September - October 2015 Issue

36
47th National DDBC Seminar Issue SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

Transcript of September - October 2015 Issue

Page 1: September - October 2015 Issue

47th National DDBC

Seminar Issue

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015

Page 2: September - October 2015 Issue

3187 Redhill Avenue, Suite 125Costa Mesa, CA 92626Phone: 714.979.4844 / Fax: 714.979.4955

www.horizonsalescorp.com

“ABILITY is what you’re capable of doing.

MOTIVATION determines what you do.

ATTITUDE determines how well you do it.”

- Lou Holtz

For over 30

years, we are the

solution to create

results as your

regional broker

in the West.

HorizonSalesAd-2.indd 1 8/20/15 9:29 PM

DDBC News, September/October 2015 3

OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONDDBC of Southern California

About the cover

In This Issue:47th National DDBC SeminarThe 47th National DDBC Seminar is scheduled to be conducted Sept. 11-13 at theMarriott Cliffs Hotel and Spa in Dana Point. The theme is “Teamwork” and theprogram features a host of heavyweight retailers and industry leaders who willlead attendees to where the industry is heading. Everything you need to knowabout the Seminar begins on Page 10.

Lifetime Achievement Award:Tom Keyes, Owner of the John J. Wollack Co., will be presented with theDDBC’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the October meeting. Read about hiscontributions to the Southern California food industry on Page 20.

July Meeting of DDBCThe DDBC’s Salute to the City of Hope was an eye-opening event that included a fund-raiser for the Medical Center and the DDBC Scholarship Fund. See story and photosbeginning on Page 28.

www.ddbcsocal.org

Cacique® USA has offered onlythe finest quality cheeses and otherHispanic products for nearly four de-cades.

You can see the purity in everyCacique® product that comes withthe pride, dating from unrivaledtradition and exemplary service. Allhave combined to make Cacique®the largest Hispanic cheesemanufacturer in the world.

Items to be submitted for editorialconsideration should be sent to: Editor,DDBC News, P.O. Box 4533, Hunting-ton Beach, CA 92647.

All submissions are subject to edit-ing for style and content.

Advertising, editorial informationFor advertising information in the

DDBC News, contact Dalva Fisher at435-674-3504 or Pacific Rim Publish-ing Co., P.O. Box 4533, HuntingtonBeach, CA 92647. 714-375-3900. FAX:714-375-3906.

DDBC NEWS (USPS 152-360, ISSN 00117862) is published 6 times per year for the DDBCof Southern California. Published by Pacific Rim Publishing Co., P.O. Box 4533, HuntingtonBeach, CA 92647. 714-375-3900. FAX 714-375-3906. The DDBC address is P.O. Box 1872,Whittier, CA 90609. Phone 562-947-7016. FAX: 562-947-7872.

Subscription rates are $30 per year. Membership in the DDBC includes a subscription.Copyright 2012 by the DDBC of Southern California. All rights reserved.

Calendar

More CalendarPage 34

Cacique USA CoverCity of Hope 27DSW Distribution 4Emkay Food Brokers 31Florida’s Natural 5Horizon Sales Corp. 2John J. Wollack Co. 21J.R. Sales 27Lakeview Cheese 9LALA 34

Advertiser index

September7 – Labor Day.11-13 – 47th National DDBC

Seminar, Laguna Hills Marriott, DanaPoint. Information: 562-947-7016.

13-15 – Rosh Hashanah.16 – Mexican Independence Day.22-23 – Yom Kippur.27-29 – CGA Strategic Confer-

ence, Palm Springs Convention Cen-ter. Info: www.cagrocers.com.

29 – Green Hasson Janks Food &Beverage Forum, 7:30 a.m., TheGrammy Museum at L.A. Live. Info:www.greenhassonjanks.com.

October13 – DDBC Membership meeting,

Embassy Suites Hotel, GardenGrove. Information: 562-947-7016.

22 – Food Industry BusinessRoundtable Awards & ScholarshipDinner, Rio Hondo Events Center,Downey, 5:30 p.m. Information:[email protected].

November3 – DDBC Membership meeting,

Election Night, Embassy Suites Ho-tel, Garden Grove. Information: 562-947-7016.

11 – Veterans Day.26 – Thanksgiving.

December6-14 – Hanukkah.25 – Christmas.

La Mexicana 7Litehouse Foods 11Marin Cheese 34Mastro & Associates 25Mission Foods 23Monterrey 35Premier Action Group 26Smithfield/Farmland 27Total Access Marketing 27Trax Industries 33

Page 3: September - October 2015 Issue

DDBC News, September/October 2015 3

OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONDDBC of Southern California

About the cover

In This Issue:47th National DDBC SeminarThe 47th National DDBC Seminar is scheduled to be conducted Sept. 11-13 at theMarriott Cliffs Hotel and Spa in Dana Point. The theme is “Teamwork” and theprogram features a host of heavyweight retailers and industry leaders who willlead attendees to where the industry is heading. Everything you need to knowabout the Seminar begins on Page 10.

Lifetime Achievement Award:Tom Keyes, Owner of the John J. Wollack Co., will be presented with theDDBC’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the October meeting. Read about hiscontributions to the Southern California food industry on Page 20.

July Meeting of DDBCThe DDBC’s Salute to the City of Hope was an eye-opening event that included a fund-raiser for the Medical Center and the DDBC Scholarship Fund. See story and photosbeginning on Page 28.

www.ddbcsocal.org

Cacique® USA has offered onlythe finest quality cheeses and otherHispanic products for nearly four de-cades.

You can see the purity in everyCacique® product that comes withthe pride, dating from unrivaledtradition and exemplary service. Allhave combined to make Cacique®the largest Hispanic cheesemanufacturer in the world.

Items to be submitted for editorialconsideration should be sent to: Editor,DDBC News, P.O. Box 4533, Hunting-ton Beach, CA 92647.

All submissions are subject to edit-ing for style and content.

Advertising, editorial informationFor advertising information in the

DDBC News, contact Dalva Fisher at435-674-3504 or Pacific Rim Publish-ing Co., P.O. Box 4533, HuntingtonBeach, CA 92647. 714-375-3900. FAX:714-375-3906.

DDBC NEWS (USPS 152-360, ISSN 00117862) is published 6 times per year for the DDBCof Southern California. Published by Pacific Rim Publishing Co., P.O. Box 4533, HuntingtonBeach, CA 92647. 714-375-3900. FAX 714-375-3906. The DDBC address is P.O. Box 1872,Whittier, CA 90609. Phone 562-947-7016. FAX: 562-947-7872.

Subscription rates are $30 per year. Membership in the DDBC includes a subscription.Copyright 2012 by the DDBC of Southern California. All rights reserved.

Calendar

More CalendarPage 34

Cacique USA CoverCity of Hope 27DSW Distribution 4Emkay Food Brokers 31Florida’s Natural 5Horizon Sales Corp. 2John J. Wollack Co. 21J.R. Sales 27Lakeview Cheese 9LALA 34

Advertiser index

September7 – Labor Day.11-13 – 47th National DDBC

Seminar, Laguna Hills Marriott, DanaPoint. Information: 562-947-7016.

13-15 – Rosh Hashanah.16 – Mexican Independence Day.22-23 – Yom Kippur.27-29 – CGA Strategic Confer-

ence, Palm Springs Convention Cen-ter. Info: www.cagrocers.com.

29 – Green Hasson Janks Food &Beverage Forum, 7:30 a.m., TheGrammy Museum at L.A. Live. Info:www.greenhassonjanks.com.

October13 – DDBC Membership meeting,

Embassy Suites Hotel, GardenGrove. Information: 562-947-7016.

22 – Food Industry BusinessRoundtable Awards & ScholarshipDinner, Rio Hondo Events Center,Downey, 5:30 p.m. Information:[email protected].

November3 – DDBC Membership meeting,

Election Night, Embassy Suites Ho-tel, Garden Grove. Information: 562-947-7016.

11 – Veterans Day.26 – Thanksgiving.

December6-14 – Hanukkah.25 – Christmas.

La Mexicana 7Litehouse Foods 11Marin Cheese 34Mastro & Associates 25Mission Foods 23Monterrey 35Premier Action Group 26Smithfield/Farmland 27Total Access Marketing 27Trax Industries 33

Page 4: September - October 2015 Issue

4 DDBC News, September/October 2015

1/2-page ad heredsw4-cnewfrom deirdre

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

DDBC of Southern CaliforniaDave Daniel, Editor

www.ddbcsocal.orgVOL. LII NO. 5 2015 • ISSN 00117862

Executive Director: Susan SteeleOFFICERS: President: Cheryl Van Den Hende (Monterrey); First Vice Presi-

dent: Patti Winsell; Second Vice President: Sue Bargsten (DPI Specialty Foods);Third Vice President: Lisa Juarez (Cacique); Secretary: Cynthia Yarak; Treasurer:Bill Mackie (Processor’s Marketing and Research); Advisor: Connie Thatcher(Advantage Sales & Marketing).

DIRECTORS: Tracy Gemoll (Food 4 Less); Matt Hebert (Insight Food Sales);Dave MacDonald (Stremick’s Heritage Foods); Silvia Quiroz (Cardenas Markets);Laura Taketomo (Food 4 Less), Nancy Tyler (Acosta), Jim Veregge (UnifiedGrocers), Liz Wilson (Ralphs), Miriam Welch (Albertsons).

PAST PRESIDENTS: §Sydney Fisher, 1960; §Loyd Knutson, 1961; §SamFreed, 1962; §Harry Schneider, 1963; §Earl Anderson, 1964; §Leo Cohen, 1965;§Art Jelin, 1966; §George Hobbs, 1967; §Eli Coleite, 1968; Bill Trapani, 1969;§Pete Uraine, 1970; §Otto Schirmer, 1971; §John Andikian, 1972; Ted Hopkins,1973; §Stan Coop, 1974; §Ray Ferry, 1975; §A.A. “Bud” Moorman, 1976; BillSchwartz, 1977; Eleanor Bennett, 1978; §Bob Garcia, 1979; §Harold Davis, 1980;Randall Chew, 1981; Gary Illingworth, 1982; §Ken Tisdell, 1983; John Vitale,1984; Gary Provenzano, 1985; Joe Jimenez, 1986; Dick Schwebe, 1987; DianeBeecher, 1988; Joe Matyasik, 1989; Don Fisher, 1990; Mark Stringer, 1991; §JerryLewis, 1992; Mark Dixon, 1993; Kathie Porter, 1994; Jim Allumbaugh, 1995; JimVeregge, 1996; Rona Reeves, 1997; Joy Sawhill, 1998; Debra Zimmerman, 1999;Peter Hejny, 2000; Jeff Merrill, 2001; Bill Hankes, 2002, Manny Marin 2003-04;Bob Dressler, 2005; Jon Amidei, 2006; Sue Bargsten, 2007; Rigo Landeros, 2008;Rey Garza, 2009; Lisa Juarez, 2010; Stacy Gilbert, 2011; Neil Swanson, 2012; BillMackie 2013; Connie Thatcher 2014.

HALL OF FAME: §Harry Schneider, 1983; §Sam Freed and §Ralph Levey,1984; §Pete Uraine, 1985; §Al Berger, 1986; §Eddie Goldstein and §George Hobbs,1987; §A.A. “Bud” Moorman, 1988; §Morrie Rosenfeld and §Claus Simon, 1989;§Otto Schirmer and §Andy Stylianou, 1990; §Ray Ferry, 1991; §Bob Garcia and

§Art Jelin, 1992; §Lou Agrati, 1993; §Bernie Brener, 1994; Mark Levey, 1995;§Harold Davis, 1996; Eleanor Bennett and §Joe Malin, 1997; Gary Illingworth and§Ken Tisdell, 1998; §Jo Ann Benci and Ken Hanshaw, 1999; Tom Keyes, 2000;John Vitale, 2001; Bill Schwartz, 2002; Ted Hopkins and Dick Schwebe, 2003;Diane Beecher, §Stan Coop, and §Jerry Lewis, 2004; Don Fisher and Rona Reeves,2005; §Bill MacAloney and Rob Willardson, 2006; Jim Veregge, 2007; MarkDixon, 2008; Kathie Porter, 2009; John Brass, 2010; Jim DeKeyser and BurhanNasser, 2011; Jack Taylor, 2012; Jeff Merill and Judy Norton, 2013; Dave Danieland Cheryl Kennick, 2014.

RETAILER OF THE YEAR: §Stan Coop, 1975; §Bill MacAloney, 1976;§Eddie Goldstein, 1977; §Pete Uraine, 1978; §Art Jelin, 1979; §A.A. “Bud”Moorman, 1980; Ken Hanshaw, 1981; Eleanor Bennett, 1982; Gary Illingworth,1983; §Harold Davis, 1984; John Vitale, 1985; Eddie Hoggatt, 1986; Don Fisher,1987; §Fred Brandt, 1988; Diane Beecher, 1989; Les Taylor, 1990; Bob Johnson,1991; §Jerry Lewis, 1992; Dave Wolff, 1993; Dave Fernandez, 1994; Kathie Porter,1995; John Brass, 1996; Jim Veregge, 1997; §Bernie Brener; §Jean Dreshner, 1998;Cindy Mulvaney, 1999; Mark Miale, 2000; Mickey Gold, 2001; Andre Mesropian,2002; Joe Rodriquez, 2003; Pete Hejny, 2004; Manny Marin, 2005, Jim Roesler,2006; Sue Bargsten, 2007; Steve Nguyen, 2008; Matt Reeve, 2009; Robin Bell,2010; Gayle DeCaro, 2011; Dennis McIntyre, 2012, Silvia Quiroz, 2013; LauraTaketomo, 2014.

PRESIDENTS AWARD: §Don Lee, 1992; §Louis Vitale, 1995; §A.A. “Bud”Moorman, 1997; Diane Beecher, 1998; Eleanor Bennett, 1999; Mark Dixon, 2007;Debra Zimmerman, 2012.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: §Walt Scheck, 1999; §Ken Tisdell,2001; Larry English, 2001; Charlice Makowski, 2005; Mark Roth, 2006; TomIlharreguy 2006; John Vitale, 2010; Terry Fyffe, 2011; Mickey Gold, 2012; §BillMacAloney, 2012; Gilbert de Cardenas, 2013; Eleanor Bennett, 2014; Kevin Davis,2014; Tom Keyes, 2015.

SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR: §George Hobbs, 1975; §Lou Agrati, 1976;§Chico Santillan, 1977; Mark Levey, 1978; §Morrie Rosenfeld, 1979; §Ken Tisdell,1980; §Walt Scheck, 1981; Larry English, 1982; §Bob Garcia, 1983; Ted Hopkins,1984; Bob Fetzner, 1985; Joe Wilson, 1986; §Claus Simon, 1987; §Joe Malin, 1988;Tom Keyes, 1989; §Creighton Wiggins, 1990; Gary Illingworth, 1991; Paul Yates,1992; Rob Willardson, 1993; Mark Dixon, 1994; Dick Schwebe, 1995; JimAllumbaugh, 1996; Paul Christianson, 1997; Rona Reeves, 1998; Bill Schwartz,1999; Jim DeKeyser, 2000; Burhan Nasser, 2001; Jeff Merrill, 2002; Bill Hankes,2003; John Brass, 2004; Debra Zimmerman, 2005, Jack Taylor, 2006; Jon Amideiand Bob Dressler, 2007; Paul Miller, 2008; Monica Stone, 2009; Judy Norton, 2010;Ann Dressler and Rey Garza, 2011; Lisa Juarez, 2012; Fred Rowen, 2013; CraigCovell and John Nielsen, 2014.

§ — Deceased.

4431 Corporate Center Dr. #123Los Alamitos, CA 90720(714) 699-1030 FAX (714) 723-6486

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DDBC ON IT’S 47TH NATIONAL SEMINAR!

DSW HAS QUALITY COLD STORAGE & DISTRIBUTION SERVICES FOR DAIRY, DELI, BAKERY, PACKAGED MEATS, RAW INGREDIENTS, PACKAGING AND FINISHED GOODS!

DSW is a proud supplier of cold storage distribution services for DDBC industry members on the West Coast!! We handle dairy, deli, bakery, packaged meats, beverages, pharmaceuticals, organics, kosher, alcoholic beverages and more! We are multi-licensed and multi-temperature controlled serving the USA from a State-of-the-Art convenient location in Southern California. We provide Retailer Routing Compliance Programs, eCommerce Fulfillment Services, Clean Room Packaging & Sampling Programs, and Transportation Services across the USA! Online inventory reports 24/7!

DSW Distribution Centers, Inc.8858 Rochester Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730

Brad Thayer, President, COO / (909) 483-5841 [email protected] / www.dswdist.com

   

DSW Distribution Centers, Inc. A Thayer Group Company

AT DSW, WE’VE EARNED THE TRUST OF MANY...BECAUSE WE HAVE MADE THE COMMITMENT TO APPRECIATE THE NEED FOR FLEXIBILITY, COST-EFFICIENCY, AND SUPERIOR QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE......Call us today!

Page 5: September - October 2015 Issue

4 DDBC News, September/October 2015

1/2-page ad heredsw4-cnewfrom deirdre

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

DDBC of Southern CaliforniaDave Daniel, Editor

www.ddbcsocal.orgVOL. LII NO. 5 2015 • ISSN 00117862

Executive Director: Susan SteeleOFFICERS: President: Cheryl Van Den Hende (Monterrey); First Vice Presi-

dent: Patti Winsell; Second Vice President: Sue Bargsten (DPI Specialty Foods);Third Vice President: Lisa Juarez (Cacique); Secretary: Cynthia Yarak; Treasurer:Bill Mackie (Processor’s Marketing and Research); Advisor: Connie Thatcher(Advantage Sales & Marketing).

DIRECTORS: Tracy Gemoll (Food 4 Less); Matt Hebert (Insight Food Sales);Dave MacDonald (Stremick’s Heritage Foods); Silvia Quiroz (Cardenas Markets);Laura Taketomo (Food 4 Less), Nancy Tyler (Acosta), Jim Veregge (UnifiedGrocers), Liz Wilson (Ralphs), Miriam Welch (Albertsons).

PAST PRESIDENTS: §Sydney Fisher, 1960; §Loyd Knutson, 1961; §SamFreed, 1962; §Harry Schneider, 1963; §Earl Anderson, 1964; §Leo Cohen, 1965;§Art Jelin, 1966; §George Hobbs, 1967; §Eli Coleite, 1968; Bill Trapani, 1969;§Pete Uraine, 1970; §Otto Schirmer, 1971; §John Andikian, 1972; Ted Hopkins,1973; §Stan Coop, 1974; §Ray Ferry, 1975; §A.A. “Bud” Moorman, 1976; BillSchwartz, 1977; Eleanor Bennett, 1978; §Bob Garcia, 1979; §Harold Davis, 1980;Randall Chew, 1981; Gary Illingworth, 1982; §Ken Tisdell, 1983; John Vitale,1984; Gary Provenzano, 1985; Joe Jimenez, 1986; Dick Schwebe, 1987; DianeBeecher, 1988; Joe Matyasik, 1989; Don Fisher, 1990; Mark Stringer, 1991; §JerryLewis, 1992; Mark Dixon, 1993; Kathie Porter, 1994; Jim Allumbaugh, 1995; JimVeregge, 1996; Rona Reeves, 1997; Joy Sawhill, 1998; Debra Zimmerman, 1999;Peter Hejny, 2000; Jeff Merrill, 2001; Bill Hankes, 2002, Manny Marin 2003-04;Bob Dressler, 2005; Jon Amidei, 2006; Sue Bargsten, 2007; Rigo Landeros, 2008;Rey Garza, 2009; Lisa Juarez, 2010; Stacy Gilbert, 2011; Neil Swanson, 2012; BillMackie 2013; Connie Thatcher 2014.

HALL OF FAME: §Harry Schneider, 1983; §Sam Freed and §Ralph Levey,1984; §Pete Uraine, 1985; §Al Berger, 1986; §Eddie Goldstein and §George Hobbs,1987; §A.A. “Bud” Moorman, 1988; §Morrie Rosenfeld and §Claus Simon, 1989;§Otto Schirmer and §Andy Stylianou, 1990; §Ray Ferry, 1991; §Bob Garcia and

§Art Jelin, 1992; §Lou Agrati, 1993; §Bernie Brener, 1994; Mark Levey, 1995;§Harold Davis, 1996; Eleanor Bennett and §Joe Malin, 1997; Gary Illingworth and§Ken Tisdell, 1998; §Jo Ann Benci and Ken Hanshaw, 1999; Tom Keyes, 2000;John Vitale, 2001; Bill Schwartz, 2002; Ted Hopkins and Dick Schwebe, 2003;Diane Beecher, §Stan Coop, and §Jerry Lewis, 2004; Don Fisher and Rona Reeves,2005; §Bill MacAloney and Rob Willardson, 2006; Jim Veregge, 2007; MarkDixon, 2008; Kathie Porter, 2009; John Brass, 2010; Jim DeKeyser and BurhanNasser, 2011; Jack Taylor, 2012; Jeff Merill and Judy Norton, 2013; Dave Danieland Cheryl Kennick, 2014.

RETAILER OF THE YEAR: §Stan Coop, 1975; §Bill MacAloney, 1976;§Eddie Goldstein, 1977; §Pete Uraine, 1978; §Art Jelin, 1979; §A.A. “Bud”Moorman, 1980; Ken Hanshaw, 1981; Eleanor Bennett, 1982; Gary Illingworth,1983; §Harold Davis, 1984; John Vitale, 1985; Eddie Hoggatt, 1986; Don Fisher,1987; §Fred Brandt, 1988; Diane Beecher, 1989; Les Taylor, 1990; Bob Johnson,1991; §Jerry Lewis, 1992; Dave Wolff, 1993; Dave Fernandez, 1994; Kathie Porter,1995; John Brass, 1996; Jim Veregge, 1997; §Bernie Brener; §Jean Dreshner, 1998;Cindy Mulvaney, 1999; Mark Miale, 2000; Mickey Gold, 2001; Andre Mesropian,2002; Joe Rodriquez, 2003; Pete Hejny, 2004; Manny Marin, 2005, Jim Roesler,2006; Sue Bargsten, 2007; Steve Nguyen, 2008; Matt Reeve, 2009; Robin Bell,2010; Gayle DeCaro, 2011; Dennis McIntyre, 2012, Silvia Quiroz, 2013; LauraTaketomo, 2014.

PRESIDENTS AWARD: §Don Lee, 1992; §Louis Vitale, 1995; §A.A. “Bud”Moorman, 1997; Diane Beecher, 1998; Eleanor Bennett, 1999; Mark Dixon, 2007;Debra Zimmerman, 2012.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: §Walt Scheck, 1999; §Ken Tisdell,2001; Larry English, 2001; Charlice Makowski, 2005; Mark Roth, 2006; TomIlharreguy 2006; John Vitale, 2010; Terry Fyffe, 2011; Mickey Gold, 2012; §BillMacAloney, 2012; Gilbert de Cardenas, 2013; Eleanor Bennett, 2014; Kevin Davis,2014; Tom Keyes, 2015.

SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR: §George Hobbs, 1975; §Lou Agrati, 1976;§Chico Santillan, 1977; Mark Levey, 1978; §Morrie Rosenfeld, 1979; §Ken Tisdell,1980; §Walt Scheck, 1981; Larry English, 1982; §Bob Garcia, 1983; Ted Hopkins,1984; Bob Fetzner, 1985; Joe Wilson, 1986; §Claus Simon, 1987; §Joe Malin, 1988;Tom Keyes, 1989; §Creighton Wiggins, 1990; Gary Illingworth, 1991; Paul Yates,1992; Rob Willardson, 1993; Mark Dixon, 1994; Dick Schwebe, 1995; JimAllumbaugh, 1996; Paul Christianson, 1997; Rona Reeves, 1998; Bill Schwartz,1999; Jim DeKeyser, 2000; Burhan Nasser, 2001; Jeff Merrill, 2002; Bill Hankes,2003; John Brass, 2004; Debra Zimmerman, 2005, Jack Taylor, 2006; Jon Amideiand Bob Dressler, 2007; Paul Miller, 2008; Monica Stone, 2009; Judy Norton, 2010;Ann Dressler and Rey Garza, 2011; Lisa Juarez, 2012; Fred Rowen, 2013; CraigCovell and John Nielsen, 2014.

§ — Deceased.

4431 Corporate Center Dr. #123Los Alamitos, CA 90720(714) 699-1030 FAX (714) 723-6486

Page 6: September - October 2015 Issue

6 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Hispanic Insights

Proven tactics that drive Hispanic market sales

Terry Soto

By TERRY SOTOPresident and CEOAbout Marketing Solutions, Inc.

While first-, second-, third- and evenfourth-generation Hispanics cling to foodculture of heritage and look for authenticbrands in the refrigerator case and the bak-ery aisle, their shopping behaviors extendway beyond traditional brands in those ar-eas depending on how familiar they are witha brand and how they have integrated it intohome meal planning. The question thenbecomes, what should you do to make yourmainstream brand a relevant option amongHispanic shoppers.

Here are six ways which have been quiteeffective among my most successful CPGclients:

1. Make your brand relevant.Ensure your brand can be visualized in

the context of authentic Hispanic meal plan-ning. Integrate brands into familiar authen-tic dishes and lifestyle contexts. Kids areoften the catalysts to Hispanic moms tryingout new products, but when it comes to pre-paring and serving meals at home, culturetrumps many options. Consider that 66%of Hispanic millennial moms and 65% ofHispanic moms overall consider their His-panic food culture when planning and serv-ing meals at home according to the latestHispanic NPD study. This reinforces theimportance of cultural relevancy to makeyour brands appealing and are seen as suit-able options for in-home family consump-tion.

Invest in the services of an Hispanichome economist to develop recipes whichutilize authentic ingredients and are platedor featured appropriately. Utilize Hispanicfood stylists to support photo shoots.

Leverage an Hispanic ad agency to de-fine brand personality-consistent and His-panic relevant slice of life situations inwhich to highlight your brand.

Seek out Hispanic food bloggers whocan speak about your brand to add credibil-ity and instill trust.

Partner with better-known brands amongHispanics to plan and activate shopper mar-keting initiatives during your key sales pe-riods.

2. Develop culturally relevant formu-lation and flavor varieties.

Several mainstream CPG companieshave found that creating authentic Hispanicflavor formulations to resonate with His-panic moms is a sure way to achieve trialand repeat purchase. There are many ex-amples of brands doing this well includingYoplait and Dole with their tropical fruitflavors variety. Outside refrigerated andbakery, there is Frito Lay with its line ofspicy potato chips.

While this may sound like a tall order,consider that as of 2014, the Hispanic CPGcategory reached $10 billion dollars in salesand most of these sales can be attributed tonon-Hispanics making the prize for inno-vating with Hispanic influenced flavors andformulations much larger than you mightfirst imagine.

Hispanic influenced flavors have hitprime time. Celebrity chefs, food shows andfood trucks have elevated Hispanic foodflavors to prime time. Its popularity andubiquitous presence can be seen in the foodservice sector. Three quarters of restaurants,regardless of concept, now feature Hispanicinfluenced menu items.

As a result, mainstream consumers arenow more familiar with once less well-known Hispanic flavors and textures, andcompanies such as Ruiz Foods, Goya andMcCormick have observed this sophisti-cated taste and are adjusting product mixesto appeal to non-Hispanic food growingHispanic flavors preferences. To appeal toHispanic palates; however, formulationsand flavors must be authentic.

3. Offer value in all your communica-tions. Make sure your tips, recipes andcoupons are accessible to Hispanics inboth English and Spanish.

While many Hispanics speak English,many do not. And regardless of languagecapabilities, many prefer to consume cul-turally relevant content in Spanish.

Feature authentic dishes, imagery andrecipes on your BILINGUAL website. KraftFoods and Domino Foods, two of our mostsuccessful past clients now do this quitewell on their respective Hispanic websites.

Mexican Independence Day is notCinco de Mayo, as most Americans be-lieve; it is the 16th of September orDieciseis de Septiembre.

Five other Hispanic countries – CostaRica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hondu-ras, and Nicaragua – celebrate their in-dependence on Sept. 15, and Septemberis also Latino Heritage Month, so there

Mexican Independence Dayare plenty of reasons to celebrate allthings Latino in September.

Cinco de Mayo (May 5) is observedto commemorate a rag-tag Mexicanarmy’s unlikely victory over Frenchforces that were considered much supe-rior at the Battle of Puebla on May 5,1862, under the leadership of GeneralIgnacio Zaragoza Seguín.

Continued on Page 32La Mexicana Food Products

4601 Pacific Boulevard, Vernon, CA 90058

LA MEXICANA

Congratulations Robert Burke on his selection as Big Cheese for September!

LaMexicanaFoods.indd 1 8/19/15 3:19 PM

Page 7: September - October 2015 Issue

6 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Hispanic Insights

Proven tactics that drive Hispanic market sales

Terry Soto

By TERRY SOTOPresident and CEOAbout Marketing Solutions, Inc.

While first-, second-, third- and evenfourth-generation Hispanics cling to foodculture of heritage and look for authenticbrands in the refrigerator case and the bak-ery aisle, their shopping behaviors extendway beyond traditional brands in those ar-eas depending on how familiar they are witha brand and how they have integrated it intohome meal planning. The question thenbecomes, what should you do to make yourmainstream brand a relevant option amongHispanic shoppers.

Here are six ways which have been quiteeffective among my most successful CPGclients:

1. Make your brand relevant.Ensure your brand can be visualized in

the context of authentic Hispanic meal plan-ning. Integrate brands into familiar authen-tic dishes and lifestyle contexts. Kids areoften the catalysts to Hispanic moms tryingout new products, but when it comes to pre-paring and serving meals at home, culturetrumps many options. Consider that 66%of Hispanic millennial moms and 65% ofHispanic moms overall consider their His-panic food culture when planning and serv-ing meals at home according to the latestHispanic NPD study. This reinforces theimportance of cultural relevancy to makeyour brands appealing and are seen as suit-able options for in-home family consump-tion.

Invest in the services of an Hispanichome economist to develop recipes whichutilize authentic ingredients and are platedor featured appropriately. Utilize Hispanicfood stylists to support photo shoots.

Leverage an Hispanic ad agency to de-fine brand personality-consistent and His-panic relevant slice of life situations inwhich to highlight your brand.

Seek out Hispanic food bloggers whocan speak about your brand to add credibil-ity and instill trust.

Partner with better-known brands amongHispanics to plan and activate shopper mar-keting initiatives during your key sales pe-riods.

2. Develop culturally relevant formu-lation and flavor varieties.

Several mainstream CPG companieshave found that creating authentic Hispanicflavor formulations to resonate with His-panic moms is a sure way to achieve trialand repeat purchase. There are many ex-amples of brands doing this well includingYoplait and Dole with their tropical fruitflavors variety. Outside refrigerated andbakery, there is Frito Lay with its line ofspicy potato chips.

While this may sound like a tall order,consider that as of 2014, the Hispanic CPGcategory reached $10 billion dollars in salesand most of these sales can be attributed tonon-Hispanics making the prize for inno-vating with Hispanic influenced flavors andformulations much larger than you mightfirst imagine.

Hispanic influenced flavors have hitprime time. Celebrity chefs, food shows andfood trucks have elevated Hispanic foodflavors to prime time. Its popularity andubiquitous presence can be seen in the foodservice sector. Three quarters of restaurants,regardless of concept, now feature Hispanicinfluenced menu items.

As a result, mainstream consumers arenow more familiar with once less well-known Hispanic flavors and textures, andcompanies such as Ruiz Foods, Goya andMcCormick have observed this sophisti-cated taste and are adjusting product mixesto appeal to non-Hispanic food growingHispanic flavors preferences. To appeal toHispanic palates; however, formulationsand flavors must be authentic.

3. Offer value in all your communica-tions. Make sure your tips, recipes andcoupons are accessible to Hispanics inboth English and Spanish.

While many Hispanics speak English,many do not. And regardless of languagecapabilities, many prefer to consume cul-turally relevant content in Spanish.

Feature authentic dishes, imagery andrecipes on your BILINGUAL website. KraftFoods and Domino Foods, two of our mostsuccessful past clients now do this quitewell on their respective Hispanic websites.

Mexican Independence Day is notCinco de Mayo, as most Americans be-lieve; it is the 16th of September orDieciseis de Septiembre.

Five other Hispanic countries – CostaRica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hondu-ras, and Nicaragua – celebrate their in-dependence on Sept. 15, and Septemberis also Latino Heritage Month, so there

Mexican Independence Dayare plenty of reasons to celebrate allthings Latino in September.

Cinco de Mayo (May 5) is observedto commemorate a rag-tag Mexicanarmy’s unlikely victory over Frenchforces that were considered much supe-rior at the Battle of Puebla on May 5,1862, under the leadership of GeneralIgnacio Zaragoza Seguín.

Continued on Page 32La Mexicana Food Products

4601 Pacific Boulevard, Vernon, CA 90058

LA MEXICANA

Congratulations Robert Burke on his selection as Big Cheese for September!

LaMexicanaFoods.indd 1 8/19/15 3:19 PM

Page 8: September - October 2015 Issue

8 DDBC News, September/October 2015

President’s Message

Great year just getting better all the time

Cheryl Van Den Hende

By CHERYL VAN DEN HENDEMonterrey2015 DDBC President

It is hard for me to believe that we arenearly three-quarters of the way through theyear already. When I look back on all ofour events so far, we have done so muchand had such a great time, and I can’t waitfor everyone to see what we have left forthe rest of the year.

We have an amazingly talented Board ofDirectors and they do an incredible jobworking to bring you these events that theyput their heart and soul in, and it shows. Iam honored to be a part of it.

“The strength of the team is each indi-vidual member. The strength of each mem-ber is the team.” —Phil Jackson

We started the year with our Installationof Officers Dinner/Dance at the Orange HillRestaurant in Orange. We were honored tohave Dennis McIntyre (Stater Bros) emceethe dinner and help us raise additional mon-ies for the Seminar at the same time. Theband Quest was so incredible that webooked it for the Seminar, and we rebookedthe venue again for next year. It was a funevening for all.

In February, we honored the 2014 Awardrecipients at our monthly meeting. DaveDaniel (Pacific Rim Publishing) and CherylKennick (City of Hope) were inducted intothe DDBC Hall of Fame. Laura Taketomo(Food 4 Less) received the Retailer of theYear award while Craig Covell (Reynaldo’sMexican Food) and John Nielsen (Acosta)both received awards for Supplier of theYear. We had a large attendance for thismeeting to honor these recipients that havedone so much for the DDBC and our entireindustry.

For the March meeting, Jim Veregge(Unified Grocers), our Program Chairman,lined up Kevin Coupe, author of “RetailRules! 52 Ways to Achieve Retail Success”and website/blogger of “Morning News

Beat.” He gave us his outlook on thechanges in our industry that he saw com-ing. Honored that night with Big CheeseAwards were Miriam Welch (Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions) and Dave MacDonald(Stremick’s Heritage Foods).

We held our annual Spring Golf Tour-nament at the Tijeras Creek Golf Course inRancho Santa Margarita in April. Thiscourse has proved to be a great location,and the weather was perfect for a day outin the sun. Thanks to the hard work of ourcommittee members and the generosity ofour sponsors, it was an incredible success.

Casino Night in May gave us a chanceto get together and have fun, while raisingmoney for the Lymphoma Foundation inhonor of Jean Dreshner. We were honored

us in this fun evening. It was a great event.We were honored to have Dr. Joseph

Alvernas (City of Hope) speak at our Julymeeting honoring the City of Hope. Theydo so much for our industry, and this wasone way we wanted to give back. We held asilent auction that night and donated halfof the proceeds to them and the other halfto the DDBC Scholarship Fund. Honoredthat night with Big Cheese Awards wereLuke Abbott (Monterrey, the NaturalChoice) and Emily Aguilar (Daisy Brand).

The 47th National Seminar is coming upSeptember 11-13 at the Laguna CliffsMarriott Hotel & Spa in Dana Point, and itis looking to be a great one thanks to Gen-eral Chairman Laura Taketomo (Food 4Less), Co-Chairman Lisa Juarez (Cacique)and the rest of the committee. Our themethis year is “Teamwork” and we have allseen good examples of it this year so far.

Speakers for this event include: GregMcNiff (Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions),Valerie Jabbar (Ralphs Grocery Company),Aarón Sánchez (Chef, Food Network Star),Thomas Cleary (CEO and Founder ofMarksman Leadership) and last, but cer-tainly not least, our Master of CeremoniesPete Hejny (Unified Grocers).

This event is expected to sell out, soplease sign up quickly if you have not doneso already.

We would like to congratulate the up-coming Big Cheese recipients Robert Burke(Emkay Food Brokers), Damian Valdez (Su-per King), Connie Thatcher (AdvantageSales & Marketing) and Melissa Griffin(Stater Bros).

We are excited for what the rest of theyear has in store for us, and look forwardto spending it with you.

Thank you.

Exciting events stillon tap for DDBC as

2015 winds down

Send news of your company to:Editor, DDBC News

P.O. Box 4533Huntington Beach, CA 92647

or email to:[email protected]

that her family was able to attend and join

At Lakeview Cheese, we strive to provide our customers with the finest high-quality cheeses at the best possible prices. Proudly serving the food

service, industrial and retail industries.

WITH 3 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU!• Las Vegas• California• Utah

Banquet Cheese

Silver State Cheese

Grand Teton Cheese

Lakeview Cheese – Premium

Lakeview Cheese TEL (702) 233-2439 FAX 702-384-2439E-mail: [email protected]. Box 60426, Boulder City, NV 89006

LakeviewCheese-2.indd 1 8/19/15 3:17 PM

Page 9: September - October 2015 Issue

8 DDBC News, September/October 2015

President’s Message

Great year just getting better all the time

Cheryl Van Den Hende

By CHERYL VAN DEN HENDEMonterrey2015 DDBC President

It is hard for me to believe that we arenearly three-quarters of the way through theyear already. When I look back on all ofour events so far, we have done so muchand had such a great time, and I can’t waitfor everyone to see what we have left forthe rest of the year.

We have an amazingly talented Board ofDirectors and they do an incredible jobworking to bring you these events that theyput their heart and soul in, and it shows. Iam honored to be a part of it.

“The strength of the team is each indi-vidual member. The strength of each mem-ber is the team.” —Phil Jackson

We started the year with our Installationof Officers Dinner/Dance at the Orange HillRestaurant in Orange. We were honored tohave Dennis McIntyre (Stater Bros) emceethe dinner and help us raise additional mon-ies for the Seminar at the same time. Theband Quest was so incredible that webooked it for the Seminar, and we rebookedthe venue again for next year. It was a funevening for all.

In February, we honored the 2014 Awardrecipients at our monthly meeting. DaveDaniel (Pacific Rim Publishing) and CherylKennick (City of Hope) were inducted intothe DDBC Hall of Fame. Laura Taketomo(Food 4 Less) received the Retailer of theYear award while Craig Covell (Reynaldo’sMexican Food) and John Nielsen (Acosta)both received awards for Supplier of theYear. We had a large attendance for thismeeting to honor these recipients that havedone so much for the DDBC and our entireindustry.

For the March meeting, Jim Veregge(Unified Grocers), our Program Chairman,lined up Kevin Coupe, author of “RetailRules! 52 Ways to Achieve Retail Success”and website/blogger of “Morning News

Beat.” He gave us his outlook on thechanges in our industry that he saw com-ing. Honored that night with Big CheeseAwards were Miriam Welch (Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions) and Dave MacDonald(Stremick’s Heritage Foods).

We held our annual Spring Golf Tour-nament at the Tijeras Creek Golf Course inRancho Santa Margarita in April. Thiscourse has proved to be a great location,and the weather was perfect for a day outin the sun. Thanks to the hard work of ourcommittee members and the generosity ofour sponsors, it was an incredible success.

Casino Night in May gave us a chanceto get together and have fun, while raisingmoney for the Lymphoma Foundation inhonor of Jean Dreshner. We were honored

us in this fun evening. It was a great event.We were honored to have Dr. Joseph

Alvernas (City of Hope) speak at our Julymeeting honoring the City of Hope. Theydo so much for our industry, and this wasone way we wanted to give back. We held asilent auction that night and donated halfof the proceeds to them and the other halfto the DDBC Scholarship Fund. Honoredthat night with Big Cheese Awards wereLuke Abbott (Monterrey, the NaturalChoice) and Emily Aguilar (Daisy Brand).

The 47th National Seminar is coming upSeptember 11-13 at the Laguna CliffsMarriott Hotel & Spa in Dana Point, and itis looking to be a great one thanks to Gen-eral Chairman Laura Taketomo (Food 4Less), Co-Chairman Lisa Juarez (Cacique)and the rest of the committee. Our themethis year is “Teamwork” and we have allseen good examples of it this year so far.

Speakers for this event include: GregMcNiff (Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions),Valerie Jabbar (Ralphs Grocery Company),Aarón Sánchez (Chef, Food Network Star),Thomas Cleary (CEO and Founder ofMarksman Leadership) and last, but cer-tainly not least, our Master of CeremoniesPete Hejny (Unified Grocers).

This event is expected to sell out, soplease sign up quickly if you have not doneso already.

We would like to congratulate the up-coming Big Cheese recipients Robert Burke(Emkay Food Brokers), Damian Valdez (Su-per King), Connie Thatcher (AdvantageSales & Marketing) and Melissa Griffin(Stater Bros).

We are excited for what the rest of theyear has in store for us, and look forwardto spending it with you.

Thank you.

Exciting events stillon tap for DDBC as

2015 winds down

Send news of your company to:Editor, DDBC News

P.O. Box 4533Huntington Beach, CA 92647

or email to:[email protected]

that her family was able to attend and join

At Lakeview Cheese, we strive to provide our customers with the finest high-quality cheeses at the best possible prices. Proudly serving the food

service, industrial and retail industries.

WITH 3 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU!• Las Vegas• California• Utah

Banquet Cheese

Silver State Cheese

Grand Teton Cheese

Lakeview Cheese – Premium

Lakeview Cheese TEL (702) 233-2439 FAX 702-384-2439E-mail: [email protected]. Box 60426, Boulder City, NV 89006

LakeviewCheese-2.indd 1 8/19/15 3:17 PM

Page 10: September - October 2015 Issue

10 DDBC News, September/October 2015

47th National DDBC Seminar

Behind the scenes at the Seminar

Looking down the coast from the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in DanaPoint, site of the 47th DDBC National Seminar.

Laura Taketomo, Food 4 Less, SeminarGeneral Chairman

By DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

Before the 46th National DDBC Semi-nar h even began at La Costa in Carlsbad in2014, preparations already were being madebehind the scenes for this year’s 47th Na-tional Seminar.

The ringleader was Laura Taketomo(Food 4 Less), who had been appointedGeneral Chairman for this year’s event.

She already had been visiting varioussites in Southern California and had set thedate, which allowed her to plan some spe-cific tie-ins around Sept. 11.

All of that will be evident throughout theweekend of Sept. 11-13 when this year’sSeminar kicks off at the Laguna CliffsMarriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point.

“Obviously, the date 9-11 has held spe-cial meanings for our country since the ter-rorist attacks in 2001,” she said. “I wantedto make sure that we honor that date andrecognize those who were involved at thetime and those in uniform who have beendeployed continuously since.”

One of the speakers, Thomas Cleary,brings both a military and police back-ground to the dais for his presentation.

“Attendees also will have the opportu-nity to help pack boxes of personal itemsfor our troops overseas as a gesture of oursupport and good will,” she said.

Attendees also will have the chance tohear directly from some of the top names inthe retail sector.

Pete Hejny, Executive Director of Ser-vice Deli/Bakery at Unified Grocers was apopular presentor in 2014, has agreed toserve as Master of Ceremonies for the week-end this year.

He will be joined by representatives oftwo of the three largest retail chains in theUnited States when Greg McNiff(Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions) and ValarieJabbar (Ralphs Grocery Co. Division ofKroger) give keynote presentations.

They will be joined by Chef and FoodNetwork Star Aarón Sánchez, who is ap-pearing through the courtesy of stalwartDDBC supporter Cacique, Inc., and LucRobitaille, National Hockey League Hall of

Famer and General Manager of the LosAngeles Kings, who will tie the puzzle ofthe Seminar’s theme of “Teamwork” to-gether in the final presentation Sundaymorning.

The Tisdell Cup is the official kick-offof the Seminar as golfers take to the presti-gious Monarch Beach Golf Club for the sev-enth renewal of the recently renamed Na-

tional Deli Scramble, which was overseenby the late Ken Tisdell. The Cup is namedfor him.

The National Festival Luncheon will bean outdoor affair overlooking the ocean asthe annual wide variety of foods – some ex-otic, some familiar – and desserts are pre-pared by volunteers.

Saturday night will feature an elegantdinner followed by entertainment and danc-ing by the band Quest, which entertainedattendees at last January’s Installation ofOfficers and dinner/dance at Orange HillRestaurant.

Other entertainment will be provided bysoloist Brian Stodart Friday evening andSaturday afternoon.

Award Winning CheeseThese domestic, handcrafted cheeses are aged for a full 100 days for premium flavor. Known for innovation,

we now feature crumbles in stand-up pouches.

Easy to Pair • Single Source Milk rBST Free • Handcrafted • Vintage Recipes • Gluten Free

we now feature crumbles in stand-up pouches.

rBST Free

1ST

PLACE

Page 11: September - October 2015 Issue

10 DDBC News, September/October 2015

47th National DDBC Seminar

Behind the scenes at the Seminar

Looking down the coast from the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in DanaPoint, site of the 47th DDBC National Seminar.

Laura Taketomo, Food 4 Less, SeminarGeneral Chairman

By DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

Before the 46th National DDBC Semi-nar h even began at La Costa in Carlsbad in2014, preparations already were being madebehind the scenes for this year’s 47th Na-tional Seminar.

The ringleader was Laura Taketomo(Food 4 Less), who had been appointedGeneral Chairman for this year’s event.

She already had been visiting varioussites in Southern California and had set thedate, which allowed her to plan some spe-cific tie-ins around Sept. 11.

All of that will be evident throughout theweekend of Sept. 11-13 when this year’sSeminar kicks off at the Laguna CliffsMarriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point.

“Obviously, the date 9-11 has held spe-cial meanings for our country since the ter-rorist attacks in 2001,” she said. “I wantedto make sure that we honor that date andrecognize those who were involved at thetime and those in uniform who have beendeployed continuously since.”

One of the speakers, Thomas Cleary,brings both a military and police back-ground to the dais for his presentation.

“Attendees also will have the opportu-nity to help pack boxes of personal itemsfor our troops overseas as a gesture of oursupport and good will,” she said.

Attendees also will have the chance tohear directly from some of the top names inthe retail sector.

Pete Hejny, Executive Director of Ser-vice Deli/Bakery at Unified Grocers was apopular presentor in 2014, has agreed toserve as Master of Ceremonies for the week-end this year.

He will be joined by representatives oftwo of the three largest retail chains in theUnited States when Greg McNiff(Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions) and ValarieJabbar (Ralphs Grocery Co. Division ofKroger) give keynote presentations.

They will be joined by Chef and FoodNetwork Star Aarón Sánchez, who is ap-pearing through the courtesy of stalwartDDBC supporter Cacique, Inc., and LucRobitaille, National Hockey League Hall of

Famer and General Manager of the LosAngeles Kings, who will tie the puzzle ofthe Seminar’s theme of “Teamwork” to-gether in the final presentation Sundaymorning.

The Tisdell Cup is the official kick-offof the Seminar as golfers take to the presti-gious Monarch Beach Golf Club for the sev-enth renewal of the recently renamed Na-

tional Deli Scramble, which was overseenby the late Ken Tisdell. The Cup is namedfor him.

The National Festival Luncheon will bean outdoor affair overlooking the ocean asthe annual wide variety of foods – some ex-otic, some familiar – and desserts are pre-pared by volunteers.

Saturday night will feature an elegantdinner followed by entertainment and danc-ing by the band Quest, which entertainedattendees at last January’s Installation ofOfficers and dinner/dance at Orange HillRestaurant.

Other entertainment will be provided bysoloist Brian Stodart Friday evening andSaturday afternoon.

Award Winning CheeseThese domestic, handcrafted cheeses are aged for a full 100 days for premium flavor. Known for innovation,

we now feature crumbles in stand-up pouches.

Easy to Pair • Single Source Milk rBST Free • Handcrafted • Vintage Recipes • Gluten Free

we now feature crumbles in stand-up pouches.

rBST Free

1ST

PLACE

Page 12: September - October 2015 Issue

12 DDBC News, September/October 2015

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminar

Everything youneed to know ...

Continued on Page 17

“Teamwork” has been selected as thetheme for the 47th DDBC National Semi-nar, which is scheduled to be conductedSept. 11-13 at the Laguna Cliffs MarriottResort and Spa in Dana Point.

The following is what to expect duringthe Seminar:

Friday

The entrance to the Laguna Cli f fsMarriott Resort and Spa.

GolfThe golf tournament is the traditional

kick-off event of each year’s Seminar. Thisyear, the 7th Tisdell Cup National Scramblewill be conducted at the prestigious Mon-arch Beach Golf Links, located on the

grounds of the St. Regis Resort. Tee-off isscheduled for 12:15 p.m.

The annual tournament was named forDDBC Hall of Fame member Ken Tisdell,who was chairman ofthe event for a num-ber of years. A per-petual Cup ... theTisdell Cup ... wasadded seven years agoand the tournamenthas been known sinceas the “Tisdell Cup.”The names of the win-ning team members are engraved on the cupeach year.

Few golf experiences can match theblend of stunning natural beauty and vari-ety of challenges presented at MonarchBeach Golf Links. Along the dramatic bluffsof Southern California, master architectRobert Trent Jones Jr., has fashioned anintriguing layout in the Scottish links tradi-tion on one of the select few oceanfront golfcourses in California. Commanding sweep-ing views to the sea, this par-70 champion-ship course offers an unending variety ofplay.

Monarch Beach offers an assortment ofamenities for the convenience of guests:

The late Ken Tisdell

• Open to the public year-round• Monarch Café and refreshment cars

service• Golf shop offers top lines of golf mer-

chandise• Locker room for men and women• Netted Hitting Bay’s, putting & chip-

ping green• Host of the 2001 & 2002 Hyundai Team

Matches• Golf Magazine’s Premier Golf Resorts

for 2012 – Silver Medal Winner• 4.5 Stars (out of 5) - Golf Digest, “Best

Places To Play”• Golf Channel’s No. 1 Buddies Trip for

Ladies for 2013• SPG Member Favorite Resort – Best

Golf Getaway 2012• Tight fairways and small undulating

greens make the course an enjoyable chal-lenge for all levels of play.

Friday eveningPete Hejny

Pete Hejny, Executive Director ServiceDeli/Bakery at Unified Grocers, will be theMaster of Ceremonies for the 47th NationalDDBC Seminar after shining as keynotespeaker in 2014.

He assumed his current post in June oflast year, returning to the Retail side of theFood Industry afternearly four years onthe supply side atDawn Foods.

He is a Past Presi-dent of the SouthernCalifornia Dairy DeliBakery Council(2000) and was in-strumental in incorpo-rating the Bakery Industry into the former“Deli Council.”

Hejny has worked in the Food Industryin some capacity since 1980. His experi-ence is all encompassing and ranges inscope from managing catering businesses,to restaurant management and to the gro-cery industry.

He began his grocery career in 1986 atRalphs Grocery Company as a bakery man-

One view of the prestigious MonarchBeach Golf Course at the nearby St.Regis Resort.

DDBC News, September/October 2015 13DDBC of Southern California, P.O. Box 1872, Whittier, CA 90609; 562-947-7016; FAX: 562-947-7872;

[email protected].

Two-Night Package By Aug. 1 After Aug. 1

Deluxe Room Couple $1,299.00 $1,399.00Deluxe Room Single $ 999.00 $1,099.00

Additonal night stay – Available for $250.00 each night.Two-night Seminar package includes hotel, taxes, resort fees, internetaccess, valet parking for one vehicle, all meals, entertainment andbusiness sessions.

Children’s packages are available for $130.00 per child (Ages 5-12).

PAYMENT INFORMATIONRegister early to save money. Rooms are limited. Cancel-

lation policy: Payment of Seminar package will be refunded,less $100 administrative costs, if received prior to Aug. 1.After Aug. 1, payment fee is NOT refundable.

Names (For badges;include spouse’s name)

Enclosed payment summary:Seminar Payment $__________Additional room night $__________Golf $__________Spa $__________Children’s package $__________Sponsorship/Hosting $__________

Total enclosed $__________

Company name Packages

GolfE-mail address

Make checks payable to: “DDBC of Southern California”and mail registration, along with payment, to: DDBC, P.O.Box 1872, Whittier, CA 90609.

47th National Seminar Presented by the DDBCLaguna Cliffs Marriott • Dana Point; Sept. 11-13, 2015

GOLF/SPA PACKAGES

GOLF: 7th Tisdell Cup – NationalDDBC Golf Scramble at Monarch Beach

Golf ClubFriday, Sept. 11, 12:15 Tee Time - $250

Per Golfer or $950 Per Foursome

SPA: at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Spa,$250 Per Person

Spa

Specify: Couple ___ Single ___Specify: Thursday ___ Sunday ___

Sponsor Levels Available:General $400 ___ Bronze $1,500 ___Silver $2,500 ___ Gold $5,000 ___Platinum $10,000 ___ Other ___

Name on Credit Card__________________________________

Credit Card number___________________________________

Signature___________________________________________

Expiration Date______________________________________

Page 13: September - October 2015 Issue

12 DDBC News, September/October 2015

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminar

Everything youneed to know ...

Continued on Page 17

“Teamwork” has been selected as thetheme for the 47th DDBC National Semi-nar, which is scheduled to be conductedSept. 11-13 at the Laguna Cliffs MarriottResort and Spa in Dana Point.

The following is what to expect duringthe Seminar:

Friday

The entrance to the Laguna Cli f fsMarriott Resort and Spa.

GolfThe golf tournament is the traditional

kick-off event of each year’s Seminar. Thisyear, the 7th Tisdell Cup National Scramblewill be conducted at the prestigious Mon-arch Beach Golf Links, located on the

grounds of the St. Regis Resort. Tee-off isscheduled for 12:15 p.m.

The annual tournament was named forDDBC Hall of Fame member Ken Tisdell,who was chairman ofthe event for a num-ber of years. A per-petual Cup ... theTisdell Cup ... wasadded seven years agoand the tournamenthas been known sinceas the “Tisdell Cup.”The names of the win-ning team members are engraved on the cupeach year.

Few golf experiences can match theblend of stunning natural beauty and vari-ety of challenges presented at MonarchBeach Golf Links. Along the dramatic bluffsof Southern California, master architectRobert Trent Jones Jr., has fashioned anintriguing layout in the Scottish links tradi-tion on one of the select few oceanfront golfcourses in California. Commanding sweep-ing views to the sea, this par-70 champion-ship course offers an unending variety ofplay.

Monarch Beach offers an assortment ofamenities for the convenience of guests:

The late Ken Tisdell

• Open to the public year-round• Monarch Café and refreshment cars

service• Golf shop offers top lines of golf mer-

chandise• Locker room for men and women• Netted Hitting Bay’s, putting & chip-

ping green• Host of the 2001 & 2002 Hyundai Team

Matches• Golf Magazine’s Premier Golf Resorts

for 2012 – Silver Medal Winner• 4.5 Stars (out of 5) - Golf Digest, “Best

Places To Play”• Golf Channel’s No. 1 Buddies Trip for

Ladies for 2013• SPG Member Favorite Resort – Best

Golf Getaway 2012• Tight fairways and small undulating

greens make the course an enjoyable chal-lenge for all levels of play.

Friday eveningPete Hejny

Pete Hejny, Executive Director ServiceDeli/Bakery at Unified Grocers, will be theMaster of Ceremonies for the 47th NationalDDBC Seminar after shining as keynotespeaker in 2014.

He assumed his current post in June oflast year, returning to the Retail side of theFood Industry afternearly four years onthe supply side atDawn Foods.

He is a Past Presi-dent of the SouthernCalifornia Dairy DeliBakery Council(2000) and was in-strumental in incorpo-rating the Bakery Industry into the former“Deli Council.”

Hejny has worked in the Food Industryin some capacity since 1980. His experi-ence is all encompassing and ranges inscope from managing catering businesses,to restaurant management and to the gro-cery industry.

He began his grocery career in 1986 atRalphs Grocery Company as a bakery man-

One view of the prestigious MonarchBeach Golf Course at the nearby St.Regis Resort.

DDBC News, September/October 2015 13DDBC of Southern California, P.O. Box 1872, Whittier, CA 90609; 562-947-7016; FAX: 562-947-7872;

[email protected].

Two-Night Package By Aug. 1 After Aug. 1

Deluxe Room Couple $1,299.00 $1,399.00Deluxe Room Single $ 999.00 $1,099.00

Additonal night stay – Available for $250.00 each night.Two-night Seminar package includes hotel, taxes, resort fees, internetaccess, valet parking for one vehicle, all meals, entertainment andbusiness sessions.

Children’s packages are available for $130.00 per child (Ages 5-12).

PAYMENT INFORMATIONRegister early to save money. Rooms are limited. Cancel-

lation policy: Payment of Seminar package will be refunded,less $100 administrative costs, if received prior to Aug. 1.After Aug. 1, payment fee is NOT refundable.

Names (For badges;include spouse’s name)

Enclosed payment summary:Seminar Payment $__________Additional room night $__________Golf $__________Spa $__________Children’s package $__________Sponsorship/Hosting $__________

Total enclosed $__________

Company name Packages

GolfE-mail address

Make checks payable to: “DDBC of Southern California”and mail registration, along with payment, to: DDBC, P.O.Box 1872, Whittier, CA 90609.

47th National Seminar Presented by the DDBCLaguna Cliffs Marriott • Dana Point; Sept. 11-13, 2015

GOLF/SPA PACKAGES

GOLF: 7th Tisdell Cup – NationalDDBC Golf Scramble at Monarch Beach

Golf ClubFriday, Sept. 11, 12:15 Tee Time - $250

Per Golfer or $950 Per Foursome

SPA: at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Spa,$250 Per Person

Spa

Specify: Couple ___ Single ___Specify: Thursday ___ Sunday ___

Sponsor Levels Available:General $400 ___ Bronze $1,500 ___Silver $2,500 ___ Gold $5,000 ___Platinum $10,000 ___ Other ___

Name on Credit Card__________________________________

Credit Card number___________________________________

Signature___________________________________________

Expiration Date______________________________________

Page 14: September - October 2015 Issue

14 DDBC News, September/October 2015

2015 Sponsors47th NationalDDBC Seminar

TentativeSchedule

Friday – Sept. 11, 201511 a.m.– Golf Check-in Monarch Beach Golf Club

12:15 p.m.– Shotgun start 7th Tisdell Cup6-10 p.m. – Seminar Registration Check-in

Del Mar Lawn6-10 p.m. – Reception, Golf Awards, Buffet, & Entertainment

Del Mar Lawn

Saturday – Sept. 12, 20158-9:30 a.m. – BreakfastDana Ballroom V-VIII

9:30 a.m. – Opening Business SessionDana Ballroom I-IV

Pete Hejny, Unified Grocers, Master of CeremoniesGreg McNiff, Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions

Thomas Cleary, Military11:15-11:30 a.m. – Coffee Break

Aarón Sánchez, Chef, Food Network Star & Cookbook Author

12:15-2 p.m. Deli Festival Luncheon, Vue LawnMilitary Care Packages Build, Vue Lawn

Afternoon Free6 p.m. – Silent Auction Opens & Social Hour, Laguna Terrace

7 p.m. – Dinner, Richard H. Dana Ballroom8-11 p.m. – Quest Band

9 p.m. – Silent Auction Closes

Sunday – Sept. 15, 20158-9 a.m. – Breakfast

Dana Ballroom9 a.m. – Closing Business Session, Dana Ballroom

Peter Henjy, Unified GrocersValerie Jabbar, Ralphs Grocery Co.

Luc Robitaille, L.A. Kings$1,000 Raffle & Closing Remarks10:55 a.m. – Seminar Concludes

11 a.m. – Check out (hotel will hold luggage)

Attendees who have pre-registered their child for Kid’s KampFriday night – 6-10 p.m. – Capistrano Room

Saturday night – 6-10 p.m. – Capistrano RoomDinner will be provided for them

As of Aug. 191. Yucatan2. Butterball3. Hidden Villa Ranch4. Florida’s Natural5. Unified Grocers6. Eggland’s Best7. J. Brass Company8. Sargento Foods9. Monterrey10. Coca-Cola Refreshments11. Daisy Brand12. Aryzta/La Brea13. King’s Hawaiian14. Nasser Co., Inc.15. Cacique, Inc.16. Chobani17. Crystal Farms18. Alta Dena19. Smithfield-Farmland20. La Mexicana21. Lightlife Foods22. Mission Foods23. Reser’s Fine Foods24. Sabra/Santa Barbara Salsa25. Stacy’s Pita Chips26. Stremick’s Heritage27. WhiteWave Foods28. Insight Food Sales29. Bar-S Foods30. Farmer John31. Bonert’s Pies32. Premier Action Group33. Coastal Marketing Group34. Horizon Sales Corp.35. Carl Buddig & Co.

Thank you foryour supportof the 47th

DDBCNationalSeminar

DDBC News, September/October 2015 15

47th National DDBC Seminar Sponsors

Silver

Platinum

Gold

Bronze

As of Aug. 19

Page 15: September - October 2015 Issue

14 DDBC News, September/October 2015

2015 Sponsors47th NationalDDBC Seminar

TentativeSchedule

Friday – Sept. 11, 201511 a.m.– Golf Check-in Monarch Beach Golf Club

12:15 p.m.– Shotgun start 7th Tisdell Cup6-10 p.m. – Seminar Registration Check-in

Del Mar Lawn6-10 p.m. – Reception, Golf Awards, Buffet, & Entertainment

Del Mar Lawn

Saturday – Sept. 12, 20158-9:30 a.m. – BreakfastDana Ballroom V-VIII

9:30 a.m. – Opening Business SessionDana Ballroom I-IV

Pete Hejny, Unified Grocers, Master of CeremoniesGreg McNiff, Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions

Thomas Cleary, Military11:15-11:30 a.m. – Coffee Break

Aarón Sánchez, Chef, Food Network Star & Cookbook Author

12:15-2 p.m. Deli Festival Luncheon, Vue LawnMilitary Care Packages Build, Vue Lawn

Afternoon Free6 p.m. – Silent Auction Opens & Social Hour, Laguna Terrace

7 p.m. – Dinner, Richard H. Dana Ballroom8-11 p.m. – Quest Band

9 p.m. – Silent Auction Closes

Sunday – Sept. 15, 20158-9 a.m. – Breakfast

Dana Ballroom9 a.m. – Closing Business Session, Dana Ballroom

Peter Henjy, Unified GrocersValerie Jabbar, Ralphs Grocery Co.

Luc Robitaille, L.A. Kings$1,000 Raffle & Closing Remarks10:55 a.m. – Seminar Concludes

11 a.m. – Check out (hotel will hold luggage)

Attendees who have pre-registered their child for Kid’s KampFriday night – 6-10 p.m. – Capistrano Room

Saturday night – 6-10 p.m. – Capistrano RoomDinner will be provided for them

As of Aug. 191. Yucatan2. Butterball3. Hidden Villa Ranch4. Florida’s Natural5. Unified Grocers6. Eggland’s Best7. J. Brass Company8. Sargento Foods9. Monterrey10. Coca-Cola Refreshments11. Daisy Brand12. Aryzta/La Brea13. King’s Hawaiian14. Nasser Co., Inc.15. Cacique, Inc.16. Chobani17. Crystal Farms18. Alta Dena19. Smithfield-Farmland20. La Mexicana21. Lightlife Foods22. Mission Foods23. Reser’s Fine Foods24. Sabra/Santa Barbara Salsa25. Stacy’s Pita Chips26. Stremick’s Heritage27. WhiteWave Foods28. Insight Food Sales29. Bar-S Foods30. Farmer John31. Bonert’s Pies32. Premier Action Group33. Coastal Marketing Group34. Horizon Sales Corp.35. Carl Buddig & Co.

Thank you foryour supportof the 47th

DDBCNationalSeminar

DDBC News, September/October 2015 15

47th National DDBC Seminar Sponsors

Silver

Platinum

Gold

Bronze

As of Aug. 19

Page 16: September - October 2015 Issue

16 DDBC News, September/October 2015

47th DDBC’s National SeminarSponsorship Form

We ask you to be a part of the seminar by donating to thisfund. Your company’s name will be added to the list ofsponsors and published each month in the DDBC News as wellas recognition at the seminar. Sponsors of $1,500 or more willhave their company logo on signage and in DDBC News.

Company Name

Individual’s Name

Business Address

City, State, Zip

Please mail your check, made payable to the DDBC Sponsorship Fund, to the DDBC, P.O. Box 1872,Whittier, CA 90609-1872, along with this form. Thank you for your consideration.

Planning for the DDBC’s 47th National Seminar, which isscheduled to take place Sept. 11-13 at the Laguna CliffsMarriott Hotel in Dana Point, is well underway.

Each sponsorship aids in the development of quality pro-grams and learning experiences.

$400 General Sponsor $1,500 Bronze Sponsor $2,500 Silver Sponsor $5,000 Gold Sponsor $10,000 PlatinumSponsor

General Sponsor ($400)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure

Bronze Sponsor ($1,500)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

Silver Sponsor ($2,500)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

• Company Logo Displayed on Signageat Seminar

• Includes Golf Twosome at the DDBCTisdell Cup Tournament, Monarch BeachGolf Club

• Company Logo Displayed on Signageat Seminar

• Includes Golf Foursome at the DDBCTisdell Cup Tournament, Monarch BeachGolf Club

• Includes 2 Night Complete SeminarPackage Including Room, Meals, BusinessSessions & Entertainment (Single orCouple) at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Hotel &Spa

• Specific Event Hosting and Recogni-tion During Seminar: Specific Event ChoiceWill Be Offered on a First Reserve Basis.Includes Extra Signage Recognition andEvent Banner at Specific Hosted Event.Sponsoring Company Products Will BeHighlighted and/or Sampled During Event.

Platinum Sponsors Recieve PlatinumRecognition!!!

Your Sponsorship levelsGold Sponsor ($5,000-$9,999)

Includes:• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure at

Event• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

• Company Logo Displayed on Signageat Seminar

• Includes Golf Foursome at the DDBCTisdell Cup Tournament, Monarch BeachGolf Club

OR 2 Night Single Seminar Package in-cluding room, meals, Business Sessions &Entertainment at Laguna Cliffs MarriottHotel and Spa

Platinum Sponsor ($10,000+)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News

Send news of your company to: Editor, DDBC NewsP.O. Box 4533

Huntington Beach, CA 92647or email: [email protected]

• Recognition in Program Brochure• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

DDBC News, September/October 2015 17

Continued from Page 12

Continued on Page 18

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminarager and was ultimately promoted to Direc-tor Service Deli/Service Bakery for Food 4Less.

He moved to Bristol Farms in 1997 andwas Senior Director of Food Service andBakery (1997-2008). His responsibilities in-cluded the management and growth of salesand margin for all aspects of the Food Ser-vice and Bakery Divisions. That includedthe Deli, Catering, Cheese, Cafe, In-storeBakery and Commercial Bakery Depart-ments. Additionally, his responsibilities in-cluded the management of a 10,000-squarefoot central kitchen that produced productfor virtually all departments at BristolFarms.

He also led several corporate-wide taskforces that included projects such as over-all corporate margin growth, corporate wideshrink reduction and the development ofunderperforming stores.

Then he spent nearly two years as Se-nior Director of Health Nutrition andSustainability for Bristol Farms and LazyAcres.

He stepped out of Retail to become FoodService Lead for Dawn Food Products,working out of the Ontario office, wherehe was responsible for the sales, margin,growth and development of the Food Ser-vice Division at Dawn Foods Ontario.

He has been an active supporter of theCity of Hope and currently is an ExecutiveVice President with the Food Industry Bak-ery Division Benefiting the City of Hope.

He is a proud graduate of USC, wherehe earned a Bachelor’s Degree and a Mas-ters Degree. The MBA is with an entrepre-neurial emphasis. He also is a 1991 Gradu-ate of the USC Food Industry ManagementProgram.

He has been lauded for many industryskills, including strategic analysis, whichincludes plan creation and implementation.He also has vast skills in people manage-ment, coaching and development.

In his off time he enjoys being outdoors.He enjoys cycling, hiking and racing

outrigger canoes. He also enjoys writing andcooking.

Brian StodartBrian Stodart is an

accomplished profes-sional pianist, guitar-ist and vocalist. Hewill provide back-ground entertainmentat the Friday nightmixer and dinner fol-lowing the golf tour-nament and again dur-ing the National Deli Festival LuncheonSaturday afternoon.

Stodart performs at a variety of enter-tainment venues and ceremonies. He hasperformed at weddings, Convention Cen-ters, Downtown Disney, and at the beachwith his mobile Grand Piano. He appearedat many DDBC functions and meetings.

From James Taylor, The Beatles, EltonJohn and Billy Joel, to Norah Jones, Kingsof Leon, Jason Mraz and Coldplay, Stodartskillfully delivers an eclectic yet familiarmix of the greatest singer-songwriters of thelast four decades.

SATURDAYProgram

Greg McNiffGreg McNiff, Senior Vice President,

Merchandising & Marketing for Albertsons,is the first keynotespeaker in the openingBusiness Session.

“While the ramifi-cations of the mergerare many, Albertsonsemerges as the topplayer in SouthernCalifornia from theretail standpoint as itbrings formerSafeway properties Vons and Pavilions intothe fold,” said Lisa Juarez (Cacique, Inc.),Seminar Co-Chairman.

“Nationally, the chain now has more than2,230 stores with more than a quarter-mil-lion employees in 34 states operating un-der a variety of banners,” Juarez added. “Ifever teamwork was needed to manage this

wide-ranging venture, this is the perfectexample and Greg is the perfect person toaddress the challenges and successes ex-pected,” she said.

McNiff started with Albertsons in 1981as a courtesy clerk and worked his way upto store director in 1990. In 1995, he waspromoted to district sales manager in Boise.In 1998, he was relocated to Las Vegas andin 2000 was promoted to area vice presi-dent. In 2004, he was promoted to vicepresident of integration and led the integra-tion of Bristol Farms.

In 2005, he returned to the SouthernCalifornia Division to serve as the vicepresident of marketing for Retail West. Hewas promoted to vice president of fresh mer-chandising in 2008, senior vice presidentof operations in 2010 and, most recently,vice president of marketing and merchan-dising in 2013.

McNiff holds a bachelor’s degree inBusiness Management from CaliforniaCoast University and is a graduate of theUSC Food Industry Management program.

Thomas ClearyCleary comes with more than 26 years

of serving his country with military train-ing, leadership and combat experience asan active duty United States Marine and asan Army Reservist. With more than 10 dif-ferent occupational and leadership advance-ment schools attended, Cleary includes theelements of Special Operations and Mili-tary Police to bring leadership higher andfaster with a stronger scope of personalstrengths.

As a highly decorated serviceman, Tho-mas has been awarded 30 medals, ribbonsand commendations, as well as an expertrifle and pistol badge, while serving in vari-ous military and combat operations, to in-clude OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom).

His loyalty to his country and his train-ing continues to assist, promote, challengeand train him personally and lead others suc-cessfully.

He also served as a law enforcement of-ficer for 20 years, with more than 50 train-ing and leadership courses completed

Page 17: September - October 2015 Issue

16 DDBC News, September/October 2015

47th DDBC’s National SeminarSponsorship Form

We ask you to be a part of the seminar by donating to thisfund. Your company’s name will be added to the list ofsponsors and published each month in the DDBC News as wellas recognition at the seminar. Sponsors of $1,500 or more willhave their company logo on signage and in DDBC News.

Company Name

Individual’s Name

Business Address

City, State, Zip

Please mail your check, made payable to the DDBC Sponsorship Fund, to the DDBC, P.O. Box 1872,Whittier, CA 90609-1872, along with this form. Thank you for your consideration.

Planning for the DDBC’s 47th National Seminar, which isscheduled to take place Sept. 11-13 at the Laguna CliffsMarriott Hotel in Dana Point, is well underway.

Each sponsorship aids in the development of quality pro-grams and learning experiences.

$400 General Sponsor $1,500 Bronze Sponsor $2,500 Silver Sponsor $5,000 Gold Sponsor $10,000 PlatinumSponsor

General Sponsor ($400)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure

Bronze Sponsor ($1,500)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

Silver Sponsor ($2,500)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

• Company Logo Displayed on Signageat Seminar

• Includes Golf Twosome at the DDBCTisdell Cup Tournament, Monarch BeachGolf Club

• Company Logo Displayed on Signageat Seminar

• Includes Golf Foursome at the DDBCTisdell Cup Tournament, Monarch BeachGolf Club

• Includes 2 Night Complete SeminarPackage Including Room, Meals, BusinessSessions & Entertainment (Single orCouple) at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Hotel &Spa

• Specific Event Hosting and Recogni-tion During Seminar: Specific Event ChoiceWill Be Offered on a First Reserve Basis.Includes Extra Signage Recognition andEvent Banner at Specific Hosted Event.Sponsoring Company Products Will BeHighlighted and/or Sampled During Event.

Platinum Sponsors Recieve PlatinumRecognition!!!

Your Sponsorship levelsGold Sponsor ($5,000-$9,999)

Includes:• Recognition in DDBC News• Recognition in Program Brochure at

Event• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

• Company Logo Displayed on Signageat Seminar

• Includes Golf Foursome at the DDBCTisdell Cup Tournament, Monarch BeachGolf Club

OR 2 Night Single Seminar Package in-cluding room, meals, Business Sessions &Entertainment at Laguna Cliffs MarriottHotel and Spa

Platinum Sponsor ($10,000+)Includes:

• Recognition in DDBC News

Send news of your company to: Editor, DDBC NewsP.O. Box 4533

Huntington Beach, CA 92647or email: [email protected]

• Recognition in Program Brochure• Company Logo Displayed on Large

Screens during All Business Sessions atSeminar

DDBC News, September/October 2015 17

Continued from Page 12

Continued on Page 18

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminarager and was ultimately promoted to Direc-tor Service Deli/Service Bakery for Food 4Less.

He moved to Bristol Farms in 1997 andwas Senior Director of Food Service andBakery (1997-2008). His responsibilities in-cluded the management and growth of salesand margin for all aspects of the Food Ser-vice and Bakery Divisions. That includedthe Deli, Catering, Cheese, Cafe, In-storeBakery and Commercial Bakery Depart-ments. Additionally, his responsibilities in-cluded the management of a 10,000-squarefoot central kitchen that produced productfor virtually all departments at BristolFarms.

He also led several corporate-wide taskforces that included projects such as over-all corporate margin growth, corporate wideshrink reduction and the development ofunderperforming stores.

Then he spent nearly two years as Se-nior Director of Health Nutrition andSustainability for Bristol Farms and LazyAcres.

He stepped out of Retail to become FoodService Lead for Dawn Food Products,working out of the Ontario office, wherehe was responsible for the sales, margin,growth and development of the Food Ser-vice Division at Dawn Foods Ontario.

He has been an active supporter of theCity of Hope and currently is an ExecutiveVice President with the Food Industry Bak-ery Division Benefiting the City of Hope.

He is a proud graduate of USC, wherehe earned a Bachelor’s Degree and a Mas-ters Degree. The MBA is with an entrepre-neurial emphasis. He also is a 1991 Gradu-ate of the USC Food Industry ManagementProgram.

He has been lauded for many industryskills, including strategic analysis, whichincludes plan creation and implementation.He also has vast skills in people manage-ment, coaching and development.

In his off time he enjoys being outdoors.He enjoys cycling, hiking and racing

outrigger canoes. He also enjoys writing andcooking.

Brian StodartBrian Stodart is an

accomplished profes-sional pianist, guitar-ist and vocalist. Hewill provide back-ground entertainmentat the Friday nightmixer and dinner fol-lowing the golf tour-nament and again dur-ing the National Deli Festival LuncheonSaturday afternoon.

Stodart performs at a variety of enter-tainment venues and ceremonies. He hasperformed at weddings, Convention Cen-ters, Downtown Disney, and at the beachwith his mobile Grand Piano. He appearedat many DDBC functions and meetings.

From James Taylor, The Beatles, EltonJohn and Billy Joel, to Norah Jones, Kingsof Leon, Jason Mraz and Coldplay, Stodartskillfully delivers an eclectic yet familiarmix of the greatest singer-songwriters of thelast four decades.

SATURDAYProgram

Greg McNiffGreg McNiff, Senior Vice President,

Merchandising & Marketing for Albertsons,is the first keynotespeaker in the openingBusiness Session.

“While the ramifi-cations of the mergerare many, Albertsonsemerges as the topplayer in SouthernCalifornia from theretail standpoint as itbrings formerSafeway properties Vons and Pavilions intothe fold,” said Lisa Juarez (Cacique, Inc.),Seminar Co-Chairman.

“Nationally, the chain now has more than2,230 stores with more than a quarter-mil-lion employees in 34 states operating un-der a variety of banners,” Juarez added. “Ifever teamwork was needed to manage this

wide-ranging venture, this is the perfectexample and Greg is the perfect person toaddress the challenges and successes ex-pected,” she said.

McNiff started with Albertsons in 1981as a courtesy clerk and worked his way upto store director in 1990. In 1995, he waspromoted to district sales manager in Boise.In 1998, he was relocated to Las Vegas andin 2000 was promoted to area vice presi-dent. In 2004, he was promoted to vicepresident of integration and led the integra-tion of Bristol Farms.

In 2005, he returned to the SouthernCalifornia Division to serve as the vicepresident of marketing for Retail West. Hewas promoted to vice president of fresh mer-chandising in 2008, senior vice presidentof operations in 2010 and, most recently,vice president of marketing and merchan-dising in 2013.

McNiff holds a bachelor’s degree inBusiness Management from CaliforniaCoast University and is a graduate of theUSC Food Industry Management program.

Thomas ClearyCleary comes with more than 26 years

of serving his country with military train-ing, leadership and combat experience asan active duty United States Marine and asan Army Reservist. With more than 10 dif-ferent occupational and leadership advance-ment schools attended, Cleary includes theelements of Special Operations and Mili-tary Police to bring leadership higher andfaster with a stronger scope of personalstrengths.

As a highly decorated serviceman, Tho-mas has been awarded 30 medals, ribbonsand commendations, as well as an expertrifle and pistol badge, while serving in vari-ous military and combat operations, to in-clude OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom).

His loyalty to his country and his train-ing continues to assist, promote, challengeand train him personally and lead others suc-cessfully.

He also served as a law enforcement of-ficer for 20 years, with more than 50 train-ing and leadership courses completed

Page 18: September - October 2015 Issue

18 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Continued from Page 17

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminar

Continued on Page 19

throughout his career. He has worked vari-ous assignments and was recognized as astandout officer receiving 82 Commenda-tions, ribbons, citations and letters of ap-preciation while working for the CaliforniaDepartment of Corrections, the Los Ange-les Police Department and the NewportBeach Police Department.

As a personal expert marksman and fire-arms/tactics instructor, he brings 7 elementsof marksmanship and transforms them into7 Principles of Lead-ership. In his book,he shares an in-depth perspective oneach area of Leader-ship, using those 7principles. Just as inmarksmanship, ifyou practice theseprinciples, you willhit your target and meet your goals of im-proving in the area of leadership. His stra-tegic perspective will provide directionalguidance for a precise outcome to any situ-ation.

He holds a Bachelor’s of Science De-gree in Organizational Leadership and De-velopment, graduating Cum Laude and in-ducted into the Alpha Chi Honors Society.He is currently enrolled at Vanguard Uni-versity, where he is working toward aMaster’s Degree in Leadership, with the ul-timate goal of obtaining a Doctorate Degree.

He was born and raised in Los Angeles.He has been married to his high schoolsweetheart for 25 years and is the father offour children.

Aarón SánchezAarón Sánchez is the chef/partner of

Paloma in Stamford, Conn. and recentlyopened Johnny Sánchez, alongside friendand colleague Chef John Besh, with loca-tions in Baltimore and New Orleans. Theson of celebrated Mexican cooking author-ity Zarela Martinez, Aarón’s passion, com-mitment and skills have placed him amongthe country’s leading contemporary Latinchefs.

Celebrated by critics and contemporar-ies alike, Sánchez recently appeared at theWhite House as a guest chef and has alsostarred on multiple Food Network showsincluding:, Heat Seekers, Chefs vs. City,Best Thing I Ever Ate and Next Iron Chef.In 2011, he appeared on the debut seasonof The Best Thing I Ever Made, where FoodNetwork stars share their culinary secrets.

In addition to being a restaurateur, tele-vision personality, consultant and spokes-person, Sánchez is an author and entrepre-neur. His first book, La Comida del Barrio,was published in May 2003. His secondbook, Simple Food, Big Flavor: Unforget-table Mexican-Inspired Recipes from MyKitchen to Yours, was released in October2011. Sánchez also designed a line of cook-ware products in col-laboration withIMUSA and is aspokesperson fortheir “GlobalKitchen” line.

Sánchez’s creativ-ity extends far beyondthe kitchen. He is apartner at DaredevilTattoo in NYC and is an avid music lover;he enjoys cooking to the sounds of AlabamaShakes, Amos Lee, Sade, and The Cure. Helives in Brooklyn.

Awards and Accolades:• Co-star of Food Network’s hit series,

Chopped, as well as the star of CookingChannel’s Taco Trip, FOX Life’s cookingseries 3 Minutos con Aarón, and the travel-food series MOTOCHEFS.

• Received the “National Award” at theFlavors of Passion Awards, honoring thenation’s best Latin chefs

• Authored thebooks, La Comida delBarrio, and SimpleFood, Big Flavor:Unforgettable Mexi-can-Inspired Recipesfrom My Kitchen toYours.

• Chef Ambassador for “Why Hunger,”a leader in building the movement to endhunger and poverty.

Popular Southern California show anddance band Quest will be the Saturday nightentertainment and music for dancing.

Quest was the band that wowed mem-bers of the DDBC at the January Dinner/Dance and Installation of Officers at theOrange Hill Restaurant.

“Quest is one of the premier groups ofits type and being able to book them for abusy Saturday night during the prime sea-son is made possible by the underwritingof Monterrey ,” said Seminar Co-ChairmanLisa Juarez (Cacique, Inc.). When LukeAbbott heard of our predictament, he didnot hesitate to step up to help defray thecost associated with an act of this caliber.The Seminar Committee and the entireDDBC appreciates his continued support.”

SundayValerie Jabbar

Jabbar is the Vice President of Merchan-dising for Kroger Co.’s Ralphs Division.She is responsible for Merchandising for218 Ralphs supermarkets located through-out Southern California and the CentralCoast.

She began her career with Fry’s in 1987as a clerk. Since then, she has held severalleadership roles, including Assistant StoreDirector, Category Manager, Drug/GM Co-ordinator, General Office Seasonal Man-ager, Assistant Director of Drug/GM andDirector of Drug/GM, as well as DistrictManager in the Fry’s division.

She was promoted to Vice President ofMerchandising for Kroger’s Mid-AtlanticDivision in 2012, and to her current post inNovember 2013.

Saturday night

She graduated high school in Scottsdale,

DDBC News, September/October 2015 19

Continued from Page 18

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminar

In 1980 he was promoted to Assistant

2015 DDBC’s National Seminar CommitteeGeneral Chairman

Laura Taketomo ............................................ Food 4 Less

Co-ChairmanLisa Juarez ..................................................... Cacique Inc.

CommitteesEd Silva (AV).................................................. RalphsMichael Rodriques (AV) ............................... Ralphs

Connie Thatcher (Program) ......................... Advantage Sales......................................................................... & Marketing

Sue Bargsten (Food) ...................................... DPI Specialty......................................................................... Foods

Sarah Ramirez (Food) ................................... DPI Specialty......................................................................... Foods

Jann Beecher-Seidel (Festival Luncheon) .. LeGrand......................................................................... Marketing

Sharon Fails (Festival Luncheon) ................Patti Winsell (Festival Luncheon) ...............Barbara Dolbee (Festival Luncheon) .......... Bonert’s PiesGayle DeCaro (Festival Luncheon) ............ Gelson’s

Bob Dressler (Golf) ....................................... Advantage ActionDave MacDonald (Golf) ................................ Stremick’s......................................................................... Heritage Foods

Steve Nguyen (Golf) ...................................... Unified GrocersBrian Svoboda (Golf) .................................... Carl Buddig

Jim Veregge (Sponsorship/Hosting) ............ Unified GrocersSilvia Quiroz (Sponsorship/Hosting) ........... Cardenas......................................................................... Markets

Melissa Griffin (Sponsorship/Hosting) ....... Stater Bros.Liz Wilson (Sponsorship/Hosting) ............... Ralphs Grocery

Kristal Clark (Silent Auction/Advisor) ....... Advantage Sales......................................................................... & Marketing

Della Frorenza (Silent Auction) ................... Nasser Co., Inc.Stacy Gilbert (Silent Auction) ...................... Smithfield/......................................................................... Farmland

Larry Eiffert (Entertainment) ..................... JTJ SalesCynthia Yarak (Entertainment) ................... Unified GrocersCheryl Van Den Hende (DDBC President) . MonterreySusan Steele (DDBC, Registration) ............. Exec. DirectorBill Mackie (Processor’s Marketing) .......... TreasurerDave Daniel (Pacific Rim Publishing) ......... DDBC News

Ariz. and attended the Colorado Instituteof Art. She has also completed leadershipseminars at Babson University and DardenUniversity.

In 2012, Progres-sive Grocer recog-nized her with the TopWomen in Grocery“Rising Star” Award.She is a newly electedBoard member of theWestern Associationof Food Chains(WAFC). She was ac-tively involved with the Mid-Atlanticwomen’s EDGE group and has continuedin that mentorship role with the Ralphswomen’s EDGE.

Luc RobitailleLuc Robitaille, a member of the Hockey

Hall of Fame, is the highest scoring left wingin NHL history and the all-time Kings leaderin goals scored. He is in his eighth year asKings President, Business Operations.

Robitaille, who had his popular No. 20jersey retired by the Kings on January 20,2007, is one of the greatest players in NHLhistory. He played 19 seasons in the NHL– including 14 with the Kings – and in 1,431career regular season games with the Kings,Detroit Red Wings (where he won a StanleyCup in 2002), New York Rangers and Pitts-burgh Penguins, had 1,394 points (668-726=1,394). In 159 playoff games, he had127 points (58-69=127).

Since retiring as a player and assuminghis current front office executive position,Robitaille has had a tremendous impact onthe Kings Business Operations department,especially in the areas of Sponsorship Salesand Renewal, Fan and Customer Relations,Game Entertainment, Media Relations andBroadcasting.

Since 2007-08, the Kings have increasedtheir number of sellouts at STAPLES Cen-ter each season, and the team entered the2014-15 season with 90 consecutive homesellouts while enjoying record revenues onthe whole.

Robitaille has been at the front of a re-vamped Kings Community Relations de-partment including the club’s strategicKings Care community partnerships, whichis highlighted by the Kings $500,000 com-mitment to theChildren’s HospitalLos Angeles’ bloodprogram. Last year,the Kings Care Foun-dation raised a record$1.4 million dollars.He has also helpeddirect the reorganiza-tion of the LA KingsAlumni Association.

This past year, Robitaille was named amember of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selec-tion Committee.

Robitaille has also immersed himselfinto the community. He is on the Board ofChildren’s Hospital Los Angeles andRonald McDonald House, and he and hiswife Stacia are the co-founders of a non-profit organization, Echoes of Hope.

Page 19: September - October 2015 Issue

18 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Continued from Page 17

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminar

Continued on Page 19

throughout his career. He has worked vari-ous assignments and was recognized as astandout officer receiving 82 Commenda-tions, ribbons, citations and letters of ap-preciation while working for the CaliforniaDepartment of Corrections, the Los Ange-les Police Department and the NewportBeach Police Department.

As a personal expert marksman and fire-arms/tactics instructor, he brings 7 elementsof marksmanship and transforms them into7 Principles of Lead-ership. In his book,he shares an in-depth perspective oneach area of Leader-ship, using those 7principles. Just as inmarksmanship, ifyou practice theseprinciples, you willhit your target and meet your goals of im-proving in the area of leadership. His stra-tegic perspective will provide directionalguidance for a precise outcome to any situ-ation.

He holds a Bachelor’s of Science De-gree in Organizational Leadership and De-velopment, graduating Cum Laude and in-ducted into the Alpha Chi Honors Society.He is currently enrolled at Vanguard Uni-versity, where he is working toward aMaster’s Degree in Leadership, with the ul-timate goal of obtaining a Doctorate Degree.

He was born and raised in Los Angeles.He has been married to his high schoolsweetheart for 25 years and is the father offour children.

Aarón SánchezAarón Sánchez is the chef/partner of

Paloma in Stamford, Conn. and recentlyopened Johnny Sánchez, alongside friendand colleague Chef John Besh, with loca-tions in Baltimore and New Orleans. Theson of celebrated Mexican cooking author-ity Zarela Martinez, Aarón’s passion, com-mitment and skills have placed him amongthe country’s leading contemporary Latinchefs.

Celebrated by critics and contemporar-ies alike, Sánchez recently appeared at theWhite House as a guest chef and has alsostarred on multiple Food Network showsincluding:, Heat Seekers, Chefs vs. City,Best Thing I Ever Ate and Next Iron Chef.In 2011, he appeared on the debut seasonof The Best Thing I Ever Made, where FoodNetwork stars share their culinary secrets.

In addition to being a restaurateur, tele-vision personality, consultant and spokes-person, Sánchez is an author and entrepre-neur. His first book, La Comida del Barrio,was published in May 2003. His secondbook, Simple Food, Big Flavor: Unforget-table Mexican-Inspired Recipes from MyKitchen to Yours, was released in October2011. Sánchez also designed a line of cook-ware products in col-laboration withIMUSA and is aspokesperson fortheir “GlobalKitchen” line.

Sánchez’s creativ-ity extends far beyondthe kitchen. He is apartner at DaredevilTattoo in NYC and is an avid music lover;he enjoys cooking to the sounds of AlabamaShakes, Amos Lee, Sade, and The Cure. Helives in Brooklyn.

Awards and Accolades:• Co-star of Food Network’s hit series,

Chopped, as well as the star of CookingChannel’s Taco Trip, FOX Life’s cookingseries 3 Minutos con Aarón, and the travel-food series MOTOCHEFS.

• Received the “National Award” at theFlavors of Passion Awards, honoring thenation’s best Latin chefs

• Authored thebooks, La Comida delBarrio, and SimpleFood, Big Flavor:Unforgettable Mexi-can-Inspired Recipesfrom My Kitchen toYours.

• Chef Ambassador for “Why Hunger,”a leader in building the movement to endhunger and poverty.

Popular Southern California show anddance band Quest will be the Saturday nightentertainment and music for dancing.

Quest was the band that wowed mem-bers of the DDBC at the January Dinner/Dance and Installation of Officers at theOrange Hill Restaurant.

“Quest is one of the premier groups ofits type and being able to book them for abusy Saturday night during the prime sea-son is made possible by the underwritingof Monterrey ,” said Seminar Co-ChairmanLisa Juarez (Cacique, Inc.). When LukeAbbott heard of our predictament, he didnot hesitate to step up to help defray thecost associated with an act of this caliber.The Seminar Committee and the entireDDBC appreciates his continued support.”

SundayValerie Jabbar

Jabbar is the Vice President of Merchan-dising for Kroger Co.’s Ralphs Division.She is responsible for Merchandising for218 Ralphs supermarkets located through-out Southern California and the CentralCoast.

She began her career with Fry’s in 1987as a clerk. Since then, she has held severalleadership roles, including Assistant StoreDirector, Category Manager, Drug/GM Co-ordinator, General Office Seasonal Man-ager, Assistant Director of Drug/GM andDirector of Drug/GM, as well as DistrictManager in the Fry’s division.

She was promoted to Vice President ofMerchandising for Kroger’s Mid-AtlanticDivision in 2012, and to her current post inNovember 2013.

Saturday night

She graduated high school in Scottsdale,

DDBC News, September/October 2015 19

Continued from Page 18

47th National DDBC Seminar

In the spotlight at the Seminar

In 1980 he was promoted to Assistant

2015 DDBC’s National Seminar CommitteeGeneral Chairman

Laura Taketomo ............................................ Food 4 Less

Co-ChairmanLisa Juarez ..................................................... Cacique Inc.

CommitteesEd Silva (AV).................................................. RalphsMichael Rodriques (AV) ............................... Ralphs

Connie Thatcher (Program) ......................... Advantage Sales......................................................................... & Marketing

Sue Bargsten (Food) ...................................... DPI Specialty......................................................................... Foods

Sarah Ramirez (Food) ................................... DPI Specialty......................................................................... Foods

Jann Beecher-Seidel (Festival Luncheon) .. LeGrand......................................................................... Marketing

Sharon Fails (Festival Luncheon) ................Patti Winsell (Festival Luncheon) ...............Barbara Dolbee (Festival Luncheon) .......... Bonert’s PiesGayle DeCaro (Festival Luncheon) ............ Gelson’s

Bob Dressler (Golf) ....................................... Advantage ActionDave MacDonald (Golf) ................................ Stremick’s......................................................................... Heritage Foods

Steve Nguyen (Golf) ...................................... Unified GrocersBrian Svoboda (Golf) .................................... Carl Buddig

Jim Veregge (Sponsorship/Hosting) ............ Unified GrocersSilvia Quiroz (Sponsorship/Hosting) ........... Cardenas......................................................................... Markets

Melissa Griffin (Sponsorship/Hosting) ....... Stater Bros.Liz Wilson (Sponsorship/Hosting) ............... Ralphs Grocery

Kristal Clark (Silent Auction/Advisor) ....... Advantage Sales......................................................................... & Marketing

Della Frorenza (Silent Auction) ................... Nasser Co., Inc.Stacy Gilbert (Silent Auction) ...................... Smithfield/......................................................................... Farmland

Larry Eiffert (Entertainment) ..................... JTJ SalesCynthia Yarak (Entertainment) ................... Unified GrocersCheryl Van Den Hende (DDBC President) . MonterreySusan Steele (DDBC, Registration) ............. Exec. DirectorBill Mackie (Processor’s Marketing) .......... TreasurerDave Daniel (Pacific Rim Publishing) ......... DDBC News

Ariz. and attended the Colorado Instituteof Art. She has also completed leadershipseminars at Babson University and DardenUniversity.

In 2012, Progres-sive Grocer recog-nized her with the TopWomen in Grocery“Rising Star” Award.She is a newly electedBoard member of theWestern Associationof Food Chains(WAFC). She was ac-tively involved with the Mid-Atlanticwomen’s EDGE group and has continuedin that mentorship role with the Ralphswomen’s EDGE.

Luc RobitailleLuc Robitaille, a member of the Hockey

Hall of Fame, is the highest scoring left wingin NHL history and the all-time Kings leaderin goals scored. He is in his eighth year asKings President, Business Operations.

Robitaille, who had his popular No. 20jersey retired by the Kings on January 20,2007, is one of the greatest players in NHLhistory. He played 19 seasons in the NHL– including 14 with the Kings – and in 1,431career regular season games with the Kings,Detroit Red Wings (where he won a StanleyCup in 2002), New York Rangers and Pitts-burgh Penguins, had 1,394 points (668-726=1,394). In 159 playoff games, he had127 points (58-69=127).

Since retiring as a player and assuminghis current front office executive position,Robitaille has had a tremendous impact onthe Kings Business Operations department,especially in the areas of Sponsorship Salesand Renewal, Fan and Customer Relations,Game Entertainment, Media Relations andBroadcasting.

Since 2007-08, the Kings have increasedtheir number of sellouts at STAPLES Cen-ter each season, and the team entered the2014-15 season with 90 consecutive homesellouts while enjoying record revenues onthe whole.

Robitaille has been at the front of a re-vamped Kings Community Relations de-partment including the club’s strategicKings Care community partnerships, whichis highlighted by the Kings $500,000 com-mitment to theChildren’s HospitalLos Angeles’ bloodprogram. Last year,the Kings Care Foun-dation raised a record$1.4 million dollars.He has also helpeddirect the reorganiza-tion of the LA KingsAlumni Association.

This past year, Robitaille was named amember of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selec-tion Committee.

Robitaille has also immersed himselfinto the community. He is on the Board ofChildren’s Hospital Los Angeles andRonald McDonald House, and he and hiswife Stacia are the co-founders of a non-profit organization, Echoes of Hope.

Page 20: September - October 2015 Issue

20 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Tom Keyes, John J. Wollak Co.Lifetime Achievement Award

Tom Keyes

President/CEO hasnearly 65 years in

supermarket industryBy DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

If Tom Keyes was any busier, he wouldneed a booking agent to keep track of hiswhereabouts.

While many of us keep jammed sched-ules, few of us are 80 years old and stillgoing strong, sitting on boards of directorsand committees, raising funds for a num-ber of charities, overseeing his import busi-ness from a short distance, and generallyhaving a good time.

Keyes will be presented the prestigiousLifetime Achievement Award at the Octo-ber meeting of the Dairy Deli Bakery Coun-cil (DDBC) of Southern California. He isthe 14th person in the Council’s 55-year his-tory to be so honored.

Keyes is one of the few members whowas around at the founding of the DeliCouncil, which had its beginnings in 1960,giving him 65 years in the industry.

Now semi-retired Keyes still admires theDDBC even though he admits it haschanged since the beginning.

“I am pleased and honored with this rec-ognition of my career,” he said. “TheDDBC, formerly known as the Deli Coun-cil, has always been dear to my heart, eventhough I have not been involved as muchas in years past.

“This organization probably was morerelevant in the beginning because there wereso many more companies then. Any com-pany with only 5 or 10 employees was amember and the big companies, such asKraft and Oscar Mayer, sent all of theirpeople to the meetings,” he said.

“The industry has changed is the reasonwhy. There has been merger after mergerboth on the supply side and the retail side,”he added.

When he was inducted into the DDBCHall of Fame in 2000, he recalled the earlydays when he was a fresh-faced youngsterstarting out in the retail grocery industry.

He took his first job as a 14-year-old boxboy for an All-American Markets store inGarden Grove in 1951. By age 17, he wasthe full-time night clerk, stocking shelves.All-American Markets was a 21-store chainthat later was sold to Albertsons.

He joined Better Foods Markets in LosAngeles at age 21 and remained on the re-tail side of the industry until that chain wassold in 1962. It was during that time thatthe Deli Council was being formed.

“I went to a couple of meetings with myboss, Bud O’Neal, because he wanted some-one to drive him to Syd Fischer’s housewhere the meetings were held,” Keyes said.“Everyone met around the pool in his backyard. I didn’t join the first meeting becauseI had to work, but I signed up right afterthat.”

When he left the retail side, he and twopartners opened a brokerage called DeliSpecialties in 1963. “We had to get permis-sion from Claus Simon (DDBC Hall ofFamer) to use our name because his littlecompany had a similar name – somethinglike Deli Specialty Foods or something,”Keyes said. “We later changed the name ofour company to Thunderbird Marketing in1965 or ’66.

“We did OK in a competitive businessuntil we got our first real break when welanded Clearfield Cheese single-wrappedslices. That one account paid something like$400,000 in brokerage fees when we sold.That was a lot of money then,” he said.

Keyes opened offices in Northern Cali-fornia, Honolulu and Phoenix. “Then wegot a huge break when we landed SunnyDelight. We started at zero and our broker-age fees were $1.840 million when wesold.”

One of his favorite accounts was withJimmy Dean Sausage. Jimmy Dean was awell-known country singer and televisionstar who made several trips a year to South-ern California.

“We always put him up at the Balboa BayClub because that was close to my home inNewport Beach,” Keyes said. “We also trav-eled all over to play golf together, includ-ing a trip to St. Andrews in Scotland.

“One time, at the Jimmy Dean companyawards banquet in Puerto Vallarta, we werehonored as the top broker. After we got thecheck ... which was quite large, but in a plainwhite envelope, I took over the microphoneand told him ‘You can afford to pay us thisnice bonus, but you don’t pay your ginrummy debts.’ He pulled out a wad of cashand counted out the $135 he owed me forbeating him at cards.

“After the meeting, a broker from theMidwest asked me why I would embarrassJimmy Dean like that. I told him that thecheck we got was at least twice as large ashis and three or four times larger than anyother broker and that we knew him well-enough to be his regular gin rummy and golfpartner and that he could take the ribbing.”

Thunderbird acquired a pair of dry gro-cery companies, one owned by Lon Wellsand then Kisco Co., owned by Gene Kiss.Thunderbird then merged with EmpireSales, which was owned by Walt Scheckand Harold Kelly.

“It wasn’t long before we had nearly 50employees,” he said. “We did a lot of drygrocery business that deli people were notaware of. I wrote one order for coffee forVons for more than $1 million once. We did

Continued onPage 26 John J. Wollak Inc. est 193115052 Springdale St., Huntington Beach, CA 92649

714.890.5980 tel / 714.890.5983 fax / [email protected]

We are so very proud to congratulate

our very own Tom KeyEs on his great

honor - DDBC Lifetime Achievement

Award. Congratulations!

JWollakCompany-1.indd 1 8/19/15 3:16 PM

Page 21: September - October 2015 Issue

20 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Tom Keyes, John J. Wollak Co.Lifetime Achievement Award

Tom Keyes

President/CEO hasnearly 65 years in

supermarket industryBy DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

If Tom Keyes was any busier, he wouldneed a booking agent to keep track of hiswhereabouts.

While many of us keep jammed sched-ules, few of us are 80 years old and stillgoing strong, sitting on boards of directorsand committees, raising funds for a num-ber of charities, overseeing his import busi-ness from a short distance, and generallyhaving a good time.

Keyes will be presented the prestigiousLifetime Achievement Award at the Octo-ber meeting of the Dairy Deli Bakery Coun-cil (DDBC) of Southern California. He isthe 14th person in the Council’s 55-year his-tory to be so honored.

Keyes is one of the few members whowas around at the founding of the DeliCouncil, which had its beginnings in 1960,giving him 65 years in the industry.

Now semi-retired Keyes still admires theDDBC even though he admits it haschanged since the beginning.

“I am pleased and honored with this rec-ognition of my career,” he said. “TheDDBC, formerly known as the Deli Coun-cil, has always been dear to my heart, eventhough I have not been involved as muchas in years past.

“This organization probably was morerelevant in the beginning because there wereso many more companies then. Any com-pany with only 5 or 10 employees was amember and the big companies, such asKraft and Oscar Mayer, sent all of theirpeople to the meetings,” he said.

“The industry has changed is the reasonwhy. There has been merger after mergerboth on the supply side and the retail side,”he added.

When he was inducted into the DDBCHall of Fame in 2000, he recalled the earlydays when he was a fresh-faced youngsterstarting out in the retail grocery industry.

He took his first job as a 14-year-old boxboy for an All-American Markets store inGarden Grove in 1951. By age 17, he wasthe full-time night clerk, stocking shelves.All-American Markets was a 21-store chainthat later was sold to Albertsons.

He joined Better Foods Markets in LosAngeles at age 21 and remained on the re-tail side of the industry until that chain wassold in 1962. It was during that time thatthe Deli Council was being formed.

“I went to a couple of meetings with myboss, Bud O’Neal, because he wanted some-one to drive him to Syd Fischer’s housewhere the meetings were held,” Keyes said.“Everyone met around the pool in his backyard. I didn’t join the first meeting becauseI had to work, but I signed up right afterthat.”

When he left the retail side, he and twopartners opened a brokerage called DeliSpecialties in 1963. “We had to get permis-sion from Claus Simon (DDBC Hall ofFamer) to use our name because his littlecompany had a similar name – somethinglike Deli Specialty Foods or something,”Keyes said. “We later changed the name ofour company to Thunderbird Marketing in1965 or ’66.

“We did OK in a competitive businessuntil we got our first real break when welanded Clearfield Cheese single-wrappedslices. That one account paid something like$400,000 in brokerage fees when we sold.That was a lot of money then,” he said.

Keyes opened offices in Northern Cali-fornia, Honolulu and Phoenix. “Then wegot a huge break when we landed SunnyDelight. We started at zero and our broker-age fees were $1.840 million when wesold.”

One of his favorite accounts was withJimmy Dean Sausage. Jimmy Dean was awell-known country singer and televisionstar who made several trips a year to South-ern California.

“We always put him up at the Balboa BayClub because that was close to my home inNewport Beach,” Keyes said. “We also trav-eled all over to play golf together, includ-ing a trip to St. Andrews in Scotland.

“One time, at the Jimmy Dean companyawards banquet in Puerto Vallarta, we werehonored as the top broker. After we got thecheck ... which was quite large, but in a plainwhite envelope, I took over the microphoneand told him ‘You can afford to pay us thisnice bonus, but you don’t pay your ginrummy debts.’ He pulled out a wad of cashand counted out the $135 he owed me forbeating him at cards.

“After the meeting, a broker from theMidwest asked me why I would embarrassJimmy Dean like that. I told him that thecheck we got was at least twice as large ashis and three or four times larger than anyother broker and that we knew him well-enough to be his regular gin rummy and golfpartner and that he could take the ribbing.”

Thunderbird acquired a pair of dry gro-cery companies, one owned by Lon Wellsand then Kisco Co., owned by Gene Kiss.Thunderbird then merged with EmpireSales, which was owned by Walt Scheckand Harold Kelly.

“It wasn’t long before we had nearly 50employees,” he said. “We did a lot of drygrocery business that deli people were notaware of. I wrote one order for coffee forVons for more than $1 million once. We did

Continued onPage 26 John J. Wollak Inc. est 193115052 Springdale St., Huntington Beach, CA 92649

714.890.5980 tel / 714.890.5983 fax / [email protected]

We are so very proud to congratulate

our very own Tom KeyEs on his great

honor - DDBC Lifetime Achievement

Award. Congratulations!

JWollakCompany-1.indd 1 8/19/15 3:16 PM

Page 22: September - October 2015 Issue

22 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Robert Burke, Emkay Food BrokersThe Big Cheese, September

By DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

Timing, as it is said, is everything.Robert Burke was selected as the Big

Cheese Award honoree for October by theDairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC) ofSouthern California almost six months ago.

At the time, Burke, like so many of hiscolleagues, is a lifer in the perishable foodsindustry, including the last 15 years withAdvantage Action Sales & Marketing.

Unbeknownst to anyone at that time,Burke’s final day there was Aug. 7. He re-signed and began to work immediately forEmkay Food Sales of Dublin, Calif., one ofthe premier food brokers in Northern Cali-fornia.

“I loved what I was doing at AdvantageAction and I really enjoyed the people I wasworking with every day,” he said.

“All of a sudden, the opportunity atEmkay presented itself and I felt it was theright opportunity at the right time for me.We are opening an office in Southern Cali-fornia and I am excited to help build ourbusiness in this market,” he said.

“After a quarter of a century in this in-dustry, it is always good to seek new avenuesand to add to your plate. I look forward to along and successful career with Emkay,” hesaid.

The former Sales Director for AdvantageAction took his first job as a courtesy clerk(nee: box boy) … again, like so many of hiscolleagues … at Hughes Family MarketsStore No. 15 (Monterey Park) in 1986. Ithas been onward and upward ever since.

He has been an active member of theDDBC for more than 25 years and has at-tended his share of National Seminars andmost golf tournaments, as well as regularmembership meetings.

He sheepishly admits that he will not bein attendance at this year’s Seminar, but youhave to give him a pass. He leaves Sept. 9for a two-week tour of Europe to celebratehis and Cecilia’s 25th Anniversary. He askedhis wife if she wanted to postpone the tripwith a group of friends and go at a latertime. Her answer is obvious.

He promised to think about the Semi-nar attendees while in France, Spain, Italy,Greece and a few other stops on the tour.

“We haven’t really traveled abroad,” hesaid. “We’ve been to Hawaii and toCancun, but this is a special occasion.”

He is excited about the trip and alsoabout returning and getting back to workin his new position.

“These are exciting times for the gro-cery industry in Southern California,” hepoints out. “So many accounts and storeshave left the market in the last few years,and it is nice from a broker’s perspectiveto see so many new players coming intothe marketplace.”

“Aldi already is hiring people for the 45stores they are planning to open in 2016 andbuilding a distribution center. I feel they willbe successful because they have the samebackground as Trader Joe’s with a storebrand model. You have to take them seri-ous with the background they have,” hesaid.

Burke’s background also is impressive.After a year at Hughes Family Markets, hewas hired as a retail merchandiser in thefield at Normark & Associates, one of thestalwart perishable food brokers at thefounding of the DDBC (then known as theDeli Council).

After a year and a half, he became anaccount manager, calling on Boys Markets.It was during his stint at Normark that hebecame involved with the Council. “Themanagement team always encouraged us totake part in the organization,” Burke said.

He remained at Normark until 1998when he was recruited to join MarketingSpecialists in the Frozen Foods Divisionalong with Cliff Potter and John Nielsen.He was there two years before joining Con-tinental Yogurt as Director of Sales/Re-gional Sales Manager when some previousco-workers at Normark formed ResourceFood Sales and asked him to join the newteam in 2002.

Resource had great success for nearly 15years as Jim Allumbaugh and Jeff Pakulabuilt a solid team. Resource then mergedwith the Action Group, which was acquiredby Advantage Sales & Marketing. The com-pany has been known as Advantage Actionfor the past two years.

“That really was a good fit after a two-year transition,” he said. “Advantage waslooking for an established perishables com-pany to complement its strong wall-to-wallcenter store presence. It could build aroundour successes in premier meat, deli and ser-vice deli.”

Burke will continue to make sales pre-sentations and manage lines in his new post.

Robert and Cecilia have three children.Zoe is a Registered Nurse; Michael worksin Fiber Optics; and Raquel is in college,

Robert Burke, Emkay Food Brokers

Continued on Page 26

Mission® and Guerrero® are the top brands in the west with Guerrero being the leader among Hispanics. The same commitment to excellence and quality stretches across all our products – When it comes to traditional Mexican food, we’ve got you covered!

missionmenus.com tortillasguerrero.com

Everything tastes better in a Mission tortilla!

Mission® is a registered trademark of Gruma corporation, Irving, TX 75038 ©2015 Gruma Coporation

Mission® introduces Organic Chips!• Great Taste• Gluten Free• 52% of parents buy

natural/organic so their children eat well

Page 23: September - October 2015 Issue

22 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Robert Burke, Emkay Food BrokersThe Big Cheese, September

By DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

Timing, as it is said, is everything.Robert Burke was selected as the Big

Cheese Award honoree for October by theDairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC) ofSouthern California almost six months ago.

At the time, Burke, like so many of hiscolleagues, is a lifer in the perishable foodsindustry, including the last 15 years withAdvantage Action Sales & Marketing.

Unbeknownst to anyone at that time,Burke’s final day there was Aug. 7. He re-signed and began to work immediately forEmkay Food Sales of Dublin, Calif., one ofthe premier food brokers in Northern Cali-fornia.

“I loved what I was doing at AdvantageAction and I really enjoyed the people I wasworking with every day,” he said.

“All of a sudden, the opportunity atEmkay presented itself and I felt it was theright opportunity at the right time for me.We are opening an office in Southern Cali-fornia and I am excited to help build ourbusiness in this market,” he said.

“After a quarter of a century in this in-dustry, it is always good to seek new avenuesand to add to your plate. I look forward to along and successful career with Emkay,” hesaid.

The former Sales Director for AdvantageAction took his first job as a courtesy clerk(nee: box boy) … again, like so many of hiscolleagues … at Hughes Family MarketsStore No. 15 (Monterey Park) in 1986. Ithas been onward and upward ever since.

He has been an active member of theDDBC for more than 25 years and has at-tended his share of National Seminars andmost golf tournaments, as well as regularmembership meetings.

He sheepishly admits that he will not bein attendance at this year’s Seminar, but youhave to give him a pass. He leaves Sept. 9for a two-week tour of Europe to celebratehis and Cecilia’s 25th Anniversary. He askedhis wife if she wanted to postpone the tripwith a group of friends and go at a latertime. Her answer is obvious.

He promised to think about the Semi-nar attendees while in France, Spain, Italy,Greece and a few other stops on the tour.

“We haven’t really traveled abroad,” hesaid. “We’ve been to Hawaii and toCancun, but this is a special occasion.”

He is excited about the trip and alsoabout returning and getting back to workin his new position.

“These are exciting times for the gro-cery industry in Southern California,” hepoints out. “So many accounts and storeshave left the market in the last few years,and it is nice from a broker’s perspectiveto see so many new players coming intothe marketplace.”

“Aldi already is hiring people for the 45stores they are planning to open in 2016 andbuilding a distribution center. I feel they willbe successful because they have the samebackground as Trader Joe’s with a storebrand model. You have to take them seri-ous with the background they have,” hesaid.

Burke’s background also is impressive.After a year at Hughes Family Markets, hewas hired as a retail merchandiser in thefield at Normark & Associates, one of thestalwart perishable food brokers at thefounding of the DDBC (then known as theDeli Council).

After a year and a half, he became anaccount manager, calling on Boys Markets.It was during his stint at Normark that hebecame involved with the Council. “Themanagement team always encouraged us totake part in the organization,” Burke said.

He remained at Normark until 1998when he was recruited to join MarketingSpecialists in the Frozen Foods Divisionalong with Cliff Potter and John Nielsen.He was there two years before joining Con-tinental Yogurt as Director of Sales/Re-gional Sales Manager when some previousco-workers at Normark formed ResourceFood Sales and asked him to join the newteam in 2002.

Resource had great success for nearly 15years as Jim Allumbaugh and Jeff Pakulabuilt a solid team. Resource then mergedwith the Action Group, which was acquiredby Advantage Sales & Marketing. The com-pany has been known as Advantage Actionfor the past two years.

“That really was a good fit after a two-year transition,” he said. “Advantage waslooking for an established perishables com-pany to complement its strong wall-to-wallcenter store presence. It could build aroundour successes in premier meat, deli and ser-vice deli.”

Burke will continue to make sales pre-sentations and manage lines in his new post.

Robert and Cecilia have three children.Zoe is a Registered Nurse; Michael worksin Fiber Optics; and Raquel is in college,

Robert Burke, Emkay Food Brokers

Continued on Page 26

Mission® and Guerrero® are the top brands in the west with Guerrero being the leader among Hispanics. The same commitment to excellence and quality stretches across all our products – When it comes to traditional Mexican food, we’ve got you covered!

missionmenus.com tortillasguerrero.com

Everything tastes better in a Mission tortilla!

Mission® is a registered trademark of Gruma corporation, Irving, TX 75038 ©2015 Gruma Coporation

Mission® introduces Organic Chips!• Great Taste• Gluten Free• 52% of parents buy

natural/organic so their children eat well

Page 24: September - October 2015 Issue

24 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Damian Valdez, Super King MarketsThe Big Cheese, October

By DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

One of Damian Valdez’s dreams may becoming true.

“I started playing golf about a year ago,”the Deli/Dairy/Frozen buyer for Super KingMarkets said recently. “At first, I wasn’tvery good. But I’ve been practicing and Iam getting better all the time. I may be thenext Tiger Woods. After all, the way he hasbeen playing lately, he has leveled the play-ing field for guys like me.”

Valdez’s sense of humor is one of thereasons he has been selected as the BigCheese Award honoree for October by theDairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC) ofSouthern California.

Golf is not the only sport he enjoys. “Iam a big baseball guy and I like basketball,”he said. “I try to keep up to date on all thesporting news in general.”

He and his wife, Blanca, also play in twosoftball leagues together. “It is co-ed slo-pitch,” he said. “I am the pitcher and Blancaplays second base … she always has myback.”

Valdez has been with Super King for al-most 8 years, beginning as a schematic ana-lyst. He has been the Deli/Dairy/Frozenbuyer for the past 5 years.

“I work with a great group of people andI am grateful to be part of a young growing

chain. Ownership has given me a great op-portunity and I plan to accomplish manymore things with this company,” he said.

Super King Markets, headquartered onMission Road in Los Angeles, has sixstores. The markets are owned by theFermanian family.“I think some peoplethought I was Armenian because my firstname ends in ‘ian’ like many Armeniannames,” Valdez said with a chuckle.

He did have some experience before hejoined Super King. He started his career inthe food industry with Jon’s Market as acourtesy clerk in 2001 and worked there forseven years, finishing his stint as an assis-tant store director. He came aboard with Su-per King as a Grocery Manager for a year,then as a schematic analyst for a year be-fore joining the buying department.

Like everyone on the retail side of thefood business, he has seen many changesin the past few years. One of the big ones,of course, was the merger of Albertsons/Safeway with nearly 150 stores being di-vested. Haggen emerged with most of them.

“It has been an interesting situation tosay the least” he noted. “ It was a massive

Damian Valdez, Super King Markets

Sports play a big partof his spare time ...look out, Tiger

changeover for the Southern Californiamarket and even though none of the Haggenstores are local to our locations, we stillwant to see what they have to offer to thismarketplace. It is going to be an interestingnext couple of months to see what direc-tion they want to head in.”

Super King is a growing young chain.“We are always looking to add new storesif the right situation opens up,” he said.

He was introduced to the DDBC a fewyears ago.

“I really enjoyed the networking and thefriendships I have been able to develop,”he said.

“The Council is very interesting to me.Last year, I attended my first Seminar andit was really a pleasant experience. Not onlywas it a fun get-away, but it really was quitea learning experience.”

Damian and Blanca have two children,daughter Yuliana, 8, and son J.J., 2.

“Yuliana is at that artistic stage,” he said.“We took her to the Grammy Museum re-cently and she really loved the music. Shewanted to see the Taylor Swift Experience,but it turned out she loved the history ofmusic and how it has changed over the lastfew decades. I don’t know if she wants acareer in music, but she is a pretty goodkaraoke singer.”

The family also loves to do a lot of localtraveling. “We haven’t traveled much re-cently because of our busy schedules,” heacknowledged. “We visited my Dad inMexico two years ago. We’ve all been toSan Diego.”

One thing Valdez knows about is food… from behind his desk and in front of hisgrill.

“My other hobby is grilling on the week-ends,” he said. When asked if he was a goodcook, he said matter-of-factly “I am a verygood cook … at least I haven’t had any com-plaints. I stick to the proteins and Blancadoes everything else.

“My specialties are steak and chicken. Itry to stay away from hamburgers, but when-ever we grill, there are a few hot dogs outthere. They’re pretty easy to fix.”

Please join the DDBC in saluting Valdezas the Big Cheese honoree for October.

Damian Valdez: big cheeseMastro & Associates, along with all of our clients are proud to congratulate Damian Valdez on his home run of being named Big Cheese. Way to go!

4431 Corporate Center Dr. #123, Los Alamitos, CA 90720(714) 699-1030 Fax (714) 723-6486

MastroAssociates-1.indd 1 8/19/15 3:28 PM

Page 25: September - October 2015 Issue

24 DDBC News, September/October 2015

Damian Valdez, Super King MarketsThe Big Cheese, October

By DAVE DANIELEditor, DDBC News

One of Damian Valdez’s dreams may becoming true.

“I started playing golf about a year ago,”the Deli/Dairy/Frozen buyer for Super KingMarkets said recently. “At first, I wasn’tvery good. But I’ve been practicing and Iam getting better all the time. I may be thenext Tiger Woods. After all, the way he hasbeen playing lately, he has leveled the play-ing field for guys like me.”

Valdez’s sense of humor is one of thereasons he has been selected as the BigCheese Award honoree for October by theDairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC) ofSouthern California.

Golf is not the only sport he enjoys. “Iam a big baseball guy and I like basketball,”he said. “I try to keep up to date on all thesporting news in general.”

He and his wife, Blanca, also play in twosoftball leagues together. “It is co-ed slo-pitch,” he said. “I am the pitcher and Blancaplays second base … she always has myback.”

Valdez has been with Super King for al-most 8 years, beginning as a schematic ana-lyst. He has been the Deli/Dairy/Frozenbuyer for the past 5 years.

“I work with a great group of people andI am grateful to be part of a young growing

chain. Ownership has given me a great op-portunity and I plan to accomplish manymore things with this company,” he said.

Super King Markets, headquartered onMission Road in Los Angeles, has sixstores. The markets are owned by theFermanian family.“I think some peoplethought I was Armenian because my firstname ends in ‘ian’ like many Armeniannames,” Valdez said with a chuckle.

He did have some experience before hejoined Super King. He started his career inthe food industry with Jon’s Market as acourtesy clerk in 2001 and worked there forseven years, finishing his stint as an assis-tant store director. He came aboard with Su-per King as a Grocery Manager for a year,then as a schematic analyst for a year be-fore joining the buying department.

Like everyone on the retail side of thefood business, he has seen many changesin the past few years. One of the big ones,of course, was the merger of Albertsons/Safeway with nearly 150 stores being di-vested. Haggen emerged with most of them.

“It has been an interesting situation tosay the least” he noted. “ It was a massive

Damian Valdez, Super King Markets

Sports play a big partof his spare time ...look out, Tiger

changeover for the Southern Californiamarket and even though none of the Haggenstores are local to our locations, we stillwant to see what they have to offer to thismarketplace. It is going to be an interestingnext couple of months to see what direc-tion they want to head in.”

Super King is a growing young chain.“We are always looking to add new storesif the right situation opens up,” he said.

He was introduced to the DDBC a fewyears ago.

“I really enjoyed the networking and thefriendships I have been able to develop,”he said.

“The Council is very interesting to me.Last year, I attended my first Seminar andit was really a pleasant experience. Not onlywas it a fun get-away, but it really was quitea learning experience.”

Damian and Blanca have two children,daughter Yuliana, 8, and son J.J., 2.

“Yuliana is at that artistic stage,” he said.“We took her to the Grammy Museum re-cently and she really loved the music. Shewanted to see the Taylor Swift Experience,but it turned out she loved the history ofmusic and how it has changed over the lastfew decades. I don’t know if she wants acareer in music, but she is a pretty goodkaraoke singer.”

The family also loves to do a lot of localtraveling. “We haven’t traveled much re-cently because of our busy schedules,” heacknowledged. “We visited my Dad inMexico two years ago. We’ve all been toSan Diego.”

One thing Valdez knows about is food… from behind his desk and in front of hisgrill.

“My other hobby is grilling on the week-ends,” he said. When asked if he was a goodcook, he said matter-of-factly “I am a verygood cook … at least I haven’t had any com-plaints. I stick to the proteins and Blancadoes everything else.

“My specialties are steak and chicken. Itry to stay away from hamburgers, but when-ever we grill, there are a few hot dogs outthere. They’re pretty easy to fix.”

Please join the DDBC in saluting Valdezas the Big Cheese honoree for October.

Damian Valdez: big cheeseMastro & Associates, along with all of our clients are proud to congratulate Damian Valdez on his home run of being named Big Cheese. Way to go!

4431 Corporate Center Dr. #123, Los Alamitos, CA 90720(714) 699-1030 Fax (714) 723-6486

MastroAssociates-1.indd 1 8/19/15 3:28 PM

Page 26: September - October 2015 Issue

26 DDBC News, September/October 2015

leading toward a career with animals or in acting.As a family, the Burkes enjoy their 21-foot Shockwave ski boat

and have regular trips to Lake Mead and to the Colorado River inLaughlin. He also is a motorcycle buff with a Harley Davidsonand loves to take rides with Cecilia and other motorcycle-lovingfriends.

But his interests do not stop with outdoor activities. He sits onthe boards of two charitable foundations. Youth Helpers operatesa camp of 161 acres in Big Bear, raising money to send kids tocamp. He also is active in the Elks Lodge in West Covina andhelps raise money for charitable causes there.

“My real passion now is photography,” he admits. “I got into itthree or four years ago and recently purchased a Sony A7 Mirrorlessfull frame digital camera. I’ve been shooting a lot of landscapesand I really enjoy that and I can see myself spending a lot more ofmy free time doing that.”

Please join the DDBC in saluting Burke on his selection as theBig Cheese Award honoree for September ... and on his new posi-tion with Emkay.

Continued from Page 22a lot of private label products … something like 18-20 differentitems for Lucky Stores alone. We also had Lucky’s Northern Cali-fornia business, including their cutting kitchen, which took threetruckloads of cheese a week. It only paid about 2 cents a pound,but each truck had 40,000 pounds and it was profitable over thelong run.”

Another venture was the purchase of the KoldKist manufactur-ing plant. “They made a chopped meat patty and had a popularburrito line, but I learned that just because I knew how to sell andmarket a product, I didn’t necessarily know how to make it andhave fun at it,” he said. One of the highlights was a Safeway orderfor 108 trucks.

Thunderbird merged with Ross-Billings in the late 1980s tobecome RBT, one of the larger brokers in Southern California thatlater became Billings-Horn, which then merged into AdvantageSales & Marketing. Keyes later formed Brokerage Services, Inc.(BSI) and later sold that to Bromar, which then was sold to Mar-keting Specialties.

Keyes had purchased the John J. Wollak Co., which was foundedin 1896 and incorporated in 1931 as a cheese importing companywith government licenses. It owns 12 labels. This is the part of hisdeli business he continues to keep an eye on.

He has been a member of the DDBC for 55 years. He has servedon the Board of Directors and has worked on numerous commit-tees, including the National Seminar, the City of Hope, the GolfCommittee, and others. He always has been a big supporter of theScholarship fund.

Please join the DDBC in saluting Keyes on his well-deservedLifetime Achievement Award. He might even have a few morestories to share at the October meeting.

1/3-page ad herepremier action group4-cp.u. fromn p. 28 may-june 2015

Continued from Page 20

September Big Cheese

Robert Burke –

Tom Keyes: LifetimeAchievement Award

Send news of your company to:Editor, DDBC News

P.O. Box 4533Huntington Beach, CA 92647

email: [email protected]

DDBC News, September/October 2015 27

1/4-page ad heretotal access marketing

4-cpick up from p. 31, may-june 2014

1/4-page ad herecity of hope

new4-c

direct to you

1/4-page ad herejr sales

new4-c

from deirdre

1/4-page ad heresmithfield-farmland

new4-c

direct to you

Page 27: September - October 2015 Issue

26 DDBC News, September/October 2015

leading toward a career with animals or in acting.As a family, the Burkes enjoy their 21-foot Shockwave ski boat

and have regular trips to Lake Mead and to the Colorado River inLaughlin. He also is a motorcycle buff with a Harley Davidsonand loves to take rides with Cecilia and other motorcycle-lovingfriends.

But his interests do not stop with outdoor activities. He sits onthe boards of two charitable foundations. Youth Helpers operatesa camp of 161 acres in Big Bear, raising money to send kids tocamp. He also is active in the Elks Lodge in West Covina andhelps raise money for charitable causes there.

“My real passion now is photography,” he admits. “I got into itthree or four years ago and recently purchased a Sony A7 Mirrorlessfull frame digital camera. I’ve been shooting a lot of landscapesand I really enjoy that and I can see myself spending a lot more ofmy free time doing that.”

Please join the DDBC in saluting Burke on his selection as theBig Cheese Award honoree for September ... and on his new posi-tion with Emkay.

Continued from Page 22a lot of private label products … something like 18-20 differentitems for Lucky Stores alone. We also had Lucky’s Northern Cali-fornia business, including their cutting kitchen, which took threetruckloads of cheese a week. It only paid about 2 cents a pound,but each truck had 40,000 pounds and it was profitable over thelong run.”

Another venture was the purchase of the KoldKist manufactur-ing plant. “They made a chopped meat patty and had a popularburrito line, but I learned that just because I knew how to sell andmarket a product, I didn’t necessarily know how to make it andhave fun at it,” he said. One of the highlights was a Safeway orderfor 108 trucks.

Thunderbird merged with Ross-Billings in the late 1980s tobecome RBT, one of the larger brokers in Southern California thatlater became Billings-Horn, which then merged into AdvantageSales & Marketing. Keyes later formed Brokerage Services, Inc.(BSI) and later sold that to Bromar, which then was sold to Mar-keting Specialties.

Keyes had purchased the John J. Wollak Co., which was foundedin 1896 and incorporated in 1931 as a cheese importing companywith government licenses. It owns 12 labels. This is the part of hisdeli business he continues to keep an eye on.

He has been a member of the DDBC for 55 years. He has servedon the Board of Directors and has worked on numerous commit-tees, including the National Seminar, the City of Hope, the GolfCommittee, and others. He always has been a big supporter of theScholarship fund.

Please join the DDBC in saluting Keyes on his well-deservedLifetime Achievement Award. He might even have a few morestories to share at the October meeting.

1/3-page ad herepremier action group4-cp.u. fromn p. 28 may-june 2015

Continued from Page 20

September Big Cheese

Robert Burke –

Tom Keyes: LifetimeAchievement Award

Send news of your company to:Editor, DDBC News

P.O. Box 4533Huntington Beach, CA 92647

email: [email protected]

DDBC News, September/October 2015 27

1/4-page ad heretotal access marketing

4-cpick up from p. 31, may-june 2014

1/4-page ad herecity of hope

new4-c

direct to you

1/4-page ad herejr sales

new4-c

from deirdre

1/4-page ad heresmithfield-farmland

new4-c

direct to you

JR SALES & MARKETINGMANAGEMENT - DELI SPECIALTIES

JOHN RISSI JR. (714) 779-9046

[email protected]

congratulations

WE ARE PROUD TO CONGRATULATE TOM KEYES

ON HIS DDBC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

We are proud to congratulate Damian Valdez of Super King Markets - DDBC Big Cheese.

Smithfield/Farmland-2.indd 1 8/19/15 3:30 PM

Together, we are transforming the future of health. Find out why there’s no place like Hope: CITYOFHOPE.ORG/SCFIC

CITY OF HOPE’S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FOOD INDUSTRIES CIRCLE THANKS THE DDBC FOR SUPPORT,INSPIRATION AND COMMITMENT.

©2015 City of Hope.

Page 28: September - October 2015 Issue

28 DDBC News, September/October 2015

July meeting of DDBC

Silent auction topsSalute to City of Hope

The July meeting of the Dairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC) ofSouthern California was a salute to the City of Hope, which hashad a relationship since the founding of the Deli Council in 1960.

“The DDBC has been a huge supporter of the City of Hopesince our beginning,” said Executive Director Susan Steele. “Therelationship has flourised ever since.

Over the years, the food industry has supported the City of Hopethrough various industry committees and the Southern CaliforniaFood Inudstry Circle has helped raise more than $145 million insupport of the City of Hope.

Dr. Joseph Alvernas, who has worked at the City of Hope’sBanner Transplant Program which he helped to co-found, was theevening’s guest speaker.

Dr. Alvernas is a national co-chair for two Bone Marrow Trans-plant Clinical Trials Networks studying stem cell transplantationin HIV infected patients, along with many other important com-mittees and boards.

He detailed how one in 22 Americans is a cancer survivor. “In1963, a diagnosis of cancer was a death sentence,” he said. “Nowit is curable.”

He said that in 1963, childhood leukemia had a zero percentsurvival rate. Now it is 90 percent curable. When HIV was firstdiscovered, it was not even treatable.

A silent auction was held in support of the City of Hope asanother fund-rasier.

In other business at the meeting, Luke Abbott (Monterrey) andEmily Aguilar (Daisy Brand) were presented Big Cheese Awardsfor the months of May and June.

Lisa Juarez (Cacique) spoke of the National Seminar comingup in September and Jim Veregge (Unified) highlighted upcomingmeetings.

DDBC Program Chairman Jim Veregge (left) with City of Hoperepresentatives Cheryl Kennick, Dr. Joseph Alvernas and his wifeTiffany, and Anthony Centeno.

Dr. Joseph Alvernas. co-founder of the City of Hope’s Ban-ner Transplant Program, was the guest speaker at the Julymeeting and thanked the Food Industries Circle for its sup-port of the City of Hope over the years.

Dr. Joseph Alvernas with DDBC Hall of Famers CherylKennick (City of Hope) and Jim Veregge (Unified Grocers).

DDBC News, September/October 2015 29

July meeting of DDBC

Emily Aguilar had many well-wishers from Daisy Brand asshe received the Big Cheese Award for June.

Vars Injijian (Sierra Nevada Cheese) with a trio of SuperKing Market executives: Damian Valdez, Chris Denney, andMark Berge.

Luke Abbott (Monterrey) receives the Big Cheese Award for themonth of May from Dave MacDonald (Heritage Foods).

Mark Sinn (Unified Grocers) with Kevin Draper (LeGrandMarketing).

Luke Abbott’s family joined him for his Big Cheese awardhonor at the July meeting.

Emily Aguilar (Daisy Brand) receives the Big Cheese Awardfor the month of June from Dave MacDonald.

Page 29: September - October 2015 Issue

28 DDBC News, September/October 2015

July meeting of DDBC

Silent auction topsSalute to City of Hope

The July meeting of the Dairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC) ofSouthern California was a salute to the City of Hope, which hashad a relationship since the founding of the Deli Council in 1960.

“The DDBC has been a huge supporter of the City of Hopesince our beginning,” said Executive Director Susan Steele. “Therelationship has flourised ever since.

Over the years, the food industry has supported the City of Hopethrough various industry committees and the Southern CaliforniaFood Inudstry Circle has helped raise more than $145 million insupport of the City of Hope.

Dr. Joseph Alvernas, who has worked at the City of Hope’sBanner Transplant Program which he helped to co-found, was theevening’s guest speaker.

Dr. Alvernas is a national co-chair for two Bone Marrow Trans-plant Clinical Trials Networks studying stem cell transplantationin HIV infected patients, along with many other important com-mittees and boards.

He detailed how one in 22 Americans is a cancer survivor. “In1963, a diagnosis of cancer was a death sentence,” he said. “Nowit is curable.”

He said that in 1963, childhood leukemia had a zero percentsurvival rate. Now it is 90 percent curable. When HIV was firstdiscovered, it was not even treatable.

A silent auction was held in support of the City of Hope asanother fund-rasier.

In other business at the meeting, Luke Abbott (Monterrey) andEmily Aguilar (Daisy Brand) were presented Big Cheese Awardsfor the months of May and June.

Lisa Juarez (Cacique) spoke of the National Seminar comingup in September and Jim Veregge (Unified) highlighted upcomingmeetings.

DDBC Program Chairman Jim Veregge (left) with City of Hoperepresentatives Cheryl Kennick, Dr. Joseph Alvernas and his wifeTiffany, and Anthony Centeno.

Dr. Joseph Alvernas. co-founder of the City of Hope’s Ban-ner Transplant Program, was the guest speaker at the Julymeeting and thanked the Food Industries Circle for its sup-port of the City of Hope over the years.

Dr. Joseph Alvernas with DDBC Hall of Famers CherylKennick (City of Hope) and Jim Veregge (Unified Grocers).

DDBC News, September/October 2015 29

July meeting of DDBC

Emily Aguilar had many well-wishers from Daisy Brand asshe received the Big Cheese Award for June.

Vars Injijian (Sierra Nevada Cheese) with a trio of SuperKing Market executives: Damian Valdez, Chris Denney, andMark Berge.

Luke Abbott (Monterrey) receives the Big Cheese Award for themonth of May from Dave MacDonald (Heritage Foods).

Mark Sinn (Unified Grocers) with Kevin Draper (LeGrandMarketing).

Luke Abbott’s family joined him for his Big Cheese awardhonor at the July meeting.

Emily Aguilar (Daisy Brand) receives the Big Cheese Awardfor the month of June from Dave MacDonald.

Page 30: September - October 2015 Issue

30 DDBC News, September/October 2015

July meeting of DDBC

Diane Yanek and John Brass, both of J. Brass Company. Lupe Silva (Acosta), Henry Rodriguez (Nasser Co., Inc.) andMargie Diaz (Foster Farms).

Jim Veregge (Unified Grocers), Maureen Parks (EnglishBay), and Fred Leahy (LALA).

Cheryl Kennick (City of Hope) bids on one of many itemsup for sale as a fund-raiser for the City of Hope.

Al Martinez (Don Francisco Cheese) and Mary Crocker(Alta Dena Dairy).

Silvia Quiroz (Cardenas Markets) with Carmen Little andNick Tran, both of LALA.

DDBC News, September/October 2015 31

2015 Membership Application/Renewal for DDBC of Southern California

As part of your annual membership, both Regular members and Associates will receive the DDBC News publication andthe DDBC Resource Directory.

Send payment to: DDBC, P.O. Box 1872, Whittier, CA 90609-1872.

NameAssociate Member - $30

Company name

Your name

Address

City State Zip

Telephone number ( ) FAX ( )

E-mail:

Regular Member - $200

Name

1/2-page ad hereemkay food brokersnew4-cfrom deirdre

Page 31: September - October 2015 Issue

30 DDBC News, September/October 2015

July meeting of DDBC

Diane Yanek and John Brass, both of J. Brass Company. Lupe Silva (Acosta), Henry Rodriguez (Nasser Co., Inc.) andMargie Diaz (Foster Farms).

Jim Veregge (Unified Grocers), Maureen Parks (EnglishBay), and Fred Leahy (LALA).

Cheryl Kennick (City of Hope) bids on one of many itemsup for sale as a fund-raiser for the City of Hope.

Al Martinez (Don Francisco Cheese) and Mary Crocker(Alta Dena Dairy).

Silvia Quiroz (Cardenas Markets) with Carmen Little andNick Tran, both of LALA.

DDBC News, September/October 2015 31

2015 Membership Application/Renewal for DDBC of Southern California

As part of your annual membership, both Regular members and Associates will receive the DDBC News publication andthe DDBC Resource Directory.

Send payment to: DDBC, P.O. Box 1872, Whittier, CA 90609-1872.

NameAssociate Member - $30

Company name

Your name

Address

City State Zip

Telephone number ( ) FAX ( )

E-mail:

Regular Member - $200

Name

1/2-page ad hereemkay food brokersnew4-cfrom deirdre

We are so proud to welcome

Robert Burke into our new SoCal

office at Emkay Food Brokers.

Honored to have the Big Cheese on

our team. Welcome Robert!

Robert BurkeDDBC Big CheeseSeptember 2015

1 Technology Dr. Suite J729, Irvine, CA 92618 (626) 209-5660

Page 32: September - October 2015 Issue

32 DDBC News, September/October 2015

See examples at comidakraft.com anddominosugar.com/es.

4. Ensure digital (websites) and mo-bile apps assets offer relevant contentand offers.

Hispanics are the most digitally engagedU.S. consumers bar none. Hispanics’ cellphone ownership (86%) edges out the Non-Hispanics’ ownership (84%), and 76% ofHispanics use a mobile device to go online,compared to 60% of non-Hispanics.

Hispanics are also more likely than non-Hispanics to use digital coupons. Eight in10 Hispanics search for an online couponbased on a recommendation, compared toseven in ten consumers overall.

Behaviorally, Hispanic smartphone own-ers are twice as likely as non-Hispanics tosay they are interested in receiving ads ontheir phone, 58% are more likely to pur-chase products they see advertised on theirphone, and 13% are more likely to say theyuse their phone while shopping to find lo-cal deals.

Brands should target Hispanic shopperson their mobile devices with dynamic, data-driven ad content – whether it’s based ontheir location, past purchase behavior or,ideally, both. And, if your brand is not wellknown among Hispanics making it unlikely

they will visit your site, communicate withthem on sites they are most likely to visit,like Univision Digital, Terra Networks andYahoo en Español. Make sure to do yourhomework to define your Hispanic shop-per target profile to determine best sites fordigital ads.

5. Engage them on social mediathrough relevant in culture content andsavings in both languages.

A strong social media presence is quiteeffective in motivating Hispanic shoppersto buy a brand. Consider that 70% of His-panics use coupons found on social-mediasites, compared to 54% of the populationat large. Additionally, 61% of Hispanics saythey share coupons via social media, com-pared to 39% of all consumers in general.

Keep in mind that Hispanics cite moreemotional reasons for why they followbrands on social media compared to non-Hispanic shoppers. For instance, when itcomes to interacting with brands, connect-ing on Facebook plays a more significantrole for U.S. Hispanics than the total U.S.population.

Using digital media to reinforce brandimagery and to educate the Hispanic shop-per about the brand and the brand’s lifestyleis an effective way to connect with Hispanicshoppers. However, strategies should rein-

Continued from Page 6 force the more emotive components of thebrand in a culturally relevant manner, inaddition to the more pragmatic deals andspecial coupons.

6. Offer Retailers Turnkey HispanicShopper Marketing Initiatives

Create Hispanic relevant shopper mar-keting programs to support key drive peri-ods in store.

Ensure at least some of the above men-tioned components are in place to generatean even bigger impact at retail and strongerreturn on investment.

(Terry Soto is President and CEO ofAbout Marketing Solutions, Inc., aBurbank-based strategy consulting firmspecializing in helping clients to dramati-cally improve overall business performanceby optimizing their strategies to also suc-ceed in the Hispanic market. She is the au-thor of Marketing to Hispanics and Strate-gic Approach to Planning and Implement-ing Your Initiative and coauthor of GrowWith America Best Practices in Ethnic Mar-keting and Merchandising. She is a con-tributor to Progressive Grocer and Super-market News among others, and is a fre-quent speaker at food industry conferences.She can be reached [email protected] 818-842-9688.)

Successful tactics to attract Hispanic buyers

Cacique, Inc.Dairy Deli Bakery Council Board of

Directors member and Past President LisaJuarez has been promoted at Cacique, Inc.to Southwest Regional Business Develop-ment Manager.

In her new post,she is responsible forSouthern California,San Diego, and Ari-zona. The new ap-pointment became ef-fected June 23.

Previously, shewas a Business De-velopment Manager for Cacique, Inc., theworld’s largest Hispanic cheese manufac-turer. The company is headquartered in LaPuente.

DDBC Website linksAs a bonus to a company’s membership

in the Dairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC)of Southern California, the Council pro-vides links on its website(www.ddbcsocal.org) to member websites,according to Executive Director SusanSteele.

“We have many members’ websiteslinked at this time, but some are missing. Ifwe do not have a link, just let us know andwe will get it on our site soon. If your com-pany does not have a website, we can linkan email address for the company,” she said.

To see a sample of a linked address, visitw w w . d d b c s o c a l . o r g / M e m b e r s -EmailLinks.html.

“Please don’t hesitate to contact me withany questions,” Steele said. She may bereached at [email protected].

Industry News

Olive Crest TourDDBC Board of Directors, officers, and

members toured the Olive Crest Children’sHome recently.

Olive Crest has been one of the DDBC’slongtime charities. Each year during theholiday season, DDBC members are askedto donate a toy, which then are donated tothe children who are housed there. Often,DDBC items are the only gifts they receive.

DDBC News, September/October 2015 33

Industry News

1/2-page ad heretrax doors4-CNEWdirect to you

Longtime DDBC member StremicksHeritage Foods, the California Angels ofAnaheim and Olive Crest have teamed upthe past five years to show that charity be-gins at home, or more specifically, homeplate.

Whenever the Angels score a run thisseason, Stremicks Heritage Foods donates$50 to local children at Olive Crest whohave suffered from abuse, neglect, andabandonment so that they can finally getwhat every child deserves, a safe, lovinghome.

Haggen closing 27 stores,16 in Calfornia

Haggen, new to the Southern Californiaretail scene, announced Aug. 14 it is clos-ing 27 of its newly opened supermarkets,acquired when it purchased more than 100stores from the Albertsons-Safeway merger.

Stremick’s Heritage Foods was salutedon the Angels website with this thankyou for five years of taking part in theSafe at Home program.

Stremicks Heritage Foods honored by Safe at Home

The Bellingham, Wash. company said thestores would either be closed or sold.

“By making the toughchoice to close andsell stores, we will be able to invest in storesthat have the potential to thrive under theHaggen banner,” said Bill Shaner, head ofHaggen’s Southwest operations from Irvine.

Haggen, which operates 18 stores in Or-egon and Washington, grew to 160 storesovernight.

In an unprecedented push after the take-over, Haggen opened 100 stores in 100 days,but the public perception of the new ban-ner was that of a high-priced addition to thealready crowded supermarket landscape inSouthern California that has failed to dif-ferentiate itself from well-establishedchains.

Lloyd Greif, cheif executive of invest-ment banking firm Greif & Co., was quotedin the Los Angeles Times as saying, “Theyhave no brand identity in Southern Califor-nia. It is basically ‘Haggen who?’ from theconsumer perspective.”

Page 33: September - October 2015 Issue

32 DDBC News, September/October 2015

See examples at comidakraft.com anddominosugar.com/es.

4. Ensure digital (websites) and mo-bile apps assets offer relevant contentand offers.

Hispanics are the most digitally engagedU.S. consumers bar none. Hispanics’ cellphone ownership (86%) edges out the Non-Hispanics’ ownership (84%), and 76% ofHispanics use a mobile device to go online,compared to 60% of non-Hispanics.

Hispanics are also more likely than non-Hispanics to use digital coupons. Eight in10 Hispanics search for an online couponbased on a recommendation, compared toseven in ten consumers overall.

Behaviorally, Hispanic smartphone own-ers are twice as likely as non-Hispanics tosay they are interested in receiving ads ontheir phone, 58% are more likely to pur-chase products they see advertised on theirphone, and 13% are more likely to say theyuse their phone while shopping to find lo-cal deals.

Brands should target Hispanic shopperson their mobile devices with dynamic, data-driven ad content – whether it’s based ontheir location, past purchase behavior or,ideally, both. And, if your brand is not wellknown among Hispanics making it unlikely

they will visit your site, communicate withthem on sites they are most likely to visit,like Univision Digital, Terra Networks andYahoo en Español. Make sure to do yourhomework to define your Hispanic shop-per target profile to determine best sites fordigital ads.

5. Engage them on social mediathrough relevant in culture content andsavings in both languages.

A strong social media presence is quiteeffective in motivating Hispanic shoppersto buy a brand. Consider that 70% of His-panics use coupons found on social-mediasites, compared to 54% of the populationat large. Additionally, 61% of Hispanics saythey share coupons via social media, com-pared to 39% of all consumers in general.

Keep in mind that Hispanics cite moreemotional reasons for why they followbrands on social media compared to non-Hispanic shoppers. For instance, when itcomes to interacting with brands, connect-ing on Facebook plays a more significantrole for U.S. Hispanics than the total U.S.population.

Using digital media to reinforce brandimagery and to educate the Hispanic shop-per about the brand and the brand’s lifestyleis an effective way to connect with Hispanicshoppers. However, strategies should rein-

Continued from Page 6 force the more emotive components of thebrand in a culturally relevant manner, inaddition to the more pragmatic deals andspecial coupons.

6. Offer Retailers Turnkey HispanicShopper Marketing Initiatives

Create Hispanic relevant shopper mar-keting programs to support key drive peri-ods in store.

Ensure at least some of the above men-tioned components are in place to generatean even bigger impact at retail and strongerreturn on investment.

(Terry Soto is President and CEO ofAbout Marketing Solutions, Inc., aBurbank-based strategy consulting firmspecializing in helping clients to dramati-cally improve overall business performanceby optimizing their strategies to also suc-ceed in the Hispanic market. She is the au-thor of Marketing to Hispanics and Strate-gic Approach to Planning and Implement-ing Your Initiative and coauthor of GrowWith America Best Practices in Ethnic Mar-keting and Merchandising. She is a con-tributor to Progressive Grocer and Super-market News among others, and is a fre-quent speaker at food industry conferences.She can be reached [email protected] 818-842-9688.)

Successful tactics to attract Hispanic buyers

Cacique, Inc.Dairy Deli Bakery Council Board of

Directors member and Past President LisaJuarez has been promoted at Cacique, Inc.to Southwest Regional Business Develop-ment Manager.

In her new post,she is responsible forSouthern California,San Diego, and Ari-zona. The new ap-pointment became ef-fected June 23.

Previously, shewas a Business De-velopment Manager for Cacique, Inc., theworld’s largest Hispanic cheese manufac-turer. The company is headquartered in LaPuente.

DDBC Website linksAs a bonus to a company’s membership

in the Dairy Deli Bakery Council (DDBC)of Southern California, the Council pro-vides links on its website(www.ddbcsocal.org) to member websites,according to Executive Director SusanSteele.

“We have many members’ websiteslinked at this time, but some are missing. Ifwe do not have a link, just let us know andwe will get it on our site soon. If your com-pany does not have a website, we can linkan email address for the company,” she said.

To see a sample of a linked address, visitw w w . d d b c s o c a l . o r g / M e m b e r s -EmailLinks.html.

“Please don’t hesitate to contact me withany questions,” Steele said. She may bereached at [email protected].

Industry News

Olive Crest TourDDBC Board of Directors, officers, and

members toured the Olive Crest Children’sHome recently.

Olive Crest has been one of the DDBC’slongtime charities. Each year during theholiday season, DDBC members are askedto donate a toy, which then are donated tothe children who are housed there. Often,DDBC items are the only gifts they receive.

DDBC News, September/October 2015 33

Industry News

1/2-page ad heretrax doors4-CNEWdirect to you

Longtime DDBC member StremicksHeritage Foods, the California Angels ofAnaheim and Olive Crest have teamed upthe past five years to show that charity be-gins at home, or more specifically, homeplate.

Whenever the Angels score a run thisseason, Stremicks Heritage Foods donates$50 to local children at Olive Crest whohave suffered from abuse, neglect, andabandonment so that they can finally getwhat every child deserves, a safe, lovinghome.

Haggen closing 27 stores,16 in Calfornia

Haggen, new to the Southern Californiaretail scene, announced Aug. 14 it is clos-ing 27 of its newly opened supermarkets,acquired when it purchased more than 100stores from the Albertsons-Safeway merger.

Stremick’s Heritage Foods was salutedon the Angels website with this thankyou for five years of taking part in theSafe at Home program.

Stremicks Heritage Foods honored by Safe at Home

The Bellingham, Wash. company said thestores would either be closed or sold.

“By making the toughchoice to close andsell stores, we will be able to invest in storesthat have the potential to thrive under theHaggen banner,” said Bill Shaner, head ofHaggen’s Southwest operations from Irvine.

Haggen, which operates 18 stores in Or-egon and Washington, grew to 160 storesovernight.

In an unprecedented push after the take-over, Haggen opened 100 stores in 100 days,but the public perception of the new ban-ner was that of a high-priced addition to thealready crowded supermarket landscape inSouthern California that has failed to dif-ferentiate itself from well-establishedchains.

Lloyd Greif, cheif executive of invest-ment banking firm Greif & Co., was quotedin the Los Angeles Times as saying, “Theyhave no brand identity in Southern Califor-nia. It is basically ‘Haggen who?’ from theconsumer perspective.”

Page 34: September - October 2015 Issue

34 DDBC News, September/October 2015

CalendarContinued from Page 3

1/6-page ad heremarin cheesep.u. from page 26july-august 2015

2016January

9 – DDBC Dinner Dance and Installa-tion of Officers. Information: 562-947-7016.

18 – Martin Luther King Jr. birthday.February

2-3 – California League of Food Proces-sors Expo, Sacramento Convention Center.Information: www.clfp.com.

15 – President’s Day.March

11-13 – Natural Products Expo West,Anahiem Convention Center. Information:www.expowest.com.

27 – Easter.April

9-13 – WesternAssociation ofFood Chains Con-vention, Hono-lulu.

14-17 – Cali-fornia Cheese &Butter 51st Con-vention, TemeculaCreek Inn. Infor-m a t i o n :www.cacheese-andbutter.org.

22-30 – Pass-over.

May5 – Cinco de

Mayo.30 – Memorial

Day.June

5-7 – IDDBADairy Deli Bake,Houston. Infor-m a t i o n :www.iddba.org.

July4 – Independence Day.

September5 – Labor Day.16 – Mexican Independence Day.

October2-4 – Rosh Hashanah.11-12 – Yom Kippur.

November11 – Veterans Day.24 – Thanksgiving.

December24-Jan. 1 – Hanukkah.25 – Christmas Day.

1/4-page ad hereLALAnew4-c

from deirdre

2017January

16 – Martin Luther King Jr. birthday.February

20 – President’s Day.April

11-18 – Passover.16 – Easter.

May5 – Cinco de Mayo6-10 – Western Association of Food

Chains Convention, Palm Desert.29 – Memorial Day.

To strengthen and promote the Dairy-Deli-BakeryCouncil by providing a forum where members can learn, buildrelationships and share ideas.

Mission Statement

Congratulations Damian Valdez on being named Big Cheese, from

your friends at LALA.

Specializing in fine

imported

and domestic

cheeses as well

as a wide variety of

gourmet foods.

MARIN CHEESE COMPANY

63 Paul Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903Phone: (415) 479-1200www.marincheese.com

Page 35: September - October 2015 Issue

34 DDBC News, September/October 2015

CalendarContinued from Page 3

1/6-page ad heremarin cheesep.u. from page 26july-august 2015

2016January

9 – DDBC Dinner Dance and Installa-tion of Officers. Information: 562-947-7016.

18 – Martin Luther King Jr. birthday.February

2-3 – California League of Food Proces-sors Expo, Sacramento Convention Center.Information: www.clfp.com.

15 – President’s Day.March

11-13 – Natural Products Expo West,Anahiem Convention Center. Information:www.expowest.com.

27 – Easter.April

9-13 – WesternAssociation ofFood Chains Con-vention, Hono-lulu.

14-17 – Cali-fornia Cheese &Butter 51st Con-vention, TemeculaCreek Inn. Infor-m a t i o n :www.cacheese-andbutter.org.

22-30 – Pass-over.

May5 – Cinco de

Mayo.30 – Memorial

Day.June

5-7 – IDDBADairy Deli Bake,Houston. Infor-m a t i o n :www.iddba.org.

July4 – Independence Day.

September5 – Labor Day.16 – Mexican Independence Day.

October2-4 – Rosh Hashanah.11-12 – Yom Kippur.

November11 – Veterans Day.24 – Thanksgiving.

December24-Jan. 1 – Hanukkah.25 – Christmas Day.

1/4-page ad hereLALAnew4-c

from deirdre

2017January

16 – Martin Luther King Jr. birthday.February

20 – President’s Day.April

11-18 – Passover.16 – Easter.

May5 – Cinco de Mayo6-10 – Western Association of Food

Chains Convention, Palm Desert.29 – Memorial Day.

To strengthen and promote the Dairy-Deli-BakeryCouncil by providing a forum where members can learn, buildrelationships and share ideas.

Mission Statement

Page 36: September - October 2015 Issue