This is our ongoing stream of ideas. As we attend trade shows and discover
industry observations we will write them up here.
Fancy Food 2026 – Concept to Shelf Just Got a Lot Shorter: A New Ecosystem for Getting New Products to Market Walking the Summer Fancy Food Show this year, one theme sat underneath everything else
Summer Speaker Series: Retailers are putting new technology to work across the path to shelf, from autonomous freight to digital shelf tags. For this series, we pulled together a lineup of companies behind the shifts,
Foodservice Looks Like It’s Still in Value Mode. The 2026 Restaurant Show Showed That’s Only Half the Story. Walking the 2026 National Restaurant Show floor for the fifth year, the most telling signal was a
A CPG manufacturer’s guide to GS1 Sunrise 2027, the move to 2D barcodes on consumer packaging, and the future of GS1-128 and GS1 DataMatrix on shipping cases.
A CPG manufacturer’s guide to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging laws across seven US states, including compliance steps, fees, and reporting.
Agentic AI Shopping Is Already Here, and NRF 2026 Proved It Agentic shopping isn’t a future state. It is live today, embedded in Google search, and most consumers are already using it without realizing it.
What’s Shaping Grocery in 2026: Consumer Demand, Transportation, and Gen AI With 2026 underway, the prevailing mood across business headlines is cautious optimism, yet many of the same forces that defined 2025 are still very
The Grocery Shakeout Has Begun, and Groceryshop 2025 Made It Clear Grocery is in the middle of a structural reset, and the implications for manufacturers are unambiguous. E-commerce, retail media, social platforms, and AI agents
Innovation vs. Complexity: What the FMI Supply Chain Forum Made Clear Innovation is driving offense. Complexity is putting teams on defense. That was my headline leaving St. Louis, and the tension ran through nearly every
Retail AI in Action: From Buzzwords to Bottom-Line Impact This summer, Drive Wheel is bringing together leaders in the space to explore practical ways AI is already reshaping how Food & CPG brands operate in
Fancy Food 2025: Innovation, Indulgence, and The Opportunities Hiding in Plain Sight Walking the Summer Fancy Food Show this year, a theme emerged. This wasn’t about chasing the next big trend. It was about reclaiming
NRF 2025: Fashion Retail’s Vision and Optimistic Lessons for Grocery This year’s NRF conference in New York was an electrifying experience—packed with insights, bold predictions, and a clear vision for the future of retail. The
The Future Of Grocery Technology: Drive Wheel’s Winter Speaker Series Grocery 3.0 is here, and it’s rewriting the rules. From cutting-edge software innovations to transformative in-store experiences, technology is reshaping the way consumers shop—and how
The trade show floor was busy every day of the show as retail buyers connected with manufacturers and networked amongst themselves. NACS 2024: Sweet Innovations, Foodservice Evolution, and Opportunities Galore The National Association of Convenience
The aisles were jam packed as buyers sought new ideas, innovation, and great conversations on the show floor. PLMA 2024: Breaking Records, Building Relationships, and Shaping the Future of Private Label The 2024 Private Label
Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo spoke about brand’s needs for transparent reporting and improved ROI from Retail Media Grocery Shop 2024: New Grocery Technology Appears In Store and Promises to Change the Shopping Experience The
Spring 23 Guest Speaker Series “The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed” – William Gibson. Drive Wheel Guest Speakers present new ideas and cutting-edge concepts to ensure our members are aware of
Fueling Progress: Reflecting on the Power of Meaningful Meetings at PLMA 2023 PLMA’s 2023 tradeshow was a testament to the industry and the PLMA’s dedication to growth post-Covid. Rather than a return to the past
Grocery Shop 2023 The Future of Grocery Shopping: Tech-Driven Transformation is Here Rodney McMullen, CEO of Kroger, spoke about the advantages of scale and retailer media. Seth Goldman, founder of Hungry Root, spoke on the
Enhancing Meeting Productivity Through Effective Facilitation: Why Business Leaders Need Facilitators Have you attended a group discussion where you hoped to have a great conversation and learn from the other attendees, but after the personal
National Restaurant Association Show 2023 – The Evolving Foodservice Industry The National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago in May drew 55,000 attendees to the McCormick center to see all of the latest trends in Foodservice
Its takes great design, execution, and excitement to stand out in this crowd (one hall of 8) Best Tradeshow Booth Designs – Natural Products Expo West 2023 Expo West had such a massive turnout this
Expo West 2023 Trends and Observations The Drive Wheel team is on location and excited to connect with our current and future members at Expo West. With over seventy thousand buyers, exhibitors, and industry professionals
Spring 23 Guest Speaker Series “The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed” – William Gibson. Drive Wheel Guest Speakers present new ideas and cutting-edge concepts to ensure our members are aware of
PLMA Returns As A Forum For Connections PLMA 2022 Trade Show Floor The passion was back on the floor of The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) tradeshow for the 2022 return to normal. It was
Target and Marks & Spencer (M&S) Partnership Hits the Mark Target/M&S partnership – The small shortbread cookies come in tins that have an LED candle in the bottom so they light up as luminaries after
Drive Wheel Executive Leadership Peer Group Visits Fresh Texas Facility This Fall, we had an exciting opportunity to visit Fresh Texas with the Executive Leadership Peer Group to tour their operation and see their team’s
Wise 10th Anniversary Happy Hour AT PLMA, Sponsored by Drive Wheel The Drive Wheel team was excited to kick off our Private Label Manufacturers Association, PLMA, tradeshow by sponsoring the Wo men Impacting Store-Brand Excellence,
National Restaurant Association Trend Update 2022 We attended the National Restaurant Associations Tradeshow in May. It was great to be back in person to collaborate and connect with so many people at this year’s show. With so
Packaging Trends From The Natural Products Expo West Tradeshow The Natural Products Expo West has become a destination for food packaging trends. Gone are the handmade labels of 15 years ago, now we get to enjoy