Though the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference isn’t until January, the deadline for the group’s FMITech Pitch Competition is fast-approaching.
The pitch competition is open to any technology solution provider with less than $5 million in funding. FMI’s panel of industry judges (including Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley) will evaluate all submissions and choose six semifinalists to compete in a virtual pitch competition this fall.
Ultimately, three finalists will get the opportunity to pitch at FMI Midwinter on January 19. Finalists will also receive complimentary registration to this year’s Midwinter conference, as well as a complimentary slot in FMI’s exclusive B2B program, the FMITech Exchange.
The final pitch winner, which will be determined by an audience vote at FMI Midwinter, will then be announced live on the main stage, during the closing keynote session. The winner will receive the grand prize: pitching live to our full Midwinter audience from the keynote stage.
Entry criteria for interested applicants includes:
- Companies have to have received less than $5 million in funding
- Have completed the online application by Monday, Oct. 9
- And have submitted a three-minute pitch video
Last year’s pitch competition winner was Hyer, an app that connects businesses to on-demand labor and individuals to immediate work in real-time.
According to Dan DelGiudice, Hyer vice president of partnerships, the company is now working in over 10,000 locations across 27 states, with 150-plus partners. He also credits participation in the FMITech Pitch competition with being able to meet with several companies who are now new Hyer partners.
“Presenting our solution to the largest retailers & CPGs in the industry was great for exposure,” said DelGiudice.” Since the FMI Midwinter conference, we’ve been busy adding new retailers and brands across the U.S. to the Hyer app.”
According to FMI’s Vice President of Industry Relations Doug Baker, new tech and advancements to tech are both going to be crucial to the grocery industry, both now and in the years ahead.
“Eighty-five percent of retailers reported continuing to experiment with multiple, new technologies to improve the customer experience,” Baker said. “Additionally, one-quarter of retailers and more than a third of suppliers are using artificial intelligence to leverage customer data – tracking trends in those product preferences, spending, and more to anticipate customer wants and needs and improve sales and loyalty.”
“It’s undeniable that the food industry is going through a technology transformation, with technology accelerating business operations, and FMI continues to invest in ways to bring the industry together to provide forums for high-impact dialog around business imperatives including technology….the FMITech pitch competition at Midwinter Executive Conference serves as the spark to thinking bigger and helping us solve this new equation for how consumers define value, he added.”
