Saturday, March 5
8 a.m.-10 a.m.
Grand Ballroom South Hall: S100
New Exhibitor Preview
This year more than ever retailers are looking to discover new products and innovations. Before the Show opens on Saturday, 90 of these newcomers will get a moment in the spotlight at the New Exhibitor Preview.
Trending Today
Healthy @Home is the theme for the 2022 Trending Today preview event. Healthy @Home will focus on a healthy home, healthy mind and healthy spirit. It encompasses everything from how we physically clean our living spaces and organize our home environment to safe food preparation, sustainable home products that eliminate harmful waste to our planet and products that ease our stress levels and promote overall well-being. A post-COVID-19 world will continue to rely on safe social and home protocols and the products that make it possible. This pre-Show tabletop event is exclusively for buyers and media.
11 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Pitch to the Pros
Inventors Corner: Lakeside Center Lobby
Pitch To the Pros offers an exciting opportunity for exhibitors in the Inventors Corner to pitch their inventions to a panel of experts in fields such as product design, product marketing, product licensing and legal protection. Inventors will present their products the panel in a 7-minute pitch and receive advice and critique from the panel of experts.
Carter McGuyer, Carter McGuyer Design Group
Randy Huis, Volpe Koenig
Alex Pinheiro, Monchy Lacroix
Russ Williams, InventionHome
Warren Tuttle, Marketblast
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Innovation Theater: Lakeside Center Lobby E350
Turn Up Your Omnichannel Performance to a New Decibel
As retailers and brands rise back up from the pandemic, it’s obvious that a strong digital and omnichannel strategy is necessary for providing a seamless shopping experience for consumers. The FitForCommmerce Omnichannel Retail Index study finds that there are still many friction points to be addressed in order to have a truly seamless omnichannel experience. Hear the latest omnichannel best practices and how the home and housewares vertical stacks up to the retail industry. We’ll cover what customers today expect and what you need to do to meet and exceed their expectations. In this session, you will learn opportunities for the home/houseware vertical to turn up their omnichannel capabilities, the latest best practices for creating seamless experiences; and technologies and solutions to have on your radar in 2022.
Scott Allen,
FitforCommerce, an OSF Digital company
11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.
Cooking Theater: South Building S5027
Meredith Abbott
One of Meredith Abbott’s missions is to demonstrate that it’s possible – and wonderful – to have healthy and flavorful on the same plate! Having worn the hats of pastry chef, food truck operator, private-school chef, farmhand and corporate executive chef, Abbott currently brings her comprehensive background to the role of Culinary Content Manager at Sur La Table. A native Iowan who has lived in Seattle since 2002, Abbott has immersed herself in Seattle’s thriving and innovative restaurant world. Sponsored by Gibson Homewares, S201
12:30 p.m.-1:15 p.m.
Cooking Theater: South Building S5027
Rick Bayless
Most people know Rick Bayless from winning the title of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, besting the competition with his authentic Mexican cuisine. His highly rated public television series, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, is broadcast coast-to-coast and his nine cookbooks have earned multiple high-profile accolades. Located in Chicago, Bayless’s Frontera Grill and Topolobampo have each received the “Outstanding Restaurant” designation from the James Beard Foundation — an unprecedented feat for side-by-side restaurants. His wildly popular fast-casual Xoco has been around since 2009 and Tortas Frontera at Chicago’s O’Hare airport has changed the face of airport dining. In 2016, he opened Frontera Cocina in Disney Springs, and in 2018, opened Bar Sotano, an Oaxacan-inspired mezcal bar with modern Mexican bar food. In 2019, Bayless founded Impact Culinary Training, a restaurant job readiness program on the city’s west side. The Government of Mexico has bestowed on Bayless the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle–the highest decoration bestowed on foreigners whose work has benefitted Mexico and its people. Sponsored by Frontera Grill.
1 p.m.-1:50 p.m.
Innovation Theater: Lakeside Center Lobby E350
RFID Smart Labels: Prepare for Major Retailers’ Requirements
Suppliers of home goods to Walmart have been directed to apply RFID smart labels in 2022 to the items they ship. Target, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Belk, and Dillard’s are among those using RFID at the item level to improve store-level inventory management in home goods categories. In this session, Marshall Kay will outline why this news from Bentonville is (and isn’t) big, and he will provide guidance to suppliers, retailers, and industry experts looking to stay current.
Marshall Kay, RFID Sherpas
1:30 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
Cooking Theater: South Building S5027
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is the founder of the first multi-channel lifestyle company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, an entrepreneur, best-selling author of 99-to-date lifestyle books and Emmy award-winning television show host. Reaching more than 100 million devoted fans on a monthly basis through her magazines, television shows, books and products for the home, sold at multiple retail and online outlets, Stewart is the “go-to” source for the homemaker. Most recently, Stewart launched ready-to-assemble furniture and home décor with Wayfair; seafood with True North Seafood; coffee with Barrie House; footwear with Aerosoles; MSC Cruises travel excursions and celebration packages; and a robust Amazon brand shop that features books, coffee, flowers, footwear, food, pet care, garden, seasonal décor, crafts and area rugs. The Martha family of branded products is owned by Marquee Brands, a leading global brand operator and marketer owned by investor funds managed by Neuberger Berman. Stewart joined the Marquee Brands team on June 10, 2019. Sponsored by Gibson Homewares, S201.
2 p.m.-2:50 p.m.
Innovation Theater: Lakeside Center Lobby E350
The Playbook for Creating & Accelerating Unicorn Brands
Join Beau Oyler, CEO of Enlisted Design and John LeBaron, CRO of Pattern as they walk through how to build 360° ecosystems that create and accelerate unicorn brands that consumers lust after. Learn how to use data and design to capitalize on white space and ignite growth. Hear real-world examples of brands that Pattern and Enlisted Design have helped elevate to unicorn status. Leave knowing the playbook to crack the create and accelerate a brand toward unicorn success. Beau Oyler is a design entrepreneur. As the founder of Enlisted Design and Chief Design Officer of Pattern, he works at the intersection of business, data, and design to create next-level product experiences for the world’s most sought-after brands.
John LeBaron, CRO of Pattern
Beau Oyler, CEO of Enlisted Design
2 p.m.-3:20 p.m.
Inventors Corner: Lakeside Center Lobby
Pitch to the Pros
Pitch To the Pros offers an exciting opportunity for exhibitors in the Inventors Corner to pitch their inventions to a panel of experts in fields such as product design, product marketing, product licensing and legal protection. Inventors will present their products the panel in a 7-minute pitch and receive advice and critique from the panel of experts.
Carter McGuyer, Carter McGuyer Design Group
Sarah Selzer, PR Direct Limited
Jerzy Osika, Promedia
Jamie Major, Volpe Koenig
Tom Mirabile, Springboard Futures
2:30 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Cooking Theater: South Building S5027
Greg Wade
Since joining Chef &Partner Paul Kahan and the One Off Hospitality team eight years ago to launch Publican Quality Bread (PBQ), alongside The Publican, Publican Quality Meats, avec, Big Star and more, Baker Greg Wade has transformed the group’s baking program from a seedling operation to a highly successful wholesale business—providing bread to more than 100 of the city’s top chefs and restaurants, as well as the area’s premier independent retailers. Known for partnering with small, family-owned farms across the Midwest to grow rare heritage grains that produce freshly stone-milled flours, PQB’s bread goes through a lengthy fermentation process that has earned a reputation of being the most flavorful and sustainable bread in the region. Wade was recognized as the 2019 “Outstanding Baker of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation for these extensive efforts supporting the artisan food community and was featured in the documentary, “Sustainable: A Documentary on the Local Food Movement in America” which is available for streaming on Netflix. Sponsored by Publican Quality Bread & Challenger Bread
3:30 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Cooking Theater: South Building S5027
Kevin Beary
Kevin Beary is the beverage director of award-winning Three Dots and a Dash, The Bamboo Room at Three Dots and a Dash and The Omakase Room at Sushi-san in Chicago. The success of Three Dots and a Dash is rooted in Beary and his team’s deep understanding of historic rum recipes and re-creating them with their own riffs, presenting them in a way that offers guests a full sensory experience through the depth of flavors, custom glassware and dramatics of the large-format cocktails. In 2019, Beary and his team opened The Bamboo Room at Three Dots and a Dash, a unique rum bar that was recognized as one of Esquire’s Best Bars in America in 2020. The Bamboo Room is known for its great collection of esoteric interesting rums and rhum agricole. The goal is to showcase the rare and unique flavors and to tell the stories behind each rum and cocktail. Between Three Dots and a Dash and The Bamboo Room, there are more than 300 rums utilized, representing nearly every rum-producing country in the world. Most recently, Beary opened The Omakase Room at Sushi-san in downtown Chicago where he created a menu reflective of refined Japanese cocktail bars combined with his signature technique-focused drinks. Beary has received several accolades over the years including a national finalist in both the 2014 Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition and the 2015 USBG Cocktail Classic. Presented by: Three Dots and a Dash
3 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Innovation Theater: Lakeside Center Lobby E350
Strategies for Developing Resilience and Sustainability in Your Supply Chain
This session frames the challenges we face in managing landed costs: tariffs, duties and other fees, freight disruption, the explosion of transport costs and non-stop shortages. With a combination of case studies, expertise, and experience, we will share tactics and strategies to address each of the major cost contributors to landed cost, regaining predictability and reliability and – most importantly – identifying and closing gaps and vulnerabilities against future catastrophic disruption. Bring your notepad: we’ll address tariffs and tariff mitigation, freight and transport rate trends, shortages and demand planning, staffing and management, sourcing and alternative sourcing, and Foreign Trade Zones.
Thomas Cook, Blue Tiger International
4 p.m.-4:20 p.m.
Inventors Corner Lakeside Center Lobby
Pitch to the Pros
Pitch To the Pros offers an exciting opportunity for exhibitors in the Inventors Corner to pitch their inventions to a panel of experts in fields such as product design, product marketing, product licensing and legal protection. Inventors will present their products the panel in a 7-minute pitch and receive advice and critique from the panel of experts.
Carter McGuyer, Carter McGuyer Design Group
AlokParika, Volpe Koenig
Elliott Brackett, Exceptional Products, Inc.
Robert Yusim, Product Counsel
Tom Mirabile, Springboard Futures
