Tristan Simpson, MBA

As operator's attempt to appeal to varying consumers, Gen Z remains top of mind for many. Read the article below for tips on appealing to this group of young purchasers!  #Idahoan #FoodserviceIndustry #GenZ #DemographicTrends

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Taste the Evolution: Cajun Steamer’s Fresh Take on Deep South Flavors Cajun Steamer’s new menu update is a perfect example of how even iconic cuisines like Cajun/Creole need to evolve to stay relevant. 🍤 While deeply rooted in tradition, this subtle revamp shows how paying attention to trends can keep a brand fresh and engaging for today’s consumers. It's not about abandoning heritage, but about finding the right balance between authenticity and innovation. And in case you were not aware, the 2025 World Soccer Championships are being held in the USA. There are 12 host cities and 6 of them are in the South.🎣🔥 #CulinaryTides #SuzyBadaracco #FlavorInnovation #CajunCuisine #TrendSpotting #DeepSouthDelights Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ecFncMTD

Rubix Foods has its finger on the pulse of the hottest flavor trends and brings those trends to life for roughly 70% of the top QSR and FSR restaurant brands in the nation. On the newest episode of Forktales, we’re joined by Shannon O'Shields, VP of marketing for Rubix Foods, for a sneak peek at how the company helps restaurants stay one bite ahead of the competition. FULL EPISODE: www.forktales.co #marketing #marketingpodcast #branding #brandingpodcast #restaurantmarketing #restaurantbranding #restaurantstrategy #restaurantgrowth #advertising #marketingpodcast #forktales #forktalespodcast #vigor #FlavorTrends #RubixFoods

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We discussed this on our latest episode of CPG Vibes, BIG BIG news from KeHE Distributors on 11/22, a new program dubbed 'AAP' (administrative allowance program). A flat 2 % off-invoice allowance for specific fees including New item intros, extra performance fees, MCBs, new item set up fees, and lumping fees. My quick thoughts: This is a step in the right direction for sure. UNFI implemented SSI which is a similar program to help brands budget for costs and fees associated with doing business with large national distributors. With all that said, these categories are pretty large and encompassing, so for all the other fees associated with Kehe that can chop down a brand's margin, will this program truly cover it? Likely not, but at least it covers some. What are your thoughts?

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In recent years the beverage industry has witnessed a remarkable shift driven by the preferences of younger consumers. Two emerging trends, non-alcoholic spirits, and boba, have captured the attention of younger folks and are experiencing significant growth as a result. According to the article, one-third of consumers ages 18 to 24 abstain from alcohol altogether. This shift in drinking habits has paved the way for the emergence of non-alcoholic drinking options, providing consumers with sophisticated and flavorful alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages. #DrinkingTrends #YoungConsumers #Boba #NonAlcoholicSpirits

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Check out the latest buzz at Semper Foods with our very first blog post by the talented Laura Zinger! 🌟 Dive into the insights and updates straight from the heart of our team. Click here to read: #SemperFoods #BlogLaunch #TeamUpdates #IndustryInsights

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Introducing The Snack's May MVP: Heath Shoup! This month, The Snack AndNowUKnow is spotlighting Heath Shoup, Vice President of Sales and Product Management, Planning, and Logistics at West Pak Avocado. With 21 years of dedicated service to West Pak, Heath is celebrated for his integrity, supportive nature, and strong communication skills. 👨‍👩‍👦 A loving husband and father, Heath blends family values with a dynamic leadership style. His role? Connecting teams and fostering growth: 💬 "I act as the glue that keeps the company together, linking planning, supply chain, and sales. It's all about helping each individual learn and grow." 🗣️ Heath's journey in sales teaches the power of taking chances and stepping out of your comfort zone: 👉 "In sales, you have to communicate effectively. These skills benefit you at work, home, and with friends and family." Dive into the full article for more insights on Heath’s experience: https://bit.ly/4dP65JJ #MVP #Leadership #WestPakAvocado

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As part of its mission to celebrate organizations that strengthen the foodservice equipment and supplies industry, FEDA publishes Q&As with member companies. This week's newsletter features PASMO America, a manufacturer of soft serve, yogurt and ice cream machines based in Calabasas, California. Who is your customer base? Joel Cinnamon, chief operating officer: Quick service restaurants, frozen yogurt and ice cream stores, cafes, assisted living facilities, hospitals, hot chicken restaurants, Mexican restaurants and burger joints, chains, food trucks, convenience stores, theme and water parks, K-12 schools, universities, corporate offices and more. What sets PASMO’s soft serve and frozen beverage machines apart in the industry? Our technology is modern when compared to our competitors using older belt and pully technologies. Our machines are also one of the quietest, have minimal service issues, use fewer parts, fewer electrical components and put out less heat; which leads to an overall lower cost to own and operate. How is your equipment keeping pace with ever-increasing energy consumption requirements? We are much more efficient than competing models due to our power inverter/sequencers, as well as energy-efficient motors that allow most of our machines to operate with air cooled technology versus water. Less parts, less heat and less need for internal and external cooling help our customers consume less energy. How has the company innovated in recent years? There are several ways PASMO has innovated: We moved from belt driven to motor to direct drive technology. We were the first to have agitators in the hoppers as a standard feature. We have a new pump that allows us to introduce particulates (or inclusions) directly into the mix using a pressurized system. Our machines are available in a variety of sizes to replace legacy Taylor, Electro Freeze and Stoelting machines to avoid reconstruction or change existing build outs. We have recently announced whipped cream/cold foam and robotic vending soft serve machines. How is your company incorporating new technologies into its products? We are utilizing smart technologies/automation (the iCream machine for example) as well as more efficient designs, new materials and easier cleaning capabilities that allow our operators to reduce the cost of operating our equipment. Can you explain your machine program? Operators can get PASMO machines with no upfront costs. This program is offered by one of our dealers, not from PASMO itself. Machines are offered to the operator at no cost with a minimum requirement of product ordered monthly. Read the full Q&A: https://ow.ly/whsc50Si7wh

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https://lnkd.in/gkU_Gnsw RTD coffee. This subcategory enjoyed an excellent 52 weeks ending July 14, with dollar sales ripping higher by 7% year over year (YoY) to $1.2 billion, while unit sales rose a healthy 3% YoY to 218.5 million, according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana. Big category with a lot of opportunity. Icon Foods is here to help you tap into the beverage category with sweeteners, sweetening systems, fibers, and sweetness modulators, all designed to make deep clean cuts to #addedsugar

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It’s no surprise that meat prices are up at the grocery store. Though a variety of factors are at play here, Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo can help mitigate price increases for Coloradans: Support the House Farm Bill that includes a fix to California’s damaging Proposition 12. #beef #marketdata #prices #meat #pork #analytics #data #meatindustry #cattle #hog #swine #markets #protein #news #blogs #ranchers #packers #retailers #foodservice #feedlotoperators #proposition12

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GOT SCORES? (Updated with link to PDF of full document): https://lnkd.in/enBx4WX6 Here's this year's post of all the information you need to enter wine and spirits into the competitions that matter in the U.S. market. The first question suppliers, importers, retailers will often ask is "Got Scores?" And there's only one answer to that question. Because if you say "No" the conversation can stop right there. So the procedure I recommend is for my clients to enter the competitions that make sense for your brands and hype the results that matter to the market (90+ scores, Gold/Double Gold etc.) and ignore the rest. The competitions listed here are the ones that are most recognized by the trade. And I've presented them with a key column identifying whether they accept not-currently-imported brands. Since many of my clients are just starting their U.S. market entry. That's because you'll need scores before you can even start conversations. If you can't access the link to the Excel sheet, connect with me on LinkedIn or email me a request at [email protected] and I'll send the file directly to you. Best to all for a successful O/N/D and fiscal 2025 Steve

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Deep breaths are needed with the current coffee price market. If you haven't been paying attention to it, please start now. Green coffee prices are at 47-year highs. As someone who lived through the skyrocketing prices in 1977, I can tell you to take a deep breath. Was it easy? Heck no! Did we come out the other side better? Absolutely. Start engaging your clients today. The sooner you start the better. Engage with your roaster partners. Find out what they foresee their plan to be. Can you still lock in at lower pricing. They might have contracts that you can add yourself to. Talk with industry experts who have lived this and can offer you solid advise. Look at the opportunity and not get hung up on the "what ifs". You must pass the pricing on or you won't be able to sustain your business. I'm happy to chat if you feel that I offer solutions. #coffee #prices #coffeeprices #consulting https://lnkd.in/dJQ-dAqX

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Interesting take on the battle for consumers during months like Sober October and Dry January from Stephanie Cain 👇 Her commentary below with link in comments 🍻🥂🍹 The wine industry has launched an assault on #SoberOctober and non-alcoholic beverages as if the sole existence of the booze-less category is to put a hit against wine. With its new campaign, Come Over October, wine folks are declaring you should grab a glass instead of going sober, because wine brings people together. Instead, #wine should really be looking at their core messaging because that's why wine is declining. At the #ComeOverOctober kick-off party, I had a conversation with a salesperson of a wine distributor. He attempted to be ok with the evolution of wine by explaining that ready-to-drink, single-serve wine brand, BeatBox, marketed to the 21 to 25-year-old set, was crushing the market. He was all for it. While the brand has wacky flavors like blueberry lemonade wine, he felt that every wine consumer “starts somewhere.” It was promising to him because he said they would “continue their wine journey” and start “drinking real wine.” So many problems here but here is the big one: They don’t often continue the wine journey. News flash, wine people! Consumers don’t have time. We don’t desire it. We want to build connections, not spend the evening only discussing what we want to drink. We have jobs and travel and bills to pay and kids and dogs and aging parents and hell, we just want to buy a house. We have no job security. We have been hit with recession after recession. Right now, inflation is making our groceries cost some 40% more. You really think we are jumping at the time-consuming task of learning about wine? Get real. We’ll grab a #Martini. And start ranting. Which is exactly what I'm doing in today's The Mad Ones 👇 Link in comments. #health #wellness #marketing #alcohol #alcoholfree

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🚨 National Beer Wholesalers Association 87th Annual Meeting is just around the corner, and Bud Dunn will be hosting a seminar you won’t want to miss: Incentives vs Entitlements: How to Get More Effort from Your Team 📅 Monday, September 30, 2024 🕗 8:00 – 9:15 a.m. If you’ve ever struggled to keep your team consistently motivated, this session is for you. We’ll be diving into the psychology behind motivation and discussing how to use strategic incentives to build a high-performance culture. Here’s what you’ll take away: ✔️ Proven strategies to inspire dedication and hard work ✔️ How to balance incentives with expectations ✔️ Practical tools to align your team’s effort with your company’s goals Whether you’re leading a small team or managing a large operation, this talk is designed to help you get the best out of your people—no more guesswork, just actionable steps that drive real results. 🗓️ Add this to your NBWA agenda and be sure to stop by Booth 713 to learn how VXP Tech can help you leverage AI to improve your sales and profitability. 💪 #NBWA2024 #Leadership #TeamPerformance #Incentives #BeerIndustry #HighPerformanceCulture #VXPTech

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I’ve been a part of hundreds of NPD and innovation sprints throughout my career...and it seems to never fail that a CPG industry colleague asks me about my personal flavor preference. If they knew my favorite childhood pop growing up was Squirt or that I probably ate my weight in orange and lemon Starburst...it would be a silly question to ask! Even as an adult kid…my go-to powdered supplements, hydration beverages, or energy drinks usually center around citrus flavors. I’m mentioning all this because you’d think, a citrus lover like me, that I would be acutely aware of Matt McLean and his company Uncle Matt's Organic. But with the decadelong massive proliferation of products/brands across the different functional CPG categories that I deeply analyze…it unfortunately creates blind spots. Though that’s the great thing about these conversational content pieces… I get to find those fascinating individuals that are indirectly related (but pivotal) to my core functional CPG categorical focuses. And I think you’re going to love hearing Matt’s inspiring entrepreneurial story that spans a quarter-century… - family farm side hustle that grows into a national CPG brand - gets acquired by Dean Foods - buys Uncle Matt’s Organic back several years later during the Dean Foods bankruptcy Moreover, Matt explains how he "leads from the front" to push the citrus industry forward...whether that's: - helping solve the citrus greening disease challenge - organic and regenerative agriculture practices - innovation product in a "health and wellness consumer era" But these are just some of the interesting topics we chatted about in this episode... #strategy #trends #markets #fmcg #cpg #beverages #juice #organic #agriculture #leadership #sustainability #sportsnutrition #supplements #wellness #nutrition #innovation #marketing #branding #productdevelopment #retailing #merchandising #retail #grocery #business #businessintelligence #entrepreneurship https://lnkd.in/gFGvzGeq

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USDA recently released June fluid milk sales data. Organic milk purchases rose 4.5% year-over-year in June. That brought first half sales up 6.1% compared to 2023. Meanwhile, whole milk sales for the month eased 2.4% year-over-year. But thanks to stronger performances in prior months, first half purchases increased 2.2% versus 2023. Overall, how are fluid milk sales performing across different categories? Find out in the latest edition of “The Dairy Bar: Powered by Ever.Ag”: https://lnkd.in/ewvPdXu3 #DairyBar #marketinsights #dairy #sales

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The American People Are Hungry for a New Farm Bill By Grant Colvin Executive Director of the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   As lawmakers return to Washington after a month back home with their constituents, they have a golden opportunity to address the top voter priority of lowering food costs by passing a bipartisan farm bill.   Extensive ongoing coverage and polling prove that Americans are frustrated with stubbornly high grocery bills. The fact that both presidential campaigns have placed food prices at the center of their economic policy proposals speaks to the potency of this issue for voters in all corners of the country and across the political spectrum.    How can the sugar program be reformed to lower food costs? In short, our outdated sugar program restricts domestic sugar production and imports, which in turn creates unnecessary ingredient shortages and cost increases for American food manufacturers. Given the prevalence of sugar as an ingredient in many grocery store staples—peanut butter, pasta sauce, bread, yogurt, and so many more—these same outdated policies also weigh down the budgets of families and small businesses.   This bipartisan, problem-solving action by Congressional agriculture leaders is commendable and should be recognized as the most promising momentum for sugar program modernization in decades. Notably, the emerging consensus on this package of reforms is backed by both sugar producers and food manufacturers. With that key support locked in, lawmakers are now positioned to land a defining blow in the country’s fight against high food costs. But they need to pass the farm bill in the weeks ahead.   That’s why food manufacturers and farm groups from across the country have been imploring lawmakers to pass a farm bill that delivers targeted reforms and provides relief for consumers. Manufacturers, small businesses, and families deserve the certainty of a five-year farm bill reauthorization, rather than falling back on yet another short-term extension that falls short on much-needed changes to the sugar program and other key areas.   Days may be running short for the 118th Congress, but there’s still time for lawmakers to bring food price relief to the overwhelming number of Americans yearning for Washington to come together and focus on this issue. To do so, let’s get the farm bill over the finish line.   Grant Colvin is the executive director of the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy, a large coalition of food companies, trade associations, consumer groups, free market organizations, and many others united in pursuit of a fairer, simpler U.S. sugar program.  

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"For years, industry stakeholders like the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) have warned of a “price crisis” in #coffee. Since 2019, the SCA’s Price Crisis Response Initiative has sought to address the disparity between producer costs and market #prices. Now that that prices finally are up, it remains to be seen how the industry –and long-term advocates for higher prices – will react when faced with challenging supply chain-wide realities. " - Coffee Intelligence Sarah Charles speaks with Albert Scalla, Senir Vice President of Trading at StoneX Group Inc., and Thiago Marques Cazarini, Owner of Cazarini Trading Company who share key industry insights on the recent coffee prices surge and the impacts these will have across the value chain from producers to consumers. https://lnkd.in/eSTYdsE4

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