In keeping with its longtime goal of becoming the leading global information platform for the foodservice and retail industries, FoodService Director parent company Winsight LLC has entered the $669 billion grocery segment with the acquisition of Grocery Headquarters, an established media brand in the retail food industry. As such, Grocery Headquarters rounds out Winsight’s food and beverage portfolio, which includes publications, events, market research and digital channels.
“This investment is essential to achieving our goal of becoming the global information platform for foodservice and retail industries,” said Ward Downing, president of Winsight Media. “Grocery is the largest channel for food retail in the United States, and with more consumers choosing retailers for their foodservice occasions, the lines between segments continue to blur, making the acquisition of a grocery trade publication a perfect fit for our current portfolio.”
In preparation for its entry into the market, Winsight has hired a stellar team of seasoned supermarket industry professionals, including Jeff Friedman, who will direct the overall brand, and Meg Major, who will lead content operations. Most recently with Progressive Grocer, Friedman and Major are joined at Winsight by their former PG colleagues Janet Blaney and Shari Levenson.
“I’m thrilled to join Winsight to lead the B2B grocery platform, which will offer comprehensive intelligence and unparalleled touch points to our customers through our existing brands: CSP, Convenience Store Products, Restaurant Business, FoodService Director and Technomic,” noted Friedman, who has assumed the title at Winsight of EVP of grocery.
Friedman, Major, Blaney and Levenson join the content and sales leaders at Winsight Media, which currently include Sarah Lockyer, Chris Keating and Richard Price, all of whom had senior leadership roles at Supermarket News.
“In the coming months, we will reinvent Grocery Headquarters with a complete redesign of the print magazine, website and related digital offerings, alongside a significant refresh of a more robust content strategy focused on compelling and engaging industry insights, analysis and commentary, in-depth profiles, research-based insights and comprehensive category features,” said Major.
Winsight’s commitment to providing relevant, useful information in award-winning print and digital products will be apparent in the reinvention of Grocery Headquarters. “Winsight’s design and editorial teams are unmatched in the industry, and the same style and content will be applied to the company’s newest brand to ensure its customers receive a high-quality Winsight product,” added Friedman.
“Our team is proud of the success we’ve achieved, and we believe our company is well positioned for future growth in this new industry,” noted Downing.
Winsight, LLC is a business-to-business media, event, data and information company specializing in the convenience-retailing, restaurant and noncommercial foodservice industries. Winsight Media offers a suite of digital products, including websites, e-newsletters, webinars, video, apps and custom marketing solutions.
The Winsight Events group produces exclusive, large-scale executive-level conferences, including Restaurant Leadership, FARE, Outlook Leadership, Convenience Retailing University, FSTEC, Restaurant Trends & Directions and MenuDirections.
Winsight also owns Technomic Inc., the leading provider of market information and advisory services to the food industry.