RBA CHANGES ITS NAME TO STRESS IDENTITY, SCOPE

ROSEANNE HARPER

PHILADELPHIA -- The Retail Bakers of America, at its annual board of directors meeting here last month, voted to officially change its name to the Retailer's Bakery Association.

The name change is aimed at clarifying the identity and purpose of the organization and its geographic scope, said Peter Houstle, RBA executive vice president.

When it was called Retail Bakers of America, the Laurel, Md.-based membership association was sometimes mistaken for a bakers' union because of its name. "That can be problematic, especially when you're marketing yourself to management," Houstle added.

One aim of the name change, too, was to accent the fact that "RBA is by and for retailers," Houstle said. "While suppliers generate funds, it's for their customers that we do what we do. We're driven by the needs of our retail members," he added.

The word "America" in the former name was seen as limiting, too. "We encompass more than America. Yes, our political activity is here, but we have affiliations with bakery associations in Latin America and we're looking to make more ties internationally with other organizations," Houstle said.

About two years ago, RBA unofficially changed its name from Retail Bakers of America to Retail Bakery-Deli Association.

"That was when we didn't know how to address deli, but since then, we've decided to stick to what we do best," said Houstle, noting that the association has decided to focus on bakery only.