Author: Creative Energy

  • Our Southeastern Food Processors Association Convention Is Coming To HHI!

    Our Southeastern Food Processors Association Convention Is Coming To HHI!

    Join us at this beautiful oceanfront resort in Hilton Head Island, SC.

    Coming October 18th through the 20th, the latest edition of the Southeastern Food Processors Association (SFPA) Annual Convention. We are launching a new format for this year’s convention that will begin on Wednesday and close on Friday to allow attendees to free up their weekend for extra few days stay at the beach or head home.

    “…our learning, networking, fellowship and venue experience will be outstanding for current and potential SFPA members.”

    Bob Clooney, Elite Spice

    SFPA President

    The venue is one of America’s top island vacation destinations, Hilton Head Island and the extraordinary Sonesta Resort in the Shipyard Plantation. Boasting an oceanfront location with on-site restaurants, fitness center, lagoon-style pool, and full-service spa, you will want to bring your spouse or significant other to our convention. There is also easy access to tennis, bicycle rentals and off-site restaurants and entertainment.

    Food processors and associate members cover the gamete of national and regional brands who call the Southeast home. From Bush Brothers to Garner Foods, makers of Texas Pete® Hot Sauce and Green Mountain Gringo® Salsa, Sauer Brands, of Duke’s® mayo fame, Mt. Olive Pickles, and McCall Farms (one of America’s largest canned foods companies with multiple brands) as well as House-Autry Mills, Palmetto Processing, Boone Brands, and Moody Dunbar. many more, the SFPA represents a heritage of nearly 80 years of feeding American families.

    SFPA Convention locations span the Southeast, offering both insights, fun, and lifelong relationships.

    “We’ve been planning our return to the South Carolina coast for a few years and I’m certain that our learning, networking, fellowship and venue experience will be outstanding for current and potential SFPA members,” says SFPA President, Bob Clooney of Elite Spice.

    One of America’s top destination Islands, come to Hilton Head Island for our convention.

    A special offer to potential new SFPA processor members this year includes a free one-year membership to the association when you attend this year’s convention. It is where you can meet and network with association members and understand the value of you affiliation with our professional organization. Contact Executive Director Kay Rentzel to discuss the free offer.

    Author Ray Starling will keynote Thursday morning’s general session at the Sonesta Resort.

    Keynoting this year’s general sessions will be Ray Starling, author of the book Farmers vs. Foodies. Being raised on a North Carolina farm helped him build a personal and professional foundation based on faith, leadership, and work ethic. Each morning the general session will include other insightful speakers on real-world challenges and potential solutions for food processors.

    The convention’s opening day, on Wednesday, Oct. 18th begins with registration and exhibit set up at 4pm, followed by a welcome reception at the resort’s beach pavilion at 6pm. The much-loved SFPA hospitality suite opens at 9pm.

    Thursday, breakfast begins at 7am with the general session beginning at 8am and ending at 11:30 am to make way for members preparing for the convention’s annual golf tournament that begins at 1pm or free time for others. A reception at the resort begins at 6pm followed by the hospitality suite opening at 9pm.

    Friday, it’s breakfast at 7am and the general session beginning at 8am and ending at 11:30am. There’ll be plenty of free time for lounging, biking, shopping, or basking in the South Carolina sun. At 6pm the annual benefit auction for SFPA scholarships begins with the annual banquet hosted by the SFPA’s Board of Directors following.

    As an SFPA member, your firm can offer your employee’s children the opportunity to apply for an SFPA college scholarship each year. Your management team can access free SFPA University training for food processors. You can also stay up to date on the latest news from our members and on laws affecting the food industry in Washington DC.

    Registration is now open so mark your calendars and book your registration and hotel rooms at the beautiful Sonesta Resort at gorgeous Hilton Head Island.

    [button size=” style=” text=’Register Now’ icon=” icon_color=” link=’https://members.sfpafood.org/events’ target=’_self’ color=” hover_color=” border_color=” hover_border_color=” background_color=” hover_background_color=” font_style=” font_weight=” text_align=” margin=”]

    For more information on the SFPA and the benefits of membership, visit our website (SFPAFood.org). For questions about the convention, or exhibiting or sponsoring one of our numerous events, contact Kay Rentzel, Executive Director, or call 717-329-8421.

  • The 36% Marketing Opportunity

    New Report Shows A 36% Opportunity To Land New Customers

    Catalina, a marketing company that monitors buyer behavior, recently reported a statistic that is both frightening and exciting. It speaks to the opportunity every company has in losing and landing a new customer.

    The report noted that of the top 100 Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands, most were either down or flat in sales during the first half of 2015. It also noted that 90 of those 100 brands lost market share. Disappointing if you are a Proctor & Gamble or Kraft. The news is inspiring if you are a new brand or one that’s not among the top 100.

    For example, among the grocery category there has been a 5.2% increase in sales, but among 10 brands within the top 100, sales were down 2.3%. Among refrigerated meats, growth was 11% while brands in that category were off .4%.

    So who is buying all of these products and why are they not reaching for top brands with literally billions of dollars in advertising and marketing behind them? The answer is that the consumer is switching to other national brands or private label. Brand shifting had the greatest negative impact on declining top 100 brands.

    The real opportunity is in knocking off some of those consumers who are open to trying a new brand. Secondly, the survey noted that at any one time a category will loose approximately 36% of its shoppers. Think about it, when the kid grows out of diapers and baby food, most parents are ready to depart the category.

    The trick for growing sales is three fold. Understand that brand loyalty is down among top brands as consumers look for something new. Know that more than 30% of the buyers in a category will leave in a year, so advertising, social media, PR and in-store merchandising is key to encourage trial of buyers entering your category. Lastly, growing volume among active buyers in your category is key. While he or she may not be a customer for life, encourage opportunities for them to load up on your products while they are customers. While some companies shudder at offer a buy 2, get one free offer, by encouraging them to load their pantry, you preserve the customer from needing to consider switching brands a little longer.

    Want to take a deeper dive into the Catalina report? Just click (http://bit.ly/1hwgufK)

  • How to Create Content for the Internet

    Content Marketing Starts with Smart Thinking

    Content marketing has a fundamental goal of driving traffic to your site. For most, it is either too expensive or labor-intensive a proposition to do anything about it. As a result, we witness so many sites that are stale and abandoned. Here are some fundamental ideas on how to generate more content that can make your site, and your company, more visible and dynamic.

    1. Consider using a site platform that is easy to update content. At the heart of content marketing is the ease in which your website can be updated with new content internally. WordPress, Acquia Drupal, and Confluence are platforms that allow someone to update content, photos, videoes without being a coding wizard. The more effort and energy it takes to get your site updated, the less likely you will be in creating fresh content.
    2. Look around your organization. You will be surprised what you will find. White papers, PowerPoints presentations, research, that you don’t think gives your competition an edge is game for assembling into content your target audience would think is interesting or of value.
    3. Think like a target, not like a marketer. Simply said, I encourage you to occasionally post content that does not directly point to you, but to a topic that is of extreme interest to your target audience. Look, it can’t always be about you.
    4. Be smart about SEO. There is a reason the first words of the headline of this post and the first words of body copy are on my topic of content marketing – see, I said it again. First words are important.
    5. I assume that you have some talented writers who like to tell stories in your organization. If not, find a person who is the most inquisitive in your group and assign them the journey of being your person responsible for creating new content. Check with them weekly on their progress.

    We’ll post more on the topic, but these 5 basics can build your current level of new content you produce this year. Set a goal of doubling the amount you produce this year over last and you’ll earn more traffic to your site.

  • What Americans Eat

    America’s dining habit, shared by Harry Balzer of the NPD Group, recently at a conference I attended. For a guy in the foodservice marketing business, the data Harry shared was extraordinary for putting into perspective the eating habits of today’s consumer.

    NPD began asking consumers to document what they eat and drink at home or in a restaurant for 14 days back in the late 1970s. Thus, a comparison of current data from those of a few decades ago can serve as a reality check for food marketers. Here is just a taste of what America eats:

    • In 1978, the most-ordered item in a restaurant was a carbonated soft drink. In 2014, the most-ordered item in a restaurant was…a carbonated soft drink.
    • In 1984, 41% of meals eaten out were consumed at an independent restaurant. Last year, that number was 26% – thus the growth of restaurant chains.
    • Among Millennials (18-34), the fastest-growing eating places for them included five convenience stores of their top 10 fastest growing food destinations.
    • Chipotle was the top restaurant choice for Millennials and Gen X (35-49) consumers. The top choice for Baby Boomers? McDonald’s.
    • What are the fastest growing food items of the last decade? Pizza, up 10% in the last decade is number three, followed by bottled water and Yogurt, up 12%. For those declining the most in consumption during the decade? Gelatin (Jello) tops the list at -4.6%, followed by pot roast, toast and fruit drinks.
    • What is the most-eaten vegetable of 2014, excluding the potato? Topping the list is the onion, followed by tomatoes, lettuce and corn.

    Harry also shared some eye-openers on trends that make news headlines. We’ve heard so much about kale. So much so, that you might feel a bit guilty that you haven’t gotten on board the kale train. Take heart, although kale consumption has doubled in 10 years, kale today sees only 2.5% of American’s eating kale once in a two week period.

    Lastly, there is a sobering point from NPD on restaurant visits. In 2000, a typical consumer would visit a restaurant for a meal 215 times in a year. In 2014, the number had slipped to 191. Price increases, a sagging economy during the past decade drove consumers back home for their meals, or more snacking away from home.

    Balzer summed it up by saying that there is not a lot of significant variation in America’s diet. The sandwich is still the most popular item that we eat, just as it was decades ago. Smart food companies will invest on enhancements to what we already eat. Harry says, “Stick with what is familiar with a consumer’s menu, but add a novel twist that promotes trial.”