FMI Sets Private-Brand Forums

DAVID ORGEL

ORLANDO, Fla. — Food Marketing Institute's inaugural Private Brands Summit will be held this June, with dates and location to be unveiled shortly, according to Patrick J. Walsh, vice president, industry development, education and research, FMI.

Walsh spoke with SN following a Private Brands Group meeting held last week during FMI's Midwinter Executive Conference here. The meeting of the newly formed group was closed to the press.

FMI is also planning a Private Brands Conference for October in Dallas, Walsh said. That event will focus on strategic planning meetings among private-brand manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers.

The June summit will focus on strategic issues related to private label in an informational forum that will include unveiling of research, Walsh said. Attendees will include retailers, manufacturers and distributors of private-brand products. The gathering will be geared to all classes of retail, including supermarkets, club stores, convenience stores, mass and drug.

Topics will include brand innovation, demand creation, consumer insights, supply chain effectiveness, food safety, public policy and sustainability.

“The long-range vision is for the industry to speak with one voice on this topic,” he said.

“These efforts create a home for strategic interchanges and a global forum for research and education,” said Steve Smith, FMI's chairman, who is president and chief executive officer of K-VA-T Food Stores.

“The Private Brands Group is a new way of working together,” said Milt Sender, chairman and co-founder, Daymon Worldwide, in remarks to the FMI Midwinter audience last week on accepting FMI's 2009 William Albers Award for Industry Relations. “The group will make private label stronger and better on our world stage of retail.”