I’ve been thinking a lot lately about people behind the scenes.
That’s partially because of all the news going on in the world, but also because of what we have going on here. This month is our annual Food Automation & Manufacturing Conference, and it’s a virtual event for the second year in a row. It’s taken a lot of work to prepare for that when our plan was to be in person.
But it also applies to the magazine we put out every month. This month is our annual Top 100 ranking of the largest food and beverage companies in the world. How many of them could succeed without an endless string of ingredient suppliers, vendors, support staff, contractors and on and on and on?
On our end, I get to be the face of the magazine, and you all see the cool layouts and videos and other design elements we can do with this new platform. But how many of you could name our art director?
For every person—or product—in the spotlight, there are countless people who helped them get there. Photo courtesy of Getty Images / Dmitry Kovalchuk
The product you ship out the door every day is what grabs the attention of consumers, but how many of them realize just how many people are involved in getting the food they buy from the ingredient sources to the grocery store shelf?
(For the record, her name is Karla Fierimonte, and she deserves an incredible amount of credit for making us look good each month.)
It’s the same for all of you. The product you ship out the door every day is what grabs the attention of consumers, but how many of them realize just how many people are involved in getting the food they buy from the ingredient sources to the grocery store shelf?
We’re also guilty of this within our own little worlds. We know who the leaders in other departments or other divisions are, but we don’t necessarily know everyone. I’m not saying we should; it’s often impossible. But we all have people in our own areas of influence who do the work without getting to share the credit.
What this industry has done over the last year and a half is nothing short of staggering. Despite unprecedented disruptions in everything from supply chains to workforces, the food and beverages the world needs keep showing up on the grocery store shelves, day after day after day.
So take a minute to give yourself and others some credit. We’re certainly not out of the woods yet, but at least now we have knowledge to draw upon and help inform our future decisions. So many things have gone wrong since March 2020 that we often overlook everything that’s gone right. This industry does amazing things on a daily basis, and it wouldn’t be possible without everyone pitching in and filling their role.
Some of us get the glory, but we wouldn’t get it without everyone involved in the process, regardless of whether that’s a monthly magazine, an annual conference or meeting daily production targets. It may not be recognized the way it should, but it’s always appreciated. FE
