K-VA-T Food Stores Receives SymphonyAI Tempo Award for Retail Innovation

Kraft Heinz, wholesaler METRO also honored

11/29/2023

Food City Kingsport TN K-VA-T Main Image

K-VA-T Food Stores has pursued various strategic priorities with SymphonyAI, including customer insights, shelf planning, and the implementation of SymphonyAI’s master data management, supply chain vendor portal and promotion optimization solutions.

SymphonyAI, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of predictive and generative enterprise AI software as a service (SaaS), has given K-VA-T Food Stores, the parent company of Food City, a SymphonyAI Retail CPG Tempo Award. The Kraft Heinz Co. and German-based international wholesale company METRO were also recognized. The companies received the awards for their innovation and excellence in using SymphonyAI solutions to optimize assortments, increase revenue, and improve collaboration between brands and retailers.

The merchandising and marketing teams at K-VA-T Food Stores have pursued various strategic priorities with SymphonyAI, including customer insights, shelf planning, and the implementation of SymphonyAI’s master data management, supply chain vendor portal and promotion optimization solutions. K-VA-T also integrated deep customer insights into its ongoing workflows and processes, thereby facilitating customer-centric retailing and a data-driven mindset.

“Using the data that is compiled by SymphonyAI customer analytics keeps us nimble in responding to demand shifts in the price/quality spectrum and customer engagement throughout the store,” noted Dan Glei, EVP of merchandising and marketing at K-VA-T. “We can easily measure our effectiveness of mass and personalized marketing campaigns. When people begin to identify with that personalization of their stores, that’s when you know you have arrived in terms of experience.”

Kraft Heinz Co., the third-largest food and beverage company in the United States, won for its use of customer insight solutions to inform data-driven decision making and bolster collaboration with retailers. METRO automated planograms and assortment planning for compliance in multiple countries while allowing localization to meet shopper preferences and providing a unifying framework.

“This year’s outstanding SymphonyAI Tempo Award winners truly exemplify the spirit of bold innovation and operational excellence that set the pace for retail and CPG leadership,” observed Manish Choudhary, president and CEO of the SymphonyAI Retail CPG vertical. “It’s very gratifying to recognize Kraft Heinz, METRO and K-VA-T for their excellence and accomplishments applying SymphonyAI leading-edge, AI-based technology to deliver powerful business results to their stakeholders and a more engaging experience for shoppers.”

Food City’s parent company, Abingdon, Va.-based K-VA-T Food Stores, operates more than 150 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia and Alabama. K-VA-T is No. 70 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.