Phil Kafarakis
| Phil Kafarakis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Philip Menelaos Kafarakis March 29, 1958 Athens, Greece |
| 🏫 Education |
|
| 💼 Occupation | Businessman, food industry expert, public speaker |
| Board member of | Meals on Wheels (2013 - 2015) |
Phil Kafarakis (born March 29, 1958) is a Greek-American businessman, food industry analyst and executive. Kafarakis is a frequent public speaker on the food industry, and the current president of Specialty Food Association (SFA). He was formerly Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Jones Dairy Farm, before holding executive positions at McCormick & Company and the National Restaurant Association.
Kafarakis has also been an advocate and spokesperson for bringing new international products and tastes to the US. Most notably, Kafarakis has advocated for Greece-based food companies to enter the US food market, and for the promotion of Greek and Italian cuisine. Kafarakis is active in the Greek-American community, and was named an Archon of the Order of St. Andrew in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Early life and career
Philip Menelaos Kafarakis was born in Athens, Greece. Having emigrated with his family to the United States as a child, he was raised in Silver Spring, MD, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Kafarakis has worked for over 35 years at the C-Suite level in the global food and beverage industry. He started his career in 1982 at Kraft, where he was an Oscar Mayer Foodservice sales representative.
Jones Dairy Farm, McCormick and Cargill (1994 - 2013)
From 1994 - 2002 Kafarakis was Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Jones Dairy Farm.[1][2] While at Jones Dairy, Kafarakis oversaw the company's expansion of imports and marketing into China, in the wake of reduced trade tariffs.[3] He later led the foodservice businesses at McCormick & Co. He was responsible for the creation and launch of McCormick for Chefs; Cargill, and was Vice President of McCormick Food away from home.[4]
National Restaurant Association (2013 - 2016)
On May 14, 2013 Kafarakis was named the Chief Innovation & Member Advancement Officer at the National Restaurant Association (NRA), a business association for the U.S. restaurant industry.[5][6] Kafarakis created the Signature Leadership Keynote of the National Restaurant Association Show, currently still in place, the “Reality Gets Real” panel at the NRA Show,[7] and several restaurant industry tech insights panels.[8] He created Start-Up Alley to showcase emerging industry startups,[9] and oversaw the introduction of future tech leadership and an entertainment venue to engage attendees at the NRA Restaurant Innovation Summit.[10][11] He also served on the board of Meals on Wheels from 2013 - 2015.
Specialty Food Association (2016 - present)
Kafarakis was named as president of the Specialty Food Association in July 2016.[12] As the president of the SFA, he has also been involved in legislative and regulatory policy, and he has provided comments on behalf of the industry to the U.S. Trade Representative on organic and GMO definitions. In 2019, Kafarakis announced his plans to rebrand the Specialty Food Association and modernize the organization.[13]
Fancy Food Shows
Since 2017, Kafarakis has helped develop the SFA’s Forward 2022 strategic plan. The SFA's Fancy Food Shows underwent a dramatic transformation under Kafarakis, and moved to admitting only business-to-business attendees that are qualified food buyers across all segments of the industry, according to Edible Manhattan.[14] He was responsible for creating the LevelUP premier experience for industry buyers at domestic and international SFA events, which launched new engagement between buyers and members of the SFA manufacturing community.[15] He also produces and moderates the “Disrupt or Be Disrupted” panel series at the Fancy Food Shows to highlight young entrepreneurs.[16]
Throughout his tenure at SFA, Kafarakis has encouraged innovators and startup companies in the small food space to grow and encourage greater diversity and ecological responsibility in American consumer habits.[17] He sees mergers and acquisitions with big food companies as having a role to play, encouraging larger companies as well as grocers to “do everything better”—becoming more responsive to consumer tastes and demands, acting more sustainably by offering smaller and more locally made foods, and continuing to innovate new products and new ways to get them to consumers.[18]
Other work
Kafarakis is currently a member of the ASAE’s Key Industry Associations Committee, and serves as an advisor to the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association. He is a frequent guest at food industry events, and his opinions are tapped by local and foreign media reporters He is a frequent speaker on topics such as suppliers, food industry mergers and acquisitions, executive leadership,[19] the business models of conglomerates and smaller food manufacturers,[20] and restaurant expansion.[21][22] He has also discussed the impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the food industry.[23]
Kafarakis has advocated for big food companies to rethink their business models to include the more sustainable, consumer-centric strategies of smaller specialty food startups. He has also commented on the impact of Trump's trade tariffs on the restaurant industry.[24][25] In September 2019, Kafarakis travelled to Washington, D.C. to meet with officials from the White House, Congress and the US Department of Agriculture to discuss the impact that EU trade tariffs would have on the US food industry.[26]
Greek food industry
Kafarakis has encouraged Greek food and drink companies to capitalize on the popularity of Foodie culture and the popularity of the Mediterranean diet by marketing Greek food and culture in the US. He has also advocated for the Greek government and Greek industry to place a greater importance on the agricultural sector, believing that "If we do the same with the food [as with tourism], we will be the number one in the World; nobody will stop us."[27] Kafarakis has been credited with the Specialty Food Association's partnership with Greek organizations such as Enterprise Greece, American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, and Thessaloniki International Fair.[28][29]
Television and film appearances
Kafarakis appeared in 2016 documentary Fast Casual Nation, by Paul Barron and Don Fox.[30] Throughout his career, Kafarakis has discussed topics related to the food industry and food productions on networks such as CNBC,[31] Foodable,[32] and Cheddar.[33]
Personal life and education
Kafarakis earned his International Executive MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and was selected to address Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business International Executive MBA Class of 2009. Kafarakis has a BSBA from Northern Arizona University. He has served the Order of American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, is a member of Leadership 100, and Kafarakis was named an Archon of the Order of St. Andrew in the Eastern Orthodox Church in October of 2018.[34]
Publications
Kafarakis has written a number of articles related to the food industry, such as changing U.S. consumer tastes and the impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the food industry.[35] His work has appeared in publications such as Ivey Business Journal, HuffPost, and The Hill.[36][37][38] He has also published editorials in industry publications such as Progressive Grocer, Food Dive, Food Engineering, SmartBrief, and Food Quality & Safety Magazine, and he contributes a column to Target Marketing.[39]
Kafarakis has been a proponent of safe and sustainable methods for producing and packaging cannabis. His research on the topic led to an article outlining best practices for cannabis production plants.[40]
External links
References
- ↑ Meat & Poultry. Oman Pub. 1998. p. 18. Search this book on
- ↑ Growing Wisconsin's Economy. Department's Office of Public Affairs. 2002. Search this book on
- ↑ "State firms eager to tap into China". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "McCormick for Chefs to Sponsor the Ninth Annual National ProStart Invitational". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "National Restaurant Association Promotes Food Safety". Associations Now. 2015-09-17. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ↑ "National Restaurant Association Names Industry Leader Kafarakis To New Senior Role In Innovation, Member Advancement | StarChefs.com". www.starchefs.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
- ↑ "Is your success a reality?", National Restaurant Association, 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ Terenzio, Olivia "5 Ways Technology Can Enhance (Not Replace) Hospitality", Open Table, 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ Jackson, Cheryl V. "National Restaurant Association taking strongly to technology", Chicago Tribune, 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ "BMI Joins Forces with the National Restaurant Association to Bring New Music to Innovation Summit", BMI, 2015-11-04. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ "LevelUp CEO to outline mobile payments at Restaurant Innovation event", Fast Casual, 2014-10-02. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ "Specialty Food Association Names Phillip M. Kafarakis as New President". Foodable Network. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ↑ foodnavigator-usa.com. "Specialty Food Association's new vision, updated logo invite more emerging brands, retailers to the fold". foodnavigator-usa.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
- ↑ "Summer 2018 Fancy Food Show", Edible Manhattan, 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ author, "What’s Trending at Summer Fancy Food Show?", Whole Foods Magazine, 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ "Walmart aims to disrupt". Store Brands. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
- ↑ "Specialty Food Association creates Incubator Alley", Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ Bratcher, Emily, "SPECIALTY FOOD GROUP DISHES ON SPECIAL SAUCE BEHIND INCUBATOR VILLAGE", Associations Now, 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ Gasparro, Annie,"Campbell’s Strategy Comes Under Scrutiny After CEO Departure", The Wall Street Journal, 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ↑ Schug, Deborah "What Big Food can learn from smaller companies", Food Engineering, 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ↑ "Nebraska Restaurant Association honors leaders at the 27th Annual Taste of Nebraska", Lincoln Journal-Star, 2016-4-25. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ↑ Redazione,"Torna a Fiera Roma Mercato Mediterraneo", Today, 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- ↑ "Inside small food companies' struggle to survive the coronavirus outbreak". Food Dive. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ↑ Jun. 03, Peter Romeo on; 2019. "Trump's Mexican tariffs would send restaurant food costs soaring, experts warn". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ↑ "Food importers brace for trade war's impact". Crain's New York Business. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ↑ News, Hellenic (2019-09-23). "Specialty Food Association Journeys to Washington DC to Fight for the $148 Billion Specialty Food Industry". Hellenic News of America. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ↑ Sirigos, Constantine S. (2018-06-25). "Greek Firms Charge into Specialty Food Show, Helped by Phil Kafarakis". The National Herald. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ↑ "Bringing a Taste of Greece to the American Market". Retrieved 2020-01-20. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Phil Kafarakis talks about the importance of Greece as the partner country at NYC's Fancy Food Show". Greek News. 2018-06-24. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ↑ "NRA President & CEO Dawn Sweeney to Kick Off "Fast Casual Nation" Documentary Premiere in Chicago". Foodable Network. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
- ↑ "US tariffs on EU goods 'extremely concerning': Food industry leader". CNBC. 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
- ↑ "Inside the National Restaurant Association Headquarters With Phil Kafarakis". Foodable Network. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ↑ "Coronavirus Outbreak Makes Moving Essential Supplies Difficult". Cheddar. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
- ↑ "The Archon: Winter 2019". Issuu. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ↑ Kafarakis, Phil. "How The Coronavirus Will Shape The Food Supply Chain". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ↑ Rupp, Kelsey (2017-12-08). "Americans' tastes are changing — Big Sugar needs to change, too". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ↑ "Reinventing Big Food | Ivey Business Journal". 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ↑ "Οι μεγάλες Αμερικανικές εταιρίες υστερούν στη μεταβολή των καταναλωτικών προτιμήσεων". HuffPost Greece (in Ελληνικά). 2017-12-23. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ↑ "Phil Kafarakis, Author at Target Marketing", Target Marketing, Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ Kafarakis, Phil, "Marijuana as a Food Additive: Explosive Growth Likely", Food Quality & Safety, 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
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