FMI - OMEGA - West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association

Boardroom is comprised of original perspectives from leading experts in food retail on a selection of the most critical issues executives must confront in boardrooms across the country and around the world. We are excited to share a series of Q&As with various authors from papers included in the journal that will give an expanded perspective on the key topics. In this two-part interview, I had a chance to speak with the two architects of Boardroom, Mark Baum, senior vice president & chief collaboration officer at FMI, and Mike Matheis, global industry association lead, Oliver Wyman.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing the architects of a new collaborative piece of intellectual property that shares insights from some of the leading experts in food retail on a selection of the most critical issues executives must confront in boardrooms across the country and around the world. This is part II of my interview with Mark Baum, senior vice president & chief collaboration officer at FMI, and Mike Matheis, global industry association lead, Oliver Wyman, on how Boardroom was created and its importance to the food retail community.

I fear there may be some confusion regarding the vote last week on Senator Pat Roberts' bill to set up a federal, voluntary GMO labeling system. By a 48 (yes) to 49 (no) count, the bill fell short of gaining the 60 votes necessary to invoke cloture to move the legislation forward. But in the spirt of Monty Python and Mark Twain, the bill is not dead yet and reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.

A new FMI survey among grocery, retailing, and wholesaling companies explores their operation costs, customer retention strategies, and e-commerce initiatives. The analysis conducted by 210 Analytics and made possible by BMO Harris Bank, FMI’s Financial and Strategic Initiatives in Food Retailing Study 2016, finds that the cornerstone in food retail is shopper loyalty and trust with an average of 90 percent of total sales reported from customer loyalty programs.

According to U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2015, 80 percent of shoppers assume personal responsibility for the nutrition of the food they buy. However, shoppers still rely on food manufacturers (42 percent) and retailers (33 percent) as partners to ensure their food is nutritious. When it comes to health and wellness, Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has a number of resources to help you better understand the trends playing out in the aisles. Here are a few items you can find on our website at www.fmi.org/HealthandWellness.