When my husband heard that I was to be the CSP team’s editor for snacks and candy, he said, “Don’t they know you hardly ever go near that stuff?”
We’ve been married more than 30 years, so I guess I’ve been successful at being a closet snacker. I must admit that chocolate—especially dark chocolate, doubly delicious when it covers mint or caramel—is my No. 1 weakness.
And I’m not about to reveal where I hide my stash.
I joined CSP in 2009 to help build CSPedia, a digital database of intelligence about all convenience-retail chains with 20 stores or more. If you’re a retailer, you might know me as that pesky woman asking all those questions about your stores. If you’re a supplier or manufacturer, you might have relied on CSPedia to help you learn about a chain, or find out its primary wholesale supplier, or the marketing director or category manager for snacks, beer or foodservice.
Like a chrysalis transforming into a butterfly, CSPedia has emerged this year as a new product line within the Technomic Digital Resource Library. Technomic, a Winsight company widely respected for its expertise in foodservice research, now offers the Convenience DRL, with expanded features and data about c-store chains and operators.
As for me, a longtime newspaper editor and reporter, it’s a natural fit for me to join the editorial team. So watch for me at trade shows and conferences, look for my calls and help me master this category, one caramel-covered chocolate at a time.
I can’t believe my good fortune to be assigned to the best beat in the industry.
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