Shelf Confidence

When difficult situations occur it can be stressful and downright scary. Today we have Ready Training Online on the podcast to talk about their De-escalation Training that they will be offering to PFMA Members complementary for the next 90 days. You can find this training on our website on the resource tab under the Human/Labor Resources category: https://www.pfma.org/member-resources.htmlReady Training Online’s mission is to inspire and facilitate employee success through the delivery of engaging, customizable, and easy-to-manage online learning. We place high value on integrity, teamwork, and excellence while remaining client-focused in all they do. At the end of the day, their goal is to make your training impactful and easy.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Join us as we talk to Pat O’Donnell, CEO of Shelfmark, and learn how they use data and AI technology to keep the shelves stocked. Shelfmark is a remote inventory management system powered by AI. Shelfmark was born after half a dozen rides on a DSD delivery truck and another half dozen days spent on a grocery store’s receiving dock. There was one common thread with everyone Shelfmark spoke to. They knew their work could be smoother. They just didn’t know how. Shelfmark set out to solve their problems, and we look forward to solving many more.Learn more: shelfmark.comIf you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Join us on this episode of Shelf Confidence as we talk with the Founder of Old City Media Ray Sheehan about marketing trends and innovations. Old City Media is a national marketing agency that helps brands connect with targeted demographics through experiential marketing. This process is achieved through their robust network of clients and proven formula of brand integration. They also help companies leverage their assets to a brand looking for that all-important niche audience. With over 20 years of experience in this field, the Old City Media team has the ability to bridge the gap while saving you time and money.If you are looking to really maximize your profits in 2024 you will not want to miss this episode. If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Feeding Pennsylvania is the statewide association of nine Feeding America-affiliated food banks. The mission of Feeding Pennsylvania is to promote and aid our member food banks in securing food and other resources to reduce hunger and food insecurity across the state and to provide a shared voice on the issues of hunger and food access within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.A program of Feeding Pennsylvania, The Mid-Atlantic Regional Cooperative (MARC) is a member-led regional produce cooperative of Feeding America Food Banks serving the Mid-Atlantic Region from Maine to Virginia.The MARC provides solutions to farmers, wholesalers, and importers by offering an outlet for surplus product and distributing that excess to food banks throughout the region. This enables food banks to receive anywhere from 5-10 different commodities per load—enhancing the variety and value to their clients and allowing food banks a more dependable and efficient supply. The MARC can solve your excess production and inventory problems, while you help us ensure that more fresh produce gets into the homes of families facing hunger.Joining us today is Feeding PA’s CEO, Julie Bancroft and Interim Executive Director for one of Feeding PA’s programs, Mid-Atlantic Regional Cooperative, Beth Hamilton. I am excited to have them on the podcast today to learn more about Feeding PA and their program Mid-Atlantic Regional Cooperative – MARC for short. If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Meet Orontes Mediterranean Yogurt. Orontes Yogurt’s mission is to deliver healthy dairy products of the highest quality to everyone by offering various delicious options using locally sourced ingredients. Orontes products support local farmers and local businesses. Their motto: Better Milk, Better Yogurt, Better Health.Murat Hokka, the owner of Orontes Yogurt, set his sights on changing the current unsatisfying yogurt in the market to a better one. First, he needed a better cow for better milk and yogurt. He went to cattle trading markets in his spare time. One day, he found the cow, a Jersey cow. The taste of the yogurt, with his special recipe, instantly gave him déjà vu. It was delicious with great consistency, no odor, no artificial ingredients, no additives, similar to what the little village boy in him once drank.He founded his first yogurt company in May 2016 using Jersey cow milk with his special recipe. Soon, his yogurt was on the shelves of many grocery stores. As the demands surpassed his supply, he acquired a large production facility in Winfield, PA, to develop and distribute the new Orontes Mediterranean A2A2 Brand Yogurt and drinkable yogurt items.We had the pleasure of speaking with Shayne Reed, the Brand Manager of Orontes Mediterranean Yogurt, and founder Murat Hokka. If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we explore the concept of customer decision-making and store selection, with a specific focus on the factors that can cause friction. Customer friction refers to anything that hinders a customer from completing a transaction with a specific retailer. On the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association's Shelf Confidence podcast, Hayley Miller from Upside discusses effective strategies to overcome this issue. Specifically, we delve into the significant impact of personalization in creating memorable and tailored customer experiences.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Do you have training and retention challenges?  Today on the podcast, we talked with Jeff Kahler, president and CEO at Ready Training Online. At Ready Training Online, their mission is to inspire and facilitate employee success by delivering engaging, customizable, and easy-to-manage online learning. They place a high value on integrity, teamwork, and excellence while remaining client-focused in all they do. At the end of the day, their goal is to make your training impactful and easy. In 2005, Jeff founded Ready Training Online out of a need to solve training and retention challenges in his own business. Today, Ready Training Online develops training using its in-house production team, MotionGlass Studios®, and delivers that training to employees through its learning management system, trainingGrid®.Jeff hosts the Culture of Convenience podcast, a collaborative discussion between business leaders who share solutions to common business problems. And there are many free resources on his website for you to explore. Visit: https://readytrainingonline.com/online-learning/If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

When food ends up in the landfill, It gets covered by other garbage and rots in an anaerobic state - meaning it doesn't get any oxygen while decomposing. This creates methane gas, a leading cause of greenhouse gases that make a noticeable gaping hole in the ozone layer and significantly contribute to climate change. Grocery stores are left with a surplus of food items reaching their best-before date daily. The timing of when food is deemed unsellable is based on store policy; it typically ranges from a few days to 1-2 weeks.This is where PFMA member Flashfood comes in. Flashfood is a technology company with two products that help the grocer connect the consumer to these products. By selling this food at 50% off the retail price through Flashfood, grocers can recover costs (i.e., reduce shrink) and significantly reduce their carbon footprint.  Consumers can take advantage of healthier food items like produce, meat, and prepared meals that they ordinarily deem too expensive. It's a #winwinwin for all!Today's podcast, we talk to Nick Bertram, President and COO of Flashfood, to discuss food and, more importantly, food waste. If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

In 1991, Dri Mark Products became the original patent holder of the Counterfeit Detector Pen which rose to be the highest-selling, and most success­ful counterfeit detection product in the industry.Since then, Dri Mark has become a leader in the world of counterfeit detection, holding multiple patents for cutting edge detection technology. Dri Mark is also an American manufacturer, producing multiple products like their Detector Pen in their Long Island, NY facility. On the podcast is Dri Mark’s VP of Marketing and Sales, Mark Dobbs and Dri Mark’s Business Development Manager, Dan Owen as we discuss counterfeit detection …. Is it even necessary? And do consumers even use cash anymore?If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Mark Zimmerman, Founder of Revittle, spent a career in tech. After an exciting run with a Silicon Valley technology company and extensive time in Europe, Mark became enchanted with the foods in northern Italy, France, and Switzerland. During his travels, he realized the majority of Americans were settling for substandard cheese. While cheese was on every menu and in every grocery store, good cheese made the traditional European way was very hard to come by. Mark began a friendship with a local cheesemaker in rural Pennsylvania who convinced him that the cheese his heart yearned for could be created on u.s. soil. Revittle was born. Their mission is to reconnect all Americans with the taste, joy, and health benefits of all-natural cheese made the way it should be. On today's episode, Mark shares more about cheese from good for you convenience, why grass-fed, and how small suppliers approach the growing marketplace and compete. If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Grocery stores are responsible for approximately 9% of the total energy consumed by commercial buildings in the U.S. Nicole Stika, head of the North American Sustainability Advisory team for World Kinect Energy, shares with PFMA insights on reducing carbon emissions and making sustainability a strategic priority. Learn how you might even aim to achieve net zero!Learn more at https://www.world-kinect.com/ or email Nicole at nstika@world-kinect.com.   If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

From small, specialty runs to international jobs, from new challenges to creative solutions, it's important for retailers to have a strong flexible packaging partner. Becky Smith, director of sales at Poly Craft Industries, joins PFMA's Shelf Confidence podcast to talk about how Poly Craft differentiates itself in the flexible packaging industry.Learn more at https://polycraftind.com/ or email Becky at Becky@polycraftind.com.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Staffing continues to be a concern for retailers. Kathy Houlihan, CEO and Founder of Dream2Career, joins Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association's Shelf Confidence podcast to share how employers and employees can discover and fill meaningful jobs that benefit both parties.Learn more at https://dream2career.org/, or contact Kathy at khoulihan@dream2career.org.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

It started with some extra dining hall meals at Drexel University and grew into Philly's top food rescue. Evan Ehlers, founder of Sharing Excess, joins Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association Shelf Confidence podcast to discuss how he started this community resource and how food retailers can partner with Sharing Excess to rescue tons of wasted food.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

Young entrepreneurs Kaleb and Kolby Rush share with PFMA's Shelf Confidence how they turned a pandemic project into a full-time, craft dog treat company. The brothers from Bucks County discuss how they discovered their niche and why their human and K9 customers can't get enough.To learn more about their fresh, local, high-quality treats, visit saintroccostreats.shop or email info@saintroccostreats.shop. Or visit their kitchen in Pipersville, Pa.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

In this season's final Shelf Confidence episode, hear lessons for a post-pandemic world from Boyer's Food Markets. Anthony Gigliotti joins Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association to talk about everything from supply chain issues to inflation to private label innovation.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

If you want to know what's coming down the pike in c-store innovation, check out the college scene! Erin Mercolino Nigro, senior director of chain sales and specialty at National Convenience Distributors, joins Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association's Shelf Confidence podcast to share how Gen Z is inspiring c-store trends and innovation. If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

McLane Company shares what new innovations are cookin' in the McLane Kitchen! Teresa Voelter and Charles Irons of McLane join the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association's Shelf Confidence podcast to chat about new food offerings with options like Central Eats, Choice Chicken and Java Perks.Learn more about services and products offered through McLane by reaching out to Charles Irons, market director, at Charles.Irons@mclaneco.com or (859) 907-7300.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

You're in the middle of running a successful business—it's too early to think about succession planning, right? Actually, Brad Franc, an attorney with Federated Insurance, says it's never too early. Brad joins Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association's Shelf Confidence podcast to talk about when, why and how a business and family can develop a successful succession plan to prepare for the day top leadership is ready to move on.Get more information on succession planning resources from Federated Insurance.If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!

C-stores are in the midst of a food revolution, and Core-Mark International is helping its customers meet the need. Kristin Willis, director of sales chain accounts at Core-Mark, joins Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association's Shelf Confidence podcast to talk about the evolution in quick service restaurant food and what flavors they’re introducing to the convenience store scene.Don't forget to say hi to Core-Mark at The NACS Show in Las Vegas next week!If you enjoy Shelf Confidence, please subscribe and share. Thanks for listening!