Grocery Is Your Business

Here’s a very interesting concept: create fresh meals, then fill smart Fridges at central locations with wholesome, delicious salads, bowls, snacks and more. Farmer's Fridge is on a mission to make it simple for everyone to eat well, with a  rapidly growing network of 350+ user-friendly smart Fridges stocked with chef-curated, restaurant-quality meals and snacks. What’s more, unpurchased items are regularly donated to local food pantries, providing responsibly sourced nutrition to community members in need. Its a bold idea, clearly in motion. "Grocery Is Your Business" hosts Rob Sanchez and Anne Marie Stephens talk with the president of Farmer's Fridge, Mike Brennan, on location at Grocery Shop.

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Rob Christian, CEO of Shophero, joins us in this week’s episode of the Digital Grocer Podcast. With extensive experience and knowledge in the grocery retail space, Rob offers his insights on how grocers should strategically approach their eCommerce experience. Rob notes that retailers need to undergo a grocery eCommerce culture change. “The [traditional] culture of grocery retail does not support the concept of people going on the computer and making a purchase.”  He goes on to stress the importance of maintaining control over the shopping experience. As a retailer, deciding, “I can no longer lose my brand. I have to create a seamless shopping solution, so my customer comes to my site and they see my brand”. Tune in for the full interview. Rob, Sylvain and Mark discuss the role technology partners have in empowering grocers to get back in charge of their eCommerce experience. Find out how Mercatus empowers retailers to get back in charge and own their shopper experience.

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Imagine smulti-tenant and private networks of automated Micro-Fulfillment Centers that combine the speed of local delivery with the efficiencies and scale of robotic fulfillment. Proprietary robotic and AI technology enable retail and CPG partners to profitably deliver to their online customers within one hour and scale their operations as their business grows. This is what a company called Fabric does, and Rob Sanchez, along with Anne Marie Stephens, talks with Fabric’s Chief Commercial Officer Steven Hornyak, on location at Grocery Shop.

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This week, we’re joined by Dan Bourgault and Beccah Rybalsky from Replenium, a provider of intelligent product replenishment solutions that improve the way consumers shop for everyday products. Dan and Beccah discuss how Replenium helps levels the playing field for grocery retailers competing with Amazon’s service Subscribe & Save, empowering retailers to build customer relationships and loyalty, all while maintaining full control of customer data.

Dan and Beccah note the power of shopper data and how grocers access to the conversion points in shopper data puts them at an advantage, especially when partnering with CPGs: “It’s one thing to have the data and be in control of it, but you’ve got to know how to use it. You got to know what to do with it. And you’ve got brilliant CPG partners who know exactly what to do with that and how to help you with it to help drive sales for you, as well as for them. And they will invest behind you on that.”

Listen now to learn more about Replenium and key insights into how grocery retailers can compete with the likes of Amazon, Walmart and Kroger.

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Groceryshop 2019: Straight from the Mercatus booth - part 2.

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Groceryshop 2019: Straight from the Mercatus booth -part 1.

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This episode features a wide-ranging conversation with Sylvain and Kevin Coupe, The Content Guy over at MorningNewsBeat.com. 

Sylvain opens the conversation by asking Kevin why retailers don't always think of themselves as a brand and don't use their own data to the greatest possible degree and using Walmart's evolution as an example. To a great extent, Amazon has woken everybody up to the value of customer data in growing customer affinity through suggestive selling. The conversation turns to a timely topic, which is the risks that come with using gig workers as an extension of the retailer's business and brand, including what will happen to the gig economy should the U.S. slide into recession. Lastly, the two touch on the nature of ecommerce giants Walmart and Amazon and their critical failing in not having enough people there who are merchants.

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On this episode, we're joined by Karen Short from Barclays Investment Bank to discuss her team's research findings on the strong affinity shoppers have with Instacart and how that impacts grocery retailers' strategic business interests.

In one example, when asked whether she felt that Instacart is a strategic fit for retailers or not, Karen comments: "More importantly, it was an instant solution, but longer term, the bigger and bigger Instacart gets, the less control you as a retailer have. And so you lose the control with the customer, you lose the customer data, or at a best case scenario, you're just sharing the data, but Instacart has data."

Tune-in to this latest episode to hear more about the findings from the Barclays report. For a copy of the report, contact Karen Short directly at karen.short@barclays.com

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How a dynamic rebrand of Weight Watchers in both name (to WW) and a focus on community, impact, and wellness is reimagining a brand into the future. Jon Mandell, SVP, Membership Marketing and Global Ecommerce of WW (formerly Weight Watchers) joins Rob Sanchez, Marc Raco, and guest host Joe Yakuel (Agency Within).To hear more from speakers like Jon and Joe, check out CommerceNext on July 31st & August 1st in NYC.

In this episode:

• What the WW rebrand means for the company, and how a focus on overall health and wellness along with partnerships with DJ Khaled and Kevin Smith is pivoting the brand towards a younger generation
• How WW is helping members make healthy choices with meals through the Freestyle plan and showing how to build healthy meals and by offering smarter snacks 
• John’s experiences with WW as a member before joining the company 
• The challenges of conveying the value of the products and goods WW sells to members without it coming off like a sell or a necessity to being a member of the program
• The extensive look in the mirror that was a part of the WW rebrand, and the changes made both to the program and the product offerings to reflect the changes in what accounts to wellness and health in 2019
• The tools that WW has at its disposal to get feedback to improve the program; studios led by WW coaches, and Connect, a closed social group within the WW app mean to support and uplift members
• Ways WW is looking to move into the food delivery and meal kit realms through partnerships with brick and mortar chains to carry meal kits and brands like Blue Apron, to further WW’s ability to help people who want to take control of their wellness
• Finding a balance between utilizing scientific studies to prove the benefits of the WW and cutting through the marketing noise without making the claims seem inflated
• Why the universality of the message of a sustainable dieting program that works makes targeting marketing less of a concern
• WW’s barcode scanning app functionality and how finding broad partnerships with grocers most WW members have access to is essential to maintaining their engagement with the app
• Other incentives attached to the WW app, such as “wins” and other ways to build up points that are social in nature and not strictly tied to dieting
• Plus, we get to know some of John’s early inspirations that laid the foundation for his focus on growth and expansion at WW, and what kind of food he wishes was under 5 points

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How Thrive Market's moves to attract health-focused and trendy members while being ahead of the curve has led to an active community and a product offering that leans toward the health-conscious alternative goods...Sunil Kaki, SVP of Marketing for Thrive Market, joins Rob Sanchez, Marc Raco, and guest host Joe Yakuel (Agency Within).To hear more from speakers like Sunil and Joe, check out CommerceNext on July 31st & August 1st in NYC.

In this episode:

• Thrive Market’s conceptual evolution from a groupon-style model to a membership model more in line with Costco where membership unlocks low cost, non-GMO food goods delivered to members’ homes
• The way Thrive utilizes social media groups, surveys, and internal purchase data to refine the catalog to make sure that the decisions to make certain products private label are going to be top sellers 
• How Thrive’s moves to attract health-focused and trendy members while being ahead of the curve has led to an active community and a product offering that leans toward the health-conscious alternative goods such as coconut oils/milks/etc. and charcoal toothpaste
• The downsides of trying to be ahead of the trend, and how that can backfire either in a product not selling or selling too well and affecting the availability of raw goods
• Thrive’s value for customers who are looking for foods that adhere to specific dietary lifestyles (keto, vegan, etc.) and how utilizing social media metrics and influencers has focused Thrive’s marketing focus to bring in people who are engaged in specific diets
• How Thrive has innovated its fulfillment and distribution to help profit margins as the brand’s scale has grown over time
• Thrive’s giveback pledge to various charitable causes, how this slice of the profit margins factors into the company’s finances, and why this is a central aspect of the company’s DNA
• The savings guarantee, where Thrive will refund membership fees if customers aren’t using or seeing value in their membership and refund them the difference from their membership fees, and the goodwill that Thrive builds through its brand identity
• How Thrive’s focus on being fair and sharing data with vendors and partner brands has established a healthy and positive community on the business side where other brands have failed by focusing just on ensuring the lowest prices for the customer
• What Sunil thinks is the future for the grocery industry, and why there should be more a focus on storytelling and direct marketing with consumers
• Plus, Sunil talks about some causes he believed in in his youth back in India and how his early experiences in the US prepped him to Thrive’s core values, his favorite products from Thrive, as well as his best and worst experiences as a consumer

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More than ever, retailers are challenged to effectively compete and differentiate. Aisle Ahead is the first to provide grocery retailers with an e-commerce and shopping trip planning platform that’s customized in its entirety, allowing each retailer to do exactly that. The platform cultivates consumer connections and empowers the grocery shopping experiences by understanding each shopper and their intent, from simply planning a shopping trip to online ordering—along with extending  capabilities that enable grocers, brands, and smart kitchen manufacturers to uniquely connect with consumers and influence decisions through content. At Grocery Shop in Las Vegas, Rob Sanchez and Charles Beckwith sat down with Aisle Ahead CEO Steve Siopsis  and Director of Marketing Jordan Kooijman.

In this episode

• Steve and Jordan talk about why Aisle Ahead’s e-commerce solutions let retailers maintain their own identity and to facilitate delivery and other services
• The issues with most white label services and why Aisle Ahead stands out
• What Big Oven is, and how it helps customers find new recipes to try and develop profiles to help target content for what those clients want
• How the acquisition of Big Oven changed the nature of the company and helped complete the circle from assisting customers in finding recipes and bringing them to the point of purchase
• How technology has changed the way groceries sell and why content and personalization matters more now than ever
• The ways the meal kit movement has made grocers need to focus on the whole cooking and shopping experience, and create a need to engage on a whole new level
• The challenging logistics of in-store fulfillment in grocery stores and how Aisle Ahead aims to solve these issues and make this a reality
• They way media influences customer’s cooking habits and how Big Oven is tapping into this
• The gameification of social media and how Big Oven plans to use that to drive engagement
• How selling through experiences and offering unique services through Aisle Ahead can help grocery stores differentiate and gain new customers

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A nearly three decades old big-name company in the grocery space has only had recruiting as a function for the last five years. With 20 new openings to deliver in the next few months and a shortage of full stack developers, how does a company like Whole Foods solve its recruiting and retention goals and growth?

Rob Sanchez sat down with Jen Davis, Global Technology Recruiting Director, on-location at HR Retail 2019 in Austin TX. Coming up you’ll hear how Whole Foods strives to tap into communities to find the right talent, put a focus on diversity of thought, add new technology to the process, handle data, and structure  training for optimal employee performance and retention.

• Testing, learning
• Around since 1980, recruiting a 5 year old function
• The objective of 20-net new openings to deliver in other next 6 months
• A shortage of full-stack developers
• Tapping into communities to tap into talent
• Project-oriented training vs. classroom
• The importance of diversity of thought
• Tools in the HR space - video interviewing
• The on-boarding process
• Structure in training for regular check-ins
• Handling data, documents, communication

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Electronic Data Interchange (or EDI) allows  business information to exist in a standardized format, allowing one company to send information to another company electronically and to become trading partners. 

Haitham Ghadiry, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TrueCommerce joins Rob Sanchez and Charles Beckwith on location at Groceryshop in Las Vegas about the most complete way to connect your business across the supply chain - in a way that is more connected, more supported, and more prepared for what’s next.  

• Haitham’s work with TrueCommerce, and how they help suppliers connect to the channels they need in order to do business
• How TrueCommerce helps retailers and suppliers with managing essential stock items, inventory, SKU numbers, shipping labels, etc, and organizes this information in ways that save time and money
• Why the current consumer client necessitates a company like TrueCommerce who helps retailers streamline the process of doing business in every direction
• Amazon’s entry into the grocery business, what this means for the industry, and why Haitham welcomes this potential shakeup
• The Endless Aisle Initiative and other trends in the industry that will help manufacturers and retailers work more efficiently
• The high demands of the Endless Aisle Initiative, and why a solid infrastructure is necessary before considering it
• Why retailers should have their supply chain teams and their marketing teams work closely together to maintain an efficient and accurate customer experience
• Advice for sales professionals engaging in B2B and B2C sales
• Some tips on how to reassess yourself as a leader in a busy and fast paced industry

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Susie Fogelson is the founder of F&Co, a consulting company focused on how understanding the food-connected audience and food culture insights can help a brand find a purpose and share their products through storytelling and experiences. Learn about the food-connected consumer, the increasing focus on multi-sensory engagement, the growth of meal kits, and how brick and mortar stores can engage with these trends. 

This episode was recorded on location at Groceryshop in Los Vegas, NV.

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Michelle Farabaugh is the Chief Marketing Officer of Harry & David, America's premier choice in gourmet food gifting and entertaining for 85 years and part of the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. family of brands. Learn how vertical integration, in-house marketing, experiential events, and a focus on emotional connection with consumers can keep a legacy brand thriving.

This interview was recorded on location at eTail West in Palm Springs, CA.

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