Consumer Brands Association

The Consumer Brands Association was founded in 1908 as the American Specialty Manufacturers Association, which consisted of 45 food and branded product manufacturers in New York City.[4] It is headquartered at 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.,[2] and in 2017 announced plans to relocate to Arlington County, Virginia.[5]

Since founding, the association has pioneered legislation like the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act in 1938, which gave the Food and Drug Association its regulatory authority, and credited innovations, like the Universal product Code (also known as the bar code) in the 1970s and SmartLabel, a digital disclosure tool in 2015.

On January 1, 2007 the association merged with the Food Products Association and formed the world's largest trade association representing the food, beverage, and consumer products industry (GMA/FPA). The merged companies adopted the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) name.

As a result of two outbreaks of salmonella in 2006-2007, ,[6][7] efforts were made by GMA members "to reassess industry practices for eliminating salmonella in low-moisture products".[8]

On December 5, 2013, the GMA sent a petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in support of a new rule allowing food made with genetically modified products to be labeled as 'natural'.

On March 16, 2010 First Lady Michelle Obama called on the GMA to help her with her Let's Move! campaign to reduce childhood obesity.[9][10]

Several major members, including Campbell Soup Company, Unilever, Mars, Incorporated, Tyson Foods, Nestlé, Dean Foods, Hershey's, and Cargill, have left since 2017, prompting a rebranding effort.[11]

In September 2019, it announced that it would relaunch itself as the Consumer Brands Association effective January 2020.[12]

In May 2020, The Consumer Brands Association launched the Critical Infrastructure Supply Chain Council (CISCC), an integrated resolution of 35 or more trade associations dedicated to addressing short- and long-term supply chain weaknesses and challenges.[13]

In 2020, GMA rebranded to become the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), with a focus on representing the totality of the CPG industry and a new, consumer-first agenda.[14]

Consumer Brands advocates on behalf of the CPG industry to Congress, state legislatures and administration officials. The Consumer Brands Association has an active advocacy program focused on four areas.[16]

• Smart Regulations - Advocates for smart, uniform federal regulations that maintain affordability, promote choice and build consumer trust.
• Packaging Sustainability - Aim to create a sustainable future, by increasing recyclability and reimagining the current recycling system in the US.
• Frictionless Supply Chains - Focused on promoting affordability and access for consumer through frictionless supply chains.
• Trust in CPG[17] - Committed to providing consumers with safe, reliable products that they can be confident in using every day.

• SmartLabel [18] The SmartLabel platform was launched in 2015. It hosts detailed information about nearly 80,000 products from more than 1,000 participating brands.
• Food Waste Reduction Alliance - The Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA) is a collaborative effort of The Consumer Brands Association, the National Restaurant Association, and the Food Industry Association to reduce the volume of food waste sent to landfil, donate more safe nutritious food to people in need and recycle unavoidable food waste, diverting it from landfills.
• Facts Up Front, a program of The Consumer Brands Association and Food Marketing Institue, is a labeling system that displays key nutrion information on the front of food and beverage packages.
• Hands on Classrooms - provides free resoures for students, teachers, administrators, and parents on the basis of food safety, systems and processing.
• Better Process Control School- The Consumer Brands Association hosts training for companies that produce low-acid and acidified foods, like tomato sauces, pickled products and some pet foods. It fulfills FDA and USDA requirements in acidification, thermal processing and container closure evaluation operations during the canning of low-acid or acidified foods.[19][20][21]

Chair

• Jeff Harmening, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Mills, Inc.

Vice-Chair

• Carolyn Tastad, Group President - North American and Chief Sales Officer, The Procter & Gamble Company

Treasurer/Secretary

• William B. Cyr, CEO of Freshpet, Inc.

Members

• Roger Bird, Senior Vice President, U.S. Nutrition, Abbott Nutrition
• Paul Chibe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ferrero NA, Inc.
• Sean Connolly, Chief Executive Officer, Conagra Brands, Inc.
• Jim Dinkins, President, Coca-Cola North America, The Coca-Cola Company
• Stanley Dunbar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Moody Dunbar, Inc.
• Matt Farrell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Church & Dwight Co., Inc.
• Jean-Luc Fischer, President, North America and Global Sustainability, Colgate-Palmolive Company
• Geoff Freeman, President and CEO, Consumer Brands Association
• Beth Ford, President and Chief Executive Officer, Land O'Lakes, Inc.
• Seth French, President, Lassonde Pappas and Company, Inc.
• Howard Friedman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Post Consumer Brands
• Stephan Fuesti-Molnar, President, Henkel Consumer Goods North America, Henkel Corporation
• Bob Gamgort, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Keurig Dr Pepper
• Louie Gentine, Chief Executive Officer, Sargento Foods Inc.
• Bill Gisel Jr.,Executive Vice Chairman, Rich Products Corporation
• Fernando Gonzalez, President, NA Consumer Business, Georgia-Pacific LLC
• Louis C. Gottsponer Jr.,President, Morgan Foods, Inc.
• Henk Hartong III, Chairman, Sunny Delight Beverages Company
• Tom Hayes,President and Chief Executive Officer, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
• Chris Hood,President, Kellogg North America, Kellogg Company
• Lawrence Kurzius, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, McCormick & Company, Inc.
• Kris Licht,President, Health and Chief Customer Officer, RB
• Gregory Longstreet,President and Chief Executive Officer, Del Monte Foods, Inc.
• Ryals McMullian,President and Chief Executive Officer, Flowers Foods, Inc.
• Fred Penny,President, Bimbo Bakeries USA
• Linda Rendle,Chief Executive Officer, The Clorox Company
• Gregg Roden,Senior Vice President, PepsiCo North America Supply Chain, PepsiCo, Inc.
• Kenneth Romanzi,President and Chief Executive Officer, B&G Foods, Inc.
• Mark Schiller,President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
• Mark Smucker,President and Chief Executive Officer, The J. M. Smucker Company
• Jim Snee,Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hormel Foods Corporation
• Glen Walter,Executive Vice President and President, North America, Mondelez International, Inc.
• Al Williams,President and Chief Executive Officer, Bush Brothers & Company

[22]

• Official website