Marketing Matters Comes to Boise

It's an exciting summer here at the Boise Co-op! Last month, we hosted CCMA, a national conference for managers and board members of co-ops like ours. This week, we get to host another national conference: Marketing Matters! Marketing staff from food co-ops all around the country are flying in for a three-day conference that will run Wednesday through Friday. They'll participate in networking, attend panels, and listen to keynote speakers Dave Olson and Janelle Orsi, two prominent voices in the co-op community.

Marketing Matters highlights an aspect of food co-ops that really differentiates us from other grocers like Whole Foods and Trader Joes. Food co-ops don't spend millions of dollars a year on national marketing campaigns – we focus our efforts on connecting to local communities. Though we may not spend millions on advertising, by working together with other co-ops we can learn from each other and succeed together. This year, talks will center around strategies for competition and ideas for community outreach and food accessibility, like Missippi Market's LIME Program.

In previous years, Marketing Matters has been held in cities like Portland, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. We're very excited to be hosting it in Boise this year!