The Food Marketing Conference | Western Michigan University

fmc hero image — March 25 to 26, 2025

Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo, MI

1000+ attendees 36+ speakers Live-hybrid format Priceless networking

2025 Speakers and partners

Gema Alvarado-Guerrero, workforce wellness facilitator at Hormel Foods

Gema Alvarado-Guerrero

Workforce Wellness Facilitator at Hormel Foods

Meagen Arensdorff

Vice President of C.A. BUILD at C.A. Fortune

Read more about Arensdorff

Spencer Baird

CEO at Inmar Intelligence

Read more about Baird

Jill Blanchard

President, Enterprise Client Solutions at Advantage Solutions

Read more about Blanchard

Amy Bosek

Area Vice President at The Kraft Heinz Company

Read more about Bosek

Elizabeth Buchanan

President of North America at NielsenIQ

Read more about Buchanan

Kristina Cole

President and Chief Customer Officer at Danone

Read more about Cole

Ryan Coon, chief marketing officer at Stellar Snacks

Ryan Coon

Chief Marketing Officer at Stellar Snacks

Tammy DeBoer, president at Harris Teeter

Tammy DeBoer

President at Harris Teeter

Michael Doss

President and CEO at Graphic Packaging International

Read more about Doss

Don Fitzgerald

Partner at The Partnering Group

Read more about Fitzgerald

Amanda Gleason

Senior Vice President, Sales at Constellation Brands

Read more about Gleason

Dr. Brian Harris

Global Thought Leader on Retail and Category Management

Read more about Dr. Harris

Jacqueline Holliday, president at Upland

Jacqueline Holliday

President at Upland

Katie Hotze

Founder and CEO of Grocery Shopii

Read more about Hotze

Deepak Jose

Global Head of One Demand Data and Analytics Solutions at Mars

Read more about Jose

Amanda Lai

Director, Food Industry Practice at McMillanDoolittle

Read more about Lai

Jackie LaPointe, 7-Eleven enterprise director at PepsiCo

Jackie LaPointe

7-Eleven Enterprise Director at PepsiCo

Sarah Ludmer

Chief Wellbeing and Sustainable Business Officer at WK Kellogg Co.

Read more about Ludmer

Amy McClellan

Executive Vice President, Chief Customer Officer at SpartanNash

Read more about McClellan

LeQuan Page, regional president at Sysco

LeQuan Page

Regional President at Sysco

Lynn Petrak

Senior Editor at Progressive Grocer

Read more about Petrak

Stephanie K. Postma

Agile Transformation Lead at Hormel Foods

Read more about Postma

Heidi Reale, founder and CEO at SparkShoppe

Heidi Reale

Founder and CEO at SparkShoppe

Carrie Sander

Chief Customer Officer at Kellanova

Read more about Sander

Don Sanderson

Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer at Meijer

Read more about Sanderson

Erin Sanchez, vice president of grocery merchandising at Kroger

Erin Sanchez

Vice President of Grocery Merchandising at Kroger

Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO at FMI – The Food Industry Association

Leslie Sarasin

President and CEO at FMI – The Food Industry Association

Read more about Sarasin

Jim Seidler, grocery sales manager at Jewel-Osco

Jim Seidler

Grocery Sales Manager at Jewel-Osco

Derek Steele, group vice president, marketing and customer strategy at Meijer

Derek Steele

Group Vice President, Marketing and Customer Strategy at Meijer

Lori Buss Stillman, vice president of research and education at NACS

Lori Stillman

Vice President of Research and Education at NACS

Read more about Stillman

Psyche Terry

Co-Founder at UI Global Brands

Read more about Terry

Patricia Wilcox heashot

Patricia Wilcox

Co-Founder at Awestruck Ciders

Read more about Wilcox

Kristen Williams, chief technology officer and group vice president at Meijer

Kristen Williams

Chief Technology Officer and Group Vice President at Meijer 

Sunny Yurasek

Vice President, Client Development, North America at Decision Point Analytics

Read more about Yurasek

Dr. Russell Zwanka

Director of the Food Marketing Program and Associate Professor of Marketing at Western Michigan University

Read more about Zwanka

2025 Sponsorship opportunities

For more information regarding sponsoring the 2025 Food Marketing Conference, please review the sponsor level information below or contact Lisa Youtzy for more information.

Priority Access - $28,500 (limit 4)

Includes in-person conference registration for 24 people. Additional registration or blocks discounted at 20%.
Includes unlimited live-hybrid access to all sessions for your organization.
Sole sponsor recognition for keynote speaker session, with commercial feature before session—limited.
Company ad copy and logo featured prominently within conference ballroom, on website and on all promotional materials.
High priority for Food Marketing Association Company Day (Fall 2025/Spring 2026)—student interviews, internship priority, presentations full-time graduate hiring priority.
Three $2,000 Priority Access Sponsor Scholarships awarded in your company’s name.

Become a Priority Access sponsor

Platinum Plus - $23,500 (limit 8)

Includes in-person conference registration for 18 people. Additional registration or blocks discounted at 20%.
Includes live-hybrid access to all sessions for 40 people in your organization.
Sole sponsor recognition for keynote speaker session, with commercial feature before session—limited.
Company ad copy and logo featured prominently within conference ballroom, on website and on all promotional materials.
High priority for Food Marketing Association Company Day (Fall 2025/Spring 2026)—student interviews, internship priority, presentations and full-time graduate hiring priority.
Two $2,000 Platinum Plus Sponsor Scholarships awarded in your company’s name.

Become a Platinum Plus sponsor

Platinum - $18,500 (limit 8)

Includes in-person conference registration for 12 people. Additional registration or blocks discounted at 15%.
Includes live-hybrid access to all sessions for 30 people in your organization.
Sponsor recognition for keynote speaker session or breakout session.
Company ad copy and logo featured prominently within conference ballroom.
Sponsor recognition on conference website and company logo on scrolling banner.
Two $1,000 Platinum Sponsor Scholarships awarded in your company’s name.

Become a Platinum sponsor

Gold - $12,500 (limit 10)

Includes in-person conference registration for 8 people. Additional registration or blocks discounted at 10%.
Includes live-hybrid access to all sessions for 20 people in your organization.
Sponsor recognition for a breakout session.
Company will be recognized before and after sponsored breakout session.
Conference signage recognizing your company throughout the event.
Company recognition in select conference promotional materials including print, social media and virtual.
Two $1,000 Gold Sponsor Scholarships awarded in your company’s name.

Become a Gold sponsor

Silver - $8,500

Includes in-person conference registration for 6 people. Additional registration or blocks discounted at 5%.
Includes live-hybrid access to all sessions for 10 people in your organization.
Sponsor recognition on conference website.
Conference signage recognizing your company throughout the event.
Company recognition in select conference promotional materials including print, social media and virtual.
One $500 Silver Sponsor Scholarship awarded in your company’s name.

Become a Silver sponsor

Bronze - $3,500

Includes in-person conference registration for 3 people.
Includes live-hybrid access to all sessions for 5 people in your organization.
Sponsor recognition on conference website.
Conference signage recognizing your company as a Bronze Sponsor.
Company recognition in select conference promotional materials including print, social media and virtual.

Become a Bronze sponsor

Meet our 2024 sponsors

Abbott Nutrition

Acosta Sales & Marketing

Advantage Solutions

Alliance

Amazon

Aunt Millie's

Blue Yonder

C.A. Carlin

Circana

The Clorox Company

Coca-Cola

Conagra Brands

Constellation Brands

Country Fresh

Crossmark

Danone

Dawn Foods

Daymon

Dunnhumby

E. & J. Gallo Winery

Flashfood

Founders Brewing

Four Sigmatic

Graphic Packaging International

Hershey Company

Hormel Foods

H.T. Hackney

Inmar Intelligence

JOH

Johnsonville

KeHE

Kellanova

Keurig Dr. Pepper

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Kraft Heinz Company

Kroger

Land O'Frost

Learning Evolution

Lifeway

Lipari

Lynn's DakotaMart

Mark Anthony Brands

Meijer

Mondelez International

NGA National Grocers Association

Nestle

NielsenIQ

PepsiCo

Perrigo

Pratt Industries

Riveridge Produce Marketing

Sargento

SC Johnson

Shankman & Associates, Inc.

Smucker's

SpartanNash

SPINS

Sysco

Unilever

WK Kellogg Co

Questions? Contact the coordinators.

Contact Lisa Youtzy

Contact Dr. Russell Zwanka