Fresh Food Management: The Role of Fresh In Retail

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

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OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

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OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

Fresh Item Management is not an easy task for any sized retailer. It requires a lot of cooperation from department heads, quality data, constant due diligence, and an end goal for efficiency/profitability. During the recent NRF 2019 Show, I had the pleasure of leading a panel discussion on this topic.

<p>By Doug Baker, Vice President, Industry Relations - Private Brands, Technology, Food Marketing Institute<br /> <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/produce/picture43.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=4a9e406e_2" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Picture43" title="Picture43" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p> <p>We know from our <a href="https://www.fmi.org/our-research/research-reports/u-s-grocery-shopper-trends">U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2018</a> report that fresh foods are part of what brings shoppers to the store. The most important attributes shoppers say when selecting their primary stores include high quality fruits and vegetables (80 percent), high quality meat (77 percent) and fresh food deli (53 percent). In addition <a href="http://www.fmi.org/groceryspeaks">The 2018 Food Retailing Industry Speaks</a> finds that many grocers emphasize fresh prepared foods/foodservice in their competitive strategies to differentiate from the competition. According to a recent <a href="https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/fresh-products-drive-total-store-success.html">Nielsen study</a>, when a store performs well in fresh, the overall store also performs well and conversely when a store does not perform well in fresh nor does the rest of the store.  </p> <p>Fresh Item Management is not an easy task for any sized retailer. It requires a lot of cooperation from department heads, quality data, constant due diligence, and an end goal for efficiency/profitability. During the recent <a href="https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/">NRF 2019 Show</a>, I had the pleasure of leading a panel discussion on this topic.</p> <p>Our panel of experts included Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer at <a href="file:///H:/commun/Media%20Relations/FMI%20Blog/Brookshire%20Grocery">Brookshire Grocery</a>, John D'Anna; Senior Principal Food Drug and Convenience, Industry Advisor at <a href="https://www.sap.com/index.html">SAP</a>, Randy Evins; and CEO of <a href="https://www.applieddatacorp.com/">Applied Data Corporation</a>, Shamus Hines. This group represents a wide range of expertise in managing fresh operations, from managing food waste to regulatory compliance. </p> <p>During our discussion, we explored all the fresh item management needs both food retailers and foodservice professionals have in order to provide the best customer experience all while maintaining and growing profitability. At the end, I asked the panelists what their top considerations are for managing fresh over the next 5-10 years. Here are their answers:</p> <h5>Fresh Item Management Considerations for the Next 5 – 10 Years:</h5> <h6><strong><br /> John D'Anna, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer at <a href="file:///H:/commun/Media%20Relations/FMI%20Blog/Brookshire%20Grocery">Brookshire Grocery</a></strong></h6> <ul> <li>Traceability will be table stakes for the fresh area and blockchain will lead the way.</li> <li>As center store moves online, the store will move more and more towards a grocerant concept.</li> <li>As fresh products sourcing expands, regulation will continue to grow.</li> </ul> <h6><strong>Randy Evins, Sr. Principal Food Drug and Convenience, Industry Advisor at <a href="https://www.sap.com/index.html">SAP</a></strong></h6> <ul> <li>Digitize everything; Fresh must get out of manual and invisible processes. </li> <li>Store level inventory is an imperative, you must know what you have.</li> <li>Fresh percent of sales in store will grow exponentially as the dry or center store goes online.</li> </ul> <h6><strong>Shamus Hines CEO of <a href="https://www.applieddatacorp.com/">Applied Data Corporation</a></strong></h6> <ul> <li>Fresh deli category will expand beyond just fried chicken, rotisserie and pizza and will continue to be more dynamic (more new ingredients, dietary/taste trends changing more frequently)</li> <li>Traceability across supply chain, in-store production and delivery will enhance to improve tracking and reporting on control points, ensuring safer food and transparency consumers want.</li> <li>E-commerce will drive tighter inventory controls of fresh in-store.</li> <li>Food waste will grow in focus, especially in the U.S., and move past just sales tracking and into more profit analysis and social responsibility with retailers tracking and reporting on waste </li> </ul> <p><strong> </strong></p>

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Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.