Our Blog
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October 18, 2018
Will You Be in the Bag?
Be in the Bag!
Our goal: To place your products in the hands of C-level retailers.
You in?
We’ll be distributing a hotel room bag drop with samples of your products and promotional materials to more than 250 grocery retailer executives at FMI Midwinter Executive Conference.Subscribe to FMI Emerge by Nov. 30, 2018 and provide your product samples for the room drop.
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October 12, 2018
Welcome Amaris
Amaris Bradley, MPH, RD s the 52nd mentor to join the FMI Emerge community. Amaris brings key expertise as a registered dietitian with a keen understanding of nutrition research and food policy as it relates to the food industry. Her experience includes defining and enhancing well-being priorities and strategies within healthcare systems, college campuses and large convenience store chains to meet the changing needs of clientele.
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October 10, 2018
@FMI_Emerge
Follow us on Twitter for insights, updates, community good news and more
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October 2, 2018
Supermarket Wellness Watch: Health-focused upstarts shake up food retail
Food industry disruption is being accelerated by innovative, upstart consumer goods companies focused on attributes including health and wellness.
That’s a takeaway from a first-time Consumer Goods Innovators Index produced by consultancy Oliver Wyman. The index provides insights into which types of companies are truly disrupting. Moreover, in an interview, Oliver Wyman partners addressed how traditional food retailers are impacted, and how they can adjust to these challenges.
The consultancy pursued a rigorous process to identify the most innovative disruptors in a number of industry sub-vertical sectors, including food and beverage. The organization considered more than 86,000 retail and consumer goods companies across sectors, analyzing aspects including depth of innovation and disruption. It turns out many of the most disruptive food and beverage companies identified were those marketing attributes that included health and wellness.
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September 22, 2018
5 Food Innovation Trends At Expo East
At Natural Products Expo East last week, it was a pleasure to meet inspiring innovators and entrepreneurs who are at the cutting edge of food retail today.
I had the chance to connect with product innovators who are generating new ways to combine ingredients and to create better-for-you snacks, drinks and meal solutions. And, at a show where most exhibitors are category disruptors, it was great to talk with entrepreneurs spearheading new distribution systems and market opportunities for farmers and new supply chains.
I was also thrilled to meet with some of our awesome FMI Emerge Mentors. Over the past few months, I’ve made vital connections between the mentor network experience and the needs of the subscribers in our program. If you are an emerging brand or know a company growing their retail sales, we hope you will consider supporting FMI Emerge.
With so much to see and so little time, I headed straight to the “Hot Products” pavilions!
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September 20, 2018
Listen & Learn – Learning to Use Your Label and Ingredients for Sales Growth
Beyond the Label: Learning to Use Your Label and Ingredients for Sales Growth
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Free Webinar, Wednesday, October 10th.
Consumers increasingly make purchase decisions based on product information online and in-store. If your emerging brand fails to deliver the right attributes then you lose shelf space, visibility and sales.
In this free fast-paced interactive webinar, you will gain the understanding on how to take your product content to the next level. We will focus on both core and enhanced product attributes.
You will gain an overview on GS1 Certifications, SBA Packaging Guidelines, SEO and organic search considerations and SmartLabel® implementation.
Register online today. -
September 11, 2018
Distribution or Velocity – Insights from a FMI Emerge Mentor
How many stores, shelves, doors, are you in or on? In some form, that is the most frequently asked question of a founder of an emerging brand. In my opinion, that question perpetuates the wrong strategic focus. I will admit, I have a strong opinion on this issue. Chasing ACV, getting sucked in by the allure of store count, can kill a brand before it ever really gets started.
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September 8, 2018
Help Food Distributors and Brokers Share Your Selling Story.
Help Food Distributors and Brokers Share Your Selling Story. by FMI Mentor, Patrick Nycz of NewPoint Marketing See also NewPoints’ Second Annual Emerging Brands Conference. You’ve created a killer pitch deck and selling story. You’ve researched the retailer’s plan-o-gram (POG), the trends, and competitive homework. You’ve finally had a meeting with a retail food buyer – and it went […]
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September 6, 2018
New Mentor- Greg Arz, Natural Source Foodservice Sales
Greg Arz today joined the FMI Emerge Community as a valuable mentor who can support emerging brands with an understanding of how to utilize outsourced sales management for the organic & natural foodservice food and beverage market.
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September 5, 2018
How the Bava Brothers Got Their Groove
Earlier this year, a childhood friend put the brothers in touch with Julie Pryor, FMI Director of Emerging Brands, who told them about the FMI Emerge community, designed to provide entrepreneurs like themselves with information and, most importantly in their case, mentors.
After a phone call with Pryor and Ed Hoffman, one of the 40+ FMI Emerge mentors, Steve said, “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the break we need.’”
That first call led them quickly to a lead on a fulfillment partner.
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August 31, 2018
The zen of slow cooking Expands via Kroger Ship
FMI Emerge Mentor, Meg Barnhart marries up FMI Digitally Engaged Food Shopper insights and her company’s ecommerce strategy.
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In a news story published August 31, 2018, The zen of slow cooking Expands Distribution Through Kroger Ship, the story shares that as demand for the convenience of online grocery shopping grows, the largest grocery chains are turning to their customer’s favorite food brands to stock their digital shelves. As of August 1, 2018, throughout the U.S., Kroger shoppers can now order from, and have their groceries delivered to their home. In their grocery orders, now Kroger shoppers can add the zen of slow cooking spice blends to their online orders through Kroger Ship, helping to make their home cooked meals even better. -
August 29, 2018
Emerging Brands – Six Common Pitfalls to Avoid – Advice from a Retailer
Introducing a new brand to the marketplace can be equal parts excitement and frustration. Joshua Dooley of QFC/Kroger shares his insights and advice on six common pitfalls for emerging brands that can make the difference between flourishing and vanishing. Joshua is one of many retailers and mentors who support the FMI Emerge community.
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August 27, 2018
Emerging Brands Must Know About Finance- Understanding Finance Tools & Terms
Within the FMI Emerge community, there is valuable insight available from more than 40 Emerge mentors.
In recent conversations Mentors Randy Funk of Frontera Equity and Keith Kohler of the K2 Group,we learned some of finance basics.
Randy and Keith both have extension financing experience and expertise that they are ready to share with the community.
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August 12, 2018
Talk the Talk – Grocery Retail Terms You Should Know
There is a whole lot of learning to do when growing your brand through grocery sales.
Successful brands know that there are common and not-so-common terms, specific to the grocery retail industry. Speaking a common language is essential to developing effective relationships and processes with distributors, wholesalers and retailers. As your brand begins to expand its shelf presence, having fluency in grocery trading lingo can accelerate your business relationships by leaps and bounds.
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August 11, 2018
Is Your Brand Ready for the Next Level?
Take the 5-minutes Assessment to find out! You’ll gain an initial review of how your company is doing, and identify areas of opportunity to help your brand reach grocery retail distribution.
Once you’re finished, download the “10 Critical Steps to Food Retail Distribution Success”.
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What Do Meal Kits and Multicookers Have in Common?
While meal kit online sales continue to grow, some e-commerce providers have begun to struggle a bit and it’s becoming clear that the traditional brick-and-mortar store may be one of the best places for consumers to purchase them.
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August 7, 2018
Build Healthy Relationships with Your Retailers
Retailers are eager to build relationships with brands that can consistently offer products consumers are looking for on their shelves. As partners, retailers and suppliers can provide the greatest value to consumers.
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August 6, 2018
Brand Awareness: How to Create Your Plan
Developing a smart brand awareness strategy starts with three basic questions.
Who’s the target market?
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What’s the right vehicle?
What’s it going to take to reach my target? -
August 1, 2018
Brand Secrets and Strategies with Dan Lohman
Listen to our conversation with FMI Emerge mentor Dan Lohman who will discuss resources for emerging brands with our Director, Julie Pryor.
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Understanding Brokers with Bruce Nierenberg
Wondering how to build a strong broker network? Want to be a better partner to brokers? FMI Emerge mentor Bruce Nierenberg has got you covered.
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