'Experience' on Grocerant Summit Menu

Retailer attendees of Progressive Grocer’s upcoming second annual Grocerant Summit will receive a hearty serving of solutions and strategies that address some of the major challenges of this burgeoning, dynamic area of grocery retail.

Progressive Grocer’s 2016 Grocerant Summit will inspire and delight retailer attendees who want to “Build the Grocerant Experience.” The invitation only event will take place October 25-26, 2016, at the Schaumburg Convention Center in suburban Chicago.

From juggling the dual business models of foodservice and traditional retail under one roof to revealing resources that are hiding in plain sight, Grocerant Summit not only addresses some uncomfortable realities head-on, but also provides insights and best-in-class solutions.

Highlights of Grocerant Summit include:

• William Rosenzweig, Dean and Executive Director of The Business School at The Culinary Institute of America, addresses trends of growing importance in fresh food programs, including health and sustainability, while also helping attendees worth through challenges of the grocerant business model, and creating a shared vision that unifies all retailer participants.
• Strategies for retailers to inspire and educate shoppers to create a convenient meal throughout the store.
• A case study on a new fresh-prepared food product line and how it captured new traffic.
• Research that reveals the importance of packaging of fresh prepared offerings.
• How design, equipment, lighting and mood work together to not only delight the shopper, but also showcase product offerings but also the staff that creates the food.
• How-to’s for retailers transitioning to the foodservice-centric world of grocerants, from language, to merchandising and hospitality.
• Menuing is key, but even before the first onion is chopped, it’s important to have buy-in from the CEO to customer-facing staff. Chefs who develop retail programs map the process for attendees.
• A panel of retail dietitians weigh in on shopper communication, menu labeling regulations, and the importance of healthy offerings.
• Messaging matters, but different mediums require different approaches. Attendees will be provided a primer on omnichannel messaging for grocerants.
• Grocerant Summit also includes a dramatically different session that blends live theater with attendee interaction to highlight critical issues and how to address them.

For the full agenda and more information on Grocerant Summit, visit www.progressivegrocer.com/grocerant-summit.

To receive an invitation to Grocerant Summit, grocery retail executives should email Joan Driggs at [email protected], and CPG solution providers should email Jeff Friedman at [email protected].