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Who’s This Seminar For?
Co-op and Independent
Natural Foods Grocers!
Owners, General Managers
and Store Managers
who want to
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Better lead, develop and support their foodservice leaders and their unique operation.
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Demystify the financial workings and develop greater clarity about operating your store’s most complicated sales department.
Foodservice & Kitchen Leaders
who want to
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Develop new ideas and overcome barriers for growing sales and margin.
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Master critical systems to plan, track and analyze your operation’s production, sales, margin and labor.
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Create visually delicious merchandising displays.
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Network with other talented prepared foods leaders.
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Return inspired with fresh eyes, renewed spirit, and coherent plans for achieving your operation’s potential.
Registration Includes
2 Store Tours
You'll gain ideas and insights with two exclusive behind-the-scenes kitchen tours at BriarPatch Food Co-op's best-in-class operations.
Organic Lunches
You'll enjoy exquisitely delicious, all-organic catering from our host store, BriarPatch Food Co-op.
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.
Lodging at
Seminar Hotel
You'll wake up where you need to be, enjoying 4 nights of stylish comfort and hot breakfast at Gold Miner's Inn.
Snacks Galore
We enjoy being event hosts! Whether you're craving something salty, sweet, or healthy -- you'll never be hungry!
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.
Beer & Wine
Receptions
Network and relax with colleagues each evening with nibbles and cheer with local brews and wines.
Co-op Networking
We are truly better together and you'll benefit from being hosted and surrounded by other interesting and talented prepared foods pros.
Daily Agenda
Day 1
Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025
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.
11:40 • 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.
12:30 • Lunch
Catered from BriarPatch Co-op.
1:30 • Staffing, Continued
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 • Evening Beer & Wine Reception/Break
Relax with colleagues at Gold Miner's Inn's evening reception. Or, take some time to get outside or on your own before dinner and the store tour.
6:30 • Dinner & Store Tour (Grass Valley Store)
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour through the bustling prepared foods operation at BriarPatch Co-op. Each of their best-in-class stores produce all-homemade and nearly all-organic products, through an array of busy service and abundant self-service 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 allow time for personal needs.
Updated: 12/9/24
Day 2
Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2025
9:00 • Store Tour Q&A + SWOT Analysis
We'll share insights and 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 from BriarPatch Co-op.
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.
5:30 • Evening Beer & Wine Reception/Break
Adjournment
Dinner is on your own and the evening is yours to explore the area or enjoy some down time. The Grass Valley and Nevada City area offers some fantastic fare and we'll share a list our favorite nearby restaurants.
Day 3
Thursday, Apr. 17, 2025
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 from BriarPatch Co-op.
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 • Evening Beer & Wine Reception/Break
6:30 • Dinner & Store Tour (Auburn Store)
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour through the bustling prepared foods operation at BriarPatch Co-op. Each of their best-in-class stores produce all-homemade and nearly all-organic products, through an array of busy service and abundant self-service prepared foods programs.
Allen provides grocery store and 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
DeliOps is a very worthy investment; very useful and inspiring, and full of foodie wisdom and savvy tactics. The wealth of knowledge and experience made available by this seminar is invaluable -- so much in 3 days! Rigorous, in a way -- but also invigorating. I'm pumped to share what I learned.
Emily Zilke, Deli Manager
Just Food Co-op, Northfield, MN
Priceless knowledge. A deep dive into all things prepared foods. Regardless of what stage of the game you are in there is useful insight for everyone. Allen and Michelle are a dynamic duo and were very effective in presenting the info.
Amy Zelinski, Prepared Foods Manager
Bethlehem Co-op Market, Bethlehem, PA
Amazing all around. This was an incredible deep dive for me and I'll be able to support my prepared foods department much better now. Filled with information, it was exciting and interesting, and they did an excellent job of keeping me engaged!
Kristi Schmidt, Asst. Retail General Manager
Bethlehem Co-op Market, Bethlehem, PA
Far exceeded my expectation. I was dreading a seminar setting but this was the best seminar experience yet. I'm leaving with fresh ideas and new knowledge. The investment will come back around to my co-op as my team and I implement these ideas and strategies to better our delis.
Dale Smith, Deli Asst. Manager
Boise Co-op, Meridian, ID
So much more than expected. Layout of content was perfect and all of it was relevant. Really impressive. I have a hard time focusing in this way but the layout and schedule was so thought out that I was engaged the whole time.
Ryan Perry, Deli Asst. Manager
Boise Co-op, Boise, ID
DeliOps was such a great experience and so enlightening for someone at my level of experience. You taught in a way that appeals to all levels and backgrounds. It was 3 days of engaging info, so helpful and filled with both inspiration and practical tools.
Genevieve Dungan, Store Operations Manager
Oryana Food Co-op, Traverse City, MI
DeliOps covered a variety of topics and there was something useful in every segment. The information is pertinent and applies to everything I do. The presenters are fun and really know their stuff. I left with a wealth of ideas, tools and enthusiasm I know I can bring to BriarPatch to help us elevate, expand and grow. I hope I get the opportunity to do it again. It was incredible.
Paul Hamilton, Interim Deli Manager
BriarPatch Food Co-op, Grass Valley, CA
Registration Fee
Save with Early Registration Offers by 1/31/25
Early Registration
$2500 per person
Save $400 per person with
Promo Code SAVE400 by 1/31/25
Early 4-For-3 Deal
$2175 per person
Save $725 per person with
Promo Code 4FOR3 by 1/31/25
Valid only when registering at least 4 people in a single transaction and cannot be applied retroactively to include prior registrations.
Regular Registration
$2900 per person
On or after 2/1/25
+ $740 per single/double lodging room for 4 nights
Change & Cancellation Policy
Substitutions
You may substitute a participant
at no charge until 4/15/25.
Refunds
For cancellations, a 95% refund will be provided for notice by 1/31/25; a 75% refund for notice by 3/15/24.
No refund (substitutions only) on or after 3/16/24.
Please send any notice or questions about your registration issue to the event host at allen@deliops101.com.
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