One of the most important contributing factors to a company’s success is its ability to spot and act on emerging trends. In the world of food retail, keeping track of evolving consumer behavior and key trends can be overwhelming and that’s why FMI provides signature research including our U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report, The Food Retailing Industry Speaks report and our latest Grocery Revolution experience that marries the findings of both reports together.

From family dinners to neighborhood potlucks, food has always been at the center of such gatherings, making grocery stores an important partner in every community. The hundreds of grocers on Capitol Hill for the joint Day in Washington meeting this week take pride in providing customized and local items that reflect the communities in which they operate, but a new rule mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) threatens to impose burdensome and costly regulations on grocers, and ultimately impacts their store operations and how they serve their customers.

This week, more than 250 grocery and supermarket executives came to the nation’s capital to participate in the Food Marketing Institute and National Grocers Association and Food Industry Association Executives “Day in Washington.” The number is significant, but I think the number is more than mere happenstance. The magnitude of the issues to be discussed with legislators was significant, including legislation that would bring needed common sense clarification to the application of chain restaurant menu labeling requirements for supermarkets.

Do what thousands of attendees and exhibitors did at last year’s FMI Connect Business Exchange (CBX), when more than 1,700 face-to-face meetings took place in the CBX, exhibit booths and private suites in the CBX area.