At JGL, we like to look back at the end of each year and take a moment to highlight everything that our small, but mighty team has accomplished. See below for some of this year’s company highlights:
In 2023, JGL has…
- Completed more than 50 projects
- Set two new company records:
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- Highest number of RFP’s managed in one year
- Added more Higher Education clients than ever before
- Traveled to 23 states
- Increased retail project work by 14%
- Completed a website refresh
- Managed three simultaneous bid meetings in three states on the same day
- Implemented a new company-wide project management software
- Attended more than 65 tastings (hello Weight Watchers)
- Held another epic company retreat
- Bid farewell to the Pandas at the National Zoo
- Increased followers on LinkedIn by 15%
As busy as we have been this year, we are always thinking ahead. Before closing out the year, we thought it would be fun to share some trends that we feel are going to be hot topics in 2024:
- Technology for All Categories – Technology continues to take center stage! From performing arts centers, to botanical gardens and higher education campuses, food service and retail merchandise operations need technology to be successful. Technology doesn’t just mean a good POS system anymore, it means pre-order functions, waste tracking, 24/7 markets, robotic services, kiosks, etc. Ensuring that operators have a strong technology department with dedicated staff for client accounts is more critical than ever.
- Marketing for Events – Marketing event space has become less expensive since print advertising has become a thing of the past; however, it has become a labor-intensive endeavor. Most event rental programs do not have a marketing team and/or social media manager as part of their org chart. The events team usually relies on support from institutional marketing staff. JGL predicts that this will start to shift and that there will be an uptick in dedicated marketing professionals hired to manage social media, websites and collateral development for food service and retail merchandise within cultural institutions. There’s a lot of competition out there!
- DEAI for All Categories – DEAI continues to be an incredibly important conversation with JGL clients across all verticals. The changes that have been made are just the beginning. We are excited to be at the forefront of the conversation as it relates to food, beverage, and retail merchandise. Looking forward to even more progress in 2024!
- Sustainability –There is a renewed sense of focus on sustainability now that we have seemingly left the COVID era behind. There have been great strides made in linking DEAI and technology to support sustainable efforts. Local sourcing, waste tracking, and pushing for creative menu engineering are examples of some of the initiatives we have seen to support sustainable efforts. Can’t wait to explore new ideas and concepts in 2024!
We can probably go on until the New Year about all our 2024 predictions for food service and retail operations, but we will leave you with this for now as a conversation starter….
JGL could not be more grateful for another thriving year. We truly enjoy connecting and working with all of our clients (past and present) and helping them accomplish their goals. We hope to have the chance to talk more in 2024 about all-things food service and retail merchandise!!
From all of us at JGL, Happy Holidays!