FMI'S MEALSOLUTIONS FORUM '99 READY FOR OCTOBER

ROBERT VOSBURGH

WASHINGTON -- A senior executive-level educational forum -- centered around three challenging case studies -- will be the centerpiece of the updated MealSolutions conference, scheduled for October 2-4 in Colorado Springs, Colo., announced the Food Marketing Institute.

There's little argument that the supermarket industry sees meal solutions as a key strategy for growth. Yet, many retailers continue to struggle in developing strategy to overcomes the challenges the category presents, said organizers.

"We're very excited about this kid of discussion, because it's now pushing this topic to that level -- what's it going to take for success -- as opposed to should we or shouldn't we [implement meal solutions]?" said Michael Sansolo, FMI's senior vice president. "We all know we should."

The think tank-style retreat will center on individual and facilitated study groups of 10 to 30 people, respectively, who will dissect and discuss the case studies over the course of two days. The examples are modeled after the Harvard Business School method, and have been assembled by Technomic Inc., Chicago, from data supplied by actual companies in the meals business.

Meal solutions in all its forms, and from all segments of the food industry, are part of the database that Technomic is using to construct the case studies, according to Barbara Sisson, FMI's director, educational services.

"It's very deep and expansive," she said of the forum's approach. "It is not going to be a superficial representation of a fictitious company, but real-life situations, real data."

Specifically, the program will focus on three issues: How the industry can win over this market; how companies can build a successful meal-solutions culture; and how this can be profitably accomplished, said Sansolo.

"The key is you've got to find a path that works for your company and gives the consumer the additional forms of convenience that gets them coming back," he said. "This isn't easy, but this is clearly what the consumer is saying they want."

The forum also incorporates input from manufacturers, as they represent fundamental alliance and partnership-sourcing issues. Selected manufacturers and food-service distributors have been invited to contribute their perspective and participate in the workshops, said Sisson, who added that the forum is being underwritten by The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, a "very progressive sponsor."

Because the conference concentrates on strategy and tactics, those attending the forum should be senior executives who are directly responsible for designing meal solutions programs, said the organizers.

"We want people who are thinking tactically and operationally about this issue," said Sisson.

"The CFO and the merchandiser have different sets of criteria they're looking at in terms of [determining] success," observed Sansolo.