The NGA Foundation student case study competition brings students from across the country to the NGA Show where they present solutions to an issue currently impacting the independent grocery industry. The program allows student teams to interact with an independent grocer and ground their education with real-life experience. Participants move through three rounds of judging from food industry professionals. The winners and their schools receive a cash prize.
Each year, an independent retailer is selected as the subject of the competition, providing a budget and relevant details to aid in students' presentation.
Any four-year institution, university, academic institution, or affiliate organization which currently provides teaching or research focused on the food industry may compile a team for competition. School teams may have no more than four undergraduate students present the solution at the competition. Other students may assist with the research or development phases.
Schools will submit their intent to compete in January prior to the competition. Schools must also submit a current list of program faculty and board members. This will be used to determine potential conflict of interest when filling the judge rosters.
NGAF considers funding, room availability, and staff capacity when admitting school teams into the competition schedule.
Launch Webinar - December 7, 2023 Request to view the recording
School Intent to Compete form Due - Jan 11, 2024 download here
Final Slide Decks due - March 1, 2024
Competition schedule shared - March 5, 2024
Competition commences at NGA Show - March 10-12, 2024
2024 - Cornell University
We are currently seeking retailer members interested in serving as the focus of our 2025 case study competition. Please contact NGA's Kelly Hanson with the NGA Foundation at khanson@nationalgrocers.org for more details.
Is your store facing an issue that you'd love to have 10-20 students research and create solutions for? Is there an industry topic that you'd love to get the next generation's perspective on? We are currently taking submissions for the 2025 case study competition topic. See example topics below. Contact NGA's Kelly Hanson khanson@nationalgrocers.org to submit suggestions.
See below topics from previous Student Case Study Competitions.
Year |
Topic |
Winning Team |
| 2024 | Maintaining a Competitive Edge | Cornell University |
| 2023 | Employee Recruitment & Retention | Auburn |
| 2022 | Navigating Omnichannel Sales for Today and in the Future | Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo |
| 2021 | Remaining Competitive under Covid-19 Economic & Supply Chain Challenges |
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo |
| 2020 | Communicating SNAP Point of Sale Incentives |
Western Michigan University |
| 2019 | Hiring and retaining millennials or multicultural associates |
Saint Joe's University |
| 2018 | Inspiring healthy living among employees and shoppers |
Saint Joe's University |
| 2017 | How to attract millennial consumers |
Saint Joe's University & Western Michigan University |
| 2016 | What is a successful e-commerce model for a 4-store independent? |
Saint Joe's University |
| 2015 | What will be the next generation of retail circulars? | Western Michigan University |
| 2014 | Address the challenges and opportunities “Local” offers independent grocers | Arizona State University |
| 2013 | Growing Market Share in a Mature Industry and Increasingly Competitive Environment | Saint Joe's University |
