Member News & Headlines Blog

As we have seen over the past few weeks, anything can happen at any given moment. We are all feeling the impact this unprecedented time is having on the industry – and across the world. While we cannot predict when global health crises, shortages and natural disasters will occur, we can do our best to prepare for the future.

Now more than ever is a time to come together with support and compassion. How can you use your business to help others? Are you in a position to donate or expand incentives? Be thoughtful in your social media messaging, implemented policies and employee relationships, or you may run the risk of losing key stakeholders.

On the operations front, take a look at your supply chain, from raw materials to packaging. With products in such high demand, the longer a situation persists the more items could be at risk. Ensure there is time to mitigate and find suitable alternatives. Push the envelope on innovation. What about your product offerings? Can you launch new sizes and quantities? Consumers and retailers are looking for options to meet varying lifestyles. What about the format your products are presented in? There will likely be pent up demand for innovation.

It is evident there has been a shift in consumer behavior over the past few weeks, with a seemingly overnight shift to ecommerce and delivery services. This could be an avenue to consider developing if not already established for your brand. Outside of your own domain, there are a multitude of platforms to partner with that can help you reach new consumers. Where possible, expand on and implement new services.

Relationships are now more important than ever. While in-store demos might have come to a halt, remember your existing commitments are just as, if not more important to maintain. When we come out on the other side of this, it is those who went the extra mile that will be remembered.

As a business leader, be nimble and make changes with vision for tomorrow. How will you be remembered after COVID-19?

Led by a team of CPG veterans, JPG Resources is a food & beverage innovation and operations consultancy based in Battle Creek, Michigan, where it has established a track record of building ideas into thriving food businesses. With a team of more than 40 food & beverage diehards, JPG creates positive business outcomes for disruptive startups to the most trusted global CPG brands.

Dean Sinclair, Business Partner, Strategic Partnerships Lead 

We're living through an unprecedented time. Coronavirus related news is constantly evolving, and while we're all facing very real fears, as an industry, we're tasked with a critical goal – we feed the world. From foodservice operators to retailers, the manufacturers to suppliers, and even those of us who are a part of this community operating as a support pillar, one thing is sure, this is a critical hour where our industry needs to band together for support.

With sweeping closures and shifts in consumer behavior, operators and manufacturers are forced to pivot to navigate uncertain times. In our latest Restaurant Traffic Briefing (April 6, 2020), we dug into consumer behaviors to understand the challenges facing operators:

• Dinner pushes lunch out of the way to become the most popular daypart
• Only around half (51%) of surveyed consumers feel that it's safe to go to restaurants to get food
• Though consumers want to support independents, nearly 70% rely on chains
• 35% of consumers are going to restaurants, but 40% didn't even consider purchasing food from a restaurant

Knowledge and information is more important than ever. Datassential has committed to dedicating time and resources to provide businesses with the tools to navigate these trying times. We're adapting our approach to make our industry insights available to everyone. In addition to our existing library of information, we are updating and sharing episodic reports, hosting a weekly webinar diving into data, and helping generate insights that business can use to pivot, restaurant traffic briefings, industry expert interviews, and more on a near-daily basis. You can find all of this information at www.datassential.com/coronavirus.

We're not alone, Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network is a leader and exceptional partner in demonstrating excellent stewardship by supporting organizations during this time with an extensive library of information and resources. We are proud to support this effort.

As always, Datassential is proud to be a member of and partner to Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network. We're here to support you so that we can get through this together. Call us, write us, or send us a DM – we'll do our best to help.

Stay Healthy,

Kelly Fechner

In case you missed it!

On April 1st, 2020, the CFBN hosted a Virtual Event: The F&B-45. This free episode series was hosted by Joel Warady! This conversational series provided a platform for Joel and his guests to shares thoughts on pertinent topics and issues impacting Food and Beverage companies across Chicagoland, and beyond, right now.

We got to hear insights from a cross-section of perspectives from industry leaders helping to find solutions and innovations to help us all push forward and find post-COVID solutions to getting our industry back up and running.

Specifically, we heard insights from those on the front lines of the supply chain production process as they tackled questions on panic buying, seasonal produce, decrease in fuel costs, creating dedicated solutions, international shipments, and defining essential needs.

"People have long memories and if you gouge them now, they will remember it later" said Dan Creinin.

John Ferguson shared his expertise from what he is seeing from the transportation industry. "The demand curve doesn't just go straight and to the right. It's up. It's down. It's very fluid."

The Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network would love to thank our panelists for sharing their insights:

• Joel Warady, Series Host; CFBN Chairman
• John Ferguson, Director of Customer Operations; GlobalTranz
• Dan Creinin, Account Executive – Supply Chain, Elemica

Thank you to everyone who virtually attended. Stay updated on our upcoming virtual events here.

Members can access the presentations shared in your Member Perks.

The F&B-45 is a new, FREE, weekly webinar series brought to you by CFBN. 

In case you missed it!

On April 1st, 2020 in partnership with Illinois Tech Department of Food Science and Nutrition, the CFBN hosted a Virtual Event: Career Series! This free series featured presentations by food and beverage industry leaders.

Our presenters shared insights on career information for students and job-seekers specifically geared toward future jobs, internships and opportunities in the food and beverage industry.

Recap Highlights:

Laurie Hyllberg, VP of Kinsa Group shared insights about the importance of setting career goals and setting yourself up for success. She offered tips on resumes and cover letters. She discussed interview tips for both in-person and virtual interviews. As more interviews will move towards being virtual, she discussed ways to display your best appearance on camera including smiling and being mindful of your background.

Kait Benetz, VP of Creative and Marketing at CA Branding  gave us an overview of the food and beverage industry and then broke down the potential career paths including marketing, design, and production. She also shared how to take the first step post-graduation and what students can do now to prepare.

Charley Orwig, VP of Marketing at DMA shared insights about LinkedIn serving as the best resource right now for professional online networking. During his Q&A a participant of the virtual event asked "how do you handle rejection when you're reaching out and not getting a response?”. Charley responded by offering the advice to counteract it with numbers and not to take it personally. Charley mentioned that “if you reach out to three people and get three no's, next time send out six applications.”

Javier Haro from SERCO Cook County American Job Center shared hot jobs currently hiring in the food and beverage industry. He mentioned that although this is a tough time, food is an essential need and therefore some companies are actively hiring and actually succeeding during this time. Javier shared companies that are currently hiring right now and resources about where to search for jobs.

The Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network would love to thank our presenters for sharing their wisdom:

• Britt Burton-Freeman, Professor and Chair; Dept of Food Science and Nutrition at Illinois Institute of Technology
• Laurie Hyllberg, VP; Kinsa Group
• Kait Benetz, VP of Creative and Marketing; CA Branding
• Charley Orwig, VP of Marketing; DMA
• Javier Haro, Business Service Representative; SERCO Cook County American Job Center

Thank you to everyone who virtually attended. Stay updated on our upcoming virtual events here.

Members can access the presentations shared in your Member Perks.

This virtual event was presented in partnership with CFBN Industry Partner:

"These 50 Notable Women Executives Over 50 have jumped hurdles to reach the highest levels of business, medicine, higher education and nonprofits. A number defied the odds in rising to influential positions in male-dominated fields such as banking and financial services, law and manufacturing. Congratulations to all of the CFBN Members highlighted!" Read more here.

Check out this recent article from Food Business News!

"Sources have indicated that food at home now constitutes approximately 80% of consumer spending on food today compared to 50% before the pandemic. Grocery chains have reported similar trends, with Target announcing that food and beverage sales are up 50% in the month of March." Read more here.

By Sam Sosland

In case you missed it!

On March 19th, 2020 in partnership with Bigger Table the CFBN hosted a virtual webinar to explore social governance and the impact that food and beverage companies can have on the communities that they work, live, and build in. This was the first event in CFBN’s Finance Series – “Investing in Your Community”.

Our amazing panelist shared insights on how companies are forging these new paths between business and social investment, and how other companies or brands could embrace these ideas too.

The Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network would love to thank our panelists for engaging in insightful conversations:

• Renee Metcalf, Senior Vice President; Bank of America
• Brett Lutz, Vice President - Global Communications; ADM
• Lisa Demme, Marketing Director; FONA International
• Marisa Sullivan, Vice President Equity Research; Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Dan Klein, CEO & Co-Founder; Tiesta Tea
• Rahul Pasarnikar, President & Co-Founder; CredMade
• JD Elder, Vice President; Tilia Holdings
• Randy Bridgeman, Partner; Perkins Coie LLP
• Jordan Buckner, Owner & Founder, TeaSquares

Thank you to everyone who virtually attended. Stay updated on our upcoming virtual events here.

Members can access the presentations shared in your Member Perks.

This special Finance Series event was co-sponsored by:

This event was hosted in partnership with:

Meals on Wheels Chicago is looking for much needed food items for the influx of seniors that are in Chicago and homebound. Many of these seniors have family members that are in other states and are unable to get to them and are asking for help. Given this unusual circumstance please consider donating product for these immediate needs. It is their goal to provide every senior with some kind of food, and currently the need has risen in Chicago.

If you are interested, here is a form to capture details and a member of the MoWC team with contact you about logistics.

In recognition of your contribution, Meals on Wheels would like to publicly thank you or your company in our Power of Community Hero Spotlights on social media.

To the Members of the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network:

We want to thank you for the exemplary leadership you have shown over the last few weeks as we face this unprecedented challenge in the form of COVID-19. Throughout a period when information shared by our elected leaders was often confusing, and consumers started to “panic-buy” as a result of the unknown, our member companies continued to produce the food needed to feed the nation. Member companies and the service-providers who assist them were ready to provide the necessary support when needed. We could not be prouder of our Network and the role that you play. But it is just the beginning.

With new challenges and complications presenting themselves daily, one of the consistent concerns we hear from consumers, our local and state elected officials, and the White House is whether or not there will be enough food and beverage to fill the shelves of our nation’s supermarkets over a prolonged period. As we know from countries such as Italy and France, and our own San Francisco, when the geographic areas go into a lock-down situation, only the supermarkets and the pharmacies remain open, along with the hospitals. This makes clear that we have a similar responsibility as the healthcare community -- to assist in keeping our communities and our country alive and well.

During these challenging times, we want to share how we at CFBN are pivoting as an organization:

1. Until further notice, all events will be held free of charge online to provide safe access to as many individuals as possible.
2. We will be seeking to alter our programming to make certain we are offering the information that you need today to continue to operate your respective businesses. (See this link for a quick 4 question anonymous survey to help!)
3. We will amplify our voice within the community and with the corresponding government bodies to make certain they are aware of our capabilities as well as our needs.
4. We will continue to serve as a resource for our industry members as we navigate these ever-changing waters.

In summary, we are here for you and we will continue to provide the programming, support the knowledge-sharing, connect the industry, and serve as a resource during these turbulent times. We will continue to proudly serve as the leading city for the Food & Beverage community.

 

Joel Warady, Chairman, CFBN

Alan Reed, Executive Director, CFBN

KeHE has launched, elevate™, an emerging brand program created to nurture leading-edge brands and maximize their growth and success potential in the marketplace. The program will support the company’s retail partners by continually foraging for early-stage brands while enabling developing brands to reach their full potential and better serve the needs of customers in the marketplace.

The high-touch program provides brands with a platform for growth, allowing them to flourish and reach more shelves nationwide. KeHE’s Category Management team will act as trusted advisors, educating brands on the evolving landscape and propel sales & points of distribution through elevate™. The network of brands is designed to be small and intimate, not exceeding 200. Candidates can visit KeHE’s RangeMe website to submit their products.

- Kasia Kedzierska, Marketing Coordinator