IBIE, special edition & show preview -- 2013 - (Page 51)

BEMA INITIATIVES Whether it’s supplier-to-supplier or supplier-to-baker, BEMA’s objective is to get everyone at the table to discover… Collaborative Solutions by Joanie Spencer, Baking & Snack T The months leading up to the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) are always spent in preparation, be it preparing booth space, setting up client meetings or mapping out a strategy for getting the most out of the show floor. It’s also a time of reflection as companies revisit business plans and long-term goals to gut-check objectives and if they’ve been met. In the height of this preparation, BEMA has focused on creating avenues to connect its members with bakers. “That’s really at the heart of what we’re trying to do,” said Kerwin Brown, BEMA president. “We want to create venues that give our members opportunities to connect with bakers. In fact, we have a saying that we are ‘connecting with customers and partnering with suppliers.’” Rolling with the changes The 2013 BEMA annual meeting, held in June in Colorado Springs, CO, hosted 20 bakers, an all-time high for the association. But members don’t just benefit from meeting with bakers; they benefit from one another as well, especially when coping with so much change in the industry since the last IBIE. For starters, the Hostess shutdown created a ripple in the industry with far-reaching effects. Suppliers who once served Hostess might not have relationships with bakeries such as Flowers Foods, Thomasville, GA, and Bimbo Bakeries USA, Horsham, PA, who bought most of the Hostess bread-baking assets. “Those suppliers now have to start over,” Mr. Brown noted. “Big companies like that are loyal to their vendors, and trying to break in might take two or three — or five — years.” On the other side of that coin are vendors who already had relationships with Flowers and Bimbo, and for those suppliers, business is booming. “We’ve heard from some of our members that they can hardly keep up with orders because their customers are trying to pick up the slack,” Mr. Brown observed. In fact, when plants pick up business, the equipment suppliers feel it, too. “I’ve talked to bakers who were running plants five days a week, and now they’re running them three shifts, seven days a week,” Mr. Brown continued. “When plants are struggling to keep up, it can often times have “We want to create venues that give our members opportunities to connect with bakers. ” Kerwin Brown, president and CEO, BEMA Kerwin Brown, BEMA president and CEO IBIE 2013 / SPECIAL EDITION / 51

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IBIE, special edition & show preview -- 2013

IBIE, special edition & show preview -- 2013
Table of Contents
IBIE Perspective - Amid challenges, opportunities persist
State of the Industry - Dizzying changes among baking’s leaders
A changing of the guard
Making Baking History - Progress on Parade
Capital Spending Survey - Making the safe bet
Survey reaches wide sample
IBIE Tech - Going Mobile
ABA Perspectives - Big changes since IBIE 2010
ABA: On the Front Lines
Keep on track with FTRAC
Let's Keep on Truckin'
An Ounce of Prevention
BEMA Initiatives - Collaborative Solutions
Critical Issue: FSMA - Predict & Prevent
Court orders FDA to step up its efforts
Food Safety: ANSI/ASB/Z50.2
Equipment Advances - Clean and Simple
Formulating R&D - Brave New World
Intel about ingredient trends
Critical Issue: Commodity Prices - Long and Winding Road
Ingredients: Creating Simple Labels - Simple Options
Critical Issue: Sodium Reduction - How Low Can You Go?
Ingredients: Ancient Grains - What's Old is New Again
New Product Trends: Baked Foods - Change Afoot
New Product Trends: Snacks - Reinventing Snack Time
Special Section: Bake
The Next Cupcake?
Ingredient Transparency
Food trucks on the move
New Tech Tools
IBIE 2013: A World of Possibilities
Ready to Launch
Pizza Popularity
Revel in Vegas
2013 Exhibitor List
Ad Index

IBIE, special edition & show preview -- 2013