Walgreens to Keynote NFRA Executive Conference

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) will hold its 22nd Annual Executive Conference April 7-9, 2014, at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference Center in Tempe, Ariz. The conference provides the latest information on consumer and industry trends and features a retail presentation by  Maurice (Moe) Alkemade, GVP/GVM, Consumables, Sundries & Seasonal of Walgreens. The conference opens at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 7 with the optional Greater Penguin Open Golf Tournament or  NFRA Fishing Tournament followed by the evening’s welcome reception.  Tuesday, April 8 presents an impressive line-up of interactive speaker presentations, as well as the conference reception and dinner.  On Wednesday, April 9, the conference concludes by 9:00 a.m. after breakfast and a final informational session. The retailer keynote by Maurice (Moe) Alkemade kicks-off the Tuesday morning sessions followed by Larry Levin of IRI discussing how to drive growth in frozen and refrigerated dairy through greater activation and innovation. Bob Goldin of Technomic will explore major trends in foodservice and how they are impacting refrigerated and frozen foods. Trey Moser of Inmar Analytics will summarize major coupon activity for 2013 including a look at the numbers for distribution, redemption, and method use, as well as spotlighting promotion activity in the frozen and refrigerated categories. Tuesday’s afternoon sessions begin with Lynn Dornblaser of Mintel Group looking at new product hits and misses and what factors drive success. Bob Shaw of Concentric will examine how millennials shop, what makes them distinct (or similar) as a generation, what they are expecting in future products and what key triggers will motivate them to consider and to buy. Concluding the presentations, Jenn Sutherland of Edelman will  explore the tectonic shift in roles, rules and traditions when it comes to how households shop, cook and eat. The conference closes early on Wednesday when Devora Rogers of Inmar Analytics examines the explosion in size and economic influence that the Hispanic market represents and the business development opportunities and challenges with this diverse, highly engaged and digitally enabled shopper segment. To preserve the informal atmosphere that encourages group discussion and more personal interaction, the conference is limited to 150 attendees. You can find a registration form for the 2014 NFRA Executive Conference at the NFRA website, www.NFRAweb.org, under the Meetings tab.