Recently Kristin Avery sat down with John Nicholas to have a conversation about his recent Top2Top experience.
1. In a 100 words or less, what is Top2Top?
Top2Top is an annual conference sponsored by FSMA (Foodservice Sales & Marketing Association). Top2Top is a chance for Brokers/Agencies to come together around issues that are critical to their business. It also allows attendees the opportunity to stay up-to-date on current trends and to hear concerns within the Agency community.
2. What year did you start attending Top2Top?
I started attending Top2Top in 2005.
3. What was different about Top2Top 2011 than Top2Top 2010?
There are several differences between Top2Top 2011 in comparison to Top2Top 2010. In Top2Top 2010, Regionalization was much more of a hot button topic than 2011. It is still a prominent issue, but some of the initial angst has passed, and even if some Agencies are not thrilled with regionalization they have embraced the reality of it.
Along those same lines as regionalization issues surfaced that created tension between many manufacturers and agencies. In 2011 however, because of the economic environment, there is more of a sense that we are all in this together.
4. What are the three major benefits of attending Top2Top?
For me, the three major benefits of attending Top2Top are networking, relationship building, and industry knowledge
5. What speakers had the most impact on you and why?
The speakers that were most valuable to me were from Technomic and the Cleveland Research Company. There were a lot of trending information that I found relevant.
Rick Abraham, the President of FSMA and his team’s did an excellent effort of lining up speakers and providing a conference rich in industry information, as well as providing valuable networking opportunities.
6. Why do you think it’s so important to be in the presence of industry professionals at Top2Top?
I think it’s so important in order to keep relationships fresh and to stay current on industry knowledge/trends. I believe that the FSMA team did an excellent job in creating an environment for foodservice professionals to do just that!
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regionalization,
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business intelligence