NGA’s 40th Anniversary Featured During Event as
More than 2,700 Grocery Leaders Gathered
For 40 years, The NGA Show has been the place where independents gather, bringing together retailers, wholesalers, food retail industry executives, food/CPG manufacturers, and service providers from across the United States. As NGA celebrates our 40th anniversary this year, the 2022 Show was a chance to look back and reflect on how far we have come and what we can look forward to. NGA’s booth in the Exhibit Hall proudly displayed our 40th anniversary logo as the NGA team engaged with attendees about the value of an NGA membership.
As we continue to celebrate NGA’s 40th anniversary over the next few months, we will be featuring blogs celebrating some memorable moments, such as those that occur at the annual NGA Show so NGA – and the entire independent grocery industry – can reflect on how far we have come.
Today we will look back to not too far to the 2021 NGA Show, which marked our official return to Las Vegas after two years of hosting the event in San Diego. This was the first chance many attendees had to meet since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, making it a memorable experience for us and our guests.
The 2021 event, held right after the Executive Conference, brought together more than 2,300 grocery retail professionals for networking, product sourcing, and education sessions. The Executive Conference, designed for CEOs and their leadership teams to increase profitability and enhance business opportunities took place from September 18-19 at the Paris Hotel & Casino.
The Executive Conference featured networking events, enhanced education sessions on topics such as Five Trends Everyone Will Be Chasing Tomorrow, Counting Data Among Independents’ Strengths, and Supermarket Sustainability.
The NGA Show began the day after with several Education Sessions and a memorable Opening Keynote address from Chef Jeff Henderson, an award-winning chef, critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling author, philanthropist, and television personality. Henderson spoke about strategies to empower change and inspire fulfilment. He then sat down with NGA President and CEO Greg Ferrara for further discussion about lessons for the independent grocery industry before taking questions from the audience.
Day 2 began with the sold-out Exhibit Hall opening, offering attendees new products and innovations from nearly 300 companies. Specialty areas made product sourcing easy, with pavilions featuring the North American Meat Institute (NAMI), The World of Latino Cuisine, The Technology Pavilion and Equipment, Design & Safety Pavilion, as well as the Thought Leadership Theater.
The education program offered 50-plus sessions with more than 100 subject matter experts speaking on important topics such as people development, finances, sustainable strategies, and tech trends.
Additionally, attendees were able to network and have fun during several events including the kickoff Opening Reception, the Best Bagger Championship and After Party, Creative Choice Awards breakfast, and the Closing Celebration.
This is just a brief recap of what went on at the 2021 Show. For more details about The NGA Show, click here. We look forward to continuing our celebration of NGA’s 40th anniversary throughout the year.
