Food Industry Leaders Discuss Agility and Adaptability at Niagara University Food Marketing Center of Excellence 2024 Innovation Summit

Hundreds of industry professionals and Niagara University students heard from speakers across the retail food and service sectors at the 2024 Niagara University Food Industry Center of Excellence Summit on Sept. 24. This annual summit is presented by the Holzschuh College of Business Administration.

Presenters included Chelsea Schroder, director of foodservice at Circana, who discussed trends in foodservice.

"Convenience is still the number one motivation that drives consumers to food service," Schroder said, noting that digital delivery was on the rise. "Now more than ever, we can see that consumers are conducting commerce directly from their phones."

Value is also a top consideration, but low-income consumers are motivated by things like price, while high-income consumers look more for food variety and quality, she said, so it is important to understand the state of the consumer and that their consumption behavior is different depending on their current situations.

Consumers are also more health-conscious and are allocating their available dollars to experiences like amusement parks, movie theaters, and stadium ballparks, she said, advising attendees to think about the opportunities for growth these segments can offer both manufacturers and operators.

Schroder has spent the past five years at Circana, leading with data driven insights and industry expertise to help her manufacturer clients navigate the ever-changing market by understanding the state of foodservice consumption, unlocking opportunities for growth, and helping clients to fine tune their go to market strategies. She began her career at Circana, working closely with leading broadline distributors and utilized data to help them identify key category performance and gain market share through a fact-based approach for sales execution.

Amanda Lai, director of food industry practice at McMillanDoolittle, offered her insights around what grocers were doing to remain agile and adaptable. She discussed the rise in small formats for store design; product innovation, including collaborations and partnerships between restaurants and celebrities; and how businesses are implementing the digital space to enhance the customer experience.

Lai began her career at PepsiCo, where she managed sales and beverage assortments for customers such as 7-Eleven, CVS, and Walgreens, and honed her experience in promotional marketing at global advertising conglomerate WPP, where her client roster included Kellogg's, Dunkin' Donuts, and Snapchat. She currently leads McMillanDoolittle's food industry practice and leverages her multidisciplinary knowledge in strategic planning, sales, marketing, concept development, and real estate to assist her clients in North America, Europe, and Asia. She is a regular guest analyst on the TD Ameritrade Network; a keynote speaker at industry conferences including the Food Industry Association and National Grocers Association; and a subject matter expert quoted in publications including The Chicago Tribune, Progressive Grocer, and Winsight Grocery Business.

Lai was named a "Rising Star of Consulting" by Consulting Magazine in the category of Retail Excellence and a "GenNext Award" honoree by Progressive Grocer for her contributions as a young professional to the food industry.

Mercedes E. Wilson, CEO and owner of Sadie's Foods, discussed her entrepreneurial journey from corporate America to producing her grandmother's recipe for a cabbage-based relish in her presentation, "All roads lead to relish." The relish is now sold in over 157 grocery stores in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.

Wilson is a three-time author, award-winning talk show host, breast cancer survivor, foodpreneur, philanthropist and mother. She made her TV debut in 2017 as the host of a daily talk show on WBBZ-TV called "Daily Buzz" before launching her own talk show "The Mercedes Wilson Show." In 2021, Wilson won the National Hometown Media Award for "Best Informational Talk Show Series Independent Producer." She also was a regular food segment contributor with Channel 7ABC's affiliate and co-host of Buffalo's longest running morning show, AM Buffalo. Wilson is now the host of the digital first platform "7Life" that airs on Channel 7ABC and hosts weekly food segments called "Recipes for 7Life."

Attendees also heard from Peter Genovese, go to market program manager at Gemini Experiences, Google, whose 13-year career in the technology industry began fixing computers in the in the corner of the Lockport, N.Y., Yahoo! Data Center. After graduating from Niagara University in 2014, he headed to Yahoo! in Silicon Valley, working in organizations across the company as a technical program manager. In 2018, he joined Google. He played a leadership role in creating Hotel Keys in Google Wallet and is on the Google Gemini team, where he is leading the efforts to launch Gemini, Google's newest AI model.

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