GMA OPENS WINDOW ON FOOD INDUSTRY'S FUTURE

Christina Veiders

WASHINGTON -- At a time when publicly traded supermarkets and consumer packaged goods companies live from one financial quarter to the next, Grocery Manufacturers Association here will challenge food industry executives to take the long view and explore what the future holds for the industry.

The GMA has assembled high-level leaders from multiple disciplines -- including retailers, manufacturers, industry associations, third-party providers, consultants, researchers, government officials and academicians -- who will gather at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center here Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. The inaugural GMA Conference on the Future of Food is being produced with the cooperation of 30 industry associations; its three sustaining sponsors: ACNielsen, IBM and Monsanto; and in special partnership with the Institute for the Future. Supermarket News is the media partner.

Mark Baum, executive vice president of GMA, called the conference the association's genesis project, which was conceived over a year ago.

"We believe we are creating an unprecedented event that is long overdue," Baum told SN. "Our industry is in a slow- to no-growth environment. It's consolidating. It's concentrating. It's under tremendous pressure from [Wall Street] analysts to produce. We typically tend to look no further than 30 days out in terms of the future of our businesses."

The GMA is creating a forum, comprised of about 60 speakers and presenters, for all food industry stakeholders.

Trend forecaster Faith Popcorn, founder of the BrainReserve, New York, will kick off the conference by outlining future forces she sees as impacting the food industry. She will focus on redefining the supermarket of the future, including how supermarkets will continue developing distinct identities, how supermarkets can partner with brands to provide unexpected but welcome experiences in-store, how to reinvent the aisles and provide sensorial experiences for consumers, and why the in-store experience needs to be customized for different consumers.

"Understanding and connecting with consumers, and anticipating their future behaviors will place the food industry in a more advantageous position," Popcorn said.

Two other keynote speakers -- Scott Gottlieb, the Food and Drug Administration's deputy commissioner of Medical and Scientific Affairs, and Arthur L. Caplan, chair of the new department of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania -- will discuss in separate addresses the impact health and science will have on food and on consumers' food preferences.

A panel of chief executive officers and other top executives from Monsanto, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, General Mills, ACNielsen and Food Marketing Institute will set the tone for the conference by analyzing the changing marketplace from farm gate to dinner plate, and what it means for their individual organizations going forward.

The Institute for the Future, an independent nonprofit research group, based in Palo Alto, Calif., that helps organizations make informed decisions about the future, will participate in a preconference workshop and share insights on the emerging health economy, and in a breakout session with ACNielsen. That session will examine consumers' personal health ecologies based on ethnographic research, and the food purchasing practices traced through panel data.

"There is a group of consumers that is actively engaged in the pursuit of health," said Katherine Haynes Sanstad, a research director at IFTF and a conference participant. "Their quest is not confined to the traditional health care domain, but includes products as divergent as cars and building supplies. They are knowledge seeking and savvy, and build customized systems to pursue health. Food is an essential part of these systems."

When it comes to food and consumers, Sanstad said, "understanding what they buy, the context in which they buy it and what services they want with that food will reveal new opportunities and also some threats to food manufacturers and retailers."

Besides the main presentations, the conference is built around four themed breakout tracks -- consumer connections and brand; health and wellness; global market access and regulations; and emerging food science and innovation (see Many Dialogues on the Future, Page 27).

Of particular interest for supermarket retailers are the sessions that concentrate on consumers and brands, and those devoted to food science and innovations, Baum said. "We are all making branding connections, and the R&D pipeline holds promise for going forward."

Conference participant David Stark, vice president, Global Industry Partnerships, Monsanto, St. Louis, said his company is committed to bringing beneficial traits to consumers. "This year, we introduced the Vistive line of soybeans that will produce healthier oils for the food industry," he said. "This initial Vistive product is designed to help companies reduce trans fats in processed foods. We are working on future enhanced Vistive oils that will have additional stability for expanded applications, lower levels of saturated fat, and, ultimately, higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids -- all from a soybean seed."

Stark applauded the conference organisers. "Monsanto recognizes the critical importance of conversations among all the players in the agri-food chain, from the seed producers like us to the consumers who shop in supermarkets, and everyone in between," he continued. "These conversations give us a better understanding of what consumers want so we can make more informed decisions about the products we are developing."

Baum explained the conference is structured to examine the future on various levels -- food categories, consumers, geographical markets, business and government.

Attendees can learn about emerging market opportunities such as business development opportunities in urban markets. "Philadelphia's inner city communities each contain at least $50 million of retail buying power per square mile. Given the scarcity of supermarkets in many of Philadelphia's neighborhoods, retail dollars that could be spent in the city of Philadelphia are being spent in other areas of the region," said Hannah Burton, senior associate of The Food Trust, Philadelphia, who will be a conference speaker.

"Philadelphia's unmet demand can support significant new food retail, in particular from savvy companies that understand the challenges and opportunities of operating in diverse communities," she said.

Supply chain also is an important component of food's future, especially in satisfying customer/consumer requirements. Rick Blasgen, a Chicago-based industry consultant, will speak during a session on the future of procurement, processing, packaging and logistics.

"The requirements continue to change as progressive companies attempt to drive costs out of the system while providing increased value," he said. "It is now widely recognized that an extremely agile supply chain is vital to generating and sustaining profitable growth. Manufacturers and retailers must reorient their thinking about customer service to determine how they will meet these new requirements. The supply chain program must support the overall business plan and be integrated into the corporate objectives and goals."

Baum said the timing of the conference is right because consumers want to know more about the products they buy and the companies they do business with. "Consumers are more concerned than ever in taking control of their lives, taking a holistic approach about health and lifestyle. They are much more savvy about business in general and about a company's values and outlook," he said.

Michael Keown, senior vice president of marketing for WhiteWave Foods, Boulder, Colo., who will participate in a breakout session on a global overview of lifestyles and dietary trends, said his company sees many more consumers paying attention to how products are made, and concerned about the environmental aspects.

"Consumers want to know what happens on the farm and if [producers] are living up to the highest standards of farming in terms of waste management," he told SN. Food retailers need to be prepared to face consumer questions as shoppers look to retailers as the gatekeepers of the products they sell, Keown said. Retailers also will have to ensure that the products they sell meet the highest standards for their consumers, he added.

"The conference is not about the competitiveness of the industry or retailers trying to draw consumers back into their stores," Baum said. "In the context of this gathering, it is what are consumers' expectations going to be in the future, and how will it impact our business. Nobody has created a venue specifically dedicated to the future on so many levels."

Many Dialogues on the Future

The Grocery Manufacturers Association's Future of Food Conference is structured around four main tracks that touch all aspects of the industry. Below is a listing of presentations within each category.

- Consumer connections and branding.

Sessions will include: the release of a consumer food shopping study by Parade magazine, a division of Conde Nast, and a presentation by Supermarket News, also owned by Conde Nast, on future trends impacting food retailers; a presentation by ACNielsen and the Institute for the Future on consumers' health-related purchases; and a discussion by marketers on the impact of the experiential economy.

- Health and wellness.

Sessions will include: an assessment by researchers from the Institute for the Future of the role food will play in the emerging health economy and the health consumer; a discussion by policymakers and nutritional experts on food and health threats, and opportunities in regulatory and legislative proposals at the state, national and international levels; an overview by manufacturers on global lifestyles and dietary trends; and a presentation by leaders of community-based organizations on health and wellness availability and options in urban markets.

- Global market access and regulations.

Sessions will include: a primer on world trade issues; an overview by agricultural trade experts on the real world implications of the upcoming Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization; a roundtable discussion on the goals for the World Trade Organization negotiations and views on multilateral vs. bilateral trade agreements; and a discussion on global market access and the potential through direct foreign investment or exports to tap into emerging markets.

- Emerging food science and innovation.

Sessions will include: a discussion by a representative of the Research Chefs Association on the impact of culinology on industry innovation and the training of future food professionals; an exploration by leading experts on the future forces in agriculture and advanced technology; a forecast on flavors by marketing and research and development experts and how consumer preferences spur recipe innovation; and a discussion by visionaries on innovations in procurement, manufacturing, packaging and logistics.