It’s March National Frozen Food Month!
The lovable characters from Ice Age 2 The Meltdown announced the beginning of March Frozen Food Month to consumers across the country in a national FSI dropped on Sunday, February 26th. The ad encouraged consumers to Warm Up to Frozen by visiting the frozen food aisle for special deals all this month. Make sure you are part of this industry-wide event to increase frozen food sales by promoting in March! Don’t miss your chance to compete for the prestigious Golden Penguin award. Remember to document all of your promotional plans and results for submission in the competition. Click here to download the March Golden Penguin rules brochure. Good luck on a successful promotion!

Frozen Desserts Study Shows Pies Remain the Strong Category
Frozen desserts fall into five categories, including frozen pie, frozen whipped topping, frozen sweet goods (excluding pie), miscellaneous frozen desserts, and frozen cheesecakes. Each of these categories has experienced a decline in sales except frozen pies, according to a Mintel report. With other dessert alternatives rising in popularity, frozen dessert producers are taking advantage of new marketing opportunities stemming from changing consumer perspectives. Click here for the full report from Mintel.

NFRA Helps Industry Promote June Dairy Month
For the fourth year, NFRA will provide resources for the industry to help promote June Dairy Month. A press release and radio spot will be distributed to media outlets nationwide announcing that June is Dairy Month. A special issue of the Stay Cool e-newsletter will also be distributed to NFRA’s list of over 60,000 consumers. NFRA is developing an Idea Book including a catalog of specially-designed point of sale items for June that will be mailed to all members in a few weeks. Be sure to participate in the June promotion for your chance to win a Golden Penguin award! The complete rules will also be available shortly.

Spots still remain for the Retail Executive Conference
The 14th annual Retail Executive Conference will be held April 24-26, 2006 at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference Center in Tempe, AZ. The focus of the Conference is defining today’s consumer, exploring new trends in our industry and discovering innovative ways to promote the frozen and refrigerated departments. In addition to educational sessions, attendees will have plenty of time to network with industry colleagues. Time is running out to register! For a list of registered delegates, contact NFRA at (717) 657-8601. Click here to see the detailed Conference agenda and download the registration form.

Mark Your Calendar for the 2006 National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention
This year the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Convention will be held October 7-10 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, FL. Bringing the industry together to conduct more business in less time is the focus of this event. NFRA provides complimentary Customer Meeting Rooms to retailers so they can meet one-on-one with delegates. Last year over 160 retailers participated in the Convention. Don’t miss this incredible business opportunity. Complete information will be mailed to all members in a few weeks.

NFRA Welcomes Our Newest Members
Please welcome the companies listed below who have met the qualifications of membership and have joined the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association.

Manufacturer Refrigerated

Cabot Creamery Co-Op
www.cabotcheese.com

Supplier

Noble & Associates
www.noble.net

Eastern Frosted Foods Association will hold its celebration of March Frozen Food Month and the presentation of the Blue Penguin Awards on Tuesday, April 25, at the Sheraton Meadowlands, in East Rutherford, NJ. For more information: www.effa.org.

The Frozen & Refrigerated Association of the NorthEast will hold its State of the Industry Gala on Saturday, March 18 at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston, MA. For more information: (781) 641-4669.

As part of corporate restructuring for the CM Packaging division, C.M. Products announced the following personnel changes. Rick Barton was named Vice President of Sales for all divisions of C.M. Products, Inc. Barton was most recently Vice President of Sales for the Bakeware division. Tim Carrigan was named Director of Sales for CM Packaging and was most recently National Sales Manager. Michael J. Cornelius was named Director of Marketing for C.M. Products and was most recently National Sales Manager for the Commercial Bakeware Division. He is also Director of Sales and Marketing for the PDI Division.

Unified Western Grocers announced that Randy Scoville has been named Vice President, Accounting and Chief Operating Officer, a new position at the company. In his new position, Scoville will be responsible for all accounting operations, maintaining internal accounting controls, budgeting and forecasting.

F.A.B., Inc. (Frosty Acre Brands) recently announced the addition of Viele & Sons to their cooperative. Viele & Sons is a foodservice distribution company located in Fullerton, California. Founded in 1958 by Tony Viele Sr., the company is now managed by his five sons. The company services Southern California and is recognized as a leader for delivering exceptional quality products and services in the foodservice distribution service. For more information: www.frostyacres.com

RFID Journal LIVE! 2006: Putting RFID to Work will be held May 1-3, 2006, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas. Whether you’re just starting to research RFID’s potential for your business or are looking to learn best practices, the 4th annual RFID Journal LIVE! has the educational content, technology solutions and networking opportunities you need to put RFID to work. The event features tracks focused on using RFID in five key vertical industries, plus three tracks that show you how to get started, how to deploy RFID and how to develop an RFID strategy. For more information and to register:
http://www.rfidjournal.com/live2006/

Sara Lee Corporation announced the groundbreaking for a new 213,000 square foot distribution center just south of Macon, GA. The temperature-controlled facility will feature both cooler and freezer space in the warehouse portion of the building, while the two-story office area will be home to a customer service center. The initial start-up of the building will employ approximately 75 -100 people, with the potential to increase the total number of employees to 140. For more information: (260) 490-3000

Wal-Mart recently announced plans to purchase all of its wild-caught fresh and frozen fish for the North American market from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) – certified fisheries within the next three to five years. This initiative is part of Wal-Mart’s continued commitment to offering sustainable products at affordable prices to its customers. For more information: www.walmartstores.com

Keep the industry updated about news and staff promotions at your company. NFRA will publish your company highlights monthly in the NFRA Update. Send your company news to us at info@nfraweb.org; via fax to (717) 657-9862; or via mail to NFRA, 4755 Linglestown Rd., Suite 300, Harrisburg, PA 17112.