Save the Date

Spring is upon us! It's time to get out your planner, find your frequent flyer mile numbers, and redeem your hotel points...it's conference season! If you're looking to learn more about the numerous aspects of food and beverage consumer packaged goods or retail, mark your calendars for these educational conferences, expos, and events.


March
20-23: Snack Food Association SNAXPO, the world's premier event for the snack food industry
23-24: Institute of Food Technologists Wellness11 Conference
26-30: 2011 American Bakers Association Convention
27-31: Food Industry Environmental Council 41st Annual Food and Beverage Environmental Conference
28-29: Western Michigan University Food/CPG Marketing Program Food Marketing Conference 2011
28-30: SymphonyIRI Group Summit 2011
31-April 1: Food & Beverage Marketing & Advertising

April
3-6: Food Engineering's Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference and Expo
5-7: Food Packaging Technologies Summit
10-12: National Retail Federation Global Supply Chain Summit
10-13: Juice Products Association Annual Meeting
11-13: Iconosphere 2011 presented by Iconoculture, a leading global consumer research and advisory company
11-13: Quality Conference
19-21: Food Safety Summit Expo & Conference

May
1-4: Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association Annual Convention
24-26: SWEETS & SNACKS EXPO® sponsored by the National Confectioners Association

June
11-14: Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo
21-24: National Restaurant Association Restaurant Show
22-23: International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event 2011 at the NRA Show
24-26: World Tea Expo

July
10-12: National Association for the Specialty Food Trade Summer Fancy Food Show

September
11-14: Prepared Foods' 2011 New Products Conference
12-14: Shop.org Annual Summit (the digital division of the National Retail Federation)
19-21: 2011 International Dairy Show hosted by the International Dairy Foods Association
20-22: Sustainable Packaging Forum
21-24: Natural Products Expo East
26-28: PACK EXPO - North America's proven show for packaging and processing innovations

October
6-7: Brand Packaging: Packaging that Sells Conference
16-19: National Beer Wholesalers Association Convention and Trade Show
18-20: Coffee Tea & Water Show, presented by the National Automatic Merchandising Association
22-25: National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association Convention

November
1-4: Food Processing Suppliers Association's Process Expo 2011

2012
January 8-14: Penn State Ice Cream Short Course
January 15-18: Retail's Big Show, the National Retail Federation's 101st Annual Convention & EXPO
February 12-15: National Grocers Association's Annual Convention & Supermarket Synergy Showcase
February 18-22: The American Frozen Food Institute Frozen Food Convention

In addition, be on the lookout for programming and special events from St. Joseph's University Center for Food Marketing and the Food Industry Center at the University of Minnesota throughout the year.

Will you be attending any of these events, or have you been to these conferences in the past? Please leave a message; I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Shopping for Education

For many students around the U.S., this week marks the start of the 2010-2011 school year. Many parents are doing their part to help improve their kids' schools just by going to the grocery store. For years, food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies have participated in programs that allow moms and dads to give back to education in the community.

One such initiative, Box Tops for Education, has been helping schools earn the extra cash they need for books and supplies for the past 13 years. To date, more than 90,000 schools across the nation educating students from kindergarten through eighth grade have earned $320 million through the program. Here's how it works: parents and teachers clip Box Tops coupons from hundreds of participating products found in grocery stores and hand them in to their local school. Schools earn $0.10 for each Box Top redeemed to fund much-needed supplies and equipment.

Companies partnered on the project include General Mills brands like Betty Crocker, Green Giant, Hamburger Helper, Pillsbury, and Yoplait among others, as well as Land O' Lakes, Nestlé USA, and Welch's.

Recently, the refreshing fruit-flavored beverage Sunny D also announced a program to help schools in the community. With every 20 Sunny D labels, pre-kindergarten through seventh grade classrooms in the U.S. earn 20 free books through the Sunny D Book Spree. In addition, the five schools that submit the most proof of purchase stamps will each receive $2,000 worth of books; the next five top submitting schools will each receive $1,000 worth of books. In 2009, the Sunny D Book Spree gave away 84,000 free books.

Finally, the Labels for Education project has been awarding free educational equipment to schools in exchange for proofs of purchase from the Campbell family of brands for more than 37 years. According to the organization's website, more than 60,000 schools and organizations are registered with the program, benefiting more than 42 million students and providing more than $110 million in merchandise to schools around the country.

The next time you're shopping for groceries, be mindful of the stickers, logos, and tags on items supporting these promotions that benefit schools in your community. Be sure, too, to visit the websites of the organizations to learn how you can donate your labels to these worthwhile causes.

Make your voice heard! If you participate in these types of programs for your child's school, leave me a message and tell me about your experience.

Get Associated

As an active member of the Public Relations Society of America, I have learned a tremendous amount about my profession. I have also met some fantastic people and created an amazing network. As I learned more and more about food and beverage consumer packaged goods, I knew I needed to turn to an industry association for food and beverage CPG to educate myself and meet like-minded individuals involved in the field. Here are the professional organizations I have turned to in an effort to increase my understanding of the industry:

American Beverage Association
The American Beverage Association (ABA) has a rich history, having been founded in 1919 as the American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages, and renamed the National Soft Drink Association in 1966. As mentioned on the institute's Web site, the ABA represents hundreds of beverage producers, distributors, franchise companies, and support industries. The bottled drink products the group supports consists of hundreds of brands, flavors, and packages, including regular and diet soft drinks, bottled water and water beverages, 100 percent juice and juice drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and ready-to-drink teas. The association is the voice of the non-alcoholic beverage business and has a thorough, comprehensive Web site that includes a blog and a list of U.S. beverage companies and their brands.

Food Marketing Institute
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) serves 1,500 member companies representing food retailers and wholesalers in the United States and around the world. FMI describes itself as developing and promoting policies, programs, and forums to support members and their customers in the areas of government relations; food safety and defense; public and consumer information; research and education; and industry cooperation. The group has taken a stance on many industry issues and offers research, educational resources, and other services. Click here to learn more about FMI and its mission.

Grocery Manufacturers Association
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is the association of food, beverage, and consumer products companies. GMA is involved in public policy and scientific, technical, regulatory, and food defense support. Strategically, the association focuses on consumer confidence, serving as a liaison between food industry leaders, policymakers, and the public; customer and channel collaboration; global commerce and international policy; health and wellness; and sustainability.

National Confectioners Association
The National Confectioners Association (NCA) has represented the candy, chocolate, and gum industries since 1884. NCA fosters industry growth by advancing and promoting the interests of the confectionery industry and its consumers. If you're looking for fun facts about candy or candy related recipes, the NCA has you covered. You can also read the organization's latest issue of Candy & Snack TODAY.

Network of Professional Women Consumer Products/Retail
According to its Web site, the Network of Executive Women (NEW) strives to attract, retain, and advance women in the retail and consumer products industry through education, leadership, and business development. Founded in 2001, NEW now boasts more than 2,000 members representing 300 companies in the fast-growing consumer products and retail industry, including grocery, chain drug, mass retail, wholesalers, manufacturers, associations, and trade media. The organization hosts national leadership conferences, educational workshops, and regional networking events in more than 15 cities across the country.

Snack Food Association
The Snack Food Association (SFA) identifies itself as is the international trade association of the snack food industry representing snack manufacturers and suppliers, representing more than 400 companies worldwide. Member companies are comprised of manufacturers of potato chips, tortilla chips, cereal snacks, pretzels, popcorn, cheese snacks, snack crackers, meat snacks, pork rinds, snack nuts, party mix, corn snacks, pellet snacks, fruit snacks, snack bars, granola, snack cakes, cookies, and various other snacks. SFA also produces the publication Snack World.

In addition, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) recently rolled its food and beverage section into the travel and tourism section. PRSA members who hold sector membership receive privileges such as industry newsletters, podcasts, online discussion forums, and more.

Are you a member of one of these associations? Do you recommend a group that is not on this list? I'm still learning, so I'd like to know. Leave me a message.

Knowledge is Power

As you know, I am a public relations practitioner trying my best to break into the food and beverage/retail consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. As I have conducted informational interviews during the past several months, I have learned that one of the best ways to start your career in this industry is to earn a degree in this field. Between learning vital topics in the classroom, listening to guest speakers who are subject matter experts, and by gaining on-the-job experience through internships, a bachelor's and/or master's degree can provide students with a solid foundation.

While I considered going back to school, ultimately I decided that right now, I do not have the time and money to commit to becoming a full-time graduate student...again. However, I do believe that an MBA in food marketing or product management could be in my future once I gain a little experience in this field and can manage a part-time program in addition to full-time work.

Here are the schools that I came across in my many months of research that offer relevant programs:

John Lacko/Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo provides undergraduate students an opportunity to earn a bachelor of business administration in food and consumer packaged goods marketing with a minor in business. The program boasts nearly 100 percent placement upon graduation.

The University also hosts an annual Food Marketing Conference. This year’s event, Essential Business Lessons for the New Economy, takes place March 24-25 and features keynotes from executives at the Nielsen Company, Kellogg's, Kraft Foods, Daymon Worldwide, and Hormel.

Courtesy of Portland State University
Looking to work toward an MBA? MBA+ students at Portland State University can focus on food marketing and logistics. Core courses include Consumer Products Marketing and Purchasing and Logistics in the Food Industry.

Portland State is also home to the Food Leadership Industry Center. According to its Web site, the Center aims to promote education, leadership, and research critical to the food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods industry. Every fall, industry leaders and students gather at the Executive Forum and Women's Leadership Forum to discuss trends, technological advances, and groundbreaking ideas within the industry.

Michael Forster Rothbart/University of Wisconsin-Madison
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, MBA students seeking a career in the CPG field can choose the brand and product management specialization, where classes such as Brand Management Strategy and Consumer Behavior are part of the curriculum. The school prides itself on a 100 percent placement rate upon graduation and trains all of its students through the Center for Brand and Product Management.

Courtesy of St. Joseph’s University
In addition to offering a bachelor of science degree in food marketing, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia also provides a post master's certificate for individuals in the food industry who already hold an MA or an MBA, and an executive master of science degree and an MBA in food marketing for professionals with at least four years of experience in the food industry. Many SJU faculty members previously worked full time in the food industry.

The school's Center for Food Marketing strives to develop current and future leaders to meet the needs of the global food industry. Each year, the Center organizes a Food Industry Summit, bringing together thought leaders and scholars to discuss marketplace issues and development.

While certainly not the only way to gain experience in the CPG industry, education can indeed accelerate your knowledge of the field and jump-start your career. Did you earn a degree from one of these schools? Did you study a similar program at another school? Tell me about your experience. I would also be interested to learn what other schools offer such programs.