AGENDA

1 PM – Welcome – Paula Lashinsky

1:05 PM – Introductions – Don Longo

1:10 PM – Guest Speakers –Joseph Bona, founder and president of Bona Design Lab, and HFA’s James Owens, a licensed architect with two decades of experience in c-store, retail and other sectors. TOPIC: Revolutionizing Convenience Foodservice, from their new white paper “Returning to the Corner Store”

1:40 PM – Open discussion and Q&A with speakers

2 PM – Snack Break – Networking

2:15 PM – AFTERNOON BREAKOUTS

2:20 PM – 2:40 PM

LABOR CRISIS

SUPPLY CHAIN

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

What kinds of alternative measures are you taking, since applications are minimal at best?  Reduced store hours, simpler applications, reducing/eliminating background checks or drug tests, hiring on the spot, higher wages, temp agencies?  Where have the successes been in acquiring new hires?   

 

How are you meeting customer demand with out of stocks, delayed-missed deliveries, inability to roll out new items (manufacturer restrictions on accepting new customers)? 

Customer reluctance to purchase certain products (fountain, roller grill, bakery)?  What protocols-measures, such as sneeze guards, sanitizer stations, social distancing signs, mask requirements and store deep cleanings by 3rd parties, will remain and what will (or has) been removed?

 

 

2:40 PM – 2:50 PM – Committee Chairs Reports to Group

2:50 PM – 3:10 PM

TECHNOLOGY

MARKETING

New Foodservice Landscape

Alternative deliverables spiked in initial stages of Pandemic: 3rd party, curbside, drive thru, take home meals. Are they still relevant and worth pursuing or was it just a need state at the time? What new technologies will become commonplace?

How has marketing strategy changed regarding foodservice, if at all?  With limited labor, product unavailability and potential uncertainty of store hours, have there been hesitancies in “pushing” specific products to the consumer?    

Have progressive, forward-thinking trend initiatives become secondary?  Is the main focus now simply on finding labor, store conditions (sanitation) and servicing customers basic need states? 

 

3:10 PM – 3:15 PM – Committee Chairs Reports to Group

3:15 PM – 3:45 PM – Open Discussion – Next Steps. Group objectives over the next 12 months.

 3:45 PM – 4 PM – Closing Remarks