Building A Culture of Trust and Transparency in Food Retail

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

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

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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Join a Community that Champions, Connects, and Elevates!

Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

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.

I love to ask participants to fill in the blank to this sentence, “I trust my grocery store to ______.” For a while, I got responses like “sell safe food,” “be clean” and “have a good assortment of food.” But in recent years, I hear more answers along the lines of “give me product information,” “know where my food comes from,” and “be good to their employees.”

<p>By David Fikes, Vice President, Communications and Consumer/Community Affairs, Food Marketing Institute<img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/photos-for-staff-use/meat/20171205-fmi-store-shoot-0962r-lowres.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=6c2c786e_2" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="20171205-FMI-Store Shoot-0962r-LowRes" title="20171205-FMI-Store Shoot-0962r-LowRes" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p> <p>In a few weeks, I’ll be traveling to Seattle for one of my favorite research projects—the ethnographic interviews that are part of our annual <a href="https://www.fmi.org/our-research/research-reports/u-s-grocery-shopper-trends">U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends</a> report. These interviews take place in shopper’s homes and we inquire about their grocery shopping and meal preferences. During these interviews, I love to ask participants to fill in the blank to this sentence, “I trust my grocery store to ______.” For a while, I got responses like “sell safe food,” “be clean” and “have a good assortment of food.” But in recent years, I hear more answers along the lines of “give me product information,” “know where my food comes from,” and “be good to their employees.” This shift in consumer values, uncovered in the face-to face interviews is further verified by our expansive <em>Trends</em> survey findings. Our research shows consumer’s reporting the following as important attributes when choosing their primary store:</p> <ul> <li>Accurate information displayed (65 percent);</li> <li>Courteous, friendly employees (51 percent);</li> <li>Knowledgeable employees (49 percent);</li> <li>Provides information beyond the package (23 percent); and</li> <li>Open and honest about business practices (48 percent).</li> </ul> <p>In many ways, shoppers are looking for food retailers to have a culture of trust and transparency across their organization, which presents retailers with the challenge of how do you make transparency a vibrant part of your company identity from the C-suite all the way to the associate on the store aisle?</p> <p>FMI and <a href="http://www.foodintegrity.org/">The Center for Food Integrity</a> (CFI) have teamed-up to develop a free, online course to help food retail professionals create a culture of transparency in your organization that promotes enhanced shopper trust and loyalty. We’re tackling this online learning experience in three parts, so participants have time to digest each portion, partake in interactive learning experiences and really dig into this complex topic. Here are the three parts:</p> <h5><a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=55B56B000001D8">Cultivate Trust-Building Transparency – February 21</a></h5> <p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=55B56B000001D8"></a>We will cultivate our understanding and knowledge of what the research on trust-building transparency is telling us and how we can begin to apply key learnings within our organizations.</p> <h5><strong><a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=55BAFB00000193">Nourish Trust-Building Transparency – February 28</a></strong></h5> <p>Participants will operationalize the elements that define trust-building transparency – motivations, disclosure, stakeholder participation, relevance and more.</p> <h5><strong><a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=55BAF40000028C">Harvest Results from Trust-Building Transparency – March 7</a></strong></h5> <p>Participants will be introduced to The Transparency Index – The Standard for Trust, to form an organizational plan that can increase their harvest.</p> <p>These sessions will be recorded and archived on <a href="https://www.fmi.org/events-education/webinars">FMI’s website</a>, but we do encourage you to commit to participating in all three sessions so you can benefit from the interactive features of this course. </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.