Grocery buyers make deals for Montana-made products

Montana food manufacturers and brokers said they anticipate
$332,000 in sales during the next 12 months as a result of meetings this
week with regional buyers for four Northwest grocery store chains.

The Montana Department of Agriculture sponsored the Montana-Northwest
Grocery Connection, which brought buyers from Albertson’s, Smith’s Food &
Drug, SuperValu and Wal-Mart to Helena for meetings March 11, 2003, with 22
Montana food manufacturers. The event was held in conjunction with the
Governor’s Conference on Food Manufacturing and Marketing, which attracted
more than 150 participants on March 10.

The trade show and face-to-face meetings on Tuesday resulted in $3,000 in
immediate sales. Vendors said they expect sales during the coming year to
total an additional $329,000. The participants said they expect to place 30
to 40 new products on grocery shelves in Montana during the next year, and
10 to 15 new products in stores outside of Montana.

Consolidation of grocery stores into large regional and national
corporations has made it difficult for small businesses in Montana to
contact buyers and get their products into Montana stores, says Ralph Peck,
director of the Montana Department of Agriculture.

The event "was excellent, both for grocery buyer contact and for vendor
networking," says Mandi Heinle with Innovative Marketing Solutions in
Hathaway, a broker of more than 30 Montana made food products.

Pre-qualified food companies with prior grocery sales and necessary items
such as UPC codes on packaging were invited to display their wares at the
trade show, with anticipation that the buyers would be more likely to
purchase those items, says Angelyn DeYoung, marketing specialist with the
department.

Buyers Eric Hymas, grocery sales manager with Albertson’s in Salt Lake City;
Brad Fitt, category manager with Smith’s Food & Drug in Salt Lake City; Bill
Robinson, vice president of merchandising with SuperValu in Spokane; and
Clark Wood, Northwest region team leader with Wal-Mart in Corrinne, Utah,
also pronounced the meetings a success.

Hymas said he expected several Montana products to be placed in Albertson’s
stores, both inside and outside of the state, as a result of the meetings.
"I thought the MNGC was very effective. I enjoyed meeting with the suppliers
and manufacturers." Hymas said.

Jack Waller of Montana Coffee Traders in Whitefish said the meetings were
useful and provided an opportunity he would not otherwise get to meet with
regional buyers in one place.

For more information about the Montana-Northwest Grocery Connection, contact
DeYoung at the department’s Ag Marketing & Business Development Bureau at
(406) 444-2402 or by email at [email protected].