State of Suppliers: National Town Hall on Retail

The "State of Suppliers" is a national town hall powered by the Yack Shack Supply Chain Think Tank, strategically scheduled during the week of 2025 Congressional Black Caucus.

This initiative directly addresses the critical challenges and systemic roadblocks faced by suppliers from the African Diaspora in the American grocery and food service industries. The post-COVID era has fundamentally reshaped this landscape, accelerating e-commerce, fracturing traditional supply chains, and shifting consumer loyalties, creating both immense opportunity and significant new hurdles. This town hall is designed to move beyond surface-level conversations and tackle these complex realities head-on.

This will include a frank look at the persistent supply chain bottlenecks that continue to impact everything from raw material sourcing to last-mile delivery. The overview will also address the recent 'surge and sunset' of many DEI-based accelerator programs, analyzing their initial impact and asking the critical question diverse suppliers need to know.

Cohort of various individuals will join the moderaters for three segments. Moderated by Yack Shack Live! Host, Prince Michael Jett and Furad Tate, Director of The Entrepreneurship Center the Greater Washington Urban League. Tate, is also the co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week.

"Yack Shack Live!", is a grocery-retail product and service-based development program taped in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jett, is the former Enterprise Produce Ad Planning Analyst & Multicultural Category Management Liaison for The Kroger Co. Headquarters(located in Cincinnati).

The discussion will focus on transparently uncovering and solving bottlenecks in two primary areas: Market Preparation (a supplier's foundational readiness to enter the market, industry requirements and fulfill orders) and Destination Success (the complex strategies required to stay on the shelf, drive foot-traffic, and scale profitably).

Info: Panel and cohort discussion on the ‘surge and sunset' of many DEI-based accelerator programs, analyzing their initial impact and asking the critical question for diverse suppliers: What now? Also, diving deeper into the 'never-ending' cycle of joining cohorts without seeing the scale of case sales. What's the biggest miss?

Info: A deep dive with townhall panel into the shared relationship between retailer & supplier partnerships for profitability, foot-traffic and sustainable growth. Matthew Featherstone(Hiatus Cheesecake) and a host of other brand owners will join speak about their journey navigating anchor grocery-retail accounts the power of leveraging distributor's relationships. Learn from Prince Michael Jett, what he looked for when selecting suppliers for Kroger's Go Fresh & Local Supplier Accelerator.

Info: 20-min live Townhall with a cohort of audience Q&A and the announcement of the three-phase buying program initiative.

Info: Afterwards, meet & greet the town hall panelist during the networking reception. Dedicated breakout session for attendees to learn more about the initiative will be available.

Host or Publisher Darshae Spells