During the week of July 7, I attended the 2008 National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) annual conference in Washington, D.C. On behalf of the GH team, I was able to visit with some of our valued clients who were in attendance – Unilever Foodsolutions, Johnsonville Sausage, Carlisle, Bunge and, of course, NACUFS!

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It's that time of year again, NRA time! So up your work-outs now to get the most out of the week. It truly is an endurance event and you won't want to miss the valuable networking time or time to learn on your own.

My advice to any newbie visiting the show is simple…

1) Wear comfortable shoes
2) Take public transportation
3) Choose samples wisely; it's easy to over-indulge and end up with a stomach ache.
     (As a chocolate-lover, I speak from experience here.)
4) Check out the live culinary competitions
5) Map out key booths or areas that are "must-see's"
6) Also, allow yourself to wander for 2 hours...give yourself a time limit so you're not
      aimlessly wandering away a day! (Again, I speak from experience here.)
7) Bring your own bag for literature and samples
8) Take advantage of at least 1 educational seminar
9) Come curious; don't be shy about asking questions and getting answers
10) Don't pick up tchotskeys you know you won't use

For the veterans, you know that the Show is just part of the exciting week. Dining in Chicago is second to none but if you haven't made a dinner reservation at a newcomer or perennial hot spot, never fear. Why not spring for a cab and really experience Chicago with some neighborhood dining superstars. You can't go wrong with this list:

1) Rose Angelis -- fabulous Italian fare in a Lincoln Park neighborhood, 773-296-0081



2) Jane's -- inviting upscale American in a homey A-frame in Bucktown, 773-862-5263

3) Tango Sur -- savory Argentinian BYOB steakhouse on Southport, 773-477-5466

4) Café 28 -- upscale and lively Cuban and Mexican on Irving Park, 773-528-2883



5) Harmony Grill at Schuba's -- delicious regional American comfort food, 773-525-2508



Check out Metromix for more suggestions.

If you have any unscheduled time, I recommend a trip on the Red Line to Addison…the Cubs are in town! A hot dog and Old Style at Wrigley is the perfect way to round out any trip to Chicago.



Posted by Molly Eaton

This year's COEX meeting was very informative and it was interesting to learn how the overall state of the restaurant industry has changed over the last year. I am glad to share with you some of my key learnings from this event. While we didn’t need to be told that this year is shaping up to be a bleak one for many segments, it was interesting to get several perspectives on the two primary causes for the situation many find themselves in. It’s scary how big, far reaching and damaging the President’s Energy Bill will have, long-term on food prices and operators’ bottom line shrinkage! Trading food for fuel is impacting commodity prices on just about everything.

NPD Situation Analysis:

• The industry isn’t very optimistic this year…consumer confidence is way down. Talk of the recession, all-time high price of oil and gas, and the number one issues, rising food costs are the major contributors. Operators are feeling the crunch because they’re not able to raise menu prices knowing the low consumer confidence levels and depressed customer counts. Costs are up, counts are down.

• Breakfast contributed to 65% of the industry’s growth (driven by Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds). Dinner was the big looser and pizza was the biggest loosing category.

Operator Panel:

• In order to control costs operators are cutting back on the number of ingredients with an eye towards product rationalizations. They are only keeping multi-applications ingredients and paying a lot of attention to labor efficiencies (pre-cooked, pre-sliced, pre-measured, speed-scratch ingredients).

CIA on Innovation:

• Their research indicated a big gap between perceptions of how innovative companies actually are vs. how operators actually see them. They surveyed both marketers and operators on several factors including: product innovation, service, and value. The biggest gap was in product innovation. Larger companies scored themselves very high on innovation while operators scored larger companies the lowest. The larger the company the worse operators scored them on product innovation.

• CIA identified some immediate areas for innovation: global flavors (Asian and Mediterranean); healthfulness (reduction in calories and salt); menu ethics (environmentally friendly, hormone and chemical free, sustainability/green).

NRA: Retaining Customers through Innovation:

• Experimentation and testing is a mandate. Let consumer behavior lead innovation. Practice “kitchen table” marketing (small talk, lots of contributors) drive marketing and end silos. Surprise marketing is required…deliver the unexpected messaging…again looking at viral.

Building Relationships (Operator Panel)

• Choosing suppliers – trust is key, companies with a partnership attitude, a passion for caring and a commitment to serve their customers (patrons), win.

• A service portfolio needs to include: commitment to R&D; bring resources through innovation; demonstrate hands-on service (work in their operations); present positive solutions to help them control costs; provide lead times on price increases and when the occur bring ideas to help operator manage/control the increase; communicate best practices concerning the product and handling, bring unique innovative ideas (products and programs).

Posted by Mike Gordon