Company Blog

Trends, Trendy and Just Plain Weird

by Adam Zack — December 28, 2016

Brick & mortar is not going away.

As retailers it’s our responsibility to research, anticipate and react to trends that are happening in the food world. What seems crazy today can be a billion dollar industry tomorrow. Remember kale and how it was just a garnish? How about seaweed snacks? Coconut water? Almond Milk? Digital music? So here are some of the trends that I think bear a little thought as we head into 2017. But first, a few that sound a little crazy to most of us:

Skateboarding Pilates – as if skateboarding wasn’t hard enough
Cycle Karaoke classes – Riding a stationary bike, sweating and belting out your favorite tunes all at the same time.
Mermaid classes – Nothing like strapping on the mermaid tail AND learning how to use it.
Stripes – Hopefully vertical and not horizontal. That prison-striped suit adds at least 10 pounds.
Weight Loss Sunglasses – apparently the blue lenses make food look less appetizing. You go Japan, you go.

Now some things we should be paying attention to:

Wellness Tonics – The Kombucha trend has proved sustainable. Look for t
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Just Say Nope

by Adam Zack — December 21, 2016

Who respects the yes man?

The holidays bring joy, appreciation, togetherness, and love. Warm and fuzzy feelings are what the Christmas is all about, right? But the holidays also bring a very high level of stress. What presents to buy? What to cook for the meal? Who to invite and who not to invite? Planning and prepping, prepping and planning. It’s almost a full time job. It’s also the time to remember that saying “no” is perfectly acceptable. In fact, it’s healthy and sanity saving. For most of us who are pleasers, we hate to say no. We think that saying no, no matter how much saying yes stresses us or overextends us, disappoints people at this key time of year. But here’s a news flash, and it’s a fact: Saying no does not mean, “I reject you.” It is a legitimate and respectful response to a request. After all, who respects the yes man? What kind of thought goes into a request when every answer is yes? If we can’t say no then our yes means nothing. We think that just because someone asks something, especially family and close friends, that saying no somehow will offend them. So this season when the questions and requests come flying in: Can we have gluten free stuffing? Can we have prime rib a...

by Adam Zack — December 14, 2016

Little things can become big things to your customer.

When we were kids my brothers and I looked forward to the nights when our dad would be out of town at dinner time. That sounds terrible, but it’s true. Don’t get me wrong, my dad is one of the greatest men you could ever meet —generous, funny, loving, smart — one of the greatest role models ever. Family dinners were always fun, delicious and great bonding times for the five of us. But when he would be at a grocer’s convention, or a board meeting, or just out looking at other stores for ideas we could have the things for dinner that he didn’t like. He didn’t like pizza much at all. (Character flaw or just plain weird? You decide.) But the thing I remember looking forward to the most was having breakfast for dinner. Mind you, this was not a weekly occurrence. Maybe once every couple months at the most should you be wondering who the real weird one is. My mom would make pancakes or waffles and lots of bacon with warm real maple syrup and butter and we would scarf them down like they were our last meal for a month. The pancakes seemed extra fluffy, the bacon more delicious than normal (if that’s even possible) and the syrup just perfectly sweet. Just mom and her thr...

by Adam Zack — December 7, 2016

Grocers know crunch time.

Crunch time is a great headline for a fresh vegetable promotion. Or a promotion of chips. It’s also the phrase that is very applicable to our grocery industry when the pressure’s on. Pedal to the metal. Balls to the wall. Go time. It’s the time when things have to get done, and if they don’t the business suffers and customers end up disappointed. Maybe it’s just because grocery is in my blood, but it seems that in our business, people rise to the occasion more than any other industry. People that you would never think would take the reins rise up and not only meet the deadlines, they blow them away. During holiday times we are reminded just how fantastic our grocery workers are. They give up their own time of rest and relaxation during Thanksgiving and Christmas to serve our customers and make their holidays special and amazing. It’s hard work and generally pretty thankless. Some might say “Well, you only had to work until 4:00 on Thanksgiving” or “You were off Christmas day”, but after delivering during the crunch time of the day before those holidays, the body and mind are pretty tired and preparing a meal or participating in a big gathering are not quite as appealing.The bigg...

by Adam Zack — November 30, 2016

Lets promote quality.

So the holidays are here and it’s the time of year to share love, family and friendship. It’s the time to be thankful and to let them know how much you appreciate them with gifts, cards and sharing a special meal or two together. Nothing shows how much you care like the very cheapest turkey you can find! Or the Prime Rib roast that is maybe a little tough, but good Lord only cost $4.88 per pound! The tradition of finding the cheapest meal ingredients possible, and bragging about it to those beloved, cherished guests has always been somewhat of a mystery to me. Sure, everyone loves getting a “deal”. Everyone loves finding that bargain that saves money. But aren’t we talking about a special occasion? A gathering that happens once, maybe twice a year? Isn’t that reason to seek out the highest quality? The best turkey? The most tender cut of quality beef? For most supermarkets the quandary comes with appealing to those masses seeking that bargain of the century. If we don’t have the cheapest turkey in town, maybe we will lose customers to the competition. It’s a valid concern, definitely, because when they come in to buy that cheapest main course, they also buy the rest of the items for thei...

by Adam Zack — November 23, 2016

Everything I am thankful for.

It’s unbelievable. Thanksgiving 2016! When we were kids time seemed to just go so sloooooowwww and somewhere in our 20’s or early 30’s it seems to have speeded up. “I hope I die before I get old” has morphed into “I don’t feel as old as I look” and constantly reminds me of everything I have to be thankful for, every day.Top Ten Things I am thankful for 2016

An election year that brought out the worst in some people, the best in some, and made everyone pay attention and participate.

Tender Belly Bacon – Berkshire pork, uncured, cherry wood smoked. You need to find this.

The TV series Fargo. Some of the best storytelling and characters ever.

The Cubs win the series! The Cubs win the series!

A boss that makes it a point to compliment and is funny and weird.

Crispy chicken tacos.

Kids that make their own way, think their own thoughts and still love their dad.

A big family tree of nuts who doesn’t usually judge, seldom fights, loves each other unconditionally and always has each others backs.

by Adam Zack — November 16, 2016

Attitude is more important than facts.

It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away – U2I never really thought that a good day, or a bad day, had more to do with my attitude going into the day than with what my interactions with the day’s people and challenges brought. I was always the constant in the equation, and the actions of the people and situations I dealt with largely determined whether I’d have a great day or crappy day, right? I didn’t put enough stock in my attitude going into the day. I didn’t fully realize that if my day started with optimism, appreciation and energy that the rest of the day was likely to follow. Even more impactful was that as a leader the people around me were keyed to my attitude and followed suit. This was all brought into focus with an article on attitude shared with me recently. Thanks Linda for seeing how this could help me, and in turn help others.

ATTITUDEAttitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.Attitude is more important than appearance, giftedness, or sk...
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Voluntary Separation

by Adam Zack — November 9, 2016

The Short-timer Syndrome

A lot of time and thought is spent on counseling, teaching, correcting, reprimanding, warning, suspending and ultimately terminating employees who are not performing as expected. A lot of energy has been focused on correcting bad behavior and how to professionally and legally handle the end of employment for the bad children. But not much has been covered on how to best handle the end of employment for good, and sometimes great, employees who choose to leave your store. Maybe they have a better opportunity somewhere else. Maybe they want a career change. Maybe they inherited some dough from grandma. In any case, many stores just don’t have a clear policy in place for someone who gives their notice to leave. Mostly, a two-week notice is given and accepted. But is it in the best interest of your store to take that notice? If they are leaving for a better opportunity, or maybe to even work for a competitor, should you accept any notice at all or say thanks for your service and good luck. What doesn’t get a lot of thought is the interaction that the departing employee has with his co-workers. Short-timer’s Syndrome is a very real thing, and the amount of output you get, distraction to current employees and potentia...
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When To Say When

by Adam Zack — November 2, 2016

Here’s to great hiring managers.

Most everyone in management has hired someone you thought was the bomb, but turned out to be a mistake. Your instincts tell you that you have the right person for the job. They talk the talk, sling the lingo and dress to impress. You think you’re hiring royalty, but it turns out that the emperor has no clothes. And not in the good way. It’s kind of like you have a great first date. Maybe two, or even three. Then the next date there’s some not-so-discreet nose picking or a burp without an “excuse me”. Next thing you know you’ve stumbled into being engaged then married and are thinking, “I don’t want to get divorced again. If I just ignore her it will get better.” But it doesn’t, and before you know it your family is staying away and questioning your taste and decision making ability. If only you’d had the cajones to say after that first booger dig “You know, I don’t think this is really going to work out.” So the strong managers, the real leaders, realize when they’ve made a mistake. They take into account the best interest of their company and their employees and do what’s right by them and make the change. They do it quickly and decisively. They learn from it and ...
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Don’t Try. Do.

by Adam Zack — October 26, 2016

Requests for your effort should be reasonable and the answer realistic.

The word “perfect” is probably the most misused word in America today. I washed the dog. Perfect. I took out the trash. Perfect. I was only 10 minutes late to work today. Perfect. Perfect is the new “fine”. Another phrase that is greatly misused is I’ll try. Hey, can you finish your blog today? I’ll try. Can you empty the dishwasher before your mother gets home? I’ll try. Will start going to the gym regularly like you said you would? I’ll try. Instead of being an action statement, it’s really more of an excuse that means I’m not really going to try at all. In fact, I’ll try and pretend that I didn’t hear your request and I’ll try to not do anything so you’ll forget all about it. Trying needs to involve the same effort that actually doing the action requires. Trying requires 100% concentration and commitment. It has to be something tangible and attainable. Trying should lead to success more often than it leads to failure, and when the result is failure, you should have a sense of satisfaction that your try really was your best effort. Requests for your effort should also be reasonable and the answer realistic. I need you to get your ...
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