Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/386437
C o n ve n i e n c e Re ta i l e r S h o w D a i l y 4 1 W e d n e s d a y, O c to b e r 8 , 2 0 1 4 CRSD: Are you introducing any new products for the last quarter of 2014 into 2015? JR: El Sabroso is excited to announce our new line of potato chips. We like to say potato chips "Just Got Bolder" with our launch of El Sabroso Spicy Chile & Lime and Salt & Lime offer- ings. CRSD: What are some of the current offerings under El Sabroso that con- sumers are familiar with? JR: Our two most popular products are flavored tortilla chips, Salsitas and Guacachips. We also introduced a rolled tortilla line about a year ago that is called Taco-Litos that continues to grow in pop- ularity. CRSD: What do you attribute to the con- tinued success of the El Sabroso Brand? JR: El Sabroso has had a strong follow- ing for many years due to a number of different factors. The first is that we truly strive to offer authentic Hispanic inspired flavors across all products that include items such as pork skins, nuts, tortilla Snak King Corporation ( Cont'd. from p. 1) chips and churritos to just name a few from our extensive, full line of products under El Sabroso. We also take pride in offering the "cleanest" ingredient label when possible and we never use MSG. We are also proud to say that all of our El Sabroso products are manufactured right here in the United States with strict qual- ity standards. CRSD: What other brands are available under the Snak King family of products? JR: Beyond the popular El Sabroso brand we have been discussing we also have a line of "better for you snacks" that are sold under the Whole Earth brand. This has been one of our fastest growing brands as consumers are demanding more functional, healthier snack options. Vitner's is another brand that is a Chicago iconic brand that is popular throughout the Midwest that focuses more on potato chips and other extruded products. Granny Goose and Jensen's Orchard are two other brands that have a long history and still hold their own to this day. For more information, visit www.snakking.com, call 626-363-7711, email JRoberts@snakking.com or stop by booth #3139. government. Products are sold under the Midax banner and white boxed as an engine product as the customer demands. There is a culture of flexibility built into all Midax produces that allows the retailer a degree of freedom from POS and providers. Midax offers both inte- grated and semi-integrated programs for payments and loyalty, and ease of entry through both license and managed care models. All software is designed, coded, installed and supported internally. Midax supports what it sells with 7X24 True Support. The Midax customer centered product line has been developed over 17 years. In that time a significant client base has been developed in the fuel, C-store industry and gaming industries. All applications are Oracle based and fully PCI PA-DSS compliant Midax ( Cont'd. from p. 1) for security in this uncertain retail world today. Analytic and application options have been developed along with customers to solve a growing list of industry requirements and for maxi- mum flexibility to track data and know the customer. This year at NACS, Midax will be introducing a new exciting mobile plat- form, available in fully integrated and semi-integrated formats with SafeTrak ® . The SafeTrak model allows the merchant to attain compliance and save on the POS cost with a unique encryption model. A user friendly approach to mobile POS. For more information on the complete Midax product line for retail, call 757- 620-4168, visit www.midax.com or stop by booth #5522. (Midax is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the National Association of Convenience Stores, or the NACS Show trade show.) blends like our Tropical Green and Citrus Spice. Make no mistake, whether hot tea or iced tea, we have always believed, as we believe today, great tasting tea really is all about the ingredients. CRSD: What was the most significant event or series of events affecting your company in the past year? DE: I would say it was Howard Shultz purchasing a full-leaf tea company and then telling the Wall Street Journal that he was going to do for tea what he did for coffee. Today we see his baristas shaking iced tea drinks on national television, on YouTube videos and in thousands of Starbucks across the country. CRSD: What would you say makes your company unique? DE: We are all about promotion, sam- pling and telling consumers that great tasting teas are available here! It's not enough to have a great product. We believe we can really help our customers increase store traffic and attract new con- sumer trials through innovative ideas like Revolution Tea ( Cont'd. from p. 1) our iced tea destinations. CRSD: Did your marketing strategy in the past year provide you the overall position you had projected? DE: More people today tell me they are familiar with the brand than I was able to claim a year ago. And our business is up over 40 percent year over year. So yes, I attribute both to a sales and marketing team that is getting our message out to the consumer. CRSD: How do you see the next year in terms of economy, sales, technology and product evolution? DE: We believe the consumer will con- tinue to search for healthy beverage options and social media is an exciting way to tell the world that great tasting teas are available here! So our top priority will be to continue to work with our customers within their four walls and to deliver on our commitment to a better tea drinking experience … and that's enough for us because every category needs a leader. For more information, visit www.revolution tea.com, call 888-321-4738, sales@ revolutiontea.com or stop by booth #4771. be consumer friendly, it is a no brainer to have in your stores. There is no packag- ing to throw away so it's also considered to be a friend to the environment. The Micro Flamingo Display will hold approximately 82 single units of the perfect mix of accessories for cell phones and electronics such as USB cables, headphones, auxiliary cables and more. This elegant display is two sided and it spins. With the new Micro Flamingo dis- play program, you are guaranteed to make an excellent profit margin, offer a FIFO Wireless ( Cont'd. from p. 1) high quality product to your customers that will have little returns and add an attractive display to your stores. Maybe the most important part of this program is the quality. These are not the cheaper chargers or cables that you buy from anyone off of the street that won't even charge an iPad, tablet or smartphone. These chargers are strong enough to charge tablets, iPads and big smartphones that use a lot of battery power and require a higher amp to get the job done. For more information, visit www.myme world.com or stop by booth #620. COLLABORATION AND SEASONALITY: CREATING A BIGGER IN-STORE IMPACT By Joe Cavaliere, Chief Customer Officer, Newell Rubbermaid As competition for a consumer's dollar grows more complex and fierce, retailers and brands must leverage every opportu- nity to make themselves relevant to con- sumers' everyday lives. Seasonal market- ing provides a great opportunity to strate- gically highlight a brand and store's rele- vance – if done in a thoughtful and informed manner. At Newell Rubbermaid, our goal is be the partner of choice for growth with our retail customers. One of the ways we do this is leveraging key seasonal moments in time when consumers natu- rally rely on our products to help them get more out of life while providing a merchandising opportunity to retailers. This requires an intense understand- ing of how our great brands like Rubbermaid ® , Sharpie ® , Paper Mate ® , Goody ® and Graco ® , among others, con- nect to and enhance the lives of our con- sumers. To gain this perspective, we are making significant new investments in consumer insights so we can develop new innovations, as well as to work with our retail partners to better leverage our portfolio of brands in smarter merchan- dising programs. That means using insights to connect with consumers in- store at the right time with the message. Through our insights work, we've seen early success marrying key times of the year where consumers rely on our brands with a powerful in-store activa- tion to drive incremental sales. For our Rubbermaid brand, one example is the "Big Game" – the time in early February through March when consumers are preparing and storing food as they watch football or college basketball. Making our food containers available through in- store displays in the right place at the right time enables consumers to pick up something useful that they may not have been planning to purchase. To successfully turn insights into high-impact merchandising programs, we follow four steps: 1. Plan early. We need time to gather and analyze the necessary consumer insights and create a seasonal plan of action with our retailers, so we start plan- ning for campaigns at least one year in advance. 2. Keep relevance top of mind. A cool in-store display or program doesn't matter if it doesn't engage consumers in a meaningful way with the product, brand and store. That's why we place such an emphasis on insights – insights lead to relevance. 3. Develop creative but sensible ideas. We start from a place of insights-based research and then brainstorm a diversity of ideas, always working towards unique, creative and executable solutions. 4. Play a long game. Consumers won't automatically associate a brand or store with a time of year just because they saw one in-store promotion once. Brands and retailers must maintain a long term commitment to proving their relevance. By leveraging insights in collabora- tion with our retail partners, we provide our brands with a strategic spotlight that highlights relevance and grows brand awareness and loyalty, while driving vol- ume and increasing the size of a shop- per's basket. For more information, visit www.NewellRubbermaid.com.