Member News & Headlines Blog

Meals on Wheels Chicago is looking for much needed food items for the influx of seniors that are in Chicago and homebound. Many of these seniors have family members that are in other states and are unable to get to them and are asking for help. Given this unusual circumstance please consider donating product for these immediate needs. It is their goal to provide every senior with some kind of food, and currently the need has risen in Chicago.

If you are interested, here is a form to capture details and a member of the MoWC team with contact you about logistics.

In recognition of your contribution, Meals on Wheels would like to publicly thank you or your company in our Power of Community Hero Spotlights on social media.

To the Members of the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network:

We want to thank you for the exemplary leadership you have shown over the last few weeks as we face this unprecedented challenge in the form of COVID-19. Throughout a period when information shared by our elected leaders was often confusing, and consumers started to “panic-buy” as a result of the unknown, our member companies continued to produce the food needed to feed the nation. Member companies and the service-providers who assist them were ready to provide the necessary support when needed. We could not be prouder of our Network and the role that you play. But it is just the beginning.

With new challenges and complications presenting themselves daily, one of the consistent concerns we hear from consumers, our local and state elected officials, and the White House is whether or not there will be enough food and beverage to fill the shelves of our nation’s supermarkets over a prolonged period. As we know from countries such as Italy and France, and our own San Francisco, when the geographic areas go into a lock-down situation, only the supermarkets and the pharmacies remain open, along with the hospitals. This makes clear that we have a similar responsibility as the healthcare community -- to assist in keeping our communities and our country alive and well.

During these challenging times, we want to share how we at CFBN are pivoting as an organization:

1. Until further notice, all events will be held free of charge online to provide safe access to as many individuals as possible.
2. We will be seeking to alter our programming to make certain we are offering the information that you need today to continue to operate your respective businesses. (See this link for a quick 4 question anonymous survey to help!)
3. We will amplify our voice within the community and with the corresponding government bodies to make certain they are aware of our capabilities as well as our needs.
4. We will continue to serve as a resource for our industry members as we navigate these ever-changing waters.

In summary, we are here for you and we will continue to provide the programming, support the knowledge-sharing, connect the industry, and serve as a resource during these turbulent times. We will continue to proudly serve as the leading city for the Food & Beverage community.

 

Joel Warady, Chairman, CFBN

Alan Reed, Executive Director, CFBN

KeHE has launched, elevate™, an emerging brand program created to nurture leading-edge brands and maximize their growth and success potential in the marketplace. The program will support the company’s retail partners by continually foraging for early-stage brands while enabling developing brands to reach their full potential and better serve the needs of customers in the marketplace.

The high-touch program provides brands with a platform for growth, allowing them to flourish and reach more shelves nationwide. KeHE’s Category Management team will act as trusted advisors, educating brands on the evolving landscape and propel sales & points of distribution through elevate™. The network of brands is designed to be small and intimate, not exceeding 200. Candidates can visit KeHE’s RangeMe website to submit their products.

- Kasia Kedzierska, Marketing Coordinator

As a founding member, Bader Rutter is proud of our long partnership with CFBN. We helped introduce the organization, developed various marketing initiatives and recently, helped launch Bigger Table. We created the name, logo and website and look forward to volunteering on this important work.

Long recognized for our B2B expertise, we provide advertising, PR, social, design, experiential, and the full suite of digital and data services. We’ve enjoyed 46 years of growth, with no plans to stop.

Our Chicago office focuses on food and beverage marketing and houses The Intel Distillery: our team of industry experts who systematically analyze the industry every day, uncovering the latest trends and topics in food production. Sign up here, today!

Nick Praznowski

Bader-Rutter

Tax reform made big headlines in 2017, but a less publicized bill was signed at the end of 2019 that can provide far reaching benefits for your business. The 2020 Appropriations Bill was signed and with it came extensions for certain tax credits and incentives that are particularly applicable to the food & beverage industry. These extensions can generate tax savings that you can put back into your operations.

The incentives are available for a variety areas including wage credits for employees who live/work in qualified areas, credits for hiring certain categories of employees, providing family and medical leave to your employees and investing in facilities in low income communities.

To take advantage of these incentives and credits for your business and employees, you must take certain actions within a specific period of time. Don’t miss out! Learn more about how these credits and incentives can help your business here. 

Nicholas S. Romanelli, CPA, MST

Principal, Tax CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)

"Many Chicago restaurants are working to swiftly pivot to delivery, carryout, and curbside pick-up dining options in the wake of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s order to help stop the novel coronavirus’s spread and close dine-in service for two weeks. The order dictates that customers won’t be allowed in dining rooms or bars through March 30."

Check out this article from Eater to read more.

Check out this resource from the President of Kellogg Company Wendy Davidson:

"As we all transition to new ways of working, staying connected to one another and our extended teams will require a very different type of communication. If you’re like me, having the entire family home and finding a private workspace/e-learning school space for each of us has created challenges. Take some time and be intentional in finding a space you can easily work that can enable the space to think but also enable video conference calls.

For some of us, we derive energy from the social interaction with others. For others, it’s a far more effective and efficient way of staying connected, solving problems and getting answers quickly, and ideating with others. With remote work, this will be more challenging, but not impossible. According to Microsoft, the key is to 'communicate, communicate, communicate”

Read more here for tips on how to be the most productive and mindful during this time. 

"Perkins Coie is pleased to present its fourth annual Food Litigation Year in Review 2019, offering a summary of the past year’s key litigation outcomes, regulatory developments, and filing data.

Using metrics from their proprietary database, developed by their food litigation team in order to track and understand trends in this area, 2019’s Year in Review again reports an increase in class action litigation, with a record-breaking 173 new lawsuits filed.

The upward filing trends in the class action landscape are mirrored in other industries and in the prosecution of related claims: putative class actions against the pet food and dietary supplement industries were on the rise in 2019, as were Proposition 65 warning notices."

Access the report here. 

If you have any questions or would like to follow-up after reading this report please reach out to Randy Bridgeman.

In case you missed it!

On March 12th, 2020 Bluedog Design and Fifty Gazelles hosted our Innovation Series: Thinking Outside of the Box virtually! As we navigate a new normal as a result to COVID-19, the CFBN wants to ensure you that we will uphold our mission of being a platform for access and collaboration across the Chicagoland Food & Beverage Industry - even if that means doing it virtually.

Our amazing panelist explored the innovations and new technologies impacting packaging right now. Check out the entire webinar series here.

The Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network would love to thank our panelists for engaging in insightful conversation:

• Mark Hewitt, Connected Experience Director; BlueDog Design
• Eric Henderson, Packaging Director - PepsiCo Food Global Packaging Innovation; PepsiCo
• Andrew Livermore, SVP - Product & Client Services, Curion
• Jeremy Anderson (Moderator), Founder, Fifty Gazelles 

Thank you to everyone who virtually attended. Stay updated on our upcoming virtual events here. 

Members can access the presentations shared in your Member Perks.

This special Innovation Series event was sponsored by:

Since launching three years ago, the Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network has sought to make the region the “the Silicon Valley of food and beverage” by cultivating the kind of collaborative culture that made the Bay Area a hotbed of tech innovation.

This year, the group upped the ante with a project that pushed companies that normally might compete for business to instead put their heads together to create a product for a good cause.

In partnership with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, a group of nearly a dozen food companies created a low-sugar, high-protein hot chocolate, produced entirely with donated ingredients and know-how, for distribution to food pantries. Read more here.