GMA-sponsored NACDS Marketplace seminar will highlight food partnership opportunities

WASHINGTON — The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores will host a seminar aimed at enhancing collaboration between food and consumer product manufacturers and retailers in the drug channel during the upcoming NACDS Marketplace Conference, the associations announced on Monday.

The seminar, which will be held on June 26, in conjunction with the NACDS Marketplace Conference in Boston, will be open to all NACDS Marketplace Conference attendees. It will be held in the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel, at 425 Summer St., in Grand Ballrooms C and D, beginning at 8 a.m.

The seminar will showcase trading partner collaboration strategies and model practices, with the goal of serving consumers — especially those in "food deserts," which refers to geographic areas that lack food stores. Nielsen SVP consumer and shopper insights Todd Hale will deliver keynote remarks about how food products are performing in drug and dollar channels.

Hale will be followed by two panel discussions. The first panel will focus on the products, services and other tools that trading partners are offering to help consumers pursue healthier lifestyles. The second panel will assess the broader landscape of trading partner collaboration opportunities to assist shoppers as they look to drug and other small-format stores for food purchases.

Seminar participants include representatives of General Mills, Hershey, Kraft Foods, Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Rite Aid and Unilever.