Grocery Industry Gathering Concludes: Fresh Summit 2025 by National Grocers Association
Independent grocers from across the nation gathered in Milwaukee from June 16-18 for the NGA Fresh Summit, a three-day event aimed at empowering these businesses through peer-driven learning, technology adoption, and operational improvements. The summit, hosted by the National Grocers Association (NGA), offered a dynamic showcase of innovation, technology, and community connection transforming the fresh departments of independent grocers.
The event kicked off with a networking session sponsored by Palermo's Pizza, providing attendees with an opportunity to connect and share experiences. The first day also saw the NGA meeting with congressional leaders to defend the key nutrition program and voicing concerns about potential anticompetitive practices that could harm America's independent grocers.
On the second day, the focus shifted towards shopper experience, community engagement, and the future of fresh services. Sessions addressed topics such as AI-driven retail, smarter assortments, workable sustainability strategies, practical shrink reduction tips, premium product promotion, and expert marketing programs. Local store tours were conducted at Sendik's Food Market, Woodman's Market, and El Rey Family Market, offering insights into successful strategies for boosting profitability across produce, meat, dairy, deli, bakery, and foodservice categories.
The third and final day of the summit saw discussions on leveraging technology and traceability, change management for technology adoption, peer-driven learning and best practices sharing, innovative merchandising and foodservice expansion, and addressing labor and supply chain challenges. The NGA Foundation's scholarships, granted to retail and wholesale grocers, state grocers' associations, manufacturers, and service suppliers, supported the recipients' attendance at the program.
Jonathan Downey, COO and SVP of the Washington, D.C.-based NGA, noted that the summit was a dynamic showcase of innovation, technology, and community connection transforming the fresh departments of independent grocers. "The strategies discussed are similar to what the industry experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic," he added.
The 2025 NGA Fly-In also took place in D.C., where the association warned the Federal Trade Commission about potential anticompetitive practices. Furthermore, independent grocers are heading the industry fight against proposed SNAP cuts.
In conclusion, the NGA Fresh Summit advises independent grocers to combine technology-enabled supply chain transparency, change management, peer knowledge exchange, merchandising innovation, and focus on labor solutions to boost profitability in fresh categories and foodservice operations. These practices are expected to play a crucial role in the future of independent grocers.
The strategies discussed at the NGA Fresh Summit, similar to what the industry experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, are aimed at combining technology-enabled supply chain transparency, change management, peer knowledge exchange, merchandising innovation, and focus on labor solutions to boost profitability in fresh categories and foodservice operations. As the independent grocers head the industry fight against proposed SNAP cuts, it is expected that these practices will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the retail sector within the business landscape, especially in finance, including the newly emerging AI-driven retail, and potentially impacting the finance industry through innovative merchandising and foodservice expansion.
