Ask the Experts | The Shelby Report

Category: Ask The Experts

Back-To-School In Grocery: From School Supplies To Routine Solutions

Back-to-School has evolved well beyond a one-time stock-up trip for notebooks, pencils, and lunch bags. Today, it represents a broader household reset shaped by omnichannel shopping, value-seeking behavior, wellness priorities, and the return to more structured weekday routines. For grocery retailers, that evolution has fundamentally changed the role of the season. Back-to-School in grocery is […]

Know Your Numbers: The Financial Habits Behind Independent Grocery’s Top Performers

Jon Cline knows the grocery business from the ground up. He started bagging groceries at Safeway in high school, managed a 7-Eleven while earning his accounting degree at the University of Oklahoma, and went on to build a career spanning some of the industry’s biggest names: Arthur Andersen, Scrivner, Fleming and Supervalu. At FMS Solutions, […]

Independent Grocers Don’t Need More Technology, They Need Better Integration

With more than 50 years of combined experience in grocery POS and retail technology, Farrell McKenna and Ed Sepelak have worked closely with independent grocers, navigating everything from changing consumer expectations to rapidly evolving store technology. With decades of hands-on experience supporting independent grocery retailers, they share a practical perspective on why integration, operational simplicity, […]

Why Retailers Should Lean Into Sweet Baked Goods Right Now – Don’t Pull Back

JTM Foods CEO Monty Pooley sees green shoots in Q1 2026 and a category that rewards merchandising intensity — not retreat — in noisy conditions. The first quarter of 2026 brought what Monty Pooley calls “green shoots” to the sweet baked goods category – early indicators that, after a difficult 2025, conditions are improving for […]

Performance Driven And The Power Of One

Q&A with Jill Blanchard, President of OSMG What has “national coverage” traditionally meant for grocery brands? This can mean different things depending on the size and distribution of a brand. If you’re an emerging brand, national coverage is viewed as getting that initial distribution and then having the ability to scale that nationally. Typically national […]

What It Really Takes To Compete As An Independent Grocer In 2026

Valley Farm Market has been a fixture of East County San Diego since 1956. Derek Marso – third-generation owner, former NFL player and self-described servant leader – took over the family store with one conviction: independent grocers don’t have to compete on price. They compete on experience, specialization, and speed. Under his leadership, Valley Farm […]

Standardizing Banana Quality Across Multiple Retail Locations

Today’s state-of-the-art ripening rooms allow you to consistently ripen truckload after truckload of bananas with unparalleled uniformity and precision. Yet all too often we continue to see inconsistencies in quality from DC to DC and store to store. This can take a surprising toll on sales and profit. To give us a better understanding about […]

Innovation: The Key To Longevity For Natural And Specialty Brands? 

What role does innovation play in helping natural and specialty brands achieve long-term relevance and growth? Natural and specialty brands face increasing pressure to innovate not just to stand out, but to survive. Innovation has become critical for two main reasons: consumers demand better-for-you products with attributes that don’t currently exist in the category, and […]

Ask The Experts: Ryan Draude, Giant Food

Ryan Draude has spent nearly 15 years building nationally-recognized loyalty programs at brands like Choice Hotels, RITE AID, and now Giant Food — where he currently serves as the head of loyalty.  But as cross-shopping, value-seeking behavior becomes the norm, earning loyalty from grocery shoppers is getting harder every day. We spoke with Ryan about […]

How Independent Retailers Can Maximize Refrigeration Performance, Profitability

Independent retailers face tight budgets and rising operational costs. These pressures are felt even stronger these days as consumers remain hyper-focused on grocery prices and affordability. Refrigeration equipment – critical for merchandising fresh and frozen products – represents a significant investment for retailers. Getting the most out of that investment starts with investing in the […]

Commercial Ripening 2026: An Interview With David Byrne

Commercial ripening has come a long way over the past 30 years. From air-stacking boxes in temperature-controlled holding rooms to today’s ultra-advanced, digitally controlled ripening room systems that can uniformly ripen multiple truckloads of palletized fruit to the exact same color at the exact same time. As the global leader in commercial ripening room design […]

New Research Reveals Effective Retention Strategies

Mike McNamee has spent more than a decade helping retailers grow through data-driven insights. As senior director of account management at Upside, he partners with grocers nationwide to maximize profitability and build stronger customer relationships through personalized, margin-bound promotions. That mission is reflected in Upside’s new “Winning the Uncommitted Customer” report, built on more than […]

Beyond The Bite: Evolving The Sweet Snacking Category

The Shelby Report recently sat down with Monty Pooley, president and CEO, and Chris Tirone, chief marketing and innovation officer of JTM Foods LLC, to discuss the company’s role in the evolving sweet snack category. What pivotal moments in JTM’s history positioned it to become a leader in the sweet snacking category? Pooley: Our journey […]

If This Happened In Your Store Today, Could You Stop It?

Your store is busy. A cart loaded with merchandise rolls past checkout – calm, confident, no hesitation. Gone. What used to be rare is now disturbingly routine for many grocers. Pushout Theft on the Rise Pushout theft – when unpaid merchandise is wheeled straight out the front doors – is one of the fastest-growing loss […]