Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates (ROFDA) soon will open applications and registration for its fall 2026 conference, scheduled Nov. 3-7 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, California, in the Palm Desert area.
The announcement follows a sold-out spring event that drew record attendance, with ROFDA citing strong early demand for the fall program as motivation for prospective participants to apply early.
The fall conference will feature ROFDA’s core executive and functional share groups, including the Chief Merchants, CTO/CIO, Marketing/RMN, Retailer and CEO Share Groups. The groups are structured to drive deeper engagement between ROFDA members and participating companies in merchandising, operations, technology, retail media, supplier collaboration and retailer execution.
A defining feature of ROFDA’s event model is its pre-scheduled business meeting format, which gives participating CPG and technology companies access to share groups collectively through a one-to-many format alongside targeted one-on-one meetings with individual ROFDA wholesalers and member companies. The structure allows partners to present broader strategic ideas then follow with more focused discussions tied to each member’s priorities, capabilities and market opportunities.
“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’s national events serve as both relationship-building forums and working sessions designed to move key initiatives forward. The combination of share group engagement, CEO-level participation, retailer involvement and structured business meetings gives participating companies a more efficient path to understand the independent grocery channel and build relationships across the ROFDA network.
Amy Niemetscheck, president and CEO of CERTCO and board chair of ROFDA, credited the growing momentum to a shared sense of purpose among members, retailers and partners.
“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.”
Spring 2026 Event Recap
ROFDA’s spring 2026 conference, held May 12-16 at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sold out and drew record attendance. The event brought together ROFDA member wholesalers and self-distributing retailers, select independent retailers, CPG companies and technology partners for focused discussion, strategic collaboration and pre-scheduled business meetings. New and expanded CPG participation included Kellanova, General Mills, Bumble Bee, McCormick, Nestlé, Nestlé Pet, Hometown Food Company and others.
About ROFDA
ROFDA is an organization serving leading wholesale distributors, self-distributing retailers and the independent retailers they support. ROFDA focuses on work that creates greater competitiveness when done together rather than separately, including supplier engagement, share groups, data and technology initiatives, and scaled programming designed to strengthen the independent grocery channel.
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