More than 2,300 food executives and professionals attended the four-day NGA Show and NGA Executive Conference, held for the first time in the same location at the Paris Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The participants at the two events had the opportunity to network, source and train products in educational workshops, reported The National Grocers Association and Clarion Events, the organizers of the expo and conference, in a press release.
Designed for CEOs and their leadership teams to drive profitability and enhance business opportunities, the NGA Executive Conference took place September 18-19 at the Paris Hotel & Casino.
The two-day conference program included networking events, expanded training sessions, and expanded opportunities for trading partners to socialize.
Training sessions covered topics like five trends everyone is chasing tomorrow; Counting data on the strengths of independents; Sustainability in the supermarket: how to appeal to shoppers; How Grocers Can Be Cyber-Safe; Future forecast: Competitive outlook for 2021-25; Follow Science: Health and Safety Best Practices for Buyer and Employee Trust; The state of snacking in the 2020s; Ecommerce Post COVID: Where The Online Grocery Store Is Going Next; and grocers, how has COVID-19 changed you?
Related article: NGA Introduces SNAP Online Purchasing Toolkit to Help Independent Grocers
“These key topics are critical to understanding how to stay ahead of a rapidly changing dynamic market where innovation is what makes or breaks a business. These insights are key to success, ”said Jonathan Downey, senior vice president of Industry Relations for the NGA.
Details of each session can be found on the NGA Executive Conference website.
Meanwhile, the 38th edition of the NGA Show brought together independent retailers, wholesalers, food industry executives, food retail industry executives, food / CPG manufacturers, and service providers from nearly all 50 states for the three-day event, September 19-21.
“We would like to thank our exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, participants, media partners, supporting organizations and partners who have contributed to making the NGA Show 2021 a great success. You could feel the excitement as the industry got back together in person, and we’ve had such positive feedback that we’re providing the platform where grocers can learn to grow their businesses and support their communities, ”said Courtney Muller, Chief Corporate Development and Strategy Officer for Clarion Events.
“The combined experience of the Executive Conference and the NGA Show provided actionable insights to help their companies capitalize on the opportunities presented by the most aggressive innovators,” said Greg Ferrara, CEO of NGA. “We’re excited to see what our attendees will take home and we’ll build on that when we return to the 2022 NGA Show in a few months.”
Highlights of the show
- The exhibition hall, which was sold out this year, offered novelties and innovations from almost 300 exhibiting companies and offered an opportunity for networking and building relationships. Specialty areas made product sourcing easy, with pavilions featuring the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), The World of Latino Cuisine, The Technology Pavilion, and Equipment, Design & Safety Pavilion as the Thought Leadership Theater.
- The opening address was given by Jeff Henderson, also known as Chef Jeff, an award-winning American chef, critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling author, philanthropist and television personality. Henderson lit the audience with powerful strategies to enable change and inspire fulfillment.
- Attendees mingled at several networking events including the Opening Reception, Best Bagger Championship and After Party, Creative Choice Awards Breakfast, and Closing Ceremony.
The educational program was expanded to include more than 50 sessions with more than 100 subject matter experts speaking on a variety of important topics, including human resource development, finance, focus on new, sustainable strategies, technology trends, business excellence, succession planning for family businesses, e-commerce, omnichannel marketing , Catering and merchandising.
A dynamic panel attended the Super Breakfast Session entitled “The Independent’s Guide To Navigating Growth during Complex and Volatile Times – Wargaming 2022”. This high-level look at the challenges facing independent retailers in 2022 focused on the forces of change that will reshape the retail environment in the future.
Several awards were presented at the NGA show
- The Peter J. Larkin Community Service Award to the NGA grocery retailer and wholesaler membership community for their joint efforts to serve the communities during the pandemic.
- WGA Woman of the Year Award to Pam Coy, owner of Viking Village Foods in Wisconsin.
- NGA Industry Service Award to Dennis Belcastro, Vice President of Industry Affairs and Customer Development at Kimberly-Clark North America.
- Thomas F. Wenning Pinnacle PAC Award to Gerry Kettler, Director Consumer Affairs at Niemann Foods.
- Best excavator champion, with a grand prize of $ 10,000, was awarded to Ben Miller by Hy-Vee.
- Creative choice The winners are listed on the NGA Creative Choice Awards website.
Three Square, the Las Vegas Food Bank, picked up thousands of pounds of donated food from exhibitors and sponsors at the end of the NGA show.
Education, networking and product sourcing continue with two upcoming in-person events:
The Southeast Summit of the NGA Show, 1-3. December 2021, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. This event is a small group of retail buyers offering the opportunity to attend training and one-on-one meetings with salespeople.
The NGA Show 2022 takes place from February 27th to March 1st, 2022 at the new Las Vegas Caesars Forum Convention Center. Under the motto “Fuel growth and look to the future”, the 2022 trade fair will take place parallel to the IGA Rally and the Indoor AgCon.
