10/25/2016
2:00 pm - 2:15 pm	Welcome Remarks
2:15 pm - 3:00 pm	Embracing Grocerant Success Will Rosenzweig, Dean and Executive Director, The Food Business School of The Culinary Institute of America William Rosenzweig inspires attendees to be innovative and successful with their grocerant programs by: • addressing trends of growing importance in fresh food programs, including health and sustainability; • focusing on the culture of a retail organization and how creating a shared vision can unify all participants; • the importance of being customer-centric in design and execution of the grocerant experience.
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm	Transition
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm	Execute. Educate. Inspire. Brad Bennett, Channel Marketing Manager, Tyson Amber Langston, Channel Marketing Manager, Tyson Eric Le Blanc, Director of Marketing, Deli & Convenience Store, Tyson Scott Moses, Sr. Channel Marketing Manager, Tyson The love – or disdain – shoppers have for the grocerant experience isn’t based on the banner, department footprint, price point, or even assortment. The difference is shopper education. The key to helping the shopper create a convenient meal has more to do with communication than any product innovation. The Tyson team will share their vision of a meal-centric, shopper-centric supermarket foodservice experience.
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm	Break in the Grocerant Solutions Center
4:45 pm - 5:15 pm	Capturing Destination Shoppers with Fresh, Premium Ingredients Shenoa French, Director, Innovation and Product Solutions, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Kevin Walker, Director of Foodservice and Business Development, Niemann Foods Inc. Explore an in-depth review of a retailer’s journey into foodservice with an innovative, new fresh-prepared product line, learn how to exceed expectations with convenience and quality; capture new traffic with restaurant-quality meals; and learn how grocerants can profit from beef strategies already winning in the meat case and in foodservice.
5:15 pm - 5:45 pm	Giving Shoppers a Clear, Convenient Choice Emily Blair, Business Development Manager, Milliken & Company Shoppers’ demand for freshness and convenience is driving strong growth of fresh-prepared food programs at the grocery store. Innovative packaging solutions are becoming increasingly important to the brand development and commercial success of these programs. Highly transparent, conveniently microwaveable and easily recyclable packaging options have emerged to deliver the assurance of freshness, coupled with the simplicity of convenience. The speaker shares the most recent results of the company’s “Voice of the Shopper” focus group that delves into shopper behavior and reveals packaging's role in fresh-prepared food programs.
5:45 pm - 8:00 pm	Cocktail and Dinner in the Grocerant Solutions Center

10/26/2016
7:00 am - 8:00 am	Breakfast Buffet in the Grocerant Solutions Center
8:00 am - 8:30 am	Make the Experience Real Kim Camp, Manager, Learning Center Programs, Hillphoenix A winning grocerant experience captivates the shopper and supports the retailer’s culinarystaff. Elements of design, equipment, lighting and mood come together to showcase not only what products are available, but how it’s prepared and by whom. Kim Camp reveals the keys to driving customer engagement through interaction with culinarians in a variety of applications from full-scale restaurants to strategically designed sampling stations, which retailers should employ to build the optimal grocerant experience.
8:30 am - 9:00 am	From Insight to Action: Translating Restaurant Trends to Retail Execution Sebastian Friedman, Brand Manager, Hormel Foods John Kenyon, National Sales Manager of Deli, Hormel Foods Steve Venenga, VP of Marketing, Hormel Foods Grocerants can learn a lot from foodservice, but disseminating trends and adapting information to retail execution is a daunting undertaking. Hormel Foods Deli by Design provides retailers with a roadmap to uncover food trends and translate them into action through Back of House preparation techniques, safe handling practices, and development of standard operation procedures, as well as critical but easily executable Front of House hospitality and merchandising strategies.
9:00 am - 10:30 am	Break in the Grocerant Solutions Center
10:30 am - 11:15 am	Culinary Blueprint for Grocerant Success Chef Charlie Baggs, Chief Innovation Chef, Charlie Baggs Culinary Innovations Chef Steven Petusevsky, Principal, Culinary Innovation for the Food Service Industry Long before the first onion is chopped, a grocerant’s success has been determined by buy-in from the top and a cultural commitment throughout the organization. The other key ingredient is an understanding of who’s holding the fork. Attendees will be served up the critical elements that bridge the internal buy-in with the customer’s take-away. Retailer attendees will understand the importance of mission, menuing for the shopper and the banner, training and culture, and the metrics to measure results.
11:15 am - 12:00 pm	Retail Dietitians: A Vital Ingredient for Customer Engagement Alyson Fendrick, RD, Corporate Dietitian, HAC Retail Melissa O'Brien, RD, Registered Dietitian, Jewel Osco Lisa Grudzielanek, Health & Wellness Director, Metcalfe’s Market While grocery options are considered healthier than traditional foodservice, health and wellness is an increasingly important issue for grocerants. Retailers that employ dietitians already have a competitive advantage. The benefits of having a retail dietitian work with your foodservice program include: • RDs are shopper-aware and shopper-facing. • RDs are knowledgeable of shopper needs and wants. • RDs can help craft and support communication with shoppers. • RDs are a source for menu label messaging to support regulations. • RDs can promote the value of family meals and can further support the retailer with cross-merchandising strategies throughout the store.
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm	Lunch in the Grocerant Solutions Center
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm	Grocerant Messaging in an Omnichannel World Alex Khalil DSCE, DSNE, Business Development Executive, Advanced Solutions Dalles Krause, Owner, Krause's SuperValu Joe Michaels, DSCE, Vice President New Product Development, Tebo Brett Silverman, Vertical Team - Commercial Displays, LG Electronics In an omnichannel world, messages are consistent across channels. To create an experience that both informs and delights shoppers, grocery retailers need to make the most all mediums, from print circulars to digital signage and iBeacon push messaging. In this session, your presenter enlists the support of grocery retailers and solution providers alike to demonstrate how various mediums not only work better together – think omnichannel!– but help communicate various messages most effectively including: • Provide enhanced marketing messaging around    grocerant offerings • Communicate regulated menu labeling • Optimize cross promotional between grocerants and    center-store and other departments • Enhance shopper engagement and entertainment • Deliver proven strategies to enhance sales
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm	Grocerant Interactive: Building the Experience This interactive session brings all that we have learned all together. Education is needed for the shopper, as well store staff Buy-in from the top will help ensure success with the shopper The importance of design and lighting on the grocerant experience Use tools to promote products with more emotion, a la restaurants Look across the store to add value/wellness, and much more Recognize that grocerant is a different business
3:30 pm - 3:45 pm	Closing Remarks