National Ice Cream Retailers Association

Transcription

1 OCTOBER $25.00 National Ice Cream Retailers Association nicra active member spotlight My NICRA membership is free! How about yours? In the course of my varied careers I have belonged to quite a few trade organizations, but NICRA has been the most valuable of them all. By taking advantage of only ONE of the benefits that NICRA offers to its members (insurance through Trahin Miller), we have received discounts that have paid for our membership dues and most of the cost of the annual convention as well. That s huge! And there are now more discounts available for members than ever. The NICRA convention is the most enjoyable and productive one that we have ever attended. When we take into account the seminars, the trade show, and the networking - which we consider the most valuable of all - it becomes a screaming bargain. Every year we have come away from the live auction and silent auction with deals that would make a coupon clipper blush. The generosity of the suppliers and members who donate items to the auction allows us to get a bargain price on items that we need and support the scholarship fund to help the great kids who work for the members. I don t understand how someone can say that to belong to NICRA is too expensive, it isn t just another trade organization but a complete support group. Pam and I might not be in business today if we hadn t joined before we opened our custard shop. Yes, we could have bought a franchise: $20,000 to $35,000 just for the franchise, 6% of our gross, 2% or 3% for advertising, and no flexibility at all in our menu or operations. But, the knowledge that a franchise provides we have received from NICRA and NICRA members. When Pam and I attended our first convention in Savannah, we had decided not to register for the full package. But, when I talked with Lynda Utterback she told us that one of the most important aspects of the convention was the networking that goes on at the table during the meals. I was IN THIS ISSUE My NICRA Membership is Free! How About Yours? by John Pitchford, JP s Custard Cart...1 Butter Prices...2 Exhibitors Signing Up For Nashville...2 Chaney s Invites You To Come...2 New Active & Supplier Members...4 Sunflowers for Wishes Sets Record Seminar Schedule...6 USA Today Names 51 Great Ice Cream Parlors...10 The Health Care Bill - Menu Board Surprise...12 by Tom Zak, Concord Foods Strategic Marketing Alliance - Develop Yours...14 by Ed Rigsbee New Update to Ideas Folder...15 Master-Bilt News...15 Officers, Board Members & Supplier Officers...16 a little skeptical, but it is an understatement for me to say that she was absolutely right. The contacts we have made and the ideas we have shared are as big a piece of the convention as any of the other benefits. Plus we have made many good friends at those tables. When you run the numbers NICRA is a bargain. For any question you might have, there is someone who will be glad to help you. For anything you need, there is a supplier or another member who can point you in the right direction. For any bump in your road there is someone who has survived the same thing and will be willing to share their experience. That kind of support is priceless. The ice cream business is fun, a valuable thing in today s world, and NICRA and the convention help make it more profitable. Thanks, NICRA John Pitchford, JP s Custard Cart Make Your Plans NOW to attend NICRA s 77th Annual Meeting November 10-13, 2010 Millennium Maxwell House Hotel Nashville, Tennessee

2 CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST BUTTER PRICES August 27, Grade AA Butter finished at $ The weekly average was $ (2009 price was $1.685) September 3, Grade AA Butter finished at $ The weekly average was $ (2009 price was $1.1700) September 10, Grade AA Butter finished at $ The weekly average was $ (2009 price was $1.1725) September 17, Grade AA Butter finished at $ The weekly average was $ (2009 price was $1.2365) September 24, Grade AA Butter finished at $ The weekly average was $ (2009 price was $1.2640) Support prices for butter start at $1.05. Butter prices are reported from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange every Friday. The Merc is considered a spot market for butter. Merc prices are important to dairy farmers because the value of the fat and fat differentials in raw milk are established from the prices quoted from the Exchange, and Merc prices are used in the BFP update. EXHIBITORS SIGNING UP FOR NASHVILLE Several companies have already signed up for exhibit space. Make your plans now to visit these booths when you are in Nashville, Tennessee, November 10-13, 2010 for NICRA s 77 th Annual Meeting and Trade Show. Advanced Gourmet Equipment & Design Ashby s Sterling Ice Cream Bakery Crafts Berzaci CRS, Inc. Carpigiani Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Classic Mix Partners ConAgra Foods Concord Foods, Oringer div. Dingman s Dairy Dippin Flavors Electro Freeze Emery Thompson Machinery Frosty Products Great Lakes Ice Cream & Fast Food Assn. Green Mountain Flavors, Inc. Hammons Products Co. The Ice Cream Club Jelly Belly Candy Company Joy Cone Company Lloyd s of Pennsylvania, Inc. Lochhead Mfg. Company Metalfrio Solutions The National Dipper Magazine Nielsen-Massey Vanillas Pacific Valley Dairy PreGel America Schlotterbeck & Foss Sensory Effects/Kalva Snyder s of Hanover Stoelting, LLC T. R. Toppers Taylor Company Trahin Miller Insurance Services Upstate Niagara Inc. If you are a supplier member and you haven t signed up for a booth, the Exhibit Booth Application is included with the Bulletin. Don t miss out on this important opportunity to reach new and existing customers, one-on-one. CHANEY S INVITES YOU TO COME Chaney s Dairy Barn located an hour north of Nashville, Tennessee, would like to extend an invitation to NICRA Convention members to stop by to visit the animals that make all of our occupations possible while attending the NICRA convention, November Free farm visits will be available by reservation only. Got to for directions and more information. 2

3 Nashville, Tennessee Music City USA! You are cordially invited to attend the 77th Annual NICRA Convention November 10-13, 2010 Millennium Maxwell House Hotel Nashville, Tennessee NICRA s headquarters hotel in Nashville, Tennessee is the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel. Call the hotel directly to make your reservations: Room rate is $109 per night and the hotel offers free transportation to and from the airport! Convention Program Highlights Wednesday Afternoon 4-Hour Session - How To Open An Ice Cream Store Inventory Control, A Vital Part of Your Business Catastrophes, Managing the Unexpected Making Profitable Choices: Ice Cream, Food, Cakes, etc. Train, Train, Train POS - Credit, Debit & Gift Cards Facebook & Twitter Financial Management The How To of In-Store Promotions What s Hot, What s Not Supplier Discussion Portion Control & Product Pricing Expansion - Opening Multiple Locations Preparing a Business Plan Cake Decorating Required Record Keeping Round Table Discussions And Much, Much More Special One Day Trade Show Registration on Thursday, November 11th to visit the Exhibits only Plus: Some Top Notch Speakers including: Karen McCullough, Generations in the Workplace - Managing the Mix Karen teaches you the essential skills needed to manage and motivate your team and yourself. Her approach is practical, her message is relevant and her style is total fun. Her programs provide you with the tools necessary to improve and succeed in these challenging times. She innovates through her keen perception and her knowledge of human behaviors, trends and a little pop-culture. She has been able to identify the key differences between generations and motivators that drive them. There will be Social Events and Award Presentations Past Presidents Reception NICRA s Ice Cream Clinic Exercise Best Flavor & Best New Flavor Contests Golf Tournament Suppliers Exhibits & Party Forrest Mock Person of the Year Award Bryce Thomson Scholarship Awards Promotion of the Year Award Sunset Grill Restaurant Dinner Tour of Music Hall of Fame & Ryman Check our Web Site for a complete schedule of seminars and events: Come to Nashville, Tennessee In November - You ll Be Glad You Did Call Today For Full Details and Registration Information Phone: 847/ Fax: 847/ Toll Free info@nicra.org Web: National Ice Cream Retailers Association 1028 W. Devon Avenue Elk Grove Village, IL

4 NEW ACTIVE MEMBERS Celtic Girls Creamery, LLC 21 Clear Run Dr. Shrewsburg, PA / Mary Deborah Wilson 1 FD, YD, GG, O Flapdoodle s 4209 Valley Dr., NW Rochester, MN / Fax: 507/ Matt Tierney 1 DD Ana Garcia 191 Prince George St., Apt. C Annapolis, MD / Fax: 956/ FD, YD, SS Ice Cold Concessions 3490 Camino Michelle Carlsbad, CA / Fax: 760/ Daniel Lemire 1 II King Cone 2546 Post Rd. Plover, WI / Fax: 715/ Ben Klosinski 1 FD, SS Lee Leonard Associates LLC Crystal Lake St. Leesburg, VA / Fax: 973/ Bill Tilley 1 DD Sandy s Soft Serve 7831 Bridgepoint Dr. Cincinnati, OH / Sandra Arszman Larry Arszman 1 SS, O CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST Savannah s Candy Kitchen 242 E. Lathrope Savannah, GA / Fax: 912/ Stan Strickland Sporthaven Marina Lower Harbor Rd. Brookings, OR / Fax: 541/ Mike Ramsay Kathy Ramsay 1 FD Sundaes at the Cottage 6620 Blythefield Ave., NE Rockford, MI / Fax: 616/ Mary Ballenger Kristen Ballenger 1 FD, YD, SS, II, O Vanilla Gurl 98 Randall Rd. North Berwick, ME / Fax: 207/ Kathie O Reilly NEW SUPPLIER MEMBER Empire Foods 19 W. Hargett St., Suite 606 Raleigh, NC J. Michael Drozd 919/ Fax: Fruit Toppings SUNFLOWERS FOR WISHES SETS RECORD NICRA members, Kim and Duane Button, owners of Buttonwood Farms in Griswold, Connecticut, have just finished their 7th annual, nine-day, Sunflowers for Wishes event and achieved record breaking donations for the Make-A-Wish foundation! grows and harvests over 13 acres of sunflowers! The cuttings are then made into individual bouquets and sold to the visitors who come from many miles away. They come to see nature s floral extravaganza beautifully shown in a farm setting which blooms behind picturesque waist high fences made from thousands of pieces of hand placed field stone. The visitors come to have a family outing, they come to photograph, they come to enjoy the country, they come to eat delicious ice cream, but mainly they come to give their support to the worthy Make-A-Wish foundation. They can and do purchase bouquets of sunflowers, or a shirt, or note cards, or go on a hay ride knowing that all of their donations go to the Make-A- Wish foundation. Kim and Duane provide and pay for all of the help needed to make this event possible, as well as the costs involved in raising the flowers, buying the shirts, etc. No costs are deducted from the donations. This year, everything came together at the right time! Make-A-Wish saw to it that there was adequate television and newspaper publicity with three television stations along with four newspapers participating. Mother Nature cooperated by bringing the blooms along to burst into their spectacular golden glory at the right time and provide warm sunny days and clear nights for most of the time! The highest day s bouquet purchases was 1,800 (that s over 9,000 blooms that had to be cut, prepared and tied in that one day)! Over 1,500 people took hay rides in one day! The Sunflowers for Wishes effort, originated by the Button s in 2004, raised over $100,000 this year, which brings the total donations over the seven years the Button s have been doing this for and with the Make-A- Wish foundation to over $405,000! Kim and Duane, once again, we at NICRA extend our heartfelt thanks to you for all of your very hard work, generosity and compassion that you The Button s effort called, Sunflowers for Wishes, plants, nurtures, put into this worthy cause. 4

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6 CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST 2010 SEMINAR SCHEDULE Monday, November 8, :00 AM 3:00 PM Executive Committee Meeting Noon Executive Committee Lunch 4:00 PM 10:00 PM Membership Committee Meeting 5:30 PM Membership Committee Dinner Tuesday, November 9, :00 AM 5:00 PM Board of Directors Meeting Noon 1:00 PM Board of Directors Lunch Wednesday, November 10, 2010 Noon 5:00 PM Open Registration Noon - 5:00 PM Suppliers Setup Exhibits 1:30 PM 5:30 PM Convention Kick Off Program Moderator: David Zimmermann, Royal Scoop Moderator: Jeff Myers, Double Dip 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM Benefits of Having a Business Plan Rich Johnson, Rich s Ice Cream Catering 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM Consulting the Health Department Hugh Atkins, REHS Director, Division of General Environmental Health Nashville, Tennessee 2:30 PM - 2:45 PM Break 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM NICRA Member Benefits Cliff Freund, Cliff s Dairy Maid (Ice Cream Clinic) Vince Girodano, Sno Top (Scholarship Program) Roger Trahin, Trahin Miller Insurance (Insurance Program) 3:30 PM 4:15 PM The First Year Challenges Jim Hall, Advanced Gourmet Equipment & Design Jim Marmion, Advanced Gourmet Equipment 4:15 PM - 4:30 PM Break 4:30 PM 5:00 PM A Grand, Grand Opening Rosie Mayer, Rosie s Ice Cream 5:00 PM - 5:30 PM Ask the Panel Questions & Answers with Industry Experts 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM NICRA Past Presidents Reception & Cash Bar 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM Welcome Dinner (Ticket Required) 8:30 PM - 10:00 PM Your Best New Flavor Contest Exhibits Open - Cash Bar Thursday, November 11, :00 AM 10 Minute Officer & Board of Directors Meeting 7:15 AM - 7:45 AM First Timers Meeting Lisa Sorrentino, Anderson s Frozen Custard Jim & Lorna Ross, Flat Pennies Ice Cream Jay Rentschler, Upstate Farms 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM Registration Open 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM Opening Breakfast (Ticket Required) Welcome & Opening Remarks Special Guest Minnie Pearl, Grand Ole Opry 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Keynote Speaker: Karen McCullough Generations in the Workplace-Managing the Mix Moderator: Lynn Dudek, Ruth Ann s Ice Cream 10:30 AM - 5:00 PM Exhibits Open 10:35 AM - 11:55 AM Coffee Break Visit Supplier Exhibit Room Win NICRA Bucks 6

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8 CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST Noon - 12:45 PM Luncheon (Ticket Required) Round Table Discussion Topics: Ice Cream Cakes; Wholesaling; New Start Up Concerns; Marketing/Promotion; Hiring ; Employee Issues; Credit/Gift Cards; Catering/Off Site; Pick Your Topic; Time Management; Short Cuts; First Year Experience; Business Insurance 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM Best Holiday Flavor Contest 1:50 PM - 3:00 PM Promotion of the Year Award Presentations Lynda Utterback, The National Dipper 3:05 PM - 3:20 PM Coffee Break 3:20 PM 4:20 PM Concurrent Sessions Catastrophes, Managing the Unexpected Kelly Larson, Sweet Temptations Moderator: Rick Dietsch, Dietch Brothers Train, Train, Train Lisa Sorrentino, Anderson s Frozen Custard Moderator: Holly Anderson, Anderson s Making Profitable Choices: Ice Cream, Food, Novelties, Cakes Pete Freund, Cliff s Dairy Maid Jim Marmion, Advanced Gourmet Equipment Terry Michels, Queen City Creamery & Deli Moderator: Hank Sweeney, Classic Mix Partners 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Concurrent Sessions What s Hot, What s Not Mark Leichtman, Berzaci Mfg. Steve Christensen, Stoelting Darian Rottmann, Lochhead Vanilla Tom Zak, Concord Foods, Oringer div. Moderator: Jay Rentschler, Upstate Farms Inventory Control, A Vital Part of your Business Joe Venuti, Bedford Farms Ice Cream Moderator: John Pitchford, JP s Custard Cart P.O.S. Systems- Tracking Sales Diane Schad & Russ Lufkin, CRS Moderator: Charles Page, Page Dairy Mart 6:00 PM Evening Reception & Dinner Sunset Grill (Ticket Required) Friday, November 12, :00 AM 4:00 PM Convention Registration 8:00 AM 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast 8:30 AM 10 minute Officer & Board of Directors Meeting 8:45 AM - 10:15 AM Concurrent Sessions Facebook and Twitter Katie Dix, Capannari s Ice Cream Rick Pizzi, Pizzi Farm Ice Cream Moderator: Craig Nielsen, Nielsen Massey Vanilla Understanding Financial Statements David Deadman, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Moderator: Sarah Moore Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Expansion Opening Multiple Locations Dan Messer, Eskamoe s Frozen Custard Vince Giordano, Sno Top Mark England, Dolcetti Gelato Moderator: Kelle Messer, Eskamoe s 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM Coffee Break 10:45 AM - 11:55 AM Concurrent Sessions Portion Control & Product Pricing Jim Mitchell, Woodside Farm Creamery David Zimmermann, Royal Scoop Ice Cream Moderator: Valerie Hoffman, Yummies Develop A Tried & True Hiring Process Lorna Ross, Flat Pennies Ice Cream Moderator: Jim Ross, Flat Pennies Ice Cream The How To of In-Store Promotions Henry Gentry, Henry s Homemade Ice Cream Linda Mercurio, Mercurio s Mulberry Creamery 11:00 AM Noon Supplier Meeting Noon - 12:45 PM Luncheon (Ticket Required) Round Table Discussion Topics: Ice Cream Cakes; Wholesaling; New Start Up Concerns; Marketing/Promotion; Hiring ; Employee Issues; Credit/Gift Cards; Catering/Off Site; Pick Your Topic; Time Management; Short Cuts; First Year Experience; Business Insurance 8

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10 12:45 PM - 1:10 PM Ice Cream Clinic Review Dr. Johnny McGregor, Clemson University Moderator: Mark Leichtman, Berzaci 1:00 PM 9:00 PM Exhibit Hours 1:20 PM - 2:00 PM Ice Cream Clinic Dr. Johnny McGregor, Clemson University 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM Concurrent Sessions Preparing a Business Plan Rich Johnson, Rich s Ice Cream Catering Moderator: Neil McWilliams, Spring Dipper Cake Decorating Basics Elizabeth Riggs, Bakery Crafts Moderator: Robin Turner, Dairy Corner Successful Wholesaling Nancy Plummer, Moomers Homemade Ice Cream Moderator: Roberta Rudolph, Custard Cone CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM Marketing with Constant Contact Ron Cates, Constant Contact Moderator: Pete Freund, Cliff s Dairy Maid 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM Coffee Break 10:15 AM - 12 Noon Questions Anyone? Convention Wrap Up Vince Giordano, Sno Top Bill Kircher, Dingman s Dairy Moderator: Rosie Mayer, Rosie s Ice Cream 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM Tour (Ticket Required) 6:30 PM Cocktail Party 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Awards Banquet (Ticket Required) 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM Coffee Break 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Concurrent Sessions Creating Fountain Items Nanette Frey, Frey s Tasty Treat Mary Leopold, Leopold s Ice Cream Moderator: Juergen Kloo, Joy Cone Co. Required Record Keeping Steve Christensen, Stoelting Moderator: George Lochhead, Lochhead Vanilla Advanced Cake Decorating Elizabeth Riggs, Bakery Crafts Moderator: Kelle Messer, Eskamoe s 5:15 PM - 9:00 PM NICRA Party Sponsored by the Suppliers Bryce Thomson Scholarship Silent & Live Auctions Saturday, November 13, :00 AM 10 Minute Officer & Board of Directors Meeting 8:00 AM 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast 8:00 AM Leave for Optional Golf Tournament (Ticket Required) PLEASE NOTE: Seminar topics and/or dates and times are subject to change due to the availability of speakers. USA TODAY NAMES 51 GREAT ICE CREAM PARLORS - INCLUDES nine nicra members On Friday, August 27, 2010 the Life Section of USA Today featured a story called Great American Bites. The newspaper identified one great ice cream shop in each state and the District of Columbia, picked by experts for a cool end-ofsummer treat. Nine out of the 51 companies were NICRA members. Here is the list of NICRA members who were picked by the experts: U Conn Dairy Bar - Connecticut Leopold s Ice Cream Georgia Chaney s Dairy Barn Kentucky Kimball Farm Massachusetts Moomers Homemade Michigan Cliff s Dairy Maid New Jersey Berkey Creamery Pennsylvania Berry Island Café South Carolina Kelley Country Creamery Wisconsin Congratulations to all who were picked. 10

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12 CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST SUPPLIER MEMBER SPOTLIGHT The Health Care Bill - Menu Board Surprise by Tom Zak, Concord Foods The recent 2010 Health Care Bill has many aspects that our organization s members really need to be watching closely. Along with trying to understand the bill are potential new expenses that may fall upon the entrepreneurial business owners in our industry. Health care is one piece of the puzzle, another that I would like to talk about is the nutritional guidelines that will be placed on all chain restaurants, QSR, fast food and yes, even ice cream shops. The passing of the health care law includes a law that states all caloric counts and nutritional information need to be posted on the menu boards including drive thru. The font size and style of product prices and nutritional information will have to be equal in size. Do not freak out yet, this is for restaurant chains of 20 or more units using a similar name following similar recipes. So you re saying, hey, we are good, we only have one or two shops, no problem. What affects does this have on me the one little premium ice cream store in my town? First review a few of the key areas of discussion. What are the requirements for posting calories and offering additional nutrition information? The law has three major requirements: 1. Calories need to be printed on menus and menu boards including dessert, beverage, takeout, and website menus and should be clear, conspicuous and adjacent to the name of the menu item. The FDA guidance states, Both the number of calories and the term Calories or Cal should be in a type size at least as large as the name or the price of the menu item, whichever is larger, with the same prominence, i.e., the same color and contrasting background as the menu item. The guidance also states that restaurants may list the calories of each item in a single column titled Calories or Cal adjacent to the listing of the item. For salad bars, buffets, self-serve foods and beverages, and display-type foods, the calories per food or per serving must be displayed as stated above on a sign adjacent to each item offered. The FDA states, It should be clear to the customer that the caloric disclosure is associated with the food item. Calories should be rounded to the nearest 10-calorie increment for items with more than 50 calories and rounded to the nearest 5-calorie increment for items with 50 calories or fewer. Items with fewer than 5 calories can be expressed as zero. In the coming months, the FDA will be providing additional guidance on how restaurants should handle variable menu items, such as when customers are offered one or more listed options, like a pizza prepared to order with list of toppings or ice cream when more than one flavor is listed. 2. Additional nutrition information must be available upon request. Required information includes: Total number of calories Total number of calories derived from the total fat Total fat Saturated fat Cholesterol Sodium Total carbohydrates Sugars Dietary fiber Total protein It is possible that the FDA will also require transfat to be available, although this has not been officially added to the list of required nutrients at this point. The additional information can be provided via a counter card, sign, poster, handout, loose-leaf binder, booklet, electronic device such as a computer or kiosk, or in the menu. A statement of availability of the nutrition information must appear on the menu, menu boards and other materials used for ordering. The statement, Additional nutrition information is available upon request must be printed in the same type size and prominence as the calorie information. The statement can be listed on every page of the menu or the first appearance of the term calories on succeeding pages after the first page with a symbol linking it to the required statement appearing on the first page of the menu, the FDA said. 3. Restaurants must post a statement with the recommended daily caloric intake. In the coming months, the FDA will provide guidance on exactly what statement is required and how and where it must be displayed. Let s look at what will be happening as all the national chains will have this information listed on their menu boards. This will affect our industry greatly for a few reasons: It will be bringing the fat content of our products to the forefront of national media. 12

13 CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST As other national chains offer this information you will be getting requests for your calorie and nutritional information. Premium products produced typically mean more fat content (premium ice cream and desserts is our NICRA group). You will have to compile nutritional information and have this information available. Your company may need to add a reduced size offering to your menus. Your company may need to offer a healthy alternative type item. What will start to happen is Joe Customer comes to your store and eventually will ask you for your nutritional information. That will be on all flavors of ice cream sundaes, shakes, toppings, etc. You will have to figure out this information or pay someone to compile ACCURATE information. Your suppliers will see more demands for all nutritional information from distributors and customers. The manufacturers will have to compile all this information, make it readily available, which in turn costs time and money. So the result may end up with administrative cost increases that more than likely make it into product costs and of course trickle down the line to you and to your customers. We know that the customers are coming to treat themselves, they know it as well, and these items are not meant to be healthy alternatives but TREATS! Treats usually mean fat and calories etc they all go together. What can you do? If you have not yet, start paying attention to the healthcare bill, call your local elected officials and be sure to explain the implications are not just covering health care costs, these other implemented items need to be looked at and adjusted. Since 1918 Leading dairy, ice cream and frozen dessert manufacturers have depended on Oringer for the finest quality ingredients. Bases Fruits Variegates Flavor Systems Syrups and Toppings It reaches far beyond just having a list with nutritional items, it could result in menu changes you may be forced to make. Here are a few to consider adding healthy choices, offering smaller sizes, adding a dietary type item, or yogurt. What does this mean? Your customers may start taking the smaller version which results in lower check averages, which could result in lower yearly sales. New menu board changes, handouts with nutritional information, someone to figure out a calorie count or ingredient declaration for your products, all additional expenses that small business owners really do not need at this time. Many are struggling with the economy as it is now, adding these rules and regulations add another pressure that our industry does not need at this time. If you are a premium ice cream shop which many of our organization are, think about what a national chain s 4% soft A division of Concord Foods, Inc. serve is going to look like against your 8 or 10% mix. How 10 Minuteman Way, Brockton, MA about a 12 or 16% premium mix? These challenges could Fax hit our industry hard IF all stores have to compile and post these nutritional statements, as it appears these changes are 13

14 CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST eminent, if not immediately sometime in the near future. Even if you do not have to post this information you will need to have it readily available as customers start seeing it at the fast food chain and QSR s, they surly will be asking for that at your store as well. The best plan is to be prepared, get yourself dialed into the nutritional facts you are going to need for your menus, website posting and handouts. Something that is basic and accurate is better than nothing at all. You can review more of the details of this FDA ruling at this website link: RegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabeling- Nutrition/ucm htm Strategic Marketing Alliance; Develop Yours as Easy as ABC... by Ed Rigsbee, CSP Alliance development and implementation can be as simple as A, B, C-well, actually A to G. I m sure you can handle the extra letters. Follow this easy guide when building your marketing alliances or any strategic alliances for that matter, and your chances of success will increase ten fold. A. Assess yourself and or your organization through the traditional SWOT model; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to determine your reasons for alliance development. You first have to be quite clear as to what core competencies you have to offer a potential partner. Similarly, you have to know what you need from a partner to seek the correct partner having the correct competencies. Without this clarity, your chance of success is miniscule. through the traditional strategic alliance to a joint venture. While structure can evolve over time, you are far better off to determine the correct structure for your alliance in the beginning. E. Execute the agreement. This is where, as the saying goes, the rubber hits the pavement. This is where you put up your precious resources. This is where you craft the written agreement and sign on the dotted line. Yes, you must have a written agreement outlining who is responsible for what. Who owns what and how conflict is to be handled. This is where you make a commitment to your partner. F. Fuel the implementation fire. Getting your alliance from paper to activity requires plenty of fuel from both partners in the form of hard resources, time, and mindshare. Fuel is the currency of alliance structure, implementation and long term success. You must be willing to use some of yours when engaging in alliance relationships of any type. To be very specific, fuel means: Time Effort Mindshare Competency Cash Supplies Equipment Human resources G. Great results require measurement and management. Plenty of alliance management tools have been developed over the last decade and they are available to you today. Some of the very important alliance measurement and management tools include: B. Be sure about your partner. This is where so many alliance development novices go wrong. After the assessment of your potential partner s competencies, now comes the necessary step in also determining their propensity to partnering. Just because another has a core competency that you need, there is no guarantee that they will willingly share it. Be smart, be sure! C. Conduct a pre-alliance agreement workshop among both companies, including the people that will be acting as the alliance functionaries. Here is where most of the problems need to be hashed out before the agreement goes to the lawyers. The workshop process is designed to reveal gremlins, particularly in the areas of culture, relationship, cooperation, and logistics. This activity will minimize lawyer costs, conflict resolution costs and false-start costs. D. Determine your alliance structure. This is where you determine how formal your alliance relationship will become. There is a range from a casual handshake relationship Alliance managers Joint planning Intranet Joint evaluation tools Individual evaluation methods Alliance success metrics Corporate alliance department Employee alliance deployment, generally full-time To access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge, please visit htm. Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the President of Rigsbee Research located in the Los Angeles, California metro area. He has also authored two additional books on alliance relationships: Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering. His articles are frequently published in business magazines worldwide. He travels internationally sharing his insight on alliance relationships through his consulting and keynote presentations. Rigsbee may be contacted through com, ed@rigsbee.com or (800) Copyright 2008, Ed Rigsbee 14

15 CALL YOUR NICRA SUPPLIER MEMBERS FIRST tnew UPDATE TO THE IDEAS FOLDER A new update has been posted to the Members Only Section of the NICRA web site. The winners of the last five Promotion of the Year Awards, sponsored by The National Dipper, magazine have agreed to share their ideas with members. Promotions are included from Custard s Last Stand, Buttonwood Farm Ice Cream, Henry s Homemade Ice Cream, Mercurio s Mulberry Creamery and Queen City Creamery. Go to Click on the Members Log In button on the lower left hand side of the web site. Enter your username and password. Click on the link to view NICRA publications. Then click on the link for NICRA IDEA$ Kit and Binder. You will find the newly added pages in Section 2, Marketing, Pages 13 through 19. In the future, every promotion that is entered in the Promotion of the Year Award contest will be posted in the Marketing and Promotions section of the web site. This year seven promotions were submitted for consideration of the award. The winner will be announced at the Awards Banquet at the 77th Annual Meeting at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee on November 13, We hope you can join us. MASTER-BILT ADDS PERSONNEL AND PROMOTES FROM WITHIN Master-Bilt has welcomed Eddie Carr as vice president of operations and appointed Dave Entrekin to the new position of national technical sales manager, effective immediately. In his new position Carr will focus on the continual improvement of cost, quality and throughput to support the growth of the company s cabinet, walk-in and refrigeration products. Carr s background included an MS in Industrial Systems Engineering from Memphis State University along with a BS in Industrial Engineering from Mississippi State University. With over 20 years of managerial experience under his belt, Master-Bilt is honored to have Carr join the team. Previously northeast regional manager, Entrekin will work with customers, consultants, reps and regional managers on training and installation of Master-Bilt equipment, with an emphasis on specification-type products such as refrigeration, racks and master controller/reverse cycle defrost. He will also lead the company s involvement in LEED certification and green products. Entrekin boasts 32 years of experience in commercial refrigeration, having served as service technician, service and installation manager and in field sales. He has served Master- Bilt in his previous and new capacities for nine years. Subscribe to The National Dipper The only magazine that keeps you up-to-date in the retail frozen dessert industry. Regular columns include: New Products Industry News Calendar of Events Classified Special features include: Equipment Reviews Management Articles Association Events Employee Training Promotions Annual Source Book Also Available: Dipping Tips Training Posters Manuals for Costing Products Employee Training Posters Point of Sale Posters Magazine Binders Call or write for a subscription today! 1028 West Devon Avenue Elk Grove Village, IL Phone: (847) Fax: (847) lynda@nationaldipper.com Subscribe on-line at:

16 2010 NICRA OFFICERS President Bob Turner, Dairy Corner, Urbana, Ohio President Elect Lynn Dudek, Ruth Ann s, No. Muskegon, Michigan Vice President Dan Messer, Eskamoe s Frozen Custard, Monroe, La. Secretary/Treasurer David Zimmermann, Royal Ice Cream, Bonita Springs, Fla. Secretary/Treasurer Elect Nanette Frey, Frey s Tasty Treat, Inc. Immediate Past President Vince Giordano, Sno Top, Manlius, New York Executive Director Lynda Utterback, Elk Grove Village, Illinois 2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2010 Mary Leopold, Leopold s Ice Cream Savannah, Georgia Neil McWilliams, Spring Dipper Mammoth Spring, Arkansas Jeff Myers, The Double Dip Lebanon, Ohio Charles Page, Page Dairy Mart Pittsburgh, Penn. Jim Marmion, Advanced Gourmet Equipment & Design Greensboro N.C. Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2011 Terry Michels, Queen City Creamery & Deli, LLC Cumberland, Maryland Rod Oringer, Concord Foods Brockton, Massachusetts Rick Pizzi, Pizzi Farm Ice Cream Waltham, Massachusetts Jim Ross, Flat Pennies Ice Cream Bay City, Wisconsin Roberta Rudolph, Custard Cone Roscoe, Illinois Terms Ending Annual Meeting 2012 Carl Chaney, Chaney s Dairy Barn Bowling Green, Kentucky Cliff Freund, Cliff s Dairy Maid Ledgewood, New Jersey Juergen Kloo, Joy Cone Co. Hermitage, Pennsylvania John Pitchford, JP s Custard Cart, Albuquerque, New Mexico Joe Venuti, Bedford Farms Ice Cream Bedford, Massachusetts Secretary/Treasurer Mary Kircher, Dingman s Dairy, Paterson, New Jersey Chairman Rich Draper, Ice Cream Club, Inc., Boynton Beach, Fla. MISSION STATEMENT FOR NICRA The mission of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA), a non-profit trade association, is to be the leader in the frozen dessert industry that others look to for help, support and education. NICRA will promote business growth and development throughout the industry. VISION OF THE ASSOCIATION NICRA will associate with similar associations dedicated to the same interests. NICRA will facilitate communication and education that both newcomers and veterans in the industry desire to be successful. NICRA will maintain a feeling of family within the association as it grows, and be dedicated to responsibly managing the association while maximizing value to the members. NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY NICRA is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination in all of its endeavors. To that end, NICRA shall not tolerate any words or acts of discrimination, harassment or any inappropriate behavior in general against any person affiliated with NICRA, including its members and guests, with regard to race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status or sexual orientation. This Bulletin is published by: National Ice Cream Retailers Association 1028 West Devon Avenue Elk Grove Village, IL / Fax: 847/ Lynn Dudek, Chairman Publications Committee Lynda Utterback, Editor 2010 National Ice Cream Retailers Association Vol. 31, No. 10 This issue of the NICRA Bulletin is now available online at Click on the Members Only button and enter your Username and Password. If you cannot find your Username and Password, call the NICRA office at or send an to info@ nicra.org requesting the information SUPPLIER OFFICERS President Margaret Anderson, Taylor Freezer of New England Norwood, Massachusetts Vice President Tom Zak, Concord Foods, Brockton, Massachusetts 16