Blogs

This weeks Follow My Path features @Karri Zwirlein , Director of Bakery, Deli, & Prepared Foods at Tops Markets! Karri is an active leader in the industry as well as IDDBA. I'm excited to introduce Karri and share her career path with you all. 1. In two sentences, sum up how you got to where you are professionally.  I believe I am where I am today because I’ve had the opportunity to be surrounded by great advisors, mentors, who have helped me focus on my path and overcome the obstacles that come my way. 2. What is your guilty food pleasure? I would have to say…Ice Cream. 3. How long have you been at your current role? I have been the Director ...

Depending on where you are it might seem this is a wee bit late for Back to School (BTS).  My southern friends and family have already started back. School supplies bought, schedules adjusted, rush hour traffic relived, and it seems as though there are more things to do than there is time in the day. Here in the Midwest we are gearing up for that “storm” to hit next week and this mom is not ready so I will spend my long weekend trying to get ready. Maybe it is a sigh of relief to say all that…now onto the real message. BTS season brings about cooler weather (hang on some of you it will happen), football, and oh my goodness a focus on holiday selling seasons ...

If there is one constant, it is change. This year, IDDBA took a big step, and moved into a new building in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin. Anyone who has been to our old home office shouldn't have much trouble finding the new one, just a few minutes away. Unlike the previous building, we own this one, and we're excited to have a space that really suits our organization. Another big change will be coming soon too, but you knew this was on the way. The last time I wrote to you all, I was halfway through the journey as Chairman of the Board for IDDBA. I was following in some illustrious footsteps - @Erik Waterkotte , Vice President of Sales for The Fresh Food Group, ...

“Welcome to the Community!” “The IDDBA Community is excited to have you with us!” “Join the Community if you’re not yet a member!” We’ve been saying it a lot, and it’s one of our influencers: Community. But what does it mean? The dictionary says a community is “a group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived, or perceiving itself, as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.” We are certainly a group and we do offer a distinct experience for our members, and even those who only attend the IDDBA trade show without the benefits of membership. Our Community ...

This week we will Follow the Path of Dominique Delugeau from Saputo Cheese USA Inc. Dominique dives into his journey within the world of cheese, and gives us a glimpse into his career path.  1. In two sentences, sum up how you got to where you are professionally. Hard work and being motivated by a constant quest for knowledge. 2. What is your guilty food pleasure? A rich ice cream with all the trimmings! 3. How long have you been at your current role?  Technically 16 years, but my job description changed slightly last year to include an international trade dimension to it. I am now also the liaison with all the International divisions of Saputo for ...

This week’s featured industry leader for our “Follow My Path” blog series is Elizabeth Yerecic of Yerecic Label. As the Key Account Manager for her family business, follow her journey as she gives you a glimpse into her experiences working at her family’s 50-year-old company. In two sentences, sum up how you got to where you are professionally. As a part of the third generation in a family business of label printers, I was always given the opportunity to pursue my passion or to join the company. Luckily for me, that decision was not mutually exclusive and led me to becoming a Key Account Manager at Yerecic Label for the Midwest/Northeast region. What is ...

Optimism. If I could only use a single word to describe #IDDBA19, it would be optimism. That optimism may have been personified by the inspiring storytelling of Michael J. Fox , who told us " Every circumstance provides choices and opportunity." After he finished addressing our general session, the crowd didn't just come to their feet for a standing ovation once , but they did so twice . People called the speech inspiring ; Tonya Blomberg of Give and Go Prepared Foods went even further: "Inspiring is an understatement!" Bringing our members inspiration is a huge part of what we do at IDDBA and at our annual show. Why? Because by inspiring each ...

Meet Mark Boyer, president of Tippin’s Gourmet Pies. He’s the subject for the second installation of our Follow My Path blog series. The first question that I asked Mark was to sum up how he got to where he is professionally, his answer: “Listening and learning from some really smart people, and not listening to people who say something cannot be done and then proving them wrong.” It’s this type of spirit that helps our industry grow stronger and move forward. Follow his path and meet the president of the pie company that makes pies so good people ask for them by name.  What is your guilty food pleasure? Cinnamon rolls; we make a croissant dough at Tippin's ...

Whether someone started bagging groceries or manned the cash register, that’s where many careers began before transforming into something greater. I’m excited to launch our new blog series, “Follow My Path”, where you will read about how industry professionals and experts made their way to the top. I’m honored to have a chance to sit down with these individuals to learn about what experiences throughout their life shaped them, as well as the building blocks that allowed them to accomplish what they have. To kick off the blog series, meet John Gardner, Vice President of Sales for DecoPac, Inc: University of MN Graduate – Class of 1990 – Journalism major ...

How time flies! It has been almost six months since I was named the Chairman of the Board for IDDBA and incredibly, this means I am halfway through the journey. In this position before me was Erik Waterkotte, the talented Vice President of Sales at Country Fresh, Inc. and before him, the wonderful Jewel Hunt, Group VP of Ecommerce for Albertsons Co. It is humbling to be in such amazing company and a privilege to play a part in the success of IDDBA with a mission to help all our member companies grow. If you’re reading this, you are probably on our community site: “IDDBA Community”. This year we will be growing this resource, so, look forward to more posts ...

Community. IDDBA and its member-companies don't just form an association - we are also a community. Community can mean a lot of things. It can mean the place you live, and the strength of the relationships among those around you. It can mean a coming together of the like-minded, people who share common interests and work together to pull for each other's successes. It can mean the network of strong bonds between people that make all of us larger than the sum of our parts. Community. A few years back, I put it this way: our IDDBA community is built on shared successes and the creation of long-term value for all of our members; this, in turn, makes us more ...