UNFI Wraps Up Successful Winter Show
United Natural Foods, Inc. concluded a successful 2023 Conventional Winter Show, held at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis. UNFI Winter Show brought together more than 2,000 grocery retailers, providing them with access to the company’s extensive network of suppliers and vendors.
Following a productive Natural Holiday Show held at the Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino (June 7-8), the Conventional Winter Show is strategically timed to help prepare UNFI’s retailer partners for the crucial holiday and winter selling periods. By introducing new products, innovative processes, and supplier solutions, UNFI demonstrates how it is adding value for customers and serving as their strategic partner.
“Our annual shows provide an important opportunity to bring together our connected community of independent retailers, suppliers, and associates and provides a platform to update them on our multi-faceted Transformation plan and the benefits that are helping improve our customer and supplier experience. The Conventional Winter Show leverages our expansive portfolio of products, merchandising strategies, and insights to help retailers drive sustainable growth and profitability in the marketplace,” said UNFI chief customer officer, Steve Dietz. “Our customers are always seeking new ways to bring their shoppers exceptional value, and in partnership with our suppliers, we are proud to offer them a productive and collaborative environment to find new and exclusive product offerings, special show deals, and value-added services.”
UNFI’s Conventional Winter Show is one of the largest grocery industry events, and one of five trade shows hosted annually by UNFI. This year’s show included:
- More than 2,000 customers, including domestic and international retailers.
- Approximately 550 suppliers covering more than 200,000 square feet.
- 260 new products introduced in UNFI’s New Product Showcase.
- 300+ monster buys (exclusive UNFI deals on many of the most popular consumer products) covering nearly every store category.
- The introduction of UNFI’s Independent Grocer’s Guidebook 2.0, highlighting best-in-class strategies and case studies from selected UNFI customers designed to help all retailers plan for the future of grocery.
“The UNFI Conventional Winter Show is a key part of our holiday planning, providing us with a valuable in-person opportunity to view new product innovations, research in-store merchandising strategies, and connect with suppliers,” said Joe Zink, vice president center store merchandising at Skogen’s Festival Foods. “Our partnership with UNFI is incredibly valuable, and our ability to see and experience the robust array of Brands+ and seasonal products on offer enables us to fully prepare for the busy holiday selling season we are expecting this fall and winter.”
UNFI will next host its Fresh Specialty Show in San Francisco on Aug. 23, followed by its Natural Winter Show at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from Sept. 27-28. For information on UNFI Shows, customers or suppliers can visit: https://www.unfi.com/shows-events or email events@unfi.com.
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Midwest Growth Partners Invests in French Gourmet
Midwest Growth Partners, a West Des Moines- and Omaha-based private equity fund that specializes in succession planning and growth capital investments across the food and agriculture value chain, has invested in French Gourmet, LLC.
Based in Sparks, Nev., French Gourmet was founded by Patrick Novak in 1984 as a manufacturer of artisanal, all-natural, European-style pastries and Danishes. The company manufactures a variety of croissants, Danish pastries, dough shells and puff pastries with laminated dough in frozen and pre-proofed formats. The company services hotels, cafes, independent bakeries, diners, grocery bakeries and other foodservice businesses.
“French Gourmet is well positioned for its next phase of growth, and I’m excited for Midwest Growth Partners to help execute on the vision I’ve had for the company since founding the business,” said Patrick Novak.
Zane Hendricks, vice president of Midwest Growth Partners, said, “French Gourmet has a great product, culture, and impressive manufacturing capabilities. I’ve enjoyed working with the entire management team, and we are excited to be part of the company’s growth for years to come.”
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U.S. C-Stores Celebrate First Responders on 24/7 Day
On Monday, July 24, also known as 24/7 Day, the U.S. convenience store industry will once again celebrate the local heroes within its communities. 24/7 Day recognizes and gives back to first responders, medical personnel, 9-1-1 professionals and Red Cross volunteers who work around the clock to ensure people don’t face emergencies alone.
Hosted by the NACS Foundation, this year’s event gives a “High 5 for Heroes” in the form of an offer (such as a free coffee or free breakfast sandwich) to thank first responders with a token of gratitude from one of their largest supporters — the convenience store industry. The event will also raise awareness and donations for the American Red Cross.
“Just like first responders, convenience stores and their workers provide essential services, while also acting as a reliable and safe hub for members of their community to connect, socialize and share,” said Stephanie Sikorski, executive director of the NACS Foundation. “So much of the work that both first responders and convenience store workers do is not seen by the public. This celebration was created to shine a bright light on their service, showing them that we see how much they do and saluting them for their incredible efforts.”
This is an event all first responders can take part in as 93 percent of Americans live within just 10 minutes of a convenience store, including 86 percent of rural Americans. This year, Anheuser-Busch, with the support of its brands Budweiser and Bud Light, is also joining as a key supplier partner. From July 1 through Aug. 31, Anheuser-Busch will donate for every Budweiser and Bud Light case sold to Folds of Honor. A partner of Anheuser-Busch for 13 years, Folds of Honor recently extended its scholarship program to include the families of America’s first responders including police, fire, EMTs and paramedics.
Convenience stores are an integral part of everyday life across the United States. There are more than 150,000-plus convenience stores and they conduct 160 million transactions a day across every community in the country.
This year, more than 30,000 convenience stores are participating in the 24/7 Day celebration including: 1 Stop, 7-Eleven (limited areas) and DK, Admiral, Allsup’s, Apple Market, Au Energy, LLC – Loop Neighborhood Stores, Bread & Butter Shop, BreadBox, Casey’s, Certified Oil, CFCA, Corner Mart, Cumberland Farms, Dixie Mart, Enmarket, Express Stop, ExtraMile, E-Z Mart, Fas mart, fastmarket, Fastrac, Flash Market, Garrett’s Family Market and Rapid Refill Convenience Stores, G&M Food Mart, Handy Mart, High’s, Jaco Oil – Fastrip, JBDewar Inc – Pride Pacific, Jetz, Jiffi Stop, Jiffy Stop Food Marts, Kum and Go, KwikShop, Lemmen, Li’l Cricket, Loaf N’ Jug, Loop Neighborhood Markets, Market Express, Minit Mart (limited areas), Next Door Store, OnCue (limited areas), Pride, Quarles, Quik Stop, R Store, RaceTrac, Roadrunner Markets, Rose Mart, Rutter’s, Scotchman, Sheetz, shore stop, Sprint, St. Romain Oil Co./Y-Not Stop, The Convenience Group, The Hub Convenience Stores, The Markets of Tiger Fuel Company, Tom Thumb, Town Star, TXB, Turkey Hill, Uncle’s, Village Pantry, Yesway and Young’s.
Participating retailers each support 24/7 Day in their own unique way, from offering free coffee, fountain and frozen drinks to a free breakfast and free bottled water for first responders in uniform or with a badge. A full list of participants, as well as what each store is offering, is available at 247Day.org.
“We hope you will join us in supporting the incredible community heroes who work tirelessly to lift up and help others during disasters and other crises,” said Nathan Measom, director of cause marketing for the American Red Cross. “We are grateful for this continued partnership, which is a unique celebration of those on the front line and the stores that support them. Along with the NACS Foundation, we look forward to giving a much deserved and well-earned high five to so many people on this fifth 24/7 Day.”
In addition to visiting a convenience store on 24/7 Day, the NACS Foundation invites the public to also take part by:
Donating to the American Red Cross directly to support the work they do in communities
Use the hashtag #247Day to show how you support your hometown heroes
Share stories of appreciation for first responders, medical personnel, 9-1-1 professionals, Red Cross volunteers and other local heroes in their community on social media, tagging #247Day
About the NACS Foundation
NACS Foundation is the 501(c)3 charitable arm of NACS, the global industry association dedicated to advancing convenience and fuel retailing. In partnership with fuel retail, convenience and suppliers across the U.S., the NACS Foundation propels brighter futures by unifying and amplifying the philanthropic and charitable activities of the industry in communities across America.
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