Chicago-based Peapod Digital Labs is seeking participation in a virtual program aimed at showcasing products from underrepresented suppliers to Ahold Delhaize USA.
Peapod is partnering with ECRM and RangeMe to host a series of four virtual events throughout the year. Merchants from the brands of Ahold Delhaize USA will meet with potential new suppliers to learn about their expertise and consumer packaged goods.
“We launched this program in 2021 to demonstrate our commitment to bringing the products of certified, diverse-owned businesses to the grocery brands of Ahold Delhaize USA,” said Andjela Petrovic, director of supplier diversity for Peapod Digital Labs.
“Last year the merchants of the Ahold Delhaize USA companies met with over a hundred suppliers, fully onboarding 20 new suppliers to one or more brands of Ahold Delhaize USA, with many more still in the onboarding process.”
New for this year, Peapod is teaming up with WBENC certified, women-owned business PowerToPitch to offer participating suppliers a free pitch coaching service to prepare for these events. Suppliers selected for the meetings will be offered a 75-minute group coaching session and a 30-minute one-on-one coaching session, focused on finetuning and reviewing their product pitch and increasing confidence in their pitch presentations.
“We’re excited to offer professional coaching for select candidates to help them approach the meetings with a clear and compelling pitch,” Petrovic said.
“We worked with PowerToPitch during our Incubator program in 2022 and participants found the support and resources tremendously beneficial. It’s an investment to develop a skill that lasts well beyond this one meeting or event. We hope this program will continue to support and facilitate new relationships between diverse-owned suppliers and the companies of Ahold Delhaize USA.”
Certified, minority-, LGBTQ-, woman-, veteran- and disability-owned businesses with products listed in the application can apply by Feb. 3 for consideration.
Once applications for the event are submitted, representatives from Ahold Delhaize USA companies will review and select vendors for the virtual event. Suppliers not chosen for the event will still be accessible through the RangeMe registration tools and may be reviewed by Peapod Digital Labs again in the future as business needs change. The application can be found here.
The first event is scheduled for April 10-19. Subsequent events will be held in June, August and October.
Peapod Digital Labs is the digital and commercial engine of leading grocery retail group Ahold Delhaize USA. As the innovation lab for the U.S. brands, which includes Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop, Peapod Digital Labs promotes digital and e-commerce innovation, technology and experience to meet the changing needs of customers of each Ahold Delhaize USA local brand, regardless of when, where and how consumers choose to shop.
