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 was seen as forward-looking prediction at Groceryshop 2025 is arriving faster than expected. NRF 2026 made clear that the…
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 much in play. From consumer pressures and logistics volatility to executional challenges and growing expectations around GenAI, this series brings…
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 are reshaping how food is sold and bought—redefining the role of physical stores in the process. The impact is clear:…
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 conversation and chart. Manufacturers are chasing growth with newness, while service, inventory, and forecast discipline are buckling under SKU sprawl…
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 retail—from planning and promotions to fulfillment and forecasting. We’ve curated a four-part speaker series focused on real-world results that go…
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 familiar categories with sharper instincts, smarter positioning, and bolder ideas. This was a show defined by restraint in some areas…
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 show highlighted how brands are redefining the in-store experience, pushing beyond transactions to foster emotional engagement. The lessons learned have…
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 we do business. This January and February, Drive Wheel is proud to launch a Winter Webinar Series, bringing together thought…
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 Stores (NACS) tradeshow this October was abuzz with energy and innovation. NACS has always been a relationship-driven event—a place where…
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 Manufacturers Association (PLMA) trade show in Chicago was nothing short of extraordinary, with record-breaking attendance and a dynamic energy that…
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 GroceryShop conference in Las Vegas last month delivered success once again. This year’s show brought to life concepts that seemed…
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 innovative changes happening in the industry so they can bring the future to their company. To expand the thinking 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 with the last two years shows, we have seen this show refine itself and exceed the productivity from before Covid,…
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 advantage of using AI to improve the grocery shopping process. Grocery Shop organizes almost 20,000 1:1 meetings with attendees, making…
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 conversations, three tangents, and Rick, who wasn’t even invited, monopolized the conversations, you left without any new information. An unfacilitated…
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 operations. Attendance was up 8% over last year as foodservice fully bounced back from covid and operators sought new solutions…
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 year, that it was easy to spot booths that successfully drew a crowd. Sometimes, that crowd made it impossible to…
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 expected this week, there’s no doubt that people are fired up to connect with their peers. The show floors…
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 innovative changes happening in the industry so they can bring the future to their company. To expand the thinking 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 clear that the time off reenergized everyone’s passion for connection and left the Private Label Industry seeking new ideas. Manufacturers…