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Who’s This Seminar For?
Co-op and Independent
Natural Foods Grocers!
Owners & General Managers
who want to
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Better lead, develop and support their foodservice leaders and their unique operation.
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Develop greater understanding and clarity about operating your store’s most complicated sales department.
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Demystify the financial workings of foodservice to provide better support and set realistic goals.
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Return inspired with fresh eyes, renewed spirit, and plans for achieving your operation’s potential.
Foodservice & Kitchen Leaders
who want to
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Develop new ideas for growing sales and margin – and clear plans for thriving in the post-pandemic world.
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Master critical systems to plan, track and analyze your operation’s production, sales, margin and labor.
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Identify and overcome barriers that keep you from achieving financial goals.
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Create visually delicious merchandising displays.
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Network with other talented leaders to share stories, learn from each other, and get back out in the world.
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Return inspired with fresh eyes, renewed spirit, and plans for achieving your operation’s potential.
Registration Includes
Lodging at
Acqua Hotel
You'll wake up where you need to be, enjoying 4 nights of stylish comfort with hot breakfast and espresso bar at our waterfront hotel.
Organic Lunches
You'll enjoy exquisitely delicious, all-organic catering from our host store, Good Earth Natural Foods.
Store Tour
You'll gain ideas and insights with an exclusive behind-the-scenes kitchen tour at Good Earth Natural Foods, an all-organic best-in-class operation,
3 Phone
Consultations
We'll use your data and a pre-seminar consultation to share personalized feedback during the seminar, and in two calls thereafter.
An Amazing Dinner
You'll lick your flavor-packed plate of ethnic confusions, family-made in an open kitchen with organic, local ingredients.
Workbook & Digital Documents
Your workbook is packed with key systems, forms and documents, and a year of access to download more than 50 digital docs.
Wine & Cheese
Receptions
Network and relax with colleagues each evening with nibbles and cheer from local producers.
Snacks Galore
We enjoy being event hosts! Whether you're craving something salty, sweet, or healthy -- you'll never be hungry!
Daily Agenda
Day 1
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024
9:00 • Welcome
We’ll start with introductions and an inspiring overview to help you imagine a fuller vision of your operation’s potential.
9:45 • Fresh Ideas & Trends
We'll look at what's trending to inspire your product development plans and infuse your program menus with some fresh flair.
10:35 • Developing Successful New Products
You'll learn our 20-step process from which you'll be clear and confident of quickly developing successful new high-margin products.
11:30 • Lunch
Catered dining al fresco, with a breathtaking view of the bay.
12:30 • Staffing: Doing More with Less Labor
We'll help you analyze your own department’s program sales and labor data to optimally structure and organize responsibilities for your operation's best success.
2:30 • Making Grab & Go, GO!
Explode your sales with a full exploration of this critical and versatile program. We’ll dig deep into the nuts, bolts and nuances – from plan-o-grams, to portioning, packaging and pricing. You'll leave with ideas and plans for upgrading your G&G program.
4:00 • Beautiful Boxed Salads
There's never been a better time to expand your selection of healthy, delicious portion-controlled boxed salads. We'll share a process, documents and specific ideas for revolutionizing your selections and sales in this high-margin product category.
5:00 • Wine & Cheese Reception/Break
Relax with colleagues at Acqua Hotel’s wine and cheese reception. Or, hop on a free bike for a ride along the adjacent waterfront path.
6:30 • Dinner & Store Tour
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour through the bustling prepared foods operation at Good Earth Natural & Organic Foods. This best-in-class operation features a vast array of all-organic prepared foods programs.
Breaks
We take 15-minute breaks between most segments, one each morning and two each afternoon, to facilitate your absorption of the content and time for personal needs.
Updated: 1/21/24
Day 2
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024
9:00 • Store Tour Q&A + SWOT Analysis
Last night's tour guide answers your questions and shares valuable insights. And, we'll use a classic tool to develop an analysis of their prepared foods operation, and make time for you to practice it on your own.
10:00 • Foodservice Financials
Working through a prepared foods case study we’ll deepen your financial skills and give you tools to better teach your team about sales, margin and labor. We make this interesting for leaders of all financial skill levels and no one leaves this segment without better understanding and enjoying numbers.
11:30 • Recipe Costing
As food costs continue to climb you need an efficient way to make sure your products are priced to generate appropriate margins. We'll work through the basics of costing a recipe, share pro tips to ensure you're working with clean data, conversions and shrinks, precise inventory counts, and all the bells and whistles to make the most of a fully functioning recipe costing system.
12:30 • Lunch
Catered dining al fresco, with a breathtaking view of the bay.
1:30 • Margin Pricing
We'll share pricing and margin strategies and pro tips for maximizing sales and gross margin dollars. Then, we'll advance your costing and margin pricing skills by completing yesterday's creative boxed salad program and recipe development work.
3:00 • Snappy Sandwiches
Sandwiches are a great program to highlight your signature flavors and bring people in the door. We will provide strategies and pro tips for developing delectable menus. And, host a hands-on, small group product development game that will leave you inspired and confident of bringing your new ideas to fruition.
4:00 • Huddle Up!
We’ll focus on daily huddles and weekly leadership team meetings as the most efficient and effective communication tools you can implement to raise the bar and create an environment of growth, opportunity, and excellence. We'll share guidelines, documents and pro tips for making the most of these critical info-sharing and spirit-raising opportunities.
5:45 • Wine & Cheese Reception/Break
6:30 • Adjournment
Dinner is on your own and the evening is yours to explore the area or enjoy some down time. Marin County is home to dozens of fantastic nearby restaurants and we'll share our favorites.
Day 3
Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024
9:00 • Essential Systems for Production Planning & Analysis
We'll share our simple, scalable and highly effective process for optimizing your production planning – to master the art of maximizing sales, minimizing labor and waste, and all while never running out of your top-sellers. It's math more than art and you'll be amazed at how easily our system can work for you.
10:30 • Making the Most of Movement Reports
Learn how to organize, analyze and act on your department's sales and margin data to ensure you achieve your production and margin goals.
11:00 • This & That, Etc.: Signage, Manuals, Forms & More!
A menagerie of documents and pro tips for upgrading your service mojo, creating merchandising magic, and systems for running a best-in-class operation. We'll give you a sneak peek into everything you’ll find in our DeliOps Document Library.
11:30 • Lunch
Catered dining al fresco, with a breathtaking view of the bay.
12:45 • Reimagining Hot Foods
Hot food programs are back and thriving, despite the pandemic and rising food costs. We'll share everything you need to know to create delicious hot bar, soup and chicken programs that achieve healthy margins. You’ll leave with a hot bar plan to inspire change in your program.
2:30 • 50 Ways to Grow Sales by $50 a Day
Growth is the elixir! We'll share easy ideas for incrementally growing and improving any prepared foods operation.
3:45 • Plans For Change
Put everything you’ve learned into a plan for action! We’ll provide breakthrough strategies to help you identify priorities -- from which you’ll develop an agenda, timeline, and plans for making the most of your seminar experience.
4:45 • Endings & Evaluations
5:15 • Wine & Cheese Reception/Break
Decompress and toast to one last sunset over the bay with the new colleagues and friends you’ve made during the seminar.
6:30 • Dinner at Avatar’s
We’ll share our last meal together at Avatar's, an unforgettable dining experience that will delight your palate and your heart. Your tastebuds will dance on flavor-packed Indian-Caribbean fusion sensations, made with organic and local ingredients.
Allen provides prepared foods design and consulting services exclusively for organic and natural foods retailers. Since 1993 he's worked for scores of co-ops and independents, and led high-performing teams at Good Earth Natural Foods, Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Market.
Michelle is an organic farmer and chef, customer service expert and deli operations maven. She managed the exploding growth of a fantastic co-op deli for a decade and now shares the wisdom of her experience with consulting clients.
Presenters
Testimonials
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DeliOps provided me with a strong base and understanding of prepared foods operations and systems, as well as baselines for financial success and opportunities for growth. This training was rich, informative, engaging, and I really enjoyed it. Allen and Michelle were clear, communicative, informative and personable.
Andrew Hernandez II, Store Manager
Franklin Community Co-op, Greenfield, MA
I've learned more about running a co-op deli in 3 days than I did in my 3 years behind the counter. Co-ops are a completely different animal and this seminar really brought home how to manage the unique kitchen and service side of these small businesses.
Deena Ramberg, Deli Manager
Moscow Food Co-op, Moscow, ID
Nice to see some new ideas and ways to look at everyday issues to help us continue to grow. Allen and Michelle both have an enormous amount of experience and expertise to help all of us to elevate our department.
Chris Cliff, Prepared Foods Manager
Moscow Food Co-op, Moscow, ID
DeliOps 101 showed my organization's faith in us by sending our team of managers and allowing us to collectively brainstorm, problem solve, and teambuild. I'm a return attendee but there was a lot of tweaked, updated or new content. I think we've got a bucketful of action items for our near future.
Robert Deutsch, Deli Manager
Lakewinds Food Co-op, Minnetonka, MNA
This seminar is great! 10/10! Super well organized. I will be revsiting this workbook many times. I was pleasantly surprised at how much bakery content was covered.
Erin Evans, Baker
Pilgrim's Market, Coeur d’Alene, ID
Lots of great content, tips, tricks. And provided me with renewed enthusiasm to bring back to our deli operation. Allen and Michelle know what they're talking about and deliver the information in a fun interactive way.
Ryan Black, Service Deli Manager
Pilgrim's Market, Coeur d’Alene, ID
Comprehensive, educational and well structured! These tools will equip our deli team to generate much higher profitability.
Joseph Roberts, Deli Chef
Pilgrim's Market, Coeur d’Alene, ID
Great content and well delivered. I came away with a much deeper working understanding of my job. I feel inspired and see a clear path to achievable success. Even if you're a pro who's been doing this for years you'll take something you can apply in your department. I have been to quite a few seminars in the natural foods industry and this was one of the more fun, interesting and useful I have attended.
Geoffrey Power, Culinary Director
Community Market, Sebastopol, CA
Registration Fee
Regular Registration
$2900 per person
Plus $1200 for 4 nights per lodging room
(single or double)
Change & Cancellation Policy
Substitutions
You may substitute a participant
at no charge until 2/26/24.
Refunds
For cancellations, a 95% refund will be provided for notice by 12/29/23; a 50% refund for notice by 1/26/24.
No refund (substitutions only) on or after 1/27/24.
Please send any notice or questions about your registration issue to the event host at allen@deliops101.com.
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