Tyson Earns Highest Category Management Certification
Tyson Foods, Inc.’s Tyson Deli team has earned the highest level of category management certification -- Certified Professional Strategic Advisor – from the Category Management Association.
The senior management team members currently certified include Eric LeBlanc, VP of marketing, deli and convenience store; Scott Moses, senior brand manager; T. FuQua, brand manager; and Sharon Essary, category strategic advisor.
"Tyson's commitment to industry driven category management certification adds tremendous value to their retail partners and further establishes their leadership role in the industry and especially in the deli," said Kevin Costello, SVP business development, Category Management Association. "Their category expertise is evidenced by the cutting edge product innovation and effective merchandising programs developed for the channel matched with the investment in the professional advancement of their team members."
The CMA has three levels of certification: Category Analyst, Category Manager, and Strategic Advisor. Certified Professional Strategic Advisors have successfully completed 33 distinctive learning programs that include Consultative Selling, Root Cause Analytics, and Advanced Pricing Analysis.
The CMA certified Tyson Deli management team employs its category expertise and skill set to develop proven products, promotions and merchandising strategies aimed at increasing traffic and generating top-line sales in the deli. The team works with supermarket senior managers to analyze shopper trends, product assortment, merchandising, pricing and packaging strategies to develop programs that increase category sales. Tyson Deli category insights are supported by an array of consumer communication tactics across the entire path to purchase, including consumer promotions and point of sale materials.
Tyson Deli shares its category expertise in a variety of venues, including information on the company’s website, tysondeli.com, and with industry events such as a recent webinar for the CMA and presentations at industry conferences, such as the Shopper Insights and Action Conference and National Grocers Association Annual Conference.
“Tyson is dedicated to leadership and research, making it our mission to provide our retail partners with category analysis, and fact-based business solutions in an effort to help increase category sales and create a better shopping experience for consumers,” said Michael Keeley, VP of deli sales/foodservice.