Call For Entries: Progressive Grocer’s 25th Annual Category Captains Program

Retailer and supplier collaboration has always been important, but the pandemic took things to a new level last year and the same is true this year.

The heightened importance of collaboration and pandemic driven adjustments to category management caused Progressive Grocer to adjust our Category Captains program last year. And as the pandemic situation has evolved, we’ve readjusted the criteria somewhat this year to reflect a more normalized environment. What has remained consistent though for 25 years is the Category Captains recognition of leadership among supplier companies that serve America’s retailers of food and consumables.

As for what constitutes leadership, we encourage you to check out the criteria by which Category Captain submissions are judged. At a high level, attributes such as speed, agility and resourcefulness, that were hugely important in 2020, still matter in 2021. But the moderation of pandemic conditions has renewed the emphasis on more traditional aspects of category management such as leveraging consumer insights, providing accurate demand forecasts, supply chain and replenishment proficiency, data-driven pricing and promotion decisions and the usage of advanced analytics to drive demand.

If you are a supplier to the nation’s retailers of food and consumables, the team at Progressive Grocer encourages you to submit an entry or entries in the Category Captains program. The full details of what we are looking for are available HERE.