, sales have surpassed initial goals by more than 25%.

She led planning and execution of fall and summer vendor expos that showcased models of newly renovated stores and an array of own-brand merchandise, drawing more than 1,500 suppliers and independent grocers; as a result, grocery, frozen and dairy sales increased by double digits.

In her spare time, Murphy volunteered at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, in Michigan.

Elyse

Senior Director, The Learning Center SymphonyAI Retail CPG

Sanneman led the creation of training videos and expanded the use of Symphony’s digital adoption platform, WalkMe, to create Smart WalkThrus and new ActionBots to help users employ valuable features that were previously considered too complex.

She implemented a new training curriculum that generated a 47% increase in the number of participating existing clients and an 85% increase in the number of new participants; it also led to a 62% increase in the number of internal employees completing solution training courses.

A new series of Brunch and Learn topics that Sanneman developed attracted an average of 100 grocer and CPG users each.

Brandy Payne Distribution Center Operations Manager SpartanNash

Payne seamlessly helped recruit about 25% of a 200-person workforce and was identified as a possible future distribution director, which would make her one of the only women in this role.

Involved in SpartanNash’s cross-dock program, she closely monitored details like temperature controls, helping to reduce damages by the mid double digits, improve inventory adjustments by more than 60% and increase productivity by almost 25%.

Through Payne’s reduction of receiving operations from six to five days, productivity, management coverage and associate retention increased.

Chelsea Frank Human Resources Manager Tops Markets LLC

Handling HR functions for two districts encompassing 28 stores and employing almost 3,000 associates, Frank also oversaw the learning management system for the whole organization.

She faced an unimaginable challenge when, in May 2022, 10 people were killed and three injured in a racially motivated mass shooting at a store in Buffalo, N.Y.; her team worked with the community to create a safe place where associates could speak with counselors, comfort each other and try to heal, and a year later, she continued to be a source of associate support.

Frank championed education through fundraising efforts with Junior Achievement.

Sanneman

Tracy Blazier Senior

CPG Engagement SymphonyAI Retail CPG

Laura Gould Promotions Manager Tops Markets LLC

An expert at troubleshooting issues that prevent store-level promotions from functioning properly, Gould regularly informed stores of potential issues and their resolution.

She helped develop a testing process that will let category business managers more effectively predict promotional outcomes; this should improve forecasting sales and margin while helping Tops order appropriate inventory levels to support ads.

Gould built and managed the grocery display plan, and she developed a weekly display plan update process in which she reviewed all queue plans, identified potential inventory issues and determined relevant replacement items.

Margaret Lin Associate General Counsel, Benefits Law UNFI

Lin moved quickly to assess the impact of the Dobbs decision on employee benefits: She gathered information on employee engagement and the cost to the company, and how states/regulators would address companies’ modifying benefit plans so that UNFI could expand its benefits plan to cover travel for care not available within an employee’s state of residence.

She successfully rebuilt UNFI’s fiduciary training for executives, while her work collaborating with treasury/benefits in de-risking UNFI’s pension plan added a huge bottom-line benefit to the company.

An LGBTQIA+ advocate, Lin showed her support both professionally and personally by participating in various events.

Jamie Keller Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Tops Markets LLC

Leading vaccine efforts, Keller conducted more than 750 off-site clinics over the past several flu seasons; this tremendously increased Tops’ vaccine efforts in its communities.

Her contribution of clinical knowledge to pharmacists generated an 18% year-over-year increase in market-to-market revenue for the past two years, making Tops a leader among regional chains.

Keller constantly strove to push Tops’ medication management program, and her efforts brought in Tops’ highest net revenue for these programs, at $156,000; she also helped better position the grocery store chain by lowering the cost of goods through better use of its generic drug warehouse.

Jennifer Lipes Manager, Brand Engagement UNFI

Lipes worked to make UNFI’s new customer onboarding process more approachable and easier for retailers — a plus in securing new business; she also put her multilingual skills to work facilitating customer engagements with several Dutch-speaking retailers.

She oversaw the redesign of the Better For All (ESG) website to offer a digital experience that highlights the work that the company does to support the planet and communities; as a result, the site saw a significant uptick in traffic.

A leader in UNFI’s Women’s Belonging and Innovation Group, Lipes has built a reputation as a “culture maker,” based on the relationships she’s fostered and the impact she’s made.

Karen Miller Manager, Pricing and Data Analytics Tops Markets LLC

Miller’s team implemented price optimization for 150 out of 210 optimizable categories; sales in optimized categories increased 8.1%, equaling $68 million, and margin grew more than 5.4%, equaling more than $15 million compared with the same time last year.

These categories continued to drive the company’s market share growth, contributing to an increase of more than a point in sales market share versus non-optimized categories; her team continued to work through remaining optimizable categories.

Miller renegotiated competitive retail check contracts with Tops’ vendor for both Tops and Price Chopper/Market 32; this yielded savings of more than $40,000 combined for both companies.

Kris Novitzki Director of Shelf Management UNFI

Novitzki doubled customer count in the South region and beat her budget by 40%; she also established a strong partnership with UNFI’s largest retailer, which won her the business for four years running.

Her approach to a large integration at the company and her focus on ensuring that teams were poised for success helped her guide the company through the process seamlessly.

A recipient of UNFI’s Circle of Excellence award, Novitzki worked closely with UNFI’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) groups to promote a culture of inclusion, and she came in second in the company’s WIN (Women’s Integrated Network) Big Innovation Challenge, sponsored by one of UNFI’s DE&I groups.

Kathy Sautter Director, Corporate Communications and Public Relations Tops Markets LLC

Sautter oversaw several major events, including Tops’ merger with Price Chopper/Market 32 and major snowstorms that temporarily shut down stores.

In May 2022, she handled media in the wake of a racially motivated mass shooting at Buffalo, N.Y., store, where 10 people died and three were injured; she worked to present updates in a sensitive, appropriate manner; went beyond her scope of duties to comfort grieving associates; and emceed the store’s reopening after months of closure.

Sautter graduated from Tops Leadership Academy, where high performers develop communications, conflict management, coaching and leadership skills.

Amanda Fischer Marketing, Business Development and Outreach Manager Village Super Market Inc.

Fischer drove growth with digital, social and in-store signage programs; her team’s A few of Our Favorite things, a holiday program highlighting exclusive items, generated sales of $268,000 and 48% growth, while the Citrus Fest program for specialty citrus drove sales by 143%.

She championed Next Fairway Find, an event focused on 50plus artisanal food companies in New York City to promote unique/quality products in the early stages of building their business, helping to drive better-than-expected sales and customer satisfaction numbers for two Fairway locations.

Fischer spearheaded a holiday meal bag event in stores to provide meals for families in need.

2023 Top Women in Grocery

Maria Guariello Benefits Director Village Super Market Inc.

Guariello created partnerships with accounting, HR, IT and operations to break down silos between these areas, allowing for more collaboration and better communication among the groups.

She reduced payroll’s processing time of new hires by 70%; centralized the maintenance of the time clock function, saving weekly hours in each store location; automated pay progression rules previously manually maintained; and implemented a bookkeeping supervision team to enhance store bookkeeper training.

In her free time, Guariello was an enthusiastic volunteer at her local animal shelter and Humane Society chapter.

Rachel Caruso Manager Labor Relations Wakefern Food Corp.

Caruso implemented new bilingual recruitment strategies specifically for affiliated warehouse job openings and partnered with logistics leadership to bolster retention of affiliated warehouse personnel, resulting in a 65% retention rate.

She organized and carried out COVID-19 booster clinics at all company locations for affiliated personnel, while also conducting more than 100 grievance hearings that caused no labor disruption; all matters were resolved without proceeding to arbitrations.

Caruso was the appointed trustee for a number of pension and welfare funds, and a member of FMI.

Megan Kehrle Senior Supervisor Fleet/Mobile Wakefern Food

Corp.

Kehrle developed a budget and stayed within its parameters despite challenging supply chain issues; she created best practices to manage routine activities efficiently and effectively, resulting in a 4.1% expense reduction; and she created a capital budget for replacement trailers, switchers and mobile equipment that averages approximately $8 million per year.

She developed new processes and procedures that allowed her team to track and monitor equipment price increases.

In a primarily male-dominated environment, Kehrle served as a role model for women in the organization and was a mentor to many.

to our Top Women In Grocery!

Amanda Bauman Director of Marketing Weis Markets

In collaboration with CPG vendors, Bauman worked to support programs and items through digital channels, including negotiating and implementing 34 digital sweepstakes to increase customer engagement.

She developed and oversaw the e-coupon program, which offered 250-300 coupons and generated a 50% increase in registered users over the past two years; the high-value and cost-effective incentives have expanded to include fresh departments.

Bauman’s team’s Dairy Month social media campaign, which used video, recipes, paid media and a vendor-supported sweepstakes, earned an NFRA Golden Penguin award.

Your leadership, care, courage and teamwork make it possible for us to deliver on our promise to provide innovative solutions so our partners can focus on building great local brands. We appreciate your dedication and leadership.

Allison Krollman Manager, Governance Insights, ADUSA Procurement Rising Star

Cassie Harmer Director, Compensation Administrative Services Rising Star

Deanna Rush Director, IT Business Relationship Management Rising Star

Teresa White Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis Senior-Level Executive

Alison Gregas Director of Private Brands Weis Markets

Gregas drove solid results for the private-brand program, achieving a third consecutive year of $1 billion in sales, an 8% increase over 2021; she oversaw the development and launch of 102 new private-brand products, which generated more than $4 million in sales.

Despite supply chain challenges, she excelled at finding new suppliers and quickly integrated their items into the company’s procurement system, helping to maintain store-level in-stock conditions.

Gregas received three International Salute to Excellence Awards at PLMA’s 2022 Annual Private Label Trade Show; she also served on FMI’s Private Brand Leadership Council.

Meusel’s insights and close connection to store-level associates resulted in improvements that led to record sales and profits for 15 recently acquired stores; talent development improvements initiated by her insights resulted in more associate advancement, and her store management teams achieved some of the highest associate satisfaction scores in the company.

Under her leadership, sales increased 6% and net income increased 15% in the Harrisburg-Lancaster, Pa., district.

Meusel started a professional book-sharing group that has become assigned reading for her team, and her district raised $100,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Store Managers

Barksdale was among 53 store managers out of 1,100-plus nominated for Food Lion’s 2022 Store Manager of the Year.

She had the store with highest average weekly sales volume for the region in 2022, and her location maintained an outstanding balance of driving sales and meeting shrink targets.

A trusted leader who knows customers by name, Barksdale volunteered in the community to further solidify her ties with the area; not only did she support Calvary Baptist Church Food Pantry with unsold edible food that might otherwise have gone to waste, but she also helped sort and stock shelves to expand the church pantry’s capacity.

In the small town of Washington, Bond knows every shopper in her store, and out of 1,100 managers, she was among just 53 nominated for Food Lion’s 2022 Store Manager of the Year.

She delivered on all financial expectations, growing customer counts by almost 5% and delivering double-digit increases in same-store sales, while her net promoter score was 74%.

Bond diligently mentored her 93 associates: She hired and trained a new customer service manager and assistant customer service manager, both of whom led the region in metrics; also, by focusing on Food Lion to Go, her team increased sales by 400%-plus.

As a child, Dendy wanted to be a teacher, but instead she’s spent the past 30 years learning from and teaching store associates; in 2022, she was named Store Manager of the Year for the Richmond/Norfolk, Va., region.

Her calm, effective communication style helped her team achieve positive same-store sales growth year over year while growing the food-to-go customer base; additionally, she crosstrained associates and hosted hiring events for other locations.

One regular shopper wrote a letter saying that she’s never been anywhere as welcoming as Dendy’s store; Food Lion President Meg Ham saw the letter and recognized Dendy’s exceptional abilities.

Last year at Diggs’ store, sales increased 20%, buoyed by strong fresh department sales, and her food safety, workplace safety and customer ratings achieved scores exceeding 95 out of 100; as a result, she was named a 2022 Store Manager of the Year for the Northern division.

Facing supply chain challenges, her team kept a strict inventory of items on hand; in-stock positioning helped her store repeatedly rank among the top five — out of 1,100-plus locations — in home delivery.

When two sister stores in her community were plagued by labor shortages and other challenges, Diggs was quick to lend her support.

Dana Barksdale Store Manager, Store #1540, Augusta, Ga. Food Lion LLC

Amy Meusel District Manager Weis Markets

Tonya Diggs Store Manager, Store #1334, Charlottesville, Va. Food Lion LLC

Christian Dendy Store Manager, Store #575, Elizabeth City, N.C. Food Lion LLC

Danielle Bond Store Manager, Store #144, Washington, N.C. Food Lion LLC

Lisa Locklear Store Manager, Store #1217, Lumberton, N.C. Food Lion LLC

For the fourth consecutive year, Locklear was named one of the top three Store Managers of the Year in her region, leading with financials and key performance indicator data.

Locklear created authentic relationships with associates: She was the only manager in her region who retained her core team of seven department managers throughout and after the pandemic, and her 2022 Associate Engagement Survey score was 85%, a 7% increase over the previous year.

The store’s customers are as dedicated as its employees: During the pandemic-driven coin shortage, one shopper brought in more than $2,500 in change over a period of several weeks.

Hasija Hodzic Store Manager, Store #6548, Lancaster, Pa.

The Giant Co.

A 20-year Giant veteran, Hodzic led her store with passion and purpose, excelling at recruitment, team building and cross-training; in 2022, the locations’s annual engagement score was 81%.

She served on her region’s hiring panel where she facilitated interviews with high-potential employees across the area; in 2022, her leadership team identified and promoted 10 individuals into leadership roles, and she also identified talent gaps and taught her team new skills to take on more responsibility.

Hodzic was a mentor for the region’s successful Diversity Cohort, and as a member of Giant’s Central Penn Business Academy, she helped teach and develop employees.

Cynthia Kirol Store Manager, Store #6122, Williamsport, Pa.

The Giant Co.

Under Kirol’s leadership, her store went from unprofitability to having an underlying operating income of more than $1 million in fiscal 2022; her 150-person team received a net promoter score of 144, the region’s highest, and at 97%, the store had the region’s strongest food safety average.

She helped two hourly associates prepare for salaried positions and helped certify five employees as key carriers.

Kirol was part of Giant’s Store Manager Council, where managers identify opportunities and solve challenges; she was also the commerce pillar lead for Giant’s CARE program and regional lead for BARRIER Free, which focuses on meeting the needs of customers and employees.

leading grocery.

Roxanne Merritt Store Manager, Store #6553, Philadelphia

The Giant Co.

At the 7,000-squarefoot Giant Heirloom Market that Merritt runs in Philadelphia’s Graduate Hospital section, sales increased more than 6% last year and she promoted 10 employees to full-time positions.

She taught her 45 associates to learn what shoppers want and spent time talking to customers, as well as improving omnichannel, enhancing Giant Choice Rewards and making checkout easier for shoppers.

Merritt labeled breakroom waste bins and trained employees to use them, with the result that her store led the region in sustainability; she also provided team members with pins for Women’s History Month, Black History Month and Pride Month.

VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

to all of the inspiring women

The Giant Co. Potthoff successfully led her store team through a major remodel at the Coopersburg, Pa., location, with minimal disruption to customers, before transitioning to her current store in Doylestown, Pa.

Store sales continued to climb after the Coopersburg remodel, and comparable sales were above region trends, while the location’s net promoter score improved nine points over the prior year.

Aspiring to enhance her current skillset, Potthoff enrolled in Capella University and began her academic journey toward earning a bachelor’s degree in human resources; so far, she has maintained a 4.0 GPA and made the dean’s list.

The Giant Co.

Rex’s store exceeded underlying operating profit by 5.7%, met both perishable and nonperishable shrink budgets, and achieved its food waste sustainability goal; it was also a high performer in food safety and internal audits.

The location also achieved a Top 10 net promoter score and was third in the region for an associate engagement score of 80%, with the highest participation rate at 83%; It was also voted Best Grocery Store both nationally and regionally by readers of a local newspaper.

Inspired by Rex, her team volunteered at the Trinity Food Pantry, in Lehighton, and the Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital.

You take the cake

Giant Food

Powell managed 120 people at her store, where she was always on the sales floor directing her business forward.

She outperformed her sales budget by 12.3%, posting 7.11% versus last year, and her operating earnings were among the district’s best, at almost 10%; Powell beat her shrink for both fresh and nonperishables and earned one of the highest internal audit scores for any location.

In addition to working hard at her store, where she led a food donation program, she attended Capella University, working toward a dual major in business administration and human resources; set to graduate in September, Powell maintained a 4.0 GPA..

Gloria Richardson Store Manager, Store #117, Catonsville, Md.

Giant

Food

Richardson managed 120-plus people at her store, where she supported her team with a careful, positive and honest attitude that inspired peers and colleagues.

Her store posted sales at 14% to her budget and 6.67% to last year, one of the highest to budget in the area, while earnings exceeded 9%; her store posted the district’s best fresh shrink rate, at under 4%; and nonperishable results beat the budget well in hand.

Once a month, Richardson volunteered at Harford Women’s Correctional Facility through her church, teaching women how to transition from jail back into society; this included helping them find housing and food resources.

Heather Potthoff Store Manager, Store #6572, Doylestown, Pa.

Michelle Rex Store Manager, Store #6320, Lehighton, Pa.

Adrienne Powell Store Manager, Store #348, Clarksville, Md.

Congratulations! As TWiG award honorees, you are being celebrated by your teammates and associates for being the very best at what you do. At Northeast Grocery, we are proud of you and your commitment to excellence.

Chelsea Frank Human Resources Manager, Tops Markets

Jamie Keller Pharmacy Clinical Programs Manager, Northeast Shared Services

Kathy Sautter Director, Corporate Communications & Public Relations, Tops Markets

Karen Miller Manager, Pricing & Data Analytics, Tops Markets

Kristine Wydro VP, Human Resources, Tops Markets

Laura Gould Promotions Manager, Tops Markets

Annette Reitano Director, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce, Northeast Shared Services

Aurelia Forrester Store Manager, Market 32

Cheryl Rondenelli

Chelsea Marandola

Store Manager, Store #474, East Wareham, Mass.

Stop & Shop

Last year, Rondenelli’s location beat an aggressive budget by more than 14%; overtime rate was 1.29% of labor dollars, a company-leading stat in a tight labor market, and 90% of employees rated Rondenelli positively, a fourpoint increase.

She found fun, engaging ways to recognize her 200-person team: For International Women’s Day, her store partnered with another Albany, N.Y.-area district to sponsor two contests.

A lifelong resident of the region, Rondenelli is committed to her community, regularly volunteering with the Utica, N.Y., chapter of the American Heart Association, United Way and the Foodbank of Central New York.

As a new manager, Marandola led her team in improving nonperishable shrink to beat budget estimates; this was accomplished through creative merchandising and by following company initiatives and standards.

In 2022, associate morale improved, as did net promoter and sanitation scores; these factors, coupled with her focus on preventing front end cash loss, helped lift the bottom line.

Marandola was chosen to be a “training store manager,” training new managers at her location; she was recently selected as her district’s customer service lead, and in 2022, she won her region’s Rookie Store Manager of the Year Award.

Following the sudden loss of a valued store manager, Yankee volunteered to lead its associates; born and raised in the same town as the store, the company veteran started building community connections and a strong leadership team, and her process changes and team accountability dramatically improved the shrink rate.

She was selected to train and develop newly hired and promoted associate store managers, all of whom have demonstrated mastery of key concepts.

In 2022, the Westborough, Mass., Girl Scouts chapter presented a Community Certificate to Stop & Shop and Yankee for supporting its events.

Beyond her job of leading 100 store associates, Nobach was a district leader for multiple programs; additionally, her location acted as the set store for the spring/summer district walk-through, and she was also the district deli operations mentor.

She took on the director role at a higher-volume store in September 2022 and guided associates through a major renovation while still showing positive sales for the quarter.

Nobach co-chaired a golf tournament and a hockey night to help an organization that raises money for breast cancer research; through her efforts, she was able to help donate nearly $50,000 to the cause.

Store Manager, Store #8168, New Hartford, N.Y. Hannaford Supermarkets

Carrie Nobach Store Director, Safeway Store #1472, Mount Vernon, Wash. Albertsons Cos./ Seattle Division

Kim Yankee Store Manager, Store #497, Westborough, Mass. Stop & Shop

WE ARE PROUD TO HONOR

DIRECTOR OF TALENT ACQUISITION PROGRESSIVE GROCER TOP WOMEN IN GROCERY

Colleen Benavides

Store Director, Shaw’s Store #1402, Gilford, N.H. Albertsons Cos./ Shaw’s

As a leader of 90 associates, Benavides worked directly alongside her team and set an example for her people that she would never ask them to do anything she wouldn’t do herself.

Benavides took personal ownership of her associates’ growth and success, creating an environment where the team wanted to move up within the company; as a result, she has promoted dozens of team members over the past year.

She recently took over as the New Hampshire district Community Champion, now supporting all 18 stores in the district in regard to their community outreach.

Sharon Brua

Store Director, Tom Thumb Store #1972, Mansfield, Texas Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

During the last four quarters, Brua and her team of 155 associates have raised the bar and produced double-digit increases over the previous year, while also increasing customer count and units per transaction.

She put a premium on mentoring her team, as well as setting associates up for successful promotions; a big believer in hiring, mentoring and developing a team to provide her guests with the ultimate shopping experience, she strove to create customers for life.

Brua served as the hiring lead for her district and also volunteered outside of work with Prairie Paws Animal Adoption Center and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Reannon Emmot Store Director, Randalls Store #2484, Georgetown, Texas Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

Emmot supervised127 associates within her Randalls and fuel and convenience locations; her store is near a retirement community with more than 18,000 residents, and her enhanced focus on Drive Up and Go helped the store achieve significant sales increases.

This year, she and her team achieved their store’s highest sales ever, with Emmot working hard to fill in gaps in a limited staffing environment.

Selected as a training mentor for the division store director and assistant store director training programs, she also donated hundreds of pounds of food to the local food bank.

Dinah

Jackson

Store Director, Albertsons Store #4289, Dallas Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division Jackson surpassed projections with average profits for the year of more than $1.1 million and earned recognition for exceeding the million-dollar sales challenge for Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks.

She helped to successfully build e-commerce business and drive sales as one the top three stores in the division for Drive up and Go orders.

In addition to being on the Southern Division Diversity Interview Panel and serving as a trainer for future store directors, Jackson regularly volunteered for Attitudes in Attire, an organization that helps women leaving abusive relationships gain a fresh start through job interview training.

Kimberly Maris

While leading 140 associates at her store, Maris helped increase the location’s sales year over year by carefully controlling labor and expenses; she notched back-room inventory numbers that were consistently within the guidelines of 7% or better, and a shrink goal of 1.85% was also achieved.

She personally engaged in the associate selection process and prioritized team huddles to continuously engage associates.

Additionally, Maris worked with local organization First Refuge to set up and maintain stock for the grocery stores that have been established in the area’s local high schools.

Nicole Sandman Store Director, Tom Thumb Store #3641, Richardson, Texas Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

Known as a great merchant who creates exciting themed events that draw customers into her store and drive total store sales, Sandman deployed immaculate store standards and innovative merchandising to increase her total store sales by more than 18% for the year.

Chosen to be mentored for advancement to a center store operations specialist position, she accordingly took on control and review of district store inventory builds.

Serving as an example to many in the Southern division, Sandman volunteered with the North Texas Food Bank, through which she provided numerous meals to the community.

La Tisha Thompson

Thompson has worked for more than 20 years at Albertsons and has held roles ranging from cashier to service operations manager; she was promoted to store director in May 2022 and has worked to create an environment of inclusion and belonging.

Her store exceeded district projections on all metrics, such as sales and identical sales, gross, inventory, shrink, labor, and customer satisfaction.

Enrolled in the McKinsey MBA program, Thompson was a member of several Albertsons committees, including the Diversity and Inclusion Council and the Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network (WIIN).

Blanco beat her sales goal by 2.97% in fiscal year 2022 and helped raise a total of $27,862 for Nourishing Neighbors, more than doubling what the average store raised.

During the holidays, her store volume was more than $1 million, with her average week being $650,000; additionally, she won the Freezer Floor Challenge, the 4 for $20 Meat Challenge and the Chicken Triple Crown Contest, as well as being in the top three in the Own Brand Contest for the district.

Blanco volunteered with United Way making food bags for underprivileged kids, donated to local churches, and, with her team, bought Christmas gifts for children in need.

Store Director, Albertsons Store #4152, Denton, Texas Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

Store Director, Albertsons Store #4272, Fort Worth, Texas Albertsons Cos./ Southern Division

Tisha Blanco Store Director, Vons Store #2832, La Verne, Calif. Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

Gonzalez beat her sales projection by more than $1.8 million last year, achieved the lowest shrink in the district and consistently led the district in identical-sales increases year over year.

Her store delivered exceptional EBITDA results, achieving $432,000 over projection for the year; always led the district on promotional events and challenges; and was repeatedly selected to appear in model store videos for the division.

Gonzalez supported local organizations and was considered a leader at Special Olympics events, for which she and her team volunteered to make sandwiches for athletes and staffers.

Denise Hahn

Davis led her store through a major remodel, increased store profit and sales volume while mentoring five department managers, and, due to staffing shortages, managed the floral, general merchandise and health and beauty care departments.

The store’s pharmacy was a top company performer in providing immunizations and COVID testing; that focus led to its being named a Neighborhood Favorite by the NextDoor app.

Davis’ store worked closely with the local school district to provide students with life skills and increase their potential for employment.

Store

Director,

Vons Store #2861, Long Beach, Calif.

Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

Hahn developed an Instagram page to connect with her customers and team in a brandnew way, even inspiring several other stores to start their own accounts.

She navigated the quick cleanup and reopening of her store during the nationwide protests against police abuse that led to her store being broken into and looted.

Hahn partnered with the Anaheim Orange Cherry, 7th Street Neighborhood Group, which aims to join businesses to activate the community, and was a member of the Long Beach Downtown Alliance, which strives for a united, inclusive community.

Kathy

Scott

Store Director, Hen House Market #35, Fairway, Kan. Balls Food Stores

Scott kept morale up and the atmosphere positive during the closing of her location; she maintained transparent communication during a time of uncertainty and ensured that every team member was transferred to the store of their choice.

As a volunteer/board member for the nonprofit organization Executive Women International, she helped develop annual membership drive toolkits for the group’s chapters.

She also served as a speaker at Executive Women International events, where she spoke about membership and presented at the awards ceremony.

Martha Martinez

Store

Director,

Albertsons Store #3559, Palm Desert, Calif.

Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

At Martinez’s store, she ran strong sales results for fiscal year 2022, and she also took on the role of district trainer for all new store director and assistant store director trainees.

She has partnered with the local Galilee Center over the past two years to host toy drives and food drives, and, most recently, employed the company’s Nourishing Neighbors program to provide food gift cards for families in need.

Martinez was also selected for the Next Step — Rising Star Program last June and participated in the leadership conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.

As the leader of 100 associates, Hogan developed a culture that caters to her senior citizen shoppers, and she and her staff assisted with technology and frequently responded to shoppers with health-related issues.

She worked one-on-one with team members to help them develop their skills and abilities, maintained a laser focus on exceeding shoppers’ expectations, and took a keen interest in her associates’ well-being and struggles.

Hogan also led several volunteer efforts, among them rebuilding a backyard garden area for a Phoenix-area nonprofit that serves the disabled.

As the leader of 150 associates, Zoni created a fun, competitive and energetic a work environment, but she was also laser focused on company success.

Her store finished 2022 with excellent financial results, including sales that exceeded budget and a customer count that was up by 42,000 people over the previous year; her food safety and safety audit scores were also above chain average.

In the past year, Zoni was directly responsible for working with Big Y’s sales office team to advocate for and coordinate her stores to carry items from local producers.

Dewane drove store sales and ensured that her store remained well stocked by effectively communicating store needs with partners and local vendors; the location experienced a record-breaking increase in floral sales for Valentine’s Day.

She improved her store’s financial performance while maintaining high scores for mystery shops and customer service.

Dewane took store walks a step further by bringing employees outside of their own departments to give them insight into department functions, merchandising, quality of products and how to cut unnecessary shrink.

Katie Hogan Store Director, Safeway Store #2054, Sun City, Ariz. Albertsons Cos./ Southwest Division

Jaye Davis Store Director, Hen House Market #32, Olathe, Kan. Balls Food Stores

Evelyn Dewane Store Director, Reasor’s Store #918, Owasso, Okla. Brookshire Grocery Co.

Melissa Zoni Store Director, Store #117, Derby Conn. Big Y Foods

Yadira Gonzalez Store Director, Vons Store #2209, Lakewood, Calif. Albertsons Cos./ Southern California Division

Rachal Jones Store Director, Spring Market Store #730, Sterlington, La. Brookshire Grocery Co.

Jones’ store exceeded goals for store-level cash flow, sales and labor; additionally, her location’s sales were significantly above plan for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.

In addition to her responsibilities at her store, she stepped up to assist leadership when information needed to be gathered or communicated from the 11 other stores in her district.

Jones helped senior citizens by volunteering at luncheons, and her team also worked with the First Baptist Church of Sterlington to provide food donations for people in need within the community.

Christine Davinich Commissary Officer, Great Lakes Commissary, Great Lakes, Ill. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Davinich worked with the field engineer and DeCA HQ to remove outdated equipment and create a clean and safe work environment at the facility.

She had a refrigerated truck transported from Robins AFB to Great Lakes to make weekly shipments to Fort McCoy Commissary, in Wisconsin, eliminating a delivery contract that saved DeCA hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Davinich started a drop-off program for soldiers at the Great Lakes installation and began delivering to Rock Island Commissary, in Illinois.

Thereza

Morgenstern

Store Director,

Brookshire’s Store #3, Lindale, Texas Brookshire Grocery Co.

Morgenstern has led her store to be one of Brookshire Grocery Co.’s top-performing locations in sales increases over the previous year, and it also exceeded site-level cash-flow budgets.

She focused on actively hiring the right people and worked closely with each new employee-partner so that they understood expectations; Morgenstern also motivated and encouraged her associates to consistently learn and do more.

Morgenstern led her team to participate in the Lindale Turkey Trot, which supports Lindale Independent School District, as well as in the Lindale Rotary Club’s annual Christmas parade.

Jaleisha Freeman Assistant

Commissary Officer Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), Fort Gregg-Adams Commissary, Fort Gregg-Adams, Va.

Freeman fostered teamwork within the store to build a “One Team” vision, with every member understanding their specific role in the overall picture.

When the store shifted from a six-day to a seven-day operation, she guided her team through the challenges of the new schedule, and the store’s Monday sales went from $31,069.90 on average to $55,079.74.

Freeman partnered with Acosta vendor reps to support the Colonial Heights, Va., American Legion’s Annual Christmas Food Baskets program.

Nicole Palmer Store Director, Spring Market Store #712, Diana, Texas Brookshire Grocery Co.

Palmer worked her way up from a cashier role in 2016 to lead 25 associates at her store, where she became known for her innovative leadership, financial achievements, purposeful impacts and exceptional team-building abilities.

Her store was the only location in the company to achieve a 100% score on the direct-store-delivery portion of its operations on every audit conducted during fiscal year 2022.

Palmer was chosen to serve on Brookshire’s inaugural Chairman’s Advisory Council in 2022, a prestigious honor that recognized her leadership skills and capacity to provide valuable insights to company leadership.

The manager of the Quitman, Texas, Brookshire’s store for nearly three years, Shumard worked with her team to increase profits by more than 4% and sales by 3.8% in fiscal 2022, as well as coming in on budget with 2.6% total store shrink and below plan for the meat, produce and grocery departments.

She also won several company sales contests and kept turnover at one of the lowest rates in the district.

Described as a strong leader and mentor with grit, Shumard also gave her time and talent as a member of civic organizations like the Kiwanis Club and as an active supporter of local schools.

Hawkins helped identify notin-stocks (NIS), developing and implementing a store-level plan that reduced the NIS rate from 7.3% to a phenomenal 2.1% in less than five months.

Her efforts helped lead to a year-to-date increase in sales of 8.17%, the highest in DeCA’s Central California zone of military grocers.

Hawkins garnered two Silver Penguin awards from the NFRA for in-store displays, one for March Frozen Food Month and the other for the June/July Ice Cream & Frozen Novelties promotion.

Kirby led the Fort Bragg South Commissary as one of eight pilot stores in a new e-commerce initiative; she grew program use at her location to an average of 200 orders per month.

Through creative marketing, community outreach and a strong partnership with the contract provider, Kirby provided an extremely positive and user-friendly experience for firsttime users.

The wife of a retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, Kirby regularly attended newcomers meetings to promote commissary sales events.

Brittany Shumard Store Director, Brookshire’s Store #60, Quitman, Texas Brookshire Grocery Co.

Andrea Kirby Commissary Officer, Fort Bragg Commissary, Fort Bragg, N.C. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Trina Hawkins Grocery Manager, March Air Reserve Base Commissary, Moreno Valley, Calif. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Tonya Landry

Director,

Landry thought up the “Foster Wheel” used at sidewalk sales to increase customer service survey participation by giving customers a chance to spin the wheel to win a prize if they completed the survey.

She engaged staff and industry members to create a jingle promoting the agency’s Commissary Click2Go service.

The recipient of numerous professional honors, Landry voluntarily traveled from her own location to the Iwakuni store, filling manager shortages and working upwards of 48 hours weekly to ensure no interruption in customer service.

Linda Ruffin Assistant Commissary Officer, Fort Bragg North Commissary, Fort Bragg, N.C. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Ruffin led her team to receive three major sales awards over the past year and a Large Best Commissary nomination.

She continued to overcome supply chain challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, as evidenced by an on-shelf fill rate of 95% and a fiscal-year-to-date transaction increase of 8.77%.

A military retiree spouse, Ruffin has dedicated her life to serving the military community; this includes a passion for addressing food insecurity among service members by using her local partnerships with food pantries and dietitians to work toward eliminating hunger.

Eagle

Overseeing

more than 200 associates, Kubistek earned the region’s highest customer satisfaction score; had one of the highest ratings in the country; exceeded financial goals by 10%, driving sales through exciting events and contests; and receiving 100% on her OSHA audit.

She hired and promoted seven future leaders and mentored three women leaders.

Kubistek sat on Giant Eagle’s Store Leader Council, where she collaborated with executives on retail leadership and guest experience; She also held discussions with transportation and sales planning and operations about costs, warehouse space and other issues.

At her location, Dell-Pryor raised customer service to a new level, improved the store’s failing audit and increased its composite score more than three points; within two weeks of her arrival at the store, she had led it to become one of the most successful holiday store walks in the entire Southern region.

She completed the Harris Teeter Emerging Leader certification program and was a member of Harris Teeter’s Young Professional Group, which provides input on how the company can develop upand-coming young leaders.

Dell-Pryor worked with underprivileged families in the Rock Hill, S.C., area.

Despite staffing challenges, Gilliard increased headcount by 25% through “outside-the-box” approaches; her focus on building meaningful relationships with her associates and leadership team contributed to high retention rates and a cohesive team.

Passionate about the customer experience, she drove her store’s customer service metrics from the worst in the district at the beginning of 2022 to the best by the end of the year; the store reached a $4 million profit mark by the close of the fiscal year.

Gilliard volunteered with the Low Country Food Bank and the Cooper River Bridge Run.

Ladson served on Harris Teeter’s Women’s Empowerment Group, where she worked to create and launch Harris Teeter University, an online program that provides associates with career information and tools to advance their education and careers.

She received Harris Teeter’s $4 Million Club award and also advanced her leadership skills by completing Harris Teeter’s Emerging Leaders Training Series.

Ladson co-partnered with the Parkwood High School Work Program, teaching high school juniors and seniors with disabilities the fundamentals of entry-level grocery positions.

Maxwell’s experiential shopping strategy drove sales at her store: Her outdoor cooking event resulted in double-digit increases for fresh food, a two-day outdoor Seafood Boil resulted in more than $8,000 in sales, and a Hatch Chile Pepper Event generated sales of 6,000-plus pounds of Hatch chiles — a record for the store.

She led her store to a total profit of more than $3.7 million, reduced labor costs and increased overall profitability.

A true community partner, Maxwell participated in many events to enrich the lives of local residents and volunteered for a local youth soccer team.

Under

Blanchard’s leadership, Store #923 achieved 4.4% sales growth while attaining all five goals of Full, Fresh and Friendly customer excellence in relation to friendly service, fresh product and full shelves.

She also achieved all store controllable goals in terms of wages, shrink and expense.

Blanchard’s skills have reached beyond her location: She was chosen as district trainer for all assistant store leader candidates and bench candidates for promotion to store leader; she also participated in a mission program to support underprivileged Native American children.

Dana Kubistek Store Leader, Store #103, Greensburg, Pa. Giant

Brittany Dell-Pryor Store Director, Store #370, Fort Mill, S.C. Harris Teeter LLC

Jacque Gilliard Store Director, Store #451, Johns Island, S.C. Harris Teeter LLC

Sandra Ladson Store Manager, Store #182, Waxhaw, N.C. Harris Teeter LLC

Tracy Blanchard Store Leader, Kroger Store #923, Pekin, Ill. The Kroger Co./ Central Division

Donna Maxwell Store Director, Store #487, California, Md. Harris Teeter LLC

Store

Camp Foster Commissary, Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

Amber Carter Store Leader, Kroger Store #418, Cincinnati

The Kroger Co./ Cincinnati Division

Carter’s store achieved a 5.87% sales improvement versus last year and a 10.71% improvement versus 2020; profitability also improved by 64 basis points.

She and her team went above and beyond when it came to sales plans by first meeting the plan at 100%, and then brainstorming how they could make it even better.

With a strong focus on shrink for the fourth quarter, Carter led her team to show an improvement of 88 basis points for the quarter; this was achieved through leveraging the effective daily walk and perfecting daily operations and back-room conditions.

Danielle Deaton Store Leader, Kroger Store #910, St. Mary’s, Ohio

The Kroger Co./ Cincinnati Division

In 2022, Deaton was named top store leader of the year for District 1; she was chosen by her district manager for this achievement for her talents of consistently driving results, coaching and developing people.

Under her leadership, the St. Mary’s team has improved on pickup fill rate and pick speed, consistently finishing in the top 10 each week; as a team, they drove positive identical sales by an average of 8% on a goal of 2.18%.

Deaton developed a partnership with the St. Mary’s community board on her store’s behalf to focus more on giving back to the community.

The Kroger Co./ Columbus Division

Clingo moved her store up from the bottom to one of the top stores in the district and company in terms of metrics, including sales increase, pickup fill rate and process completion with in-stock.

Her store ended the fiscal year 7.18% ahead of 2021 in sales and 91.33% for in-stock, meeting five out of five Full, Fresh and Friendly metrics for the quarter.

Thanks in large part to an action plan that Clingo developed with the store’s Our Promise Team, her store engagement score increased 14%, supervisor effectiveness jumped 18% and in the category of “I am proud to work for my company,” the store’s score went up 13%.

The Kroger Co./ Columbus Division

Before Jones-Murphy arrived at her store, the location was averaging 59% for process completion on a goal of 95%; after she took over, that score jumped to 95%.

Her store had a record $1.5 million sales week in 2022, which the team wouldn’t have been able to accomplish without having a strong foundation in place when it came to following processes.

Jones-Murphy grew the e-commerce department in 2022, increasing orders and sales while achieving a pickup fill rate of more than 95% and achieving the division goal for a wait time under five minutes.

Lister served as the champion of a highly effective team, with a passion for people and a tenacity for achieving business results.

Under her leadership, Dillons Store #068 beat its sales goal by more than 12% in 2022, despite an intensive renovation and reset touching all aspects of the store.

Lister’s location served as a training store for leadership development in the areas of meat, grocery, front end and deli; when not focused on training, she maintained partnerships with The Salvation Army; Just Food, a commuity food pantry; The Humane Society and local schools near her store.

Aguilar’s exemplary leadership resulted in increased sales as she worked with her teams to make sure that product was in stock and merchandised in a way to ensure that customers found everything they needed.

Her location was one of the company’s highest-volume stores, and in the top three in the entire division, averaging more than $1.2 million per week; 2022 sales showed an increase of 10.1% over the prior year.

In recognition of her talents, Aguilar was handpicked to receive a scholarship to participate in the 2020 USC Food Industry Management Program.

Cross developed a culture of success, growth and milestones, such as her produce team achieving its 33rd consecutive perfect sustainment check for Kroger’s end-to-end fresh initiative.

Her store was ranked in the top third of the district in engagement, according to the retailer’s annual Associate Insights Survey.

Cross has been instrumental in associate development and retention; in her time as a store manager, she has been a mentor and helped cultivate many new leaders; she was also recently moved to one of the division’s highest-volume stores because of her outstanding results.

Spear not only ran her store with success, but also took on the role of running another store in distress for four months; she turned around conditions that were below 80% and brought the other store to consistent conditions of more than 85%.

She worked with the Pickup team to improve fill rate, which was the worst in the district, to goal and sustained it; the store was also third in the district for shrink results in Q4.

She won the district’s Women of Inspiration Award in 2022, and was the district Women’s EDGE associate resource group leader for the Community pillar.

Lorena Aguilar Store Leader, Food 4 Less Store #363, Los Angeles The Kroger Co./ Food 4 Less Division

Summer Clingo Store Leader, Kroger Store #957, Toledo, Ohio

Monique JonesMurphy Store Leader, Kroger Store #966, Hilliard, Ohio

Rachel Lister Store Leader, Dillons Store #068, Lawrence, Kan. The Kroger Co./ Dillons Division

Erika Spear Store Leader, Fred Meyer Store #143, Hillsboro, Ore. The Kroger Co./ Fred Meyer Division

Lauren Cross Store Leader, Fred Meyer Store #209, Marysville, Wash. The Kroger Co./ Fred Meyer Division

Under Johnson’s leadership, her store accomplished a 9.7% sales increase and improved shrink by 1.72%.

In addition, her mystery shops exceeded the division while also surpassing the region’s Associate Engagement Target goal by a highly impressive 20%.

Believing that a strong leader is someone who leads by example and can connect with their peers, Johnson strove to build trust with her associates so that they would feel comfortable coming to her for advice and feedback; she also gave back to her community by serving meals to people in need at the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank.

Lunde ran one of the district’s top-performing stores in EBIDTA, shrink, and Full, Fresh and Friendly metrics, and she continued to lead the only store in the district that operated as 101% effective according to Kroger’s “Elevate We Train for Grocery” metric for efficiency.

She has been a staunch champion for her people to advance and grow within the company.

Lunde actively volunteered in various community school districts and was heavily involved in the local elementary school district and the community through various public safety programs and community give-back efforts.

Dewey achieved food safety reviews of 94.20%, with zero critical repeats; improved InStock process completion from 90% to 96%; increased replenishment from 82% to 96%; drove fresh over deliveries down from 12% to 5.4%; and exceeded her sales goal by 19 basis points.

She identified product mixes that were creating loss and implemented strategies to reduce shrink, such as reducing organic produce items while expanding conventional items.

Dewey’s proactive approach to staffing shortages included reaching out to surrounding stores to arrange training for fillins to help support her team.

Jenkins’ store achieved all of its Full, Fresh and Friendly objectives, one of only two stores in her district to do so; her location also met all three of its controllable cost objectives in 2022 — again, one of only two stores in her district to achieve this distinction.

Due to her leadership in providing a satisfying shopping experience, her store became a “go and see” location for store management teams and department leaders as a visible demonstration of Kroger’s standards and processes.

Jenkins participated in Louisville Leadership Center activities to further develop her team-building skills.

Katherine Lunde Store Leader, Fry’s Store #679, Sahuarita, Ariz. The Kroger Co./ Fry’s Division

Rachael Dewey Store Leader, King Soopers Store #112, Bennett, Colo. The Kroger Co./ King Soopers Division

Jennifer Jenkins Store Leader, Kroger Store #360, Louisville, Ky. The Kroger Co./ Louisville Division

Barbara Johnson Store Leader, Fry’s Store #680, Surprise, Ariz. The Kroger Co./ Fry’s Division

Scott & Jaye Davis

Elle Smith Store Leader, Kroger Store #744, New Albany, Ind. The Kroger Co./ Louisville Division

In February 2023, Smith was No. 1 in her district in achieving percent-tosales budget, at 114%; her store exceeded the sales budget of $30,000 by more than $7,000.

In 2022, she and her store were in the top three in the Louisville division for corporate-brand sales for three periods in both increased sales percentage and unit increase.

As chair of the African American associate resource group for the Louisville division, Smith helped organize its first annual Bridging the Gap Book Drive, for which the group collected more than 10,000 books for kids to continue their reading over the summer.

Debbie Frey Store Leader, Kroger Store #375, Cave Spring, Va. The Kroger Co./ Mid-Atlantic Division

Frey had a year-end sales increase of 12.5%, putting her in the top 25 of the Mid-Atlantic division, and for Valentine’s Day 2023, her store had a record sales day of $12,941.

She hosted four standards walks from July to September 2022, often with little notice; each walk scored better than the last, which led to her being asked to speak at the Division Store Leader Meeting.

Frey worked with the store Our Promise Team and the broader community to coordinate the donation of 1,600 jars of peanut butter to a boy who was collecting items for a local food pantry.

Kerri Parkins Store Leader, Kroger Store #794, Scott Depot, W.V. The Kroger Co./ Mid-Atlantic Division

Parkins’ store had average weekly sales of more than $1 million, was No. 2 in the division in EBITDA sales and consistently delivered on four of five Full, Fresh and Friendly metrics.

She created a fresher, cleaner and friendlier produce department for customers and associates through the End-to-End Produce Sustainment program, a key enterprise initiative.

In addition to her team’s work with Backpack Buddies to donate goods and pack bags to enable food-insecure children to get through the summer, Parkins attended the Generous Ladies on a Mission Gala to support kids in foster care.

Rachel Somers Store Leader, Kroger Store #596, Brentwood, Tenn. The Kroger Co./ Nashville Division

Somers’ store achieved first place for its food safety year-to-date score in the district, which was up more than 9% from the previous year.

Her store achieved a significant reduction in perishable department shrink through the new stock process, which the store executed at a 98% completion rate; additionally, by reducing additional inventory and developing key associates, the store sustained some of the best backroom conditions in the division.

In addition to being a member of the Women’s EDGE associate resource group and NextUp, Somers volunteered at various ministries across the country.

Angie Vanater Store Leader, QFC Store #874, Bellevue, Wash. The Kroger Co./ QFC Division

Vanater’s store received the highest ratings average in the district for holiday tours due to great store standards and her friendly staff, and the store won an award for its efforts toward Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative.

Her collaboration with her team resulted in overall sales exceeding the goal of 4%, landing at around a 6% total store increase versus the previous year, and she maintained one of District 2’s lowest turnover rates, at 33%.

Vanater volunteered for We Heart Seattle, an organization that offers resources to the homeless in the Emerald City.

Shalma Smith

Store Leader, Ralphs Store #087, San Pedro, Calif. The Kroger Co./ Ralphs Division

With her passion for people and results, Smith led her team to achieve increased identical sales in 2022 and set a new store sales record of more than $1 million for the week ending Dec. 24, 2022.

She achieved the highest fresh meat sales increase in her district, 11.27%, and introduced a new safety program at her store that led to a significant reduction in general liability and workers’ comp claims.

As a member of Ralphs’ multicultural associate resource group, Smith provided support and mentorship to help minority associates achieve their potential.

Mary Reske Human Resources

Assistant Store Manager, Roundy’s Store #890, Mequon, Wis. The Kroger Co./ Roundy’s Division

In the absence of a store director, Reske ran Store #890 during the fourth quarter, the most critical time in the fiscal year, and achieved a record-breaking Christmas week, with 21% over in sales versus the year-ago period.

She led the company in associate retention, overseeing 187 associates with a 31% turnover rate; additionally, she was selcted as the Every Customer, Every Time Captain for the district.

Before Thanksgiving, Reske and her team assisted the School Sisters of Notre Dame with meal baskets for families in need.

Johanna McLeod Store Manager, Store #1477, Buford, Ga. Lidl US

McLeod led her team to all-green audit checks for the first 16 weeks of the Buford, Ga., store opening.

In addition to being committed to growing the brand during the store opening, she engaged in the community by partnering with Feeding America to have a team volunteer day and joined forces with local schools.

McLeod and her team set new records for Lidl US and the Atlanta market, achieving one of the top day-one sales in Lidl US grand-opening history and a top first week of sales in the Atlanta region, with the second-most myLidl signups on opening week.

Taking the time to get to know her associates, Gaffney established an open-door policy and organized group dinners and potlucks, birthday lunches and clothes swaps to connect with her team.

She worked as grocery buyer in addition to her general manager role, putting in the research to find ongoing and quantity discounts for her company.

Gaffney volunteered with a group mentorship program that assists small-business leaders in overcoming obstacles, and also sponsored community environmental efforts by adopting a storm drain near her store that helps prevent litter and pollution from entering the Mississippi River.

Under her leadership, Edwards’ store has experienced the lowest turnover in her market; she has improved retention by 15 points since becoming store director, and achieved 100% retention during the last two periods.

She worked diligently to get to know all team members on a personal level, and has personally assisted her associates with locating housing, transportation and other personal necessities.

Edwards began piloting a program that she developed, LeadHERship Journey 2023, which is geared specifically toward assisting aspiring female leaders with their career development.

Even as her store underwent a remodel, Hellings was able to achieve total direct contribution and profit above plan, as well as having one of the best shrink percentage totals in the company.

Recognizing the importance of mentorship and showing an example of good leadership, she focused on leading by example, making meaningful connections and taking care of the team, customers and community.

Following a tornado touchdown in her town, Hellings and her team helped with disaster relief efforts, coordinated to get extra products on her store’s shelves, and helped support local businesses with food, water and other essential needs.

Kimbrough began her career at Meijer as a part-time cashier 36 years ago, and last year she was personally selected to open the company’s first Meijer Grocery concept store; she has collaborated with all areas of the business to influence new ideas, layouts and processes for the store.

Her location exceeded its sales plan by 15% year to date, had one of the busiest delis in the area, and led the market in Shop and Scan; In Q1, the store led the entire market in store cleanliness, freshness/quality, team member friendliness and cashier friendliness.

Kimbrough and her team volunteered at a local food pantry and at other community events.

Jasmine Edwards Store Director, Store #228, Rolling Meadows, Ill. Meijer

Lauren Gaffney General Manager, St. Paul, Minn. Mastel’s Health Foods

Mary Kimbrough Store Director, Store #680, Lake Orion Township, Mich; Meijer

Marla Hellings Store Director, Store #250, Gaylord, Mich. Meijer

Morgan Lackey Store Director, Store #184, Lexington, Ky. Meijer

After she took the helm at her store, Lackey’s internal culture survey increased 14 points, and she helped drive further engagement through supplemental surveys that helped her execute each quarter a different action plan that addressed specific areas of concern.

For a second year in a row, her store achieved every profitand-loss metric, outperforming the total store shrink plan by 22 basis points.

Lackey and her team supported a local nonprofit organization for children and families in the local foster care and adoption systems, as well as the Sons of the American Legion.

Robin Owczarzak

Store Director, Store #180, Grand Haven, Mich.

Meijer

Leading her store with the motto “one team, one dream,” Owczarzak developed a Pick Me Up posse with associates who bring additional cheer each day, and encourages her cross-functional to team to help in areas across the store.

In 2022, her store led the market in digital sales, was 19th in the company in overall sales and led the market for speed of checkout; the location also received the Safety Excellence Award.

Owczarzak hosts Shop with a Sheriff, which brings in members of the Ottawa County, Mich., Sheriff’s Office each year to shop for holiday gifts for local underprivileged children.

Pfledderer led her store to impressive business results, including increased sales over the previous year, increased market share and its emergence as one of the company’s most profitable stores; she helped reduce overall shrink and saw a 4.5% increase in overall customer satisfaction.

She also achieved the lowest overall customer wait time in her market for Meijer Pickup, improved on-shelf availability metrics and reduced turnover by 20%.

Pfledderer’s store received additional donation funds and was able to give to three local nonprofits.

Renton’s laser focus on training helped her team average a 99.5% score in omnibus training throughout the entire year, and her store was able to surpass its sales goals for the year by 102%.

Her service team led the market and was at the top in the company on customer focus scores; internal culture survey scores also increased under her leadership, including in 12 categories last year.

As the market champion for Women At Meijer, Renton has initiated period-based recognition that spotlights an exceptional hard-working woman in every store within the market.

Managing one of the chain’s flagship Market 32 stores, Forrester oversaw 250 team members and was the zone representative for the company’s Store Manager Council.

Her location was chosen Store of the Year by the organization in 2022 after she delivered more than $41 million — $2 million above budget — in year-to-date sales and a net profit of almost $4 million; the location also beat inventory shrink and was the zone leader for food safety results.

Forrester sponsored such special events as the Sutton Chain of Lights and gave her support to Sutton Public Schools and local food banks.

Rachel

Drullinger

Store Manager, Save A Lot Store #427, Overland, Mo.

Drullinger’s 30-associate pilot location — a testing ground for the Save A Lot loyalty program and for selling beer and wine in-store — ranked No. 1 among corporate-owned St. Louis stores, with $7.9 million in sales between April 2022 and February 2023; on average, her store brought in $180,000$200,000 per week in sales

Reflecting her commitment to her store and associates, she used her nearly 23 years of experience at the company to adapt to new situations and retain team members.

Drullinger regularly worked with such charitable groups as the Jewish Food Bank to fulfill both kosher and non-kosher food needs for local residents.

Miranda Pfledderer Store Director, Store #127, Goshen , Ind. Meijer

Catherine Renton Store Director, Store #240, Colerain Township, Ohio Meijer

Aurelia Forrester Store Manager, Market 32 Store #244, Sutton, Mass. Price Chopper/Market 32 Supermarkets

The manager of one of the company’s top five stores in terms of sales volume, Mazzini was able to increase store sales more than 7% even after a new club store opened within 1 mile of her store, and she handily beat her store’s EBITDA plan.

Through her leadership, the Ladue Schnucks’ floral department was the first in the company to achieve a $1 million sales year, and she and her team beat her net promoter score goal by more than five percentage points.

Mazzini volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis and attended local diversity leadership events.

Robenstine led her team through an extensive remodel at the Godfrey store while at the same time delivering EBITDA results of 8.5%.

In addition to managing her store, she mentored new company store managers and category managers and led diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives in her division through such efforts as setting up bulletin boards in stores and initiating weekly conversations.

Robenstine and her team provided gifts and needed items to an “adopted” family in need, and she recently volunteered with the local American Red Cross chapter to help install new smoke alarms in homes.

While continuing to perform her duties as an assistant store manager — overseeing daily operations, building a culture of engagement and delivering bottom-line results — Curtis was selected to join the Store Manager Talent Bench program and assumed the responsibilities of managing the store while the store manager was on a leave of absence.

She worked in various locations, driving sales at each store, and consequently was the first to come to mind fill a vacant store manager position in March 2023.

Curtis co-facilitated a skills-building class for her peers, focused on de-escalating associate and customer issues.

Chelsea Stanton Assistant Store Manager, ShopRite of Montgomery, N.Y. ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.

Since coming to the Montgomery store, Stanton, who was assigned to oversee the perishable departments, led associates to set several sales records in meat, floral, dairy, bakery, deli and cheese; the location also exceeded budgeted sales as well as direct store contribution.

She also placed an emphasis on training and development within the store; this has enabled her store not only to promote from within, but also to help surrounding stores by providing associates ready to step into leadership roles.

Last year, Stanton’s store raised more than $28,000 for the veterans campaign, finishing in the top 10 for the company.

SpartanNash

Stubbs trained and mentored three new assistant store managers and helped train and develop the staff of the company’s 37th store, in Elmsford, N.Y.

She improved sales and improved bottom-line contributions over the prior year in the grocery, health and beauty, produce, and floral departments at her location, despite the openings of a Whole Foods Market and a DeCicco’s store within the trade area.

Stubbs was nominated to share her story at the company’s Annual Moment to Connect Series for Hispanic Heritage Month and Women’s History Month.

Sigafoose managed 48 associates at her store, which outperformed the 2022 sales budget by more than 10% and beat the previous year’s results.

She made sure that her associates were well trained, consequently evolving into a mentor with a wider reach: Her location became a training store for new associates and store directors.

In 2022, Sigafoose received SpartanNash’s Circle of Excellence award, which recognizes those who live the company’s core values, strive for results, and are considered “respectful, reliable and essential.”

In a tight market, Shultz managed to increase store sales by 2.5% and push positive identical sales to win her store a place among the district’s top five locations; her focus on food safety across the store led to 31 Green Ecolab audits, one of the best results across all Cub Foods stores.

She increased customer service responses from week to week, exceeding the company goal of 30 per week.

Schultz created a partnership with the Open-Door Food Pantry for an annual Superbowl bagging event that raised $2,300 worth of groceries for the food pantry.

Dehliah Martinez-Wilson Store Manager, Store #182, New York Village Super Market Inc.

Martinez-Wilson’s store raised the most donations in the company’s milk drive and more than $20,000 for City Harvest, and was also the top-earning location for the Jimmy Sumas Holiday Meal Bag fundraiser.

She surpassed budgeted EBIT for the past four quarters, with increases of 42.59%, 16.65% 15.71% and 25.65%, respectively; her store was the top performer of all 38 locations during the last quarter.

Two of the three assistant store managers promoted by Martinez-Wilson in the past year went on to run stores of their own.

Elizabeth Stubbs Assistant Store Manager, ShopRite of Scarsdale, N.Y ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.

Sheri Sigafoose Store Director, Family Fare Store #1523, Harrison, Mich.

Lindsay Schultz Store Director, Cub Foods Store #4974, Eagan, Minn.

Kameka Curtis Store Manager, ShopRite of Colonie, N.Y. ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.

Tina Robenstine Store Manager, Schnucks #269, Godfrey, Ill. Schnuck Markets Inc.

Monica Mazzini Store Manager, Schnucks #188, Ladue, Mo. Schnuck Markets Inc.

FIND OUT WHAT’S TRENDING IN FRESH PORK, BACON, SAUSAGE AND HAM.

By Lynn Petrak

t was called “The Other White Meat” for a while, thanks to a prolific industry ad campaign, but pork in all of its forms has come back into its own. Producers of fresh pork and pork-based products, including sausage, bacon and ham, are leaning into the attributes that make this protein the third most-consumed meat behind chicken and beef.

Flavor is a top characteristic of pork, along with variety and nutrition, agrees Tuffy Stone, a Chairman’s Reserve Meats pitmaster for Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods.

“One of the biggest reasons I love cooking with pork is because it’s so versatile,” says Stone. “I can barbecue ribs and shoulders, or I can grill, roast or sauté a pork loin or tenderloin. I also appreciate that pork can be seasoned using an array of different ingredients or flavors, from fresh herbs to dried spices.”

Consumers continue to flock to the meat case and purchase animal-based proteins like pork, even as they have made some adjustments amid ongoing inflation and the advent of plant-based competitors. Americans ate 115 pounds of poultry last year, 59 pounds of beef and, not far behind, 51 pounds of pork, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Retail sales of fresh pork alone topped $7.1 billion last year, according to data from Statista. Within fresh pork, pork loin remains the top seller, with a 49.67% share of the category. Ribs and pork shoulder cuts follow, at 28.08%

and 13.79%, respectively. Although ground pork is on the lower end of cut consumption, that product can appeal to today’s price-minded consumers.

As with other meats, pork prices remain elevated but are coming down a bit from 2022 highs. The Pork Checkoff, for example, reported that pork tenderloin prices were 26% lower in late May 2023 than in the prior year.

More Choice Than Before

Although fresh pork is a mature segment, retail meat buyers have more choices today as brands break through traditional commodity-style formats. As an example, Tyson recently added a bone-in pork tomahawk chop and bone-in pork chop to its Chairman’s Reserve line that launched last year.

“The demand for case-ready products isn’t slowing down,” notes Rikki Ingram, director of fresh meats marketing at Tyson, citing additional offerings. “Other innovative products include the Tyson Pork Griller Steak, which is a cut that is disrupting the category with its unique shape and tender eating experience, and a ground beefand-pork blend, a great economical and alternative ground option.”

Key Takeaways

Consumers continue to flock to the meat case and purchase animal-based proteins like pork, despite ongoing inflation and plant-based competitors.

Although fresh pork is a mature segment, retail meat buyers have more choices today as brands break through traditional commodity-style formats.

New products and players are also entering the categories of sausage, bacon and ham, including the fresh and ready-toeat segments.

Tyson Foods recently added a bone-in tomahawk chop to its Chairman's Reserve Prime Pork line.

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Proteins

Earlier this year Merriam, Kan.-based Seaboard Foods debuted a line of Prairie Fresh USA Prime, including premium pork loin back ribs. These products undergo a three-step evaluation process that uses proprietary technology to measure and sort top-tier cuts for tenderness, marbling and color attributes.

“Prairie Fresh USA Prime is as close as we have come to pork perfection,” asserts Pat Watkins, VP, retail sales. “We are excited to introduce this one-ofa-kind premium line of pork to meat buyers and share how we manage every step in our process and are bringing something truly unique to meet consumer demand.”

Breed-based pork, such as Berkshire, Kurobuta, Iberico and Duroc, can differentiate a retail meat department with higher-end options akin to heritage lines of beef. Snake River Farms, a division of Boise, Idaho-based Agri-Beef, sells an American Kurobuta rack of pork and porchetta roast, among other cuts. Boone, Iowa-based Fareway Meat Market, part of the Fareway chain in the Midwest, offers a Duroc Tomahawk pork chop for $15.99-$17.99 per pound and a Duroc Iowa pork chop starting at $14.99 per pound.

Taking a cue from restaurant menus, more grocers are carrying fresh pork belly. As consumers get more familiar with dishes like burnt ends and pork belly tacos, they’re open to trying those dishes at home. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market, for its part, sells pork belly for a competitive $6.99 per pound.

Speaking of burnt ends, heat-and-eat barbecue meals often feature pork as a central ingredient. When Dallas-based foodservice chain Dickey’s Barbecue Pit ventured into the retail sector at Walmart stores, the brand included a pulled-pork product. For its part, Niman Ranch, based in Westminster, Colo., recently updated its fully cooked applewood-smoked pulled pork, which is now comes in a compostable container.

In the heat-and-eat arena, Latin-inspired pork offerings appeal to shoppers seeking convenience and authenticity. As an example of this, the Herdez brand, from Austin, Minn.-based Hormel Foods, has rolled out a line of refrigerated entrées such as slow-cooked pork carnitas.

Sausage, Bacon and Ham

New products and players are also entering the categories of sausage, bacon and ham, including the fresh and ready-to-eat segments.

Fresh pork sausage continues to hold its own, with artisan and mainstream brands offering a range of flavors and forms. Carlstadt, N.J.-based Schweid & Sons recently added a new line of fresh pork breakfast sausage in original, Italian and apple varieties made from humanely raised U.S. pork.

Ready-to-eat varieties of sausage span traditional products like summer sausage and salami, along with newer items that appeal to shoppers who are building charcuterie boards, seeking authentic flavors or just looking for something different. For example, Hormel recently came out with a new sliced chorizo product.

Bacon is another stalwart category that finds room for newer items as brands capitalize on the product’s perennial crave factor. Tyson, which is currently building a new bacon facility in Kentucky, is introducing more products under its brands, like a chopped bacon from Jimmy Dean and a steak-cut bacon from Wright Brand. Meanwhile, Seaboard Foods’ new applewood-smoked and hickory-smoked bacon varieties are made with fresh bellies from the

Prairie Fresh USA Prime line.

In addition to traditional pork belly bacon, grocers can opt for beef bacon. Brandt Beef, part of the Brawley, Calif.-based One World Beef organization, offers a fresh beef bacon product as part of its broad portfolio.

Ham is another other mature category under the larger pork umbrella. Whole-ham sales typically spike during winter and spring holidays such as Christmas and Easter, while deli ham products remain grocery staples. Philadelphia’s venerable Dietz & Watson brand recently added a new uncured cherrywood-smoked ham to its lineup, with whole-muscle cuts sourced from family farms.

Finally, as consumers grew accustomed to food deliveries during the pandemic, retailers began offering bundles that included fresh and processed pork. The direct-to-consumer brand ButcherBox, for example, recently launched for the first time at a major retailer. The company teamed up with Marlborough, Mass.-based BJ’S Wholesale Club to offer The Grill Box, which includes frozen grass-fed, grass-finished ribeye steaks, burgers and steak tips, as well as crate-free humanely raised pork chops and Italian pork sausage links, for $99.

“Our launch in BJ’s is helping us reach a new target customer, one we know is focused on quality and value, but may be hesitant to shop online for their groceries,” said Mike Salguero, founder and CEO of Boston-based ButcherBox.

“The demand for case-ready products isn’t slowing down.”

—Rikki Ingram, Tyson Foods

In the heat-and -eat arena, Latin-inspired pork offerings appeal to customers seeking convenience and authenticity.

You Drink

JUICE-BASED BEVERAGES EMPHASIZE THEIR HEALTHY ATTRIBUTES WHILE OFFERING NEW VARIETIES FEATURING INNOVATIVE INGREDIENTS.

By Mike Duff

unctional and related better-for-you beverages, including juice-based drinks promising health and energy benefits, are moving into the mainstream in an almost dizzying profusion as producers develop formulations with flavor and nutritional profiles that meet diverse preferences.

Featuring organic, natural and clean formulations that exclude artificial ingredients, they provide wellness benefits, but as these products become more popular, many makers are touting or adding to those refreshment attributes.

Marsha Everton, principal and founder of the Lemoyne, Pa.-based Aimsights Group, a Millennial- and Gen Z-focused market researcher says that, although they are associated with younger consum -

ers, better-for-you beverages have gained favor across demographics.

“People of all ages are choosing their beverages based on their healthand-wellness interests,” notes Everton. “Consumers are actively searching for better-for-you offerings. ‘No added sugar’ and ‘no artificial sweeteners’ are specific important trends.”

Still, consumers have various priorities. According to Kathy Risch, SVP shopper insights and thought leadership at Jacksonville, Fla.-based Acosta Group, consumers weigh benefits based on personal preference, and decision-making includes a price component. Risch says that people typically begin buying better-for-you drinks because of their organic, natural and clean-label proposition, and then search for additional benefits provided by wellness-oriented ingredients.

“Communication and transparency are important,” she asserts.

Often, consumers scan ingredients for specific benefits, which might be vitamins, but may also be energy boosters such as natural caffeine. However, she notes, better-for-you beverage consumers will weigh ingredients against price on an approximately equal basis.

‘The Fresh-Squeezed Experience’

In terms of the energy drink trend, Uncle Matt’s Organic, based in Clermont, Fla., recently reintroduced its Ultimate Energy juice drink with clean caffeine and what it describes as a smoother, sweeter taste.

Dom’s Kitchen & Market, a grocery-and-foodservice combo operation, has integrated better-for-you beverages deeply

Key Takeaways

Although they are associated with younger consumers, better-foryou fresh juice-based beverages have gained favor across demographics.

Better-for-you beverage consumers will weigh ingredients against price on an approximately equal basis.

Drinks still have to taste good, even if flavor profiles are evolving.

Blendid is bringing the public healthy smoothies via robotic preparation using kiosks placed in locations that even include college and hospital sites.

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Fresh Juices

into both of its Chicago locations, which is consistent with the retailer’s quality gourmet, organic and natural product orientation.

Lauren Bijur, Dom’s senior category manager, perishables, observes that what she terms the non-soft drink category “has just exploded.”

The company stocks established juices such as Simply Juice, Uncle Matt’s and Natalie’s. It also has its own store-made fresh juice program.

“That’s where we do more volume,” Bijur says. “We really wanted to give the customer the fresh-squeezed experience, something like you might get in a café in Europe or at a fresh juice bar. It’s not just orange juice — it’s celery juice, it’s beet juice. One of our best-sellers is watermelon juice. Then we have combinations, and they all just resonate really well with customers.”

Store-made fresh is almost 70% of Dom’s total juice business.

The company also sells a line of fresh bottled juices made in conjunction with a local cold-press juicer. Although it’s only seven items deep, the cold-pressed bottled juice line represents an additional 15% of total juice sales, according to Bijur.

Proper Extractions

An extraction company founded in 2001, Javo uses proprietary technology and product development processes to produce clean-label coffee, tea and botanical extracts for the foodservice industry and CPG beverage makers.

“Inherently, everything that we’re starting with as a product, the extracts are pure,” says Chris Johnson, EVP of sales and marketing at Javo, based in Vista, Calif. “It’s about developing products using those pure extracts, that natural, clean-label authenticity all the way to the cup.”

According to Johnson, more beverage consumers today want to see fewer artificial ingredients on labels.

“The majority of the camp falls into consumers who are wanting to consume healthier food and beverages,” he adds. “Natural is

Health-Ade Kombucha has revealed a multiyear partnership with popular celebrity Ryan Seacrest, who will help create advertising and omnichannel media content for the brand.

that

important, being able to read and understand labels and not having 10-syllable-long ingredients in their products.”

That approach is now extending into more beverage segments, he points out.

“What’s really trending in energy is clean energy,” notes Johnson. “Cold brew falls in that space: natural, higher caffeine content, clean, low-calorie, no-sugar natural cold brew.”

However, all else taken into consideration, drinks still have to taste good, even if flavor profiles are evolving.

“Consumers want flavors that have some familiarity but stretch,” explains Johnson, “so if it’s a lemonade, it’s yuzu lemonade. Yuzu is trending but in the adoption phase.”

Smoothie Operators

Meanwhile, Blendid is bringing the public healthy smoothies via robotic preparation using kiosks placed in locations that even include college and hospital sites.

Vipin Jain, CEO of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Blendid, says that the company gives its customers a wide choice of ingredients. All Blendid ingredients are plant-based, except for kefir, and they are all-natural. Juices used in the smoothies are 100% natural and have no added sugar, for example. Other ingredients offered include fruits, nuts, seeds and spices such as turmeric, which is gaining favor for its health benefits. Even as Blendid emphasizes choice in smoothie preparation, it does so with the intent of keeping prices reasonable and the flavor enticing.

“Healthy food doesn’t always go hand in hand with affordability and taste,” asserts Jain. “Consumers are drawn to Blendid because it meets all of their needs: food that is fresh, healthy, affordable, personalized, and can be ordered or scheduled for pickup from their mobile device.”

Unexpected Flavors

Koe Kombucha is intent on reaching the consumer in general. The formulation mixes organic juices, caffeine for energy, vitamin C and other beneficial ingredients with probiotic-rich kombucha, all in a flavor profile designed to attract the average consumer.

Even so, Koe’s organic inclusions are important, and not only for strict adherents. Many mainstream consumers understand the term as signaling purity.

“We decided to go organic and stay organic to ensure everything we put in has that extra layer of safety,” affirms Bree Taylor, VP of marketing at Los Angeles-based Koe Kombucha.

Along with being organic, flavor is key to the Koe proposition. The line starts with the familiar but moves into the more adventurous. Tropical and watermelon are newest and strawberry lemonade is a well-known combination, but then the line extends to mango, raspberry dragonfruit and blueberry ginger to give all consumers

“Consumers want flavors that have some familiarity but stretch, so if it’s a lemonade, it’s yuzu lemonade.”

—Chris Johnson, Javo

something that might be in their wheelhouse.

Established brands in the better-for-you sector are continually updating their approach to the consumer as they move more broadly and deeply into consumer consciousness. In that vein, Natalie’s has launched Tomato Reishi Juice, with an infusion of holistic ingredients, including adaptogens and spices, for a robust flavor that might remind a consumer of a Virgin Mary, or, with the right help, a Bloody Mary. The Fort Pierce, Fla.-based company has also rolled out Tangerine, Pineapple, Aloe, Sweet Basil Juice. Oranges and tangerines provide vitamin C, while immune-supporting pineapples and aloe vera make the product even healthier, with sweet basil kicking up the flavor.

Los Angeles-based Health-Aid, another kombucha drink maker, characterized its products first as delicious bubbly beverages, and then as supporting gut health. It just revealed a multiyear partnership with popular celebrity Ryan Seacrest, who will help create advertising and omnichannel media content for the brand.

“Health-Ade Kombucha provides a deliciously refreshing taste unlike any other kombucha in the marketplace,” notes Health-Ade Chief Marketing Officer Charlotte Mostaed. “We work with best-in-class flavor creators, and our proprietary brewing technique delivers a well-rounded mouthfeel that is truly craveable: at once sweet and slightly tart, with a depth and quality to the flavor and juices that are unmatched in the category. We are also differentiated by the power of our brand: We are leading the way in growing the category, bringing kombucha to mainstream audiences and launching marketing campaigns that help demystify kombucha for those that are interested in trying it for the first time.”

Drink at Dom’s CHICAGO INDIE OFFERS A RANGE OF FRESH BEVERAGES

Dom’s Kitchen & Market provides a wide array of juices and related better-for-you drinks, including items made in its two Chicago stores.

The store-made juices are processed in a temperature-controlled environment and include single flavors as well as combinations such as celery and carrot or pineapple and orange. Dom’s also makes lemonade ranging from plain to blueberry ginger, according to Lauren Bijur, Dom’s senior category manager, perishables.

In the flavors it offers, Dom’s puts juices and other drinks on a par with the organic produce and organic free-range chicken it also features, as well as adventurous gourmet foodservice items such as Zucchini and Ricotta Pizza and White Oak Vegan Chorizo Tofu Bowl.

Dom’s own drinks combine clean-product profiles and pure juice wellness benefits with additional constituents such as turmeric and ginger that have grown increasingly popular for specific health benefits. However the beverages are formulated keeping in mind the need to create new taste profiles consistent with the direction that foodservice has taken in recent decades and that CPG companies are beginning to explore in earnest.

In addition to store-made drinks, Dom’s works with a coldpress juice operation in Chicago to make bottled juices. The storemade beverages constitute 70% of juice sales, while the bottled own-brand drinks constitute a further 15%. The bottled juice flavors range from the familiar to the more adventurous. The coldpressed juice line takes product names from the Chicago subway system and loops together various juice combinations. Thus, the Pink Line includes watermelon, lime, lemon and beet juices, as well as mint; the Green Line combines celery and lemon juices, with the Sweet Greens collection including kale, apple, lemon and wheatgrass juices; and the Mean Greens portfolio offers cucumber, spinach, dandelion, lemon, lime and cilantro juices.

Not only does Dom’s juice business address the desire among Chicagoans for new, healthy and exciting flavors, it also supports and reflects the concept’s overall positioning.

“One of our tenets is what’s in the store should be natural and clean label,” says Bijur. “We really try to adhere to that. So, when

Along with being organic, flavor is key to the Koe Kombucha proposition. Tropical is one of the brand's newest offerings.

Burst of Energy

THE CATEGORY MAKES SOME SAVVY MOVES IN RESPONSE TO RISING CONSUMER DEMANDS FOR CLEANER INGREDIENTS AND INNOVATIVE FLAVORS.

By Barbara Sax

here’s plenty of vigor in the energy drink category. It’s not only being fueled by core category loyalists, but also by new users attracted to better-for-you options boasting natural ingredients, noncaffeinated formulas, added dietary supplements, zero sweeteners and a variety of new flavors. As a result, Caleb Bryant, associate director of food and drink reports at Chicago-based Mintel, notes that the appeal of energy beverages is broader than ever, particularly among younger female consumers.

Celsius, a line of energy beverages made with energy-boosting ingredients, essential vitamins and zero sugar, is one of the fastest-growing energy drink brands among that new user group of younger female consumers, according to

Key Takeaways

The appeal of energy beverages is broader than ever, particularly among younger female consumers.

Energy drink makers are also targeting older Millennials with products positioned to address their particular health interests and energy requirements.

The sports energy drink segment is also booming, with co-branded products and sports celebrity connections becoming more common.

The three-flavor line of beverages, available in 12-ounce and 16-ounce cans, is sugar-free and delivers a boost of caffeine along with B vitamins for added immunity support, and L-theanine to help improve concentration. The line is being test-marketed in Northern California and the Midwest.

On the Functional Front

Mintel. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based brand’s positioning as an alternative energy drink focused on healthy energy and aspirational fitness lifestyle marketing is a growing segment in the category. Celsius recently expanded its line with a new Green Apple Cherry flavor.

“A new generation of consumers is embracing better-for-you options across the beverage landscape, and the continued need for clean energy is rising to meet these new energy drinkers,” says Anne Wilcox, SVP, innovation and insights at Preston, Wash.-based Talking Rain Beverage Co. “Additional research has shown that more and more women are joining the ranks of energy drinkers to manage busy lifestyles including work and home. These consumers are not looking for exotic muscle-building ingredients; rather, they are looking for great flavor and cleaner options.”

Talking Rain recently debuted its own answer to that need: Sparkling Ice +Energy, a line of energy drinks positioned as an approachable option for consumers seeking cleaner and better-for-you energy sources.

Energy drink makers are also targeting older Millennials with products positioned to address their particular health interests (low-sugar, healthy-aging claims) and energy requirements (sustained energy, energy to accomplish work and health goals), according to Mintel’s Bryant.

“When it comes to trends in functionality, consumers are looking for options that meet their specific needs, whether it’s energy, hydration, relaxation, or vitamins and minerals,” notes

Kyle Harrington, senior director of

ife is BE READY FOR IT. Sport. L

CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS AT EVERY TOUCHPOINT

Speaking with…Kyle Harrington, Senior Director of Marketing, The Jel Sert Company

The global flavored powder drinks market size was valued at USD $72.46 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.0% from 2022 to 2030. 1 That trajectory is significant for grocery retailers, considering that supermarkets dominated the sales mix in 2021 with 40% of retail channel sales.1

Progressive Grocer asked Kyle Harrington, Senior Director of Marketing for Jel Sert — a leader in the powdered drink mix category — to provide a rundown of what’s driving shoppers to embrace the mixes and how Jel Sert is helping grocery retailers capitalize on the category.

Progressive Grocer: Let’s talk about the drink mix category and how it fits into the bigger picture of what’s happening in the world of retailing today.

Kyle Harrington: There’s a lot going on! On the products front, value-priced flavored water mixes, including those in the functional category, are definitely on trend. “Water recipes” using powdered drink mixes are popping up all over social media — the hashtag #watertok now has more than 275 million views, and counting!

Simultaneously, you have the fact that consumers are facing a multitude of challenges including busy schedules, limited budgets, and endless product options. Those things all have significantly changed the shopping experience. It has become a continually evolving, non-linear journey with more brand touchpoints than ever — everything from social media platforms like TikTok to e-commerce giants like Amazon. And shoppers are increasingly savvy and are price comparing on their mobile device at all points along that journey.

PG: What is it about those challenges and changes that is making powdered drink mixes so appealing?

KH: They are prompting shoppers to look for convenient, portable, and affordable beverage options. Consumers want more functionality and value, as well as quick and easy options they can consume on the move. Powdered drink mixes fit the bill perfectly. They’re lightweight, easy to prepare, and can be conveniently carried in a backpack or gym bag.

PG: What must grocers do to reach consumers who are looking for better ways to hydrate? And how does Jel Sert fit into the picture?

KH: First and foremost, grocery retailers have to understand who the powdered drink mix customer is. Then they have to maximize their marketing efforts to create a frictionless, personalized shopping experience across channels in a way that meets that consumer wherever and whenever they shop.

This is where Jel Sert can help. Because the fact is that nobody knows powdered drink consumers and understands how to reach them more effectively and efficiently than we do!

Take our product lines. Our drink mixes and stick packs answer the demand for convenience. We pride ourselves on creating brands that garner incredible brand affinity and often go viral due to the consumers love for the product — Jolly Rancher, Skittles and Wyler’s Light among them.

And while many CPG companies are consolidating their offerings, we’re expanding our offerings and licensing brands with innovative products that that feature vitamins, caffeine and hydration. We’re giving consumers more for their dollar and retailers the ability to reach a multitude of audiences. Our Vitafusion and Pure Kick lines are excellent examples of successful functional products offered at phenomenal price points. We also strive to keep our prices reasonable and affordable without compromising on the high quality and flavor consumers demand.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW JEL SERT CAN HELP HYDRATE YOUR CUSTOMERS — AND YOUR POWDERED DRINK MIX SALES — VISIT JELSERT.COM

1 Grandview Research, Flavored Powder Drink Mix Market Report JELSERT.COM

Energy Drinks

marketing at West Chicago, Ill.-based Jel Sert, maker of Pure Kick Drink Mix functional powdered drink sticks. “The right formulation is critical in delivering the desired functionality and taste.”

“On the trend front, we are seeing an uptick in health-conscious consumers looking for balanced products with ingredients that provide added benefits and satisfying flavors,” adds Harrington. “By increasing functionality in drink mixes, we are delivering a well-rounded product with added benefits. When you add in the ease of use of a stick pack formula, the product becomes even more appealing.”

Robert Zajac, chief marketing officer at Austin, Texas-based Nutrabolt, notes that 68% of energy drinkers want to boost mental focus with products that feature better-for-you ingredients and clinically proven benefits. The Nutrabolt brand recently rebranded its C4 Energy line with six new flavors and a refreshed look to create C4 Smart Energy, a line of drinks formulated to sharpen mental focus and elevate alertness. The products are available at Albertsons, Safeway, H-E-B, Publix and Hy-Vee. “With the C4 Smart Energy rebrand, we are providing consumers with the product they really want,” says Zajac.

Other brands are entering the segment as well. Atlanta-based Up To Good Energy, a three-flavor line of caffeinated sparkling beverages, is crafted from upcycled cascara, the fleshy fruit surrounding the coffee bean that is higher in antioxidants and other nutrients and is credited with boosting brain memory and alertness.

Good Sports

The sports energy drink segment is also booming, with co-branded products and sports celebrity connections becoming more common.

Megabrand Gatorade, a division of Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, made category news when it introduced Fast Twitch, the first-ever caffeinated energy drink designed for athletes. The drinks contain a whopping 200 milligrams of caffeine, along with electrolytes, 100% of the daily value of vitamins B6 and B12, zero sugar, and no artificial flavors or colors. Fast Twitch debuted with an exclusive NFL deal that gave players access to the new product before launch — a move that created plenty of buzz for the new product.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Splash Beverage Group followed with an expansion of its TapouT Hydration into the energy drink category. Formulated by elite performance nutritionist Sanjeev Javia in collaboration with TapouT ambassador and former NFL player Drew Brees, the product features a zero-sugar, all-natural ingredient mix to deliver enhanced cognitive performance, mental focus and antioxidant health, in addition to physical benefits.

Sports nutrition and lifestyle brand Bucked Up, based in American Fork, Utah, expanded its energy drink lineup with

Talking Rain Beverage Co. is currently test-marketing sugar-free Sparkling Ice +Energy, which delivers a boost of caffeine along with B vitamins and L-theanine.

LFG Burn, a performance energy drink modeled after the brand’s LFG Burn Pre-Workout supplement powder. This expansion also includes four new candy-inspired flavors available in Bucked Up’s original energy drink line.

While sport-centric products are making inroads in the category, Mintel also sees a niche opportunity for gamer energy drinks. Currently a small segment of the total market, brands such as West Babylon, N.Y.-based G FUEL and Green Bay, Wis.-based Rogue Energy are poised for strong growth, “considering gaming’s ubiquity among young consumers,” a recent Mintel report observes.

What’s New

If increased segmentation isn’t enough to crowd supermarket shelves, manufacturers are also continuing to add new flavor profiles and limited-edition flavors to hold consumers’ interest. Category leader brands are rolling out limited-edition flavors with a seasonal spin. Most recently, Red Bull, whose North American headquarters is in Santa Monica, Calif., added a Summer Edition Juneberry flavor, while Corona, Calif.-based Monster Energy debuted a Kiwi Strawberry addition to its signature Monster Reserve line.

“While traditional flavors like lemonade and fruit punch are popular among consumers, creating unique and elevated twists on the classics or exploring new flavor trends can set a product apart from the competition,” says Jel Sert’s Harrington. “We’re seeing true fruit flavors and emerging fruit confections trending, with flavors such as Dragon Fruit, Elderberry, Jackfruit and Blue Raspberry becoming more popular, so we are developing new products that incorporate these flavor profiles.” Recent offerings from the brand include Jolly Rancher Green Apple and Jolly Rancher Blue Raspberry flavors.

Product proliferation is certainly an issue for retailers. Talking Rain, for one, is making an effort to control new introductions and zero in on products that will prove to be winners.

“With the proliferation of so many new beverage options, distributors and retailers want more proven products,” says Wilcox. “They are looking to reduce the risk of new brands and products, increasing the odds of maximizing on-shelf revenue.”

To that end, the company launched I.C.E. Labs last year, a “test and learn” program that moves product from limited store trials to multimarket tests using instore sampling and consumer “voting.”

“Through detailed in-store feedback, we are able to make adjustments to our products and put them back out in the market to gauge the impact,” explains Wilcox. “The key benefit of this program is a more pressure-tested and proven product.”

Gatorade's Fast Twitch is the firstever caffeinated energy drink designed for athletes.

Pretty and Practical

By Debby Garbato

upermarkets are bidding farewell to leaky takeout soup containers with typed adhesive labels. Not only is this generic packaging messy and unaesthetic, it also doesn’t show contents or highlight ingredients. Additionally, these containers may not survive the microwave or freezer. And they make soup look like the least appetizing food in the fresh prepared food department. While other items in the department may look a bit more enticing, their traditional packaging also leaves much to be desired.

Grocers have been raising the bar on prepared food packaging, however. Rather than generic containers, they’re using vessels with custom pre-printed labels that highlight attributes and make branded statements. Packaging has become leak- and tamper-proof, affording more safety and stability during transport. Many items can be reheated in the same container. And more containers are biodegradable or appropriate for curbside recycling programs.

“Packaging plays a significant role and has come a long way in terms of technology,” says Irma Randles, marketing manager, fresh food to go at ProAmpac, in Cincinnati. “Consumers shop with their eyes. Packaging is sometimes an afterthought. But the right packaging has an impact on overall food quality.”

Jonna Parker, team lead for fresh at Chicago-based Circana (formerly IRI),

notes that the prepared food section has transformed itself more dramatically than any other area.

“This department has changed how food is reaching consumers’ carts,” adds Parker. “Retailers can be more standardized and creative. They can communicate with visuals on packaging or heating instructions. They can make a brand family. When you just had that white label with a code, you couldn’t communicate well.”

Changes result from ongoing, unprecedented prepared food growth in supermarkets. According to Circana, sales of fresh prepared foods totaled more than $21 billion for the calendar year ended Jan. 1, 2022, an 18.8% increase over the previous year. For the calendar year ended Jan. 1, 2023, sales increased an additional 12%. Fastest-growing categories included combo meals, entrées, pizza, prepared meats, salads, sandwiches, soups and chili.

Growth — along with packaging innovation — has been driven largely by COVID-19 restrictions on restaurant dining, which prompted shoppers to seek more prepared food options and made the category more competitive. Consumers have since become more familiar with prepared grocery food and continue purchasing it.

“COVID was the tipping point, due to high demand,” affirms Rafael Posada, global sustainability director at Wayne, Pa.-based TekniPlex Consumer Products. “This food was there before COVID, but COVID made issues important. When COVID started, most deli-area packages weren’t designed for the logistics and mass production COVID demanded. With restaurants closed,

Key Takeaways

Grocers and their packaging partners have been raising the bar on prepared food packaging. The pandemic, rampant inflation, and labor and space issues have all had an impact on prepared food packaging innovation. Safety, transportability, appearance, convenience, product specificity and sustainability are all key packaging criteria driven by increasingly demanding consumers.

PREPARED FOOD PACKAGING IS BECOMING MORE AESTHETIC, VERSATILE AND CONVENIENT IN THIS RAPIDLY GROWING CATEGORY.

InLine Plastics offers tamper-proof packaging for both hot and cold foods. The crystal-clear polypropylene containers are available in a dozen shapes and sizes.

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Packaging

consumers became better educated, demanding higher quality.”

Today, rampant infl ation has again curtailed restaurant dining in favor of lower-priced supermarket fare. According to restaurant software provider HungerRush, 50% of Americans are dining out less frequently.

Labor and space issues have made it challenging for some grocers to meet demand. These circumstances have prompted many to pre-package food on-site or, more often, through a third party, according to Parker. This has further facilitated the use of better packaging.

“In 2018, only 41% of deli prepared foods were sold in fi xedweight packages,” she observes. “Since [that time], share of pre-packaged fi xed-weight packaging has grown 11 share points. These are massive changes.”

Packaging Criteria

Regardless of where food is packaged, it must now meet key criteria driven by increasingly demanding consumers. Following are the most significant requirements.

Safety and transportability: COVID-19 drove growth of Uber Eats and other food delivery services. Containers must now be leak-proof and tamper-resistant for handling during delivery. “People don’t want things popping open and want to know it hasn’t been opened by someone,” asserts Krista Anderson, assistant program and category manager, prepared foods at Portland, Ore.-based New Seasons Market.

In 2022, Shelton, Conn.-based InLine Plastics added tamper-proof containers for hot foods under the Safe-T-Chef line. “There were no tamper-evident options for hot food,” says Carrie Cline, senior brand manager. “For traveling foods that change hands multiple times, consumers want security.”

Products are crystal-clear polypropylene and come in a dozen shapes and sizes. They provide security without using a wraparound label that would hide contents. Rigid sides prevent leakage. Multiple compartments keep foods separate, with sealed sections for dips and dressings. InLine’s Safe-T-Chef, along with its Safe-TFresh assortment, offers “over 100 options,” according to Cline.

Freshness has always been important for taste and food safety, but newer technologies have improved on that. ProAmpac, for example, uses special barriers in the film lining its packaging, forming a moisture barrier. “Foods last anywhere from a few days to weeks,” says Randles.

Appearance: Branding has become more important, whether it’s the grocer’s own brand or an outside supplier’s, as a way to make products quickly recognizable. New Seasons’ soups are packaged by an outside party, with custom labels designed by a marketing team. “It’s definitely more branded,” notes Anderson. “Packaging influences buying decisions. It’s important that grab-and-go customers in particular see food.”

InLine’s clear polypropylene and PET packaging accomplish visual goals, since consumers can see the food’s quality and freshness. “Food must look fresh and appealing to eat,” says Cline.

TekniPlex changed packaging from what were once “generic” offerings to products that are all clear and resistant to condensation. “It makes chicken look more appealing,” notes Posada.

ProAmpac offers fiber-based packaging, an alternative to plastic that lets design elements and information be printed directly on containers. “There’s no need for additional printed labels,” says Randles. “It’s more streamlined and creates a more impactful destination without a display of rigid plastic containers.” The packaging’s plastic windows facilitate viewing.

Whitney Atkins, VP of marketing at the Madison, Wis.based International Dairy Deli Bakery Association, cites the importance of mentioning foods’ benefits on labels. “Highlight important ingredients, nutrients and production attributes like organic, non-GMO and gluten-free,” she says. “Focus on benefits like high delivery of vitamin D and immune support. QR codes can help extend limited on-package space for further information.”

Convenience: New Seasons uses oven-safe and microwavable containers for holiday offerings like mashed potatoes and stuffing. “Customers appreciate it,” observes Anderson. “Lids on foil containers could melt. We look for versatile packaging. It might have a clear lid, with the rest being black. But if it’s microwaveable, it may outweigh that fact that it’s not all transparent.”

The importance of microwaveability prompted TekniPlex to develop polypropylene containers with this functionality. “It’s become more relevant,” adds Posada,

New Seasons Market capitalizes on sushi's aesthetics with a clear poké bowl that provides visibility for all ingredients.

TekniPlex offers a wide array of plastic and paper packaging solutions.

New Seasons’ soup container is clear near the bottom.

The corrugated industry has a long-standing and proven commitment to sustainability and an inherently circular supply chain. Only trees from sustainably managed forests are used to make corrugated boxes, and each year, more trees are planted than harvested. In fact, more trees live on American soil today than 50 years ago, now covering one-third of U.S. land 1. With a recycling rate hovering around 90 percent for the last decade, the corrugated industry closes the loop by reusing fibers from recycled boxes to make new ones. Square? Most likely. Circular? Definitely! Renewable. Circular. Extraordinary.

Learn more about the renewability, recyclability and responsibility of boxes at boxesareextraordinary.com.

Packaging

Product specificity: New Seasons replaced a branded bag with a plastic clamshell that maintains the temperature of rotisserie chickens. In addition to being convenient for shoppers, chickens stay at a safe temperature so they don’t have to be discarded if unsold that day. “Rather than go in the trash, we reuse them in soup or salad,” explains Anderson.

With sushi, New Seasons uses a customized clear poké bowl that makes all layers visible. “If it had a black plastic bottom, you’d hardly see anything,” adds Anderson. “It’s attractive food you must show off.”

For his part, Posada notes that more retailers are “specializing” with sushi packaging, which “used to be a stock item.”

Sustainability: The importance of sustainability is growing. ProAmpac’s fiber-based packaging is fully recyclable once the clear window is removed. While this type of packaging can be more costly, it’s also lighter, affording more transportation savings from both weight and volume perspectives. “You can fit much more in a truck load or pallet,” says Randles.

InLine’s PET products contain 10% post-consumer content, according to Cline. Its clear containers, namely hot food ones, are fully recyclable. “Hot foods have traditionally been packaged using a black-based component,” she continues. “They’re challenging to sort at materials recovery facilities and end up in landfills.”

New Seasons is serious about sustainability. The grocer sources plastic that’s 100% post-consumer recycled. In-store eating areas let consumers dispose of food items responsibly, according to Anderson. Additionally, the company tries to educate shoppers about sustainability. “Our huge passion for sustainability guides much purchasing,” she adds.

Supermarkets’ growing roster of packaging demands sometimes challenges the industry in that adding certain packaging attributes can compromise others. “Finding the right balance between sustainability, convenience and safety is the biggest and most on-trend challenge,” admits Cline.

There has never been a better time to be in the prepared food packaging industry, however.

ProAmpac offers fiber-based packaging. When the clear windows are removed, the containers are completely recyclable.

Warehouses of the Future

HOW ARE GROCERS TAPPING INTO THE LATEST FULFILLMENT TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP CUSTOMERS CONTENT?

By Emily Crowe

hether they’re being built from the ground up or retrofitted with next-generation technology, today’s grocery warehouses are going far beyond their humble beginnings. Companies like Ocado and Instacart are bringing unique fulfillment facilities to grocers across the country, while others are providing warehouse orchestration and omnichannel adaptations, as well as necessary facility upgrades and turnkey software solutions.

With some of the country’s largest retailers recently being forced to lay off associates throughout their fulfillment operations in an effort to right-size their operations, and others running into budgetary issues while trying to offer fast and free shipping, optimizing warehouse performance and streamlining delivery networks have never been more important. So, what are some of the country’s leading food retailers doing to get their warehousing in tip-top shape?

Building on Fulfillment Needs

Earlier this year, San Francisco-based Instacart rolled out its Carrot Warehouse model, through which it offers food retailers individualized warehouse solutions that can offer delivery in as few as 15 minutes. According to the company, Carrot Warehouses are customized for each grocer’s needs, ranging from nano-fulfillment to full-basket grocery, with or without automation.

Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix Super Markets was the first grocer to use the Instacart nano-fulfillment solution, and is

Key Takeaways

Optimizing warehouse performance and streamlining delivery networks have never been more important.

Publix, Walmart and Kroger are among those deploying innovative solutions in this space.

A bevy of third-party technology providers is offering cuttingedge warehouse and fulfillment solutions to grocers of all sizes.

At a store in Arkansas, Walmart recently opened an on-site fulfillment center powered by a proprietary storage and retrieval system called Alphabot.

now able to offer 15-minute delivery of fresh produce, pantry staples, household goods and more in several Miami neighborhoods. Erik Katenkamp, VP of omnichannel and application development at Publix, explains that the grocer’s move is the next step in its omnichannel strategy.

“Instacart’s model is to empower retailers to better serve their customers,” says Daniel Danker, VP of product at Instacart. “We’re taking the same approach by building Carrot Warehouses, a network of nano-fulfillment facilities that we operate on retailers’ behalf, to help retailers deliver unmatched speed and selection to their customers.”

U.K. online grocer Ocado Group, meanwhile, continues to work alongside the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. to roll out hub-andspoke e-commerce fulfillment centers throughout the United States. The 350,000-square-foot highly automated hub facility in Dallas, for example, can fill 18,000 orders a day and was designed to accommodate more than 1,000 robots that traverse large 3D grids to pick food from totes and carry it to an order assembly area. That fulfillment center works in tandem with regional spoke sites in Austin, Texas; San Antonio; and Oklahoma City that serve as lastmile cross-decks to expand and enhance delivery service.

Elsewhere, Walmart recently opened its first co-located fulfillment center at a store in its hometown of Bentonville, Ark. The market fulfillment center (MFC) is built within the store and features a proprietary storage and retrieval system called Alphabot. That system operates inside of a warehouse-style space, using autonomous carts to retrieve ambient, refrigerated and frozen items ordered for online grocery. After it retrieves them, Alphabot delivers the products to a workstation, where a Walmart associate checks, bags and delivers the final order.

“The dedicated space allows us to concentrate on picking items for our online customers,” says Gilbert Giron, an MFC digital team lead at Walmart. “I feel confident that the items our associates are looking for are going to be there when a customer wants them.”

Major Tech Upgrades

A bevy of third-party technology providers, meanwhile, is offering cutting-edge warehouse and fulfillment solutions to grocers of all sizes — without the need to start from scratch.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Blue Yonder recently unveiled its Warehouse Execution System and Adaptive Fulfillment & Warehousing solutions, both of which promise to dramatically speed up digitalization from warehousing to micro-fulfillment operations, and include features such as holistic resource orchestration, plug-and-play integrations, modular architecture, and scalability.

“From first to last mile, companies need the ability to respond faster while keeping fulfillment time and costs as low as possible,” explains Desikan Madhavanur, chief development officer at Blue Yonder. “These two new Blue Yonder solutions enable agile and scalable modern-day warehouse and micro-fulfillment operations with seamless, prescriptive workflows and consistently high service at a value-driven cost.”

For its part, Atlanta-based intelligent automation provider Dematic has partnered with Upshop, based in Tampa, Fla., to supply integrated fulfillment solutions that scale with grocery business. The partnership’s aim is to empower grocers looking to grow their fulfillment operations with solutions that allow them to retain and manage their own customer data. With Dematic, Upshop e-commerce fulfillment users can quickly and efficiently implement automation capabilities while keeping their own software foundation.

Additionally, on-demand fulfillment provider Fabric has launched the Fabric Partner Elite Program, a new set of comprehensive resources in coordination with strategic partners to help brands, retailers, grocers and logistics service providers level up their operations to meet consumer expectations. The cost-effective program is designed for brands and retailers looking to implement automation and MFCs to speed up fulfillment and streamline existing supply chain resources.

“Customers and brands don’t agree on what ‘fast fulfillment’ means,” notes Kimberly Barr, global director of partnerships at Tel Aviv-based Fabric. “Customers expect same-day or next-day shipping, but many companies feel their current window of five to seven days is adequate. Retailers who want to meet rising customer expectations are deploying disruptive technologies like Fabric’s MFC solution to meet these demands, all while achieving their profitability and sustainability goals.”

U.K.-based Ocado has been powering high-tech hub-and-spoke fulfillment operations for Kroger since the two companies formed a partnership in 2018.

“From first to last mile, companies need the ability to respond faster while keeping fulfillment time and costs as low as possible.”

—Desikan Madhavanur, Blue Yonder

Showcase freshness with an attractive wall of produce

Customers all over the world are raving about how ModoShelf™ is changing the way they merchandise and manage their produce section in coolers.

Using standard ModoShelf components, you can create a system that uses various shelving depths and inventory blocker panels. These shelves act as natural “baffles” to facilitate air-flow from the rear of the case to support the “air curtain” at the front, and don’t disrupt the refrigeration efficiency like other upright racking systems. Inventory blockers have large holes to ensure this proper air circulation is not impeded.

Find out why so many grocers are making the move to ModoShelf™!

Cut cleaning time in half Fits in any produce cooler

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merchandising

Form and Function

A GLOBAL DESIGN FIRM OFFERS CREATIVE WAYS TO TACKLE SOME OF GROCERS’ BIGGEST CHALLENGES.

By Bernhard Schweitzer

oday, grocers all over the world are facing similar challenges: rising energy costs, a labor shortage and supply bottlenecks, to name just a few. Consequently, they need to adjust to the current situation and find solutions for these pressing matters.

Fast-changing consumer needs and external conditions force retailers to adapt their spaces and product offering quickly and easily. In the past three years, the world experienced both a pandemic and a war that have changed consumer behaviors irrevocably.

One of the keywords therefore remains flexibility — conceptionally and effectively. Flexibility in store concepts boils down to a fl exible layout with mobile fi xtures that allow the retailer to reconfi gure the product offering at any chosen occasion. Plug-in fi xtures benefi t not only consumers in addressing their changing needs, but also retailers, which save money and conserve energy over the long term, due to the savings associated with renovations as needed throughout the lifecycle of a store. With the trend toward smaller stores, the implementation of plug-in fi xtures for the whole store or for single department renovations is the easiest and smartest option available right now.

Plug and Play

When a retailer changes or adds more refrigeration, which has been the case for most retailers over recent years, a central CO2 plant is no longer optimized for the increased supply requirement. Long runs of CO2 copper pipes are also fundamentally inefficient, having a huge effect over the refrigeration system’s lifetime. With integrated cooling, proximity guarantees efficiency throughout the system’s entire life.

Refrigerated counters in combination with waterloop systems make the use of plug-in furniture a genuine alternative to achieve smaller footprints. The waterloop requires no plant, just a small unit that cools the water before running it through flexible pipes. By carrying the heat that it generates away from the store, the waterloop helps to alleviate stressed AC systems in the summer while

providing the option to use the generated hot water for heating in the winter. It’s a win-win regardless of the climatic conditions of the store site. Further, the pipes are easy to install, move and maintain, adding a huge amount of flexibility to the installation.

If you take a typical store with a 10-year lifecycle, you can be sure that there will be countless alterations to the layout, each time resulting in the need to bring in specialist plumbers at great expense and material cost. Plug-in systems can be moved or maintained by non-engineers, however, resulting in no damage to floor surfaces, and layout changes managed in a far quicker timeframe.

Next-Level Presentation

Apart from flexibility in their positioning, counters have to be easily adaptable from service to self-service to address the acute labor shortage in supermarket service departments. This adds another dynamic layer to the store and helps bypass staff shortfalls.

An efficient product presentation can also help tackle this issue by developing a targeted storytelling strategy that can convey the expertise of a specialist and communicate product information without a constant physical presence on the floor. “Talking fi xtures,” as we call them at Schweitzer, can deliver the most important information to consumers through clever communication and contribute to an engaging atmosphere. The product is king, and the fi xtures should be invisible where possible. Right from the beginning, the importance given to the product forms the basis for furniture design and installations within the entirety of the store concept.

Another approach that adds to a partly staffed department’s efficiency is to integrate specially developed brands within the department. These create trust, involve the consumer in the history and identity of the brand, and elevate the entire product presentation, which then speaks for itself.

Bernhard Schweitzer is CEO and owner of Schweitzer, a European shopfitting and design firm. Since he took the helm in 2006, the company has expanded to operational sites in North America, as well as throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

Plug-in fixtures in food stores benefit customers and retailers alike.

Taking Grocery Retail to the NEXT LEVEL

SPEAKING WITH Christopher

Sandstrom, Director of Strategy & Growth at Comarch

Loyalty programs have become an integral part of today’s retail marketplace, where points can mean anything from personalized promotions and free food to gas discounts and more. To find out how they’re impacting the grocery category, Progressive Grocer asked Christopher Sandstrom, Director of Strategy & Growth Americas of Comarch — a leading provider of loyalty technology solutions for grocery retailers — how loyalty programs can help stores stay ahead of the curve (not to mention how eCommerce and the shift toward mobile engagement have impacted the marketplace).

Progressive Grocer: There are so many loyalty programs out there — and the number just keeps growing. Why is a loyalty program an integral component of an overall marketing plan for small independent grocers and large national chains alike?

Christopher Sandstrom: Listen, data tells the story. I think it’s something like 75% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase from a retailer that recognizes them by name or recommends options based on past purchases, or knows their purchase history,1 and somewhere around 64% are willing to share personal information with retailers in exchange for personalized offers and discounts.2 Grocers who make the effort to get to know their customer by collecting first-party data and shape their loyalty program around those metrics to personalize the shopping experience will win. It’s that simple. That’s how grocers will have the competitive edge, at least where customer retention, CLV (customer lifetime value), and profits are concerned.

PG: How can stores that have a loyalty program maximize its impact on traffic and sales?

CS: I don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but it’s data. Collect as much of it as you possibly can. It’s super simple too — customers want to be heard, and you can provide the megaphone if you want. Ask them to fill out a form and offer an incentive, maybe a discount on their next purchase or free delivery on their first order. You can also kill two birds with one stone by integrating your loyalty program with your POS to collect customers’ purchase history automatically. So, not

LOYALTY PROGRAMS FOR GROCERS DRIVE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, LOYALTY, AND REVENUE GROWTH

only are you collecting that juicy purchase history for every customer, but also payment methods and location. All of this can be used to create personalized offers.

It doesn’t stop there either. You can send surveys to loyalty members asking about their shopping experience, product preferences, interests, the list goes on. All of this is ammunition for creating targeted marketing campaigns and personalized offers.

All of this plays into the customer experience as a whole — you want the customer’s purchases to feel almost effortless. You can even train sales associates to ask customers’ names and offer customized recommendations based on their past purchases.

PG: What challenges can grocers expect when implementing a loyalty program?

CS: We often see that grocers think that loyalty programs are plug-and-play, that any old system will work for them. The truth is that you need a loyalty partner that understands how the platform affects the customer experience as a whole, and how an omnichannel approach can really revolutionize results. The modern shopper expects a seamless experience everywhere they shop. Any hiccup or stoppage on a channel can have devastating results. Omnichannel loyalty programs see a 15% increase in customer retention3 and a 10% increase in customer spend per visit.4 Achieving these kind of results is all about building a consistent experience online, through mobile apps, and in-store. You want to make it as easy as humanely possible to earn and redeem rewards, no matter which channel they choose to shop on.

PG: How can Comarch help grocery retailers build successful loyalty programs?

CS: We have everything that retailers need to build, run, and manage their loyalty programs, no matter the size of their business. Our AI-powered loyalty management software helps grocers create programs that personalize their customer experience, influence consumer behavior, reward shoppers, and analyze member data— basically, every ingredient you would need to drive customer engagement and loyalty, growing revenue in the process.

Trust and Brand Value Matter

While this means that the basic definition of loyalty has shifted away from exclusivity, overall brand loyalty is strong for certain grocery and household items, and rising in other categories. The categories with the highest loyalty are laundry, soft drinks, coffee and bath tissue, while the categories with the lowest brand loyalty are eggs and refrigerated juice.

Further, trust and brand value are considered key drivers toward gaining customer loyalty, with trust leading directly to a feeling of brand value. For example, offering free items is a top loyalty driver for shoppers between the ages 35 and 44, but shoppers ages 65 and older are most concerned that a brand offers good value for the money.

All of this means that brands and retailers need to continuously earn shopper dedication and find ways to connect with them instead of remaining complacent, 84.51° asserts, especially when it comes to differentiation. The company’s recommendations include the following:

Defining Loyalty

A

RECENT STUDY FROM 84.51° OFFERS SHOPPER INSIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BRANDS AND RETAILERS.

By Emily Crowe

hen it comes to loyalty, grocery shoppers have differing views of what it means to throw their weight behind certain brands. Following years of shopping disruptions and ongoing economic uncertainties, a recent study from 84.51°, The Kroger Co.’s retail data science, insights and media company, is taking a deeper look at what drives customer loyalty today, as well as how brands and retailers can respond.

According to the study, more than 30% of shoppers define loyalty based on their purchase behavior, 24% define it based on consideration, and 43% base it on preference.

“To a majority of shoppers, brand loyalty means buying a brand ‘most often’ while being open to purchasing other brands,” the study notes. “The same can be said for retailer loyalty. Only 6% of shoppers defined retailer loyalty as shopping at one retailer for all their needs, while 29% described it as a retailer where they shop ‘most often.’”

Think personalization: Personalization drives loyalty. Fifty-nine percent of shoppers are likely to purchase a certain brand or shop at a certain retailer if they receive personalized content for that brand or retailer.

Reach shoppers at key moments: Engage shoppers as they fill their carts online or in-store with personalized messaging and coupons.

Give shoppers more of what they want: Identify the elements of a product that shoppers value most and remind lapsed shoppers of those features as well as new features that may interest them.

Find common threads between shoppers: Thirty-two percent of respondents claim to be brand exclusive, meaning that they only ever buy that brand and nothing else, or it’s the brand they buy most often. These shoppers also tend to be retailer exclusive (45%), meaning that they shop one retailer for all of their needs, or they shop at one retailer most often. Find common shopping behaviors and preferences between brand- and retailerexclusive shoppers to uncover opportunities to better meet their needs.

Grain-free Indulgence

Founded by Ozery Bakery CEO Guy Ozery, grain-free snack brand SeedWise has added cookies to its lineup. Made with seed flour, the soft-baked cookies are free from the top nine food allergens. With only 1 gram of net carbs and 4 grams of protein per serving, the low-in-sugar product line comes in Birthday Cake, Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate flavors, all of them gluten- and grain-free, vegan, keto-certified, and non-GMO. A 2.86-ounce resealable package of any flavor retails for a suggested $5.99. SeedWise is a Certified B Corporation. http://seedwisesnacks.com/

Food, Beverage & Nonfood Products

Authentic Flavor

Mexican food brand Somos is delivering the flavors of Mexico’s beloved esquites — Mexican street corn served off the cob and in a cup — to U.S. consumers nationwide with the launch of Mexican Street Corn White Rice. The convenient, microwaveable plant-based product combines the fire-roasted charred corn of esquites with long-grain white rice and such Aztec spices as epazote and chile de arbol. Mexican Street Corn White Rice can be served up as part of a weeknight dinner or eaten right out of the bag. As is the case with all Somos products, Mexican Street Corn White Rice’s ingredients are plant-based, non-GMO and grown in Mexico. Somos’ founders recommend adding mayonnaise or crema, cotija cheese, and hot sauce — not necessarily in that order or all at once — to the rice, which retails for a suggested $3.79 per 8.8-ounce resealable pouch. The brand has also recently added to its lineup Chipotle Refried Black Beans, featuring a smoky flavor and a bit of heat, along with 8 grams of protein per serving, and Poblano Brown Rice, offering subtle heat and flavor, as well as a distinctive green hue. https://eatsomos.com/

Marshmallows Meet Frozen Novelties

Famed ice cream maker Blue Bunny, a brand of Wells Enterprises, has joined forces with Stuffed Puffs Filled Marshmallows to develop a line of frozen treats that includes sandwiches. The item delivers a chilled experience that evokes nights around the campfire with Classic S’mores and Salted Caramel S’mores varieties.

A 4-pack of 4-fluid-ounce Stuffed Puffs Sandwiches of either variety has a suggested retail price of $4.98.  https://www.bluebunny.com/; https://wellsenterprisesinc.com/; https://stuffedpuffs.com/

Hearty But Less Fat

The latest protein innovation from Butterball LLC is Hearty Turkey Sausage, butcher-style bun-length turkey sausage links that offer the same taste and texture of their smoked pork and beef counterparts, but with 70% less fat. The line is available in two flavors: Old World Smoked and Polish Style. Precooked, gluten-free, and ready after just a few minutes on the grill, in the skillet or in the microwave, Butterball Hearty Turkey Sausage retails for a suggested $5.49 per 12-ounce package of four links. The product can currently be found at select retailers, with broader retail distribution scheduled for this fall. https://www.butterball.com/

Wendy’s Chili Comes Home

Leading branded food company Conagra Brands Inc. and Wendy’s have brought the restaurant chain’s popular chili to grocery stores and mass retailers across the country, as well as select online retailers. Packed with 29 grams of protein per can, the homestyle chili is made with savory all-natural beef and a mix of peppers, beans and a rich tomato-based sauce. A 15-ounce can retails for a suggested $4.99. https://www.conagrabrands.com/; https://www.wendyschiliathome.com/; https://www.wendys.com/

OF WHAT’S NEXT

By Bridget Goldschmidt

The Future of Food Security

EMPOWERING FARMERS IN AFRICA CAN HAVE POSITIVE EFFECTS FOR U.S. GROCERS.

n a beautiful spring day in Washington, D.C., I made my way to the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center to attend a bipartisan luncheon held by nonprofit organization

Food Tank to mark the launch of the Forum for Farmers and Food Security. According to Food Tank, the forum “is a global coalition dedicated to driving tangible action to transform food and agriculture systems.” This means improving global food and nutrition security while highlighting the connection between food systems and climate resilience. The packed event featured a panel of food and agriculture systems experts, moderated by Allison Aubrey, of NPR News, as well as a fireside chat with Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and a keynote address by Sen. Chris Coons, D.-Del. Attendees spanned executives at several major global food brands, elected officials, agricultural ministers from various countries, leaders at seven UN agencies, major agricultural funders, think tanks and impact investors, among others. The focus was on creating viable economies in Africa by helping food producers transition from expensive imported grains to indigenous crops that are better able to withstand drought and feed a growing population, thus ensuring greater food security for the region. To drive this point home, each attendee received a bag of delicious Yolélé fonio chips, made from one of those native African crops, and a past Progressive Grocer new product.

The Next Quinoa?

What, you may ask, does food security in Africa have to do with U.S. grocers? Speakers at the luncheon emphasized the importance of helping fund food businesses in this part of the world, rather than just giving aid every time a crisis arises. This would ultimately lead not only to less geopolitical unrest triggered by food insecurity, but also a greater number African-grown and -made products on store shelves around the world, including the United States. One key issue discussed at the luncheon was how to reduce post-harvest loss, which currently stands at 40% in Africa and contributes to both climate change, through the release of methane, and food insecurity, through the product that goes to waste. Imagine if more of that food were available to feed people in their home countries and to be exported abroad.

After all, for all the buzz in the West with regard to local products, and grocers’ endeavors to partner with area farms and foodmakers to keep transportation costs down and celebrate the unique cuisines of their respective areas, there are certain products — chocolate and coffee spring immediately to mind — made from crops harvested in Africa and other far-off places. Having steady, dependable

Nonprofit ogranization Food Tank’s recent bipartisan luncheon on the occasion of the launch of the Forum for Farmers and Food Security included participation from Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. (top right) and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif. (bottom right, with microphone), who engaged in a fireside chat with Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg. The event also featured a panel moderated by NPR’s Allison Aubrey that included (left to right) Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, of Food Systems for the Future; Samir Ibrahim, of SunCulture; and Matthew Meredith, of IFRIA.

supplies of these always-in-demand raw materials will keep prices stable along the supply chain.

In addition to those mainstays, grains like fonio, with its nutritious profile and versatility, have the potential to take off in the United States, and not just among African immigrants pining for a taste of home. Like South American quinoa before it, fonio could go from obscure foreign crop to sought-after side dish or breakfast food with the right marketing and a selection of readily available products in the grocery channel.

As the Global South seeks to overcome a changing climate that causes adverse events like droughts, save its people from starvation, quell political instability and grow its economies, robust food systems could be a solution that benefits the globe.

Bridget Goldschmidt Managing Editor bgoldschmidt@ensemleiq.com