Foodservice Share Group

The Foodservice group will hold a food and store tour on Monday, September 13th – to attend please arrive at the hotel by 1pm on the 13th. The regular Share Group session will begin on Tuesday morning.

Morning arrivals

1:00 – 1:15 p.m. Gather in hotel lobby for Market Tour
5:15 p.m. Let’s Get Cooking:  Class Venue
5:30 p.m. Cooking activity, networking, and dinner
8:30 p.m. Return to hotel 

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

7:30 a.m. | Meeting room opens

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Foodservice Share Group:  
Welcome, Purpose and Plan Introductions

9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. | Foodservice Sharing: Foodservice Development Mantra’s
Robert Perkins – Rutter’s:  Nothing Raw
Chris Postlewaite – Campbell Oil:  Fresh & Fried

Kay Segal leads a discussion about the mantra’s of two distinct foodservice development – two very different approaches to meet the needs and desires of distinct consumer groups. 

9:50 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | Break

10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. | Creating the Dash In Offering: Where They Were and Where They are Going 
Ben Lucky – Dash In 

Dash In has gone through a massive evolution to their foodservice program.  We will hear how this process started via a strategic initiative, looks like today and where Dash In plans to further evolve. 

11:15 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. | Transition Break

11:20 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Success via Simplification
Andy Kelly, Lumina Foods 

Limited components and repetitive processes don’t guarantee success, but they can assist in the quest for profitability. Andy Kelly will share relevant insights, based upon his company’s successes and failures – important for anyone charged with creating foodservice strategy and generating revenue.  

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Networking Lunch Buffet

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Flavor, Menu Trends & Innovation
Mark DiDomenico, Director, Client Solutions, Datassential (Digital Link)

Mark DiDomenico will discuss trending food items and flavors that are relevant to the convenience channel.  Mark will highlight insights from several Datassential services to identify potential white-space innovation opportunities that will help operators stay ahead of the curve.   

Via Datassential’s analysis, Mark will explore what it means to follow the path of “Safe Experimentation” for innovation across all categories, including sandwiches, pizza and chicken.  

Additionally, Mark will provide a localized analysis for each marketer meeting attendee! This will be provided during the closing session later today

2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. | Break 

2:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. | Food Studio & Scores Ideation Process 
Moderated by Kay Segal

New products and LTO’s are the mainstay of longevity in foodservice.  Creating products that score well for both uniqueness and ubiquity provide best results. With this team exercise, we will find who is most creative while balancing the creativity with consumer desires. 

Each team will submit one pizza recipe.  That’s right, you will create an offering, from crust to sauce to cheese and toppings. What do you think will be the most relevant for consumers in this staple c-store category? 

Overnight, Mark will rank the team submissions utilizing the Datassenial Food Studio Ideation Platform.  Mark will share the results with Kay Segal and the winning recipe will be revealed on Wednesday morning. This will assist all of us in how to market our creations to balance new flavors with common descriptors, allowing for less risk in the innovation process. 

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. | Break 

3:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Individualized Networking 
Small group retailer & supplier discussions

Each retailer and supplier will meet, and retailers will also have time for small group discussion, allowing for robust engagement, benchmarking discussions, mutual thoughtful interaction and respectful learning.  

5:00 p.m. | Day 1 Wrap-up & Housekeeping

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | Foodservice Group Dinner


Wednesday, September 15, 2021

7:00 a.m. | Meeting Room Opens  

7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. | First Day – Relevant Thoughts 
Moderated by Kay Segal

8:00 a.m. – 8:20 a.m. | The Winner Is” Pizza Competition Winning Product / Team Reveal
Revealed by Kay Segal, from Mark DiDomenico

As follow-up from yesterday, we learn which pizza creation ranks highest for innovation and acceptability.  

8:20 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Transition Break

8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. | Keys to Great Food Photos!
Presented by Augusto Herrara, Mindsay

The sale of food is about tantalizing the senses.  How do we best heighten the desire to purchase?  With great visuals!  Whether static or digital, food graphics and visuals play an important role in enticing the potential consumer to purchase.  During this session, Augusto Herrara of MindWay will share some insight regarding the art and science of great food graphics, and even when you may want to break the rules!  

9:15 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | Break / Hotel Check-out

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Share your Story / Best Idea! 
Moderated by Kay Segal 

With our friendly, yet competitive nature, the best idea shared, voted on by your peers, will allow one member of our group to obtain bragging rights! All attendees will be entertained and pick up “been there done that” insights. 
Initial Contestants: Frank White, Atlantis Fresh Markets, Robert Perkins, Rutters

10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. | Trends and Insights:  Food created with CBD, Supplements or Cannabis
Liam Spiegel, R & D Chef / Head Baker, Reefer Gladness

Cooking with supplements has exploded in the last few years. Consumers seem desirous to ingest more foods with functional additives or supplements.  When might be the right time to add specialty, supplement rich baked goods to your foodservice offering? In addition to medical grade products with cannabis, Liam Spiegel, Reefer Gladness is creating products with supplements from CBD to melatonin.  Liam will help our group understand current trends and important manufacturing nuances.  

10:50 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Large Group 

Moderated Discussion  
Closing Comments

11:30 a.m. | Meeting ends

Related Posts

About us

America’s Leading Fuel Marketers is the national trade association representing fuel marketers & convenience store chain retailers in the United States & Canada.

Contact us

A member of the SIGMA staff will reply as soon as possible.