Foodservice Institute of America Debuts

In an attempt to unite all segments of the industry under an umbrella organization, the Foodservice Institute of America (FIA) is taking shape. The fledgling organization's intent is to move the foodservice industry forward through the use of single-source specification and the fostering of

FIA membership is open to operators, management advisory services consultants, design consultants, dealers, manufacturers, independent manufacturers' reps and service agents. At the moment the association has roughly 50 members, 35 of which are consultants, according to Egnor, who added that outreach programs to other segments of the industry are now getting underway.

“We need to build the constituency and build the value,” Egnor said. “We need to go out there and sell the value that FIA will provide. That's our homework assignment.”

To get the ball rolling, FIA has developed a series of committees that will help define the benefits it will offer individual members and the industry at-large. FIA also will conduct a series of focus groups to better gauge the needs of the various industry segments and determine what they would want out of an umbrella organization. In doing so, FIA hopes to adopt a bottom-up approach. “The development of the association will be driven by the members and not necessarily by the board of directors,” said Ken Schwartz, president, SSA Foodservice Consultants.

At this point, FIA does not have any intentions of hosting a trade show. Rather, the organization plans to organize an educational summit that brings together all corners of the industry at an already established venue, like a trade show or conference. FIA also hopes to provide a series of web-based educational opportunities.

It's in the formation of these programs where communication from the members will be key, according to Georgie Shockey, principal, Ruck-Shockey Associates Inc. “We got this to a certain point but we want to launch the committees so they can develop the values and benefits of FIA,” she said. “We want this to be more of a group founding than an individual one.”

A shift in the way the industry does business, specifically how products are specified into operations, sparked FIA's formation, according to Egnor. In particular, better educated end-users are driving what products go into their operations and this is a trend that will continue to evolve. “So, they will look to us for more of the technical pieces,” he added.

“All of the industry organizations have had some crossover into other segments, but the bottom line is that there is not one specific group that is about the entire industry,” Egnor said. “If we all work together, then we are all invited to the market to make a fair profit.”