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Jimmy Frischling
Darden Restaurants recently reported its quarterly results, showcasing resilience amidst a challenging environment. While Olive Garden faced a decline in same-store sales for the second consecutive quarter, Darden's overall performance remained steady, with earnings per share surpassing expectations at $2.65 and revenue reaching $2.96 billion. Looking forward to fiscal 2025, Darden projects a promising outlook with expected earnings per share between $9.40 and $9.60 and anticipated net sales of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion. The company's LongHorn Steakhouse segment notably reported a 4% increase in same-store sales, underscoring Darden's effective management and operational strength. With plans to invest $550 million to $600 million in capital expenditures, Darden is poised to enhance its offerings and maintain its competitive edge in the market. Read More Here: https://lnkd.in/eFgDC97p #hospitality #restaurants #technology #innovation Branded Hospitality Ventures Angelo Fama Jr. John Espy Dave George Daryl L. Cunningham Lisa McDowell Robert Anderson Ali Charri
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Russ Redman
It's not surprising that merger partners Kroger-Albertsons have upped the number of stores to be divested under their $1.9 billion deal with C&S Wholesale Grocers announced back in September. Under the initial agreement, Kroger-Albertsons planned to sell 413 stores, eight distribution centers and two offices in 17 states and the D.C. to C&S. Kroger-Albertsons also reported at the time that C&S could be required to buy up to another 237 stores “in certain geographies” based on securing Federal Trade Commission and other regulatory clearance for their mega-merger. Apparently, the latter provision has come to pass under the pending FTC review. What remains to be seen is whether the expanded divestiture will be enough for the merger to get the regulatory green light. The updated transaction adds another 166 stores — including the Haggen store banner in Washington state — and $1 billion to the C&S purchase (now totaling $2.9 billion), which also now extends to locations in 18 states and D.C. (with the addition of Delaware). Also under the amended deal, C&S will license Albertsons Cos.' Albertsons banner in California and Wyoming and its Safeway banner in Arizona and Colorado. The initial plan for C&S to buy Kroger’s QFC banner in the Pacific Northwest, upscale Mariano’s brand in Illinois and Albertsons’ Carrs stores in Alaska is being upheld. The number of Kroger-Albertsons stores slated to be acquired by C&S in each state also has been tweaked, with some counts increased and others decreased. Here's the new breakdown as per Kroger: WA: 124 Albertsons Cos. and Kroger stores CA: 63 Albertsons Cos. stores CO: 91 Albertsons Cos. stores OR: 62 Albertsons Cos. and Kroger stores TX/LA: 30 Albertsons Cos. stores AZ: 101 Albertsons Cos. stores NV: 16 Albertsons Cos. stores IL: 35 Albertsons Cos. and Kroger stores AK: 18 Albertsons Cos. stores ID: 10 Albertsons Cos. stores NM: 9 Albertsons Cos. stores MT/UT/WY: 11 Albertsons Cos. stores DC/MD/VA/DE: 9 Harris Teeter stores In announcing the updated deal on April 22, Kroger also stated the following: "Kroger and Albertsons Cos. remain committed to defending the merger in court and unlocking the many benefits it offers." Back in February, the FTC had filed suit to block the Kroger-Albertsons merger, claiming that the combination of the nation's two largest conventional supermarket operators was anticompetitive and the C&S divestiture deal didn't provide an adequate antitrust remedy.
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Jason W. Ingle
Food waste isn't just a problem of abundance; it's a significant contributor to climate change. Every year, millions of tons of food end up in landfills, emitting harmful greenhouse gases in the process. It's time to tackle this issue head-on and embrace sustainable solutions – but like all great challenges, it takes a village. Pioneering efforts of non-profits like ReFED and World Wildlife Fund and their joint initiative, the U.S. Food Waste Pact, are bringing together stakeholders from across sectors to drive meaningful change in our food system. Corporations like Chick-fil-A Restaurants, ALDI USA, and Walmart are committing to significant food waste reduction goals, while investors are funneling capital toward the cause. And innovative startups like Third Nature Investments portfolio company Copia are offering the data and technology to track waste, reallocate excess food to those in need, and measure impact. Let's join forces, raise awareness, and work together to combat food waste and build a more sustainable future for all.
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Patrick Miller
Will be a fascinating earnings season. One to keep an eye on: which customers are driving growth. Walmart’s focus on more affluent customers via their ecom efforts just got another boost with the launch of bettergoods vs. Amazon’s focus on less affluent customers via half off grocery delivery for anyone with a EBT card (and no prime membership requirement). I expect these two companies to be the share leaders and for their shadow boxing only to continue—can’t wait for Vizio to close. Walmart’s ability to add affluent customers will not just sell cardamom rose raspberry jam, but help their ads business as brands will pay a premium to reach affluent customers; so yes bettergoods will drive GMV, but if it also takes affluent customers from Trader Joe’s or elsewhere, Walmart can then monitize again via ads. https://lnkd.in/eYM-rFE2
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Brian Numainville
Cash-strapped consumers continue to flock to Costco Wholesale clubs for all of their household needs, as evidenced in the company’s third-quarter financial results. For the period ended May 12, Costco Wholesale Corp. reported net income of $1.68 billion, or $3.78 per diluted share, up from $1.3 billion and $2.93 per diluted share last year. Net sales for Q3 were $57.39 billion, a 9.1% jump from $52.6 billion in the third quarter of last year. Total company comp sales were 6.6%, or 6.5% adjusted for gas inflation and foreign exchange. Specifically in the United States, comp sales were 6.2%, or 6% adjusted for gas inflation and foreign exchange. Shopping frequency increased 5.5% in the United States, while average transaction or ticket remained relatively flat, at 0.7%. Nonfoods had the highest comps of Costco's core categories. | Progressive Grocer https://lnkd.in/e4V2fE9P #retail #grocery #clubstores #earnings #sales #shoppers #food
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Dane Poeske
Walmart needs to be careful and not lose focus on their main business engine. See more below: MediaPost has a story about how Walmart "is poised to become a non-retail powerhouse." Not that its retail business is taking a back seat to its other initiatives, but the story says that a new report from Deutsche Bank says that Walmart is "gathering steam from alternative value streams, which are boosting revenue and pumping up profits. Specifically, Walmart is doing well in five pools of opportunity within the ecommerce world, including Walmart Connect, its retail media network, membership fees, marketplace transactions, fulfillment services, and data monetization." Advertising, MediaPost writes, "is a significant component" - a $3.4 billion business growing as much as 25 percent annually and contributing 70 percent to margin. Krisztina Katai, an analyst who follows Walmart for Deutsche Bank, writes in an investment letter that management has defined these five new value streams as "key drivers in the underlying transformation of the business."
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Anne Mezzenga
It was the perfect week for Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group's Truett Horne and Jeremy Levine to join Chris Walton and me on the Omni Talk Retail #fastfive because the headlines were filled with questions only these consultants could help answer. Together we covered: -Target reducing the prices of 5,000 SKUs -Walmart expanding their #NeighborhoodMarket concepts -Gopuff doing 24/7 delivery AND #aldi price matches in the UK -the LEGO Group tying company #ESG scores to employee bonuses -hims & hers's brilliant retailing move selling #wegovy dupes and temporarily changing what we buy in #grocerystores We also get Truett's "must-have" Costco Wholesale birthday party food, and see if Jeremy is going with fish or chicken at Long John Silver's, LLC's "Sea-cret Society." You do not want to miss this! Thanks to Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group, Avalara, Mirakl, Wiliot, and Sezzle for making each week's #RetailFastFive a possibility. Check out the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Jean Forney
Kroger has updated its proposed plan to divest hundreds of stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in an effort to appease federal regulators who have sued to block the grocer’s $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons. Kroger’s new plan adds 166 more stores to the original divestiture proposal, bringing the total number of divested stores to 579. That includes selling banners QFC, Mariano’s, and Carrs, which were included in the original divestiture plan, and adding the Haggen banner. In a press release, Kroger said that if the deal is approved, stores under the aforementioned banners that Kroger and Albertsons retain will rebrand as either Kroger or Albertsons. Kroger said that under the proposed deal, C&S will license the Safeway banner in Arizona and Colorado. Likewise, it will license the Albertsons banner in California and Wyoming. Kroger will also re-banner the Albertsons and Safeway banners it retains in those states, and it will maintain the banners for those in the remaining states.
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Rob Reed
My interview with Lowe's Companies, Inc. SVP of Marketing, Jennifer Wilson, highlights the true value of consumer data. The new MyLowe's loyalty program incentivizes and even gamifies the capture of customer preferences ahead of making purchases. Which accelerates personalization and the overall performance of the program. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gz8A3qUa #podcast #marketing #loyalty
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Jason Goldberg
DTC/Digital Native Brands struggle to achieve scale. CPG portfolio's are stagnating. Consumers are trading down, and retailers owned brands are disproportionately growing. Target, Costco, Trader Joes, and Aldi owned brands are winning. Now Walmart has launched a formidable new elevated basics brand, BetterGoods. The best way to beat the Amazon/Temu/Shein/TikTok marketplaces is to sell products they don't have.
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Becca Kuo
THe debut of Bettergoods marks Walmart’s largest private-label launch in the food and beverage category in 20 years. The items fall under three category pillars: 1) Culinary experiences: Items with “innovative” recipes, elevated ingredients and trendy offerings, such as a hot honey seasoning for $3 and a line of jar soups, including a creamy corn jalapeno chowder for $4. 2) Plant-based: Products feature distinct green branding, such as oatmilk non-dairy frozen desserts for $3.44 a pint and a $4 cheese alternative. 3) “Made Without”: Products that cater to different dietary lifestyles, such as gluten free, or made without artificial flavors, colorings or added sugars. Takeaway: Rising grocery prices in 2022, drove cost-conscious consumers to shift to private labels to save money. However, the reasons now extend beyond price - consumers continue to buy private brands for their quality, taste, and ability to meet their specific dietary needs. #walmart #privatebrands #commerce
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Ian Myers
I find this The Wall Street Journal story fascinating for a couple of reasons. First, from a corporate strategy perspective, Walmart is clearly challenging Trader Joe's and Target. They are also intensifying backward integration, taking on giants like Nestle, PepsiCo, and P&G. It speaks to the power of distribution. Whether you're Netflix, Walmart, or Amazon, owning the distribution channel is powerful. Second, how negotiation dynamics directly impact business. Examining counterparty alternatives (or, in technical speak, the Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement, or BATNA) is important to do statically. It is also critical to examine dynamically: how will it change over the next 3, 5, and 10 years? Here’s a quick and short recommendation: 1️⃣ If counterparty alternatives improve over time, secure longer agreements. 2️⃣ If counterparty alternatives worsen over time, secure shorter agreements. The rise of Trader Joe’s normalized private labels among consumers and set the stage for Target, Wal-Mart, and Costco to expand their own. Playing Monday morning quarterback, that would have been the moment for brand suppliers to secure long-term agreements. Final point: Negotiation, both in sales and procurement, must connect with corporate strategy. For Walmart, negotiating quality standards with private label suppliers is paramount. If a recall happens on a private label product, it damages the entire Walmart brand. If a recall happens on Tide detergent, it only damages P&G’s sub-brand (Tide). For companies like Nestle, negotiating product placement, endcap usage, and co-marketing is more important than ever. My take? I think the transformation Walmart has undergone has been phenomenal to watch. This extension into higher-end private label builds on that momentum. But I will wait until we bring home some Walmart oat milk ice cream before I give my final perspective. https://lnkd.in/gsMgNnE4
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Brian Numainville
Albertsons Media Collective, the retail media arm for Albertsons Companies, has debuted Collective TV. According to the company, the solution unlocks the combined value of retail media and TV, providing advertisers with a modern currency for targeting, measuring and optimizing campaigns across streaming, digital video and soon linear TV. Despite the fast-paced growth of digital video ads, Albertsons Media Collective pointed out that the pathways for running connected TV (CTV) campaigns alone are varied and complex. Agencies, networks, streaming publishers, identity solutions and ad tech platforms have built silos for planning, executing and measuring CTV campaigns. | Progressive Grocer https://lnkd.in/giaREQN9 #retail #supermarkets #grocery #digital #retailmedia #video
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Neil Saunders
Aloha Friday! 🤙🏼 Here are some interesting stories from the world of retail for Friday, June 21: 🥫 Kroger reported a decline in first-quarter earnings on Thursday amid margin pressures in its fuel and pharmacy businesses. Sales increased 0.2%, to $45.27 billion. Same store sales, excluding fuel, rose 0.5%. 📦 Amazon shoppers should expect less plastic in their packages. as the retailer is moving away from plastic air pillows and replacing them with recyclable filler paper. 💵 Costco Wholesale allegedly failed to disclose price markups on products sold on its website and mobile app despite its promise to do so, according to a recent lawsuit seeking a class-action status. 🎯 Target has built an AI chatbot, called Store Companion, for store workers' hand-held devices. The chatbot can provide guidance on tasks like rebooting a cash register or enrolling a customer in the retailer’s loyalty program. 🦾 Ocado Group shares tumbled in the UK on Thursday after Sobeys, its Canadian partner, temporarily halted the planned launch of an automated warehouse in Vancouver run by the British online grocery company. 👟 Nike and Converse last week filed a lawsuit against 52 alleged counterfeit networks, which collectively operate 98 websites and 267 social media handles, over the sale of counterfeit goods. 📚 In the first 10 months of 2022, Amazon had $16.9 billion in gross merchandise sales from its books category, a new leaked document shows. That translates to nearly $1.7 billion in average monthly book sales volume. 🛠️ The Home Depot is teaming up with StrataTech Education Group (StrataTech), an operator of skilled trade schools, to expand its Path to Pro program, which aims to educate more people in the skilled trades. 🇬🇧 UK retail sales rose 2.9% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics, with strong sales across clothing retailers and furniture stores helping them beat the average 1.5% increase forecast by economists. 💳 PayPal has hired Srini Venkatesan, a former Walmart executive, as its new chief technology officer. Mr Venkatesan will oversee technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. 🍽️ Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said certain casual-dining chains are stealing some fast-food restaurants’ customers. Chili’s, Applebee’s and other casual-dining chains have been trying to win over fast-food diners. 🍔 McDonald's has revealed the details of its highly anticipated $5 value meal, which the fast food chain hopes will rev up sluggish sales and lure back customers who have cut back. 🚢 Leading shipping groups have urged governments with influence to put a stop to Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea after a second freighter sank this week. 🇦🇺 Workers at Woolworths Supermarkets, one of Australia's largest grocers, have voted in favor of a new pay deal. The vote saw 62% of workers in favor. #retail #retailnews #economy #DailyRetailNews
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Scott Benedict
Sustainability is a growing concern. According to Mike Johnston, managing director of data products at international research tech firm Glow, citing recent research from his company: “While 83% of shoppers deem it important for retailers to act sustainably, only 31% currently cite sustainability as a significant influence on their retailer choice. However, this gap will narrow, with 45% of shoppers expecting sustainability to have a greater impact on their choice of retailers in the next 12 months, and only 15% anticipating a decline.” Given that so many consumers have the planet’s health on their minds, it makes sense that most forward-looking grocery retailers do, too. #environmentalsustainability #groceryretail #consumerinsights
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Neal Sherman
Kroger’s bet on using e-commerce to break into new markets has backfired. In a bid for expansion, Kroger opened three e-commerce fulfillment centers in South Florida, San Antonio and Austin in obvious hopes to gain a market presence without the expense of brick-and-mortar locations. The only issue is… they picked markets where competitors had an entrance presence, in the case of Florida Publix, and H-E-B in Texas. To no surprise, it wasn’t enough and now all three facilities will be closing. It’s a stark lesson of how even in the face of inflation, consumers trust brand over anything else. Groceries may be a commodity, but the experience is one close to home to consumers, and one that can’t be translated 100% online as easily as Kroger would have hoped. https://lnkd.in/enFTzR3z #grocerynews #kroger #liquidations #furnitureauctions #furnitureliquidations #equipmentliquidations #equipmentauctions #businessliquiditions #foodindustrynews #foodserviceindustry #foodindustrynews #kitchenquipment #restaurantequipment #commercialkitchenequipment #restaurantauctions #restaurantclosures #restuaranttrends #restaurantnews #cfo #coo #foodindustry #foodindustryequipment #liquidaterestaurant #openrestaurant #expandrestaurant #foodoperations #restaurantclosure #restaurantremodel #restaurantliquidation
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Luke Abbott
I've been hearing so much doom and gloom about the ability to raise capital for emerging CPG brands in the current environment. I can attest from first-hand experience that abundant capital is available in the market for companies that check the boxes. There was a time a few years ago when access to VC investments was effectively democratized. Money fell like rain from the skies above without much of a filter. That situation was a bubble and unsustainable. Those days are over—as most of us realized 20+ months ago. My team and I are honored to work with some of the best VCs in the CPG space on various projects. I'm learning more and more about what VCs value in our current environment. Here are some key takeaways: 📕 Despite what you may have heard, VCs are investing in great companies with amazing leaders, a compelling velocity story in a growing white space, and, more important than ever, a pathway to profitability. 📕 We've all heard stories of VCs who rule over their investments with iron fists. Be selective about with whom you take money from. The VCs I work with want to empower leaders to realize their potential and have little desire for control. 📕 Velocity, velocity, velocity: go deep instead of wide. Best-in-class velocity numbers are so much more important than the number of store doors (given a choice between the two). In the crazy days of 2018 to 2021, brands were told to grow at all costs and claim market share before competitors arrived. While there needs to be a sense of urgency, it can never be at the expense of velocity. A corollary to this point is to pick the retailers you start with with intention. Opening up stores with inherently low foot traffic won't serve you. 📕 The truth is in the details! Founders need to know the intricate details of the business economics and the market. It's not enough to be a visionary; you need to be a responsible and business-minded leader who can be trusted to have discipline and good stewardship with invested capital. I want to note that VC funding isn't the only path to growing your CPG company. It's one option of many. After spending more and more time with several VCs over the past year, I'm more encouraged than ever about this option for brands that check the boxes. Let's dominate the world with better-for-you and better-for-the-🌍earth brands.
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Jean Forney
The Kroger Company has released the locations of the assets they plan to offload to C&S Wholesale Grocers as they look to allay antitrust concerns over their proposed $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons Cos. The assets include 579 Kroger- and Albertsons-owned stores across 18 states and Washington, D.C., including 124 locations in the state of Washington, 1o1 in Arizona, 91 in Colorado and 63 in California. (To see the complete list, click here.) In addition, the list includes six distribution centers (two in Phoenix, two in Colorado and one each in Salt Lake City and Auburn, Wash.) and a dairy plant, in Denver. The companies released list about six weeks before a crucial court hearing is set to begin regarding the grocers’ proposed merger. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit in federal court to block the proposed merger between the two companies, which was first announced in October 2022. Regulators and unions have expressed concerns that the merger will lead to higher prices, store closures and job losses.
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Vann Russell
Did you know that our amazing platform at Arlington Capital Advisors out of Birmingham, Alabama is one of the leading consulting, investment banking and advisory firms to entrepreneurs and founders at some of the leading consumer growth brands in food, beverage, hospitality, and cannabis around the world including in the US, Canada, South America, England, Scotland, Europe, China, Japan, and India. We have team members based in Arizona, Colorado, Philadelphia, Alabama, Switzerland, and London and strategic partners based in California, Georgia, the Netherlands and Australia. And we actually have offices around the world? And did you know that we have advised exclusively some of the leading consumer growth brands in food, beverage, hospitality, and cannabis around the world??? And we have worked with and for some of the greatest consumer investment firms in the world including but not limited to L Catterton, Roark Capital, VMG Partners , TSG Consumer Partners and many more… Huh? Say what???? Yep!! True story! But we are only getting started and we have some amazing new and exciting developments around our platform and brand that will be coming soon. And if you know me (which most of you don’t), you better believe you are going to hear about them!! Have a Blessed day!! #epic #whybeboring #beepic #privateequity #cpg #mergersandacquisitions #consumerbrands #partners #thoughtpartners #leadership #food #beverage #foodandbeverage #restaurants #cannabis #hospitality #eatertainment #multiunit #franchising #operators #investmentbankers #notinvestmentbankers #knowledge #passion #integrity #entreprenuers #founders
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