Key Takeaways:
- The FMItech Pitch Competition is a highly anticipated event at the FMI Midwinter Conference, where innovative companies present their solutions to enhance the customer experience and support retailer operations.
- This year’s competition features three finalists: Swish, Genuin, and BetterBasket, each presenting unique solutions to address the needs of food retailers.
- The competition aims to showcase the innovation and tech leadership in the food industry, with previous winners having gone on to partner with food retailers and suppliers to integrate their technology into business operations.
- The pitches will focus on modernizing sampling, turning owned-and-operated channels into video-powered environments, and using agentic AI to help grocers price more precisely.
Introduction to the FMItech Pitch Competition
The FMItech Pitch Competition is a highly anticipated event at the FMI Midwinter Conference, where innovative companies present their solutions to enhance the customer experience and support retailer operations. Each year, a myriad of companies vie for a spot in the competition, all of which present unique solutions that address the needs of today’s food retailers. According to FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin, the competition showcases the innovation and tech leadership in the food industry, with previous winners having gone on to partner with food retailers and suppliers to integrate their technology into business operations.
Swish: Modernizing Sampling
One of the competition finalists, Swish, presents a programmatic sampling technology that modernizes sampling by applying adtech principles to real products. According to Adam Stave, the founder of Swish, sampling is one of the most effective ways to drive trial, but it has not kept pace with the rest of the marketing ecosystem. Swish aims to change this by using the merchandise already in retailers’ stores to deliver a brand experience directly into a consumer’s grocery order. The technology integrates with ecommerce platform partners, making it easy to activate programmatic sampling without adding complexity for retailers.
Genuin: Turning Owned-and-Operated Channels into Video-Powered Environments
Another finalist, Genuin, presents a platform that turns owned-and-operated channels and touchpoints into video-powered environments, bringing short-form video storytelling to retailer-owned digital channels. According to Matt Wurst, the founder of Genuin, the platform enables customers to aggregate and highlight trusted, shoppable, and engaging video content from brands, creators, and communities directly into their own apps, websites, and AI-driven interfaces. The result is longer engagement, better conversion, and new media revenue without sacrificing control or shopper trust.
BetterBasket: Using Agentic AI for Precise Pricing
The third finalist, BetterBasket, presents a technology that uses agentic AI to help grocers price more precisely. According to Leon Zhang, the founder of BetterBasket, operations, especially pricing and promos, are still reactive, and by the time grocers see the impact of weather, seasonality, or cost shifts, the margin is already gone. BetterBasket aims to change this by using agentic AI that sits on a retailer’s sales, cost, and competitive data and proactively responds to real-world events, continuously recommending where to hold price, invest, or pull back.
The Competition and Its Impact
The three finalists will take the stage at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference to present their pitches to industry executives, who will then cast their votes for their favorite presentation. The competition winner will appear at the event’s General Session on Friday morning, January 23. The FMItech Pitch Competition aims to showcase the innovation and tech leadership in the food industry, and its impact can be seen in the success of previous winners who have gone on to partner with food retailers and suppliers to integrate their technology into business operations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the FMItech Pitch Competition is a highly anticipated event that showcases the innovation and tech leadership in the food industry. This year’s competition features three finalists, each presenting unique solutions to address the needs of food retailers. The pitches will focus on modernizing sampling, turning owned-and-operated channels into video-powered environments, and using agentic AI to help grocers price more precisely. The competition aims to drive innovation and growth in the food industry, and its impact can be seen in the success of previous winners.
