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The Private Brand Opportunity in North America for Australian Manufacturers

G’day USA: Aussie Private Labels Star at PLMA Show

Australian food and beverages continue to wow in the US, starring at a leading trade fair. Australia Trade and Investment (Austrade) hosted the first-ever Australia Pavilion at PLMA’s 2022 Private Label Trade Show. Wisner Marketing was chosen to assist Austrade in preparing its manufacturers for the Show and in exploring new opportunities in the North American Marketplace. Activities included a series of webinars, store tours, a comprehensive overview of the Top 50+ retailers, and a Market Resources Day following the Show.

Drive Wheel Re-instating Specialty, Natural, and Organic Sales and Marketing Peer Group.

One of the 26 Drive Wheel Share Groups, this group took a hiatus during the Covid pandemic. It is now being reinstated. Ron Tanner, the former senior executive at the Specialty Food Association will co-facilitate the group with Jim Wisner. This group features retailer engagement as a part of every meeting. If interested contact Jim Wisner or meet with us at the Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas in January.

Drive Wheel Plans Cybersecurity Symposium for IT and Finance Peer Groups

Drive Wheel is planning a special event for its Information Technology and Finance Peer Groups at its Spring Meetings in May. The two groups will meet jointly on the first day for a Cybersecurity symposium covering Cybersecurity Best Practices, Cyber Insurance, and Disaster planning. Experts in each field will present and engage in discussions with group members which continue into the evening hours at dinner. To find out how to be a part of the group, contact Jim Wisner (jim@drivewheel.com).

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The MBC Consulting Share Group Network is now Drive Wheel

Over the past 20 years Mike Brouillard and MBC Consulting have successfully built its network of manufacturer share groups to 25 different groups involving over 150 companies and 1000 industry executives. MBC Consulting has been acquired by Theodore Schweitz, a Minneapolis Entrepreneur previously with Target and BBDO. While the company will be rebranded as Drive Wheel, it will continue and build upon the highly successful peer group format and experience developed by MBC. Jim Wisner has facilitated many of the MBC groups over the past 15 years and will continue bringing energy and new ideas to the new organization. Anyone interested in learning more about the Drive Wheel peer group experience should

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FMI Plans Creating Private Brand Ambassadors Webinar

Jim Wisner and Doug Baker, VP of Industry Relations at FMI, will be conducting a webinar entitled Creating Private Brand Ambassadors. This webinar is an outgrowth of its Power of Private Brands research project Turning Store associates into Private Brand Ambassadors. While 100% of the retailers surveyed indicated that getting store associates more engaged with their retailer’s brands would have a “major impact,” less than a third had any education or training programs in place. This webinar will be followed up in the Spring with the launch of Introduction to Private Brands, a private brand training and education program for store associates and support personnel. Both the webinar and training program will be produced by Wisner Marketing.

Wisner Marketing Conducts Seminar for French Manufacturers

With the dramatic growth of private brands in recent years, many foreign manufacturers have begun to view the United States as truly being “the Land of Opportunity.” At the request of Business France, Jim Wisner was invited to conduct a seminar for French Manufacturers looking to expand beyond their borders. Conducted in late May the program successfully demonstrated how overseas manufacturers could take the first steps to successfully enter the U.S. marketplace.

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Jim Wisner named to FMI Committees

Jim Wisner was recently invited to join the FMI (The Food Industry Association) Private Brand Leadership and Research and Education Committees. In this role, Jim will help form the direction for FMI’s ongoing role in leveraging The Power of Private Brands for its members.

ECRM Webinar is a Huge Success

The ECRM Webinar, Capturing the Global Private Brand Opportunity, conducted by Jim Wisner and the Global Masters of Private Brands, was a huge success with over 350 participants from 31 countries (many in the wee hours of their mornings) participating. This was believed to be a record for an ECRM Marketplace Webinar. The Webinar literally moved around the globe, with the Masters presenting from Australia, The Netherlands, Canada, and the United States.