What are the compelling issues confronting the food industry in 2008 and beyond? What kinds of companies can be successful in a tough competitive environment that continually challenges them with issues like globalization and food safety? How will you differentiate your products, services and values in an era of cutthroat competition, when customer needs and priorities seem to shift almost daily?

Kevin Coupe, MorningNewsBeat’s “Content Guy,” addresses each day on his web site…and they are the focus of this presentation. His premise: the stakes are too high, the time is too short, and the customer is too demanding for retailers and manufacturers to put off critical decisions that will define their future and their hopes for survival. You’ll walk away with tactics to help your company evolve and stay ahead of the game.

Kevin Coupe is a writer specializing in creating unique portraits of “Main Street”-type businesses in the U.S. and around the world, focusing on the unique dynamic that exists between retailers, manufacturers and consumers. Working in print, video and online, Coupe captures the special relationship between shopkeeper and shopper, especially in a technological society in which the rules and roles are constantly changing. And, as a speaker on these same subjects, Coupe has enlightened and entertained audiences around the globe.

Special thanks to Padilla Speer Beardsley for sponsoring this session.