Food Industry Association Executives

What Food Industry Association Executives does

Food Industry Association Executives (FIAE) is a U.S.-based nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1927, headquartered in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, and led by President Bev Lynch. The organization serves executives of local, state, and regional food industry associations, whose members collectively represent over 95 percent of the U.S. grocery retail industry. FIAE operates with a lean staff of approximately five employees and functions as a forum for professional development, peer networking, and coordinated advocacy on food retail policy.

FIAE's revenue model is built on annual membership dues across three tiers — State Associations (regular membership), National Associations (sponsorship), and Affiliate Membership (sponsorship from CPG companies and trade bodies) — supplemented by convention and event sponsorships. Its core product portfolio includes an Annual Convention, a year-round webinar program, share groups covering policy issues (WIC, SNAP, minimum wage, bag legislation, GMO, paid sick leave, and others), a Professional Development Fund, the Across State Lines newsletter, an A.I. Series for executive education, the Association 101 onboarding curriculum, and the Membership Accelerator Program. Technology infrastructure is minimal: FIAE does not develop proprietary software, mobile applications, or APIs; distribution is conducted through its Wix-hosted website, direct membership outreach, and in-person or virtual events. The organization's strategic relationships with major trade bodies such as the National Grocers Association (NGA), Food Marketing Institute (FMI), and Consumer Brands Association, together with affiliate sponsorships from Unilever, Mondelez International, Ferrero, Ferrara, Kellanova, CHPA, and the National Confectioners Association, anchor its ecosystem within the food retail advocacy landscape.

Name

Food Industry Association Executives

Legal name

Food Industry Association Executives

Website

https://foodindustryassociationexecutives.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Food Industry Association Executives (FIAE) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1927 that serves executives of state, regional, and national food industry associations, representing over 95 percent of the U.S. grocery retail industry through its member base.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food, Beverage & Hospitality Trade Shows Organizers (THAHABAI)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Grocery retail networking
• Association membership programs
• Food industry advocacy
• Executive professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Sunset Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from state food industry associations, national food industry associations, and affiliate organizations. Three membership tiers: State Associations (regular membership), National Associations (sponsorship), and Affiliate Membership (sponsorships for affiliate member organizations).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Food Industry Association Executives (FIAE) is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1927 that serves as the dedicated forum for executives of food industry trade associations in the United States. It sells membership tiers to state associations, national associations, and affiliate industry members, and delivers professional development programming, peer networking events, webinars, and an annual convention. Through its member associations it represents over 95% of the U.S. grocery retail industry.

Product overview

Food Industry Association Executives (FIAE) offers a membership-based professional association platform serving local, state, and regional food industry association executives. The organization provides three core membership tiers (State Association, National Association, and Affiliate Membership) that grant access to professional development resources, networking events, and industry-specific tools. The product portfolio includes educational programs like the A.I. Series and Association 101, the Membership Accelerator Program for growth support, the Professional Development Fund for employee training, Across State Lines newsletter, and the Annual Convention as a flagship networking event. The offering operates as a platform of interconnected membership services rather than a unified software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• State Association Membership

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• National Grocers Association (NGA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Grocers Association (NGA) sponsors FIAE and represents the retail grocery industry at the national level, providing support for food industry association executives.
• Food Marketing Institute (FMI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood Marketing Institute (FMI) sponsors FIAE, representing food retailers and wholesalers, supporting the food industry association executive community.
• Consumer Brands AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsumer Brands Association sponsors FIAE, representing CPG manufacturers and supporting industry collaboration.
• UnileverminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUnilever sponsors FIAE as an affiliate member, supporting the food industry association executive community.
• FerrerominorGTM or Marketing PartnerFerrero sponsors FIAE as an affiliate member, supporting food industry association networking.
• National Confectioners Association (NCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Confectioners Association (NCA) sponsors FIAE, supporting industry collaboration.
• CHPA (Consumer Healthcare Products Association)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCHPA sponsors FIAE as an affiliate member supporting the food retail industry community.
• KellanovaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKellanova sponsors FIAE as an affiliate member supporting the food industry association community.
• Mondelez InternationalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMondelez International sponsors FIAE as an affiliate member, supporting the food industry.
• FerraraminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFerrara sponsors FIAE as an affiliate member, supporting the food industry community.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• American Society of Association Executives (ASAE): ASAE is the leading membership association for association executives across all industries. It is the closest direct peer to FIAE, which serves the narrower vertical of food industry association executives, sharing the same business model of providing professional development, networking, and resources to executives of trade associations.
• State Society of Association Executives (e.g., CSAE, MSAE): State-level Societies of Association Executives (such as CSAE, MSAE) are direct peers of FIAE, serving association executives within specific states or regions. They share the same member persona (association executives) and business model (dues, events, professional development), but are geographically bounded rather than industry-vertical like FIAE.

Broad incumbents

• National Council of Nonprofits: National Council of Nonprofits is a national membership organization of nonprofit and charitable organizations. It is comparable to FIAE as a membership association serving executives of member organizations, but at a far larger scale across the nonprofit sector rather than the food industry vertical.
• Food Marketing Institute (FMI): FMI is the trade association representing food retailers and wholesalers. As a major FIAE sponsor with overlapping member bases (state food associations), FMI is a broad incumbent in the food industry association space with deeper programmatic resources.
• Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA): CHPA is the trade association for OTC consumer healthcare products manufacturers and a FIAE affiliate sponsor. It operates in an adjacent consumer products category with similar association structure and overlapping retail stakeholders as FIAE members.
• National Grocers Association (NGA): NGA is the national trade association representing the retail grocery industry. It is a major strategic sponsor of FIAE and serves overlapping stakeholders (grocery retailers and their state associations), making it a broad incumbent operating in the same food retail ecosystem as FIAE.
• Consumer Brands Association: Consumer Brands Association represents CPG manufacturers and is a major FIAE sponsor. It is a broader trade association whose members overlap with FIAE's affiliate sponsors, operating at the national level across CPG rather than the executive-of-association niche.
• National Confectioners Association (NCA): NCA is a national trade association representing confectionery manufacturers and a FIAE sponsor. It operates in the broader food industry association ecosystem that FIAE's members engage with, but serves a narrower product category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fiae

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Food Industry Association Executives