INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Following a sold-out spring event that drew record attendance, Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates (ROFDA) will soon open applications and registration for its fall 2026 conference, set for Nov. 3-7 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, Calif.
According to The Shelby Report, ROFDA said that strong demand for the fall meeting is already building and encouraged prospective participants to apply early when registration opens.
The conference will bring together ROFDA’s executive and functional share groups, including Chief Merchants, CTO/CIO, Marketing/Retail Media Network (RMN), Retailer, and CEO groups. The sessions are designed to foster collaboration among wholesalers, self-distributing retailers, suppliers, and technology partners across merchandising, operations, technology, retail media, and retailer execution.
A hallmark of ROFDA’s conferences is its pre-scheduled business meeting format, which combines one-to-many presentations with targeted one-on-one meetings between participating companies and ROFDA wholesalers and member organizations. The structure is intended to help suppliers present broad strategic initiatives while tailoring follow-up discussions to the needs of individual members.
“ROFDA’s events are becoming a more strategic platform for members and for the partners who want to engage the independent grocery channel at scale,” said Mark Deuschle, president and CEO of ROFDA. “The spring event confirms the value of our share group model and our pre-scheduled meeting format. As we prepare to open the fall application process, we encourage companies with a serious interest in engaging ROFDA to apply early, because the fall program is already showing strong demand.”
ROFDA said the conferences are designed to advance strategic initiatives and strengthen relationships among wholesalers, retailers and supplier partners. The organization said the combination of executive participation, retailer engagement and structured business meetings provides participants with an efficient way to better understand the independent grocery channel and to develop new business opportunities.
Amy Niemetscheck, president and CEO of CERTCO and chair of ROFDA’s board, said the organization plans to build on the momentum from its spring conference.
“The spring event in New Mexico demonstrated the power of the ROFDA structure, and we are pleased to welcome that momentum into the fall event in Indian Wells,” Niemetscheck said. “Our existing members, with recently added Brookshire Bros., our retailers and our supplier partners all strengthen the conversation, and that collective engagement is what makes ROFDA so valuable.”
ROFDA’s spring conference, held May 12-16 at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort in Albuquerque, N.M., sold out and drew a record crowd. The event brought together member wholesalers, self-distributing retailers, independent retailers, consumer packaged goods companies, and technology partners for strategic collaboration and business meetings. New and expanded supplier participation included Kellanova, General Mills, Bumble Bee, McCormick, Nestlé, Nestlé Pet, and Hometown Food Company, among others.
ROFDA serves wholesale distributors, self-distributing retailers, and the independent retailers they support, with a focus on supplier engagement, share groups, technology initiatives, and collaborative programs to strengthen the independent grocery channel.
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