NFRA makes major enhancements during 2001.

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA) has undergone many enhancements during 2001 including a name change. In October, the membership voted overwhelmingly to incorporate refrigerated as part of the association.

"Many of our local associations have already taken steps to include refrigerated. The synergies between frozen and refrigerated on both the retail and foodservice levels make this change a logical and beneficial step for the association," said Nevin Montgomery, president & CEO of NFRA.

Appropriate changes were made to the bylaws of the association to include refrigerated, and the first Vice Chairman of Refrigerated, John Bottomley of Sargento Foods was elected to the Board. A refrigerated council was established and will begin working on promotions and resources for refrigerated members to fulfill NFRA's mission of increasing the sales and consumption of refrigerated foods.

Montgomery assured members that NFRA's focus on frozen foods will not diminish with the addition of refrigerated. "The addition of refrigerated will only enhance our attendance at meetings and increase our members' ability to network within the industry," he commented.

The year 2001 has brought significant advancements in NFRA's member benefits with the development of the "Bring Us to Your Table! Freezer Favorites[TM]" all-industry marketing-public relations campaign.

"We have been making personal visits to manufacturers and retailers, and the entire industry has shown great enthusiasm for the Bring Us to Your Table/Freezer Favorites campaign," said Montgomery.

The campaign works to change consumer perceptions and buying habits of frozen foods and ultimately increase sales and consumption across all categories year-round.

After three years of research and focus group input, the slogan Bring Us to Your Table! Freezer Favorites was chosen for its flexibility in promoting a single brand, a category or the entire frozen food industry. Accompanied by appetite appealing food photography, the logo is a call to action for consumers.

Bring Us to Your Table! Freezer Favorites made its debut in retail stores across the country in January 2002. The first major promotion of the year using the Bring Us to Your Table theme will be the highly-successful March National Frozen Food Month. In addition, NFRA has created July and August Ice Cream & Novelties Days which will give an added boost to these categories' sales. The October Frozen Food Festival will provide another opportunity during the year for the industry to promote the entire frozen department.

Montgomery says, "With total industry support, this year-round campaign has the potential to change consumer buying habits, raising frozen food sales to a new level."

Over the next few years, Bring Us to Your Table! Freezer Favorites will expand into an aggressive media campaign including radio and television coverage -- only limited by the industry's support.

Another major initiative in 2001 was the complete redesign of the NFRA web site at www.nfraweb.org to provide more relevant content and services to members.

The NFRA web site has been redesigned with special sections for the retail and foodservice segments of the industry which provide audience-specific content and resources. Retailers can find an abundance of information on retail sales statistics, NFRA publications and resources available and links to other retail industry sites.

A new feature of the retail section is a new product database. Retailers asked to have one place to go to see all the new products offered by all the manufacturers. NFRA responded by creating a Retail New Frozen Food Product listing service. Manufacturers can list their new products in a comprehensive database including packaging descriptions, market area and a photo. The listing links back to the manufacturer's web site for additional information about each product.

As the "Voice of the Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Industry," NFRA has also designed a special media section to provide the ultimate resource for frozen and refrigerated foods information. The site provides the media with a constant link to NFRA and its efforts to communicate the benefits of frozen and refrigerated foods.

Nevin Montgomery
President and CEO
National Frozen & Refrigerated
Foods Association