FMI Aiding Shoptalk’s Launch of Grocerytalk

Supported by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), event organizer Shoptalk will roll out Grocerytalk, a new program for the grocery and consumer packaged goods industries, at an event that will take place March 18-21, 2018, at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Grocerytalk will offer content, networking and other unique experiences that focus on the evolution of how consumers discover, shop and buy groceries and consumer packaged goods in a digital age, including the latest technologies, trends and business models. FMI will foster the program’s development and marketing.

“Since we launched Shoptalk just over two years ago, we’ve created an entirely new and modern retail and ecommerce narrative and community of innovators, breaking down major, now-stale silos across the industry,” noted Anil D. Aggarwal, founder and CEO of New York-based Shoptalk. “Our third U.S. event is tracking for over 7,500 attendees, up from 5,600 in 2017 and 3,100 in 2016, making Shoptalk the largest American conference for retail and ecommerce innovation.”

Added Aggarwal: “We are excited to partner with FMI, which will support us on all aspects of Grocerytalk as we bring innovation in the grocery and consumer packaged goods industries, together with many other verticals for a comprehensive view of disruption. Working with FMI is a breath of fresh air in an industry where many have not even started the critical transition from the legacy normal to an obvious and imminent new normal.”

“In sunsetting our traditional trade show, FMI Connect, FMI promised its members a bolder and more deliberate events strategy,” noted said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based FMI. “Just as technology evolves, so too will FMI and its portfolio of member services and benefits. Quite bluntly, moving our tech focus into the context of Shoptalk with the launch of Grocerytalk allows us the best of two worlds – maintaining the capacity to focus on the unique retail and ecommerce needs of food, but doing so in the grander, more possibility-rich context of the retail world’s exploration of the topic.”