From Log Cabin to Leadership: Shannon Clark's Journey

Shannon Clark takes us on a remarkable journey from building a log cabin by hand in rural Kentucky to revolutionizing marketing strategies at Houchens Food Group. This conversation reveals how her unconventional path—beginning in apparel manufacturing before transitioning to retail operations and eventually grocery e-commerce—equipped her with unique perspectives that drive her success today.

Shannon offers refreshingly honest insights about work-life balance, challenging the notion that we can "have it all." Instead, she advocates extending grace to yourself, recognizing that balance looks different every day, and being fully present for non-negotiable moments with family. This philosophy has sustained her 20-year marriage and allowed her to thrive professionally while raising two children.

Her forward-looking perspective emphasizes the strategic implementation of AI, evolving data management practices, and seamless integration of technology into physical stores, all while maintaining the human connection that ultimately wins customers' loyalty.

Ready to transform how you approach challenges in grocery and beyond? Shannon's mantra of "Edit As You Go" reminds us that success requires constant learning, adaptation, and the courage to pivot when necessary. Subscribe now to hear more stories and insights from the remarkable women shaping the independent grocery industry.

Houchens Food Group, Inc

(2) Shannon Clark | LinkedIn

Transcript

Introduction to Shannon Clark

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to Grocery From Her Seat. The WGA podcast, offering a unique perspective as seen through the eyes of remarkable women who shape and lead in the independent grocery industry. Your host, Kristen Popp, president of WGA, will bring you exclusive stories and insights from the women serving our industry, From presidents to CEOs, to entrepreneurs and students. This podcast is your source of information. Now listen, take notes and welcome Kristen Popp.

Speaker 2 0:31

I am your host, Kristen Popp, and today I have the opportunity to chat with Shannon Clark, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications with Houghton's Food Group. Welcome to Grocery from Receipt, Shannon, and thank you so very much for sharing your time with us today.

Speaker 3 0:45

Absolutely.

Speaker 2 0:47

Shannon, I shared your title but, as we know, what that means can vary significantly from one organization to the next. Can you explain your day-to-day, if that's even a thing in your world?

Speaker 3 0:59

Like many people in the industry women specifically I would say that my day-to-day is pretty busy and can have pretty different tiers to what busy looks like. But what I have the joy of doing for Houchin's Food Group is overseeing the marketing initiatives, and that includes everything from advertising, social media, our digital websites, our loyalty programs and then also our communication. So have the pleasure of putting together our corporate events, our LinkedIn and kind of anything that the company needs to put their mission out there for our employees to engage in.

Speaker 2 1:42

I love it and I'm sure that is a diverse world for you and everything that you get to touch. So I want to start with your journey into grocery. How did you arrive in the grocery industry? I?

Speaker 3 1:53

would say, probably like many I've spoke to in the industry at WGA, nga as well, I came from outside of the grocery industry.

Journey From Apparel to Grocery

Speaker 3 2:03

I actually started my career in vertical manufacturing with an apparel designer and being able to do sell-in of products with big box retailers across the United States, and it was really through the challenge of a layoff process that I left my love of apparel and entered into operations for retail and it was one of the most amazing really experiences that I had, in that you learn so much by actually being in the stores, managing operational teams and really seeing merchandising, marketing, fulfillment, pricing from the other side. Because of that experience I will always have the deepest respect and empathy for operations out in retail. And I pivoted my career over to e-commerce for a little bit and that's how I came into the grocery industry. At the time, houchens was looking for an individual that could give some specialized attention to an e-commerce pilot they were undergoing, and so that's how I came into. The picture was to take all of that broad knowledge and bring it into the e-commerce and help with that pilot.

Speaker 2 3:18

I have several different conversations with individuals that have come into the from a different space or sector than grocery. I think your point about being in the store, working in the store, understanding that, is sometimes undervalued. I think that there is so much that happens behind the scenes that you don't always realize how it affects at the end and the end user.

Speaker 3 3:42

Oh yeah, Our operation teams is the heartbeat of our company. I can make the most wonderful and beautiful marketing campaigns to put in front of customers, but if it's hard for them to execute it's all for naught. It relies upon our operators to really be the consumer front facing piece of that. They are the ones that are going to help get the message across to customers that needs to be as efficient for them as possible, and so I always think of a customer is twofold. You have our external customer audience, but I also have an internal customer audience, which is our operations team to constantly think through and make sure things are efficient for them to execute our programs.

Speaker 2 4:28

So great so you came into the industry. What's inspired you to? Stay in the industry?

Speaker 3 4:36

To me, the world of grocery, while it has so many products and so many different departments that you interact with when you think about especially the world of digital, groceries are the last later to the game in that arena, and so there's only amazing potential ahead and for the grocery industry. Yeah, I love your passion around that.

Speaker 2 5:00

So let's chat outside of your day to day for a minute. So let's chat outside of your day to day for a minute. Family and others. Can you tell us a little bit about what your outside of your day job looks like?

Speaker 3 5:11

Well, my most important job is to be a wife and mom, and that can be a hard thing to balance at times. And you'll hear that comment that you can have it all, and to me that just isn't true, in the sense you just can't have it all at the same time. And so you have to extend yourself a lot of grace and you have to pick and choose the moments, and as long as you're there for the absolute most important ones and those are non-negotiable then you're doing pretty good. But for me, that means always being there for my husband, derek Clark. We've been together now for 20 years and he's been the reason that I succeed.

Speaker 3 5:53

I could not have made it through my life and my career without him there, and he says all the time I'm never going to let you fall or fail, and I know that I can enter anything with confidence because I'm going to have that strength and that sounding board behind me always. And then I have two children. They have a six-year age gap between them, so that's always an interesting one to navigate. But I have a 16-year-old and 11-year-old, so right now we're navigating, learning to drive. That's a fun experience, to add on to all of the things that you check the box on in a day, but I have one that's an athlete playing volleyball and one that's a video gamer who he can show me stuff on video games and technology, so I learn a lot from them.

Speaker 2 6:46

A wide variety that probably keeps you on your toes. And congratulations on 20 years. Oh, thank you. Thank you the accomplishment. You talk about the balance and having it all, and I agree with you that there isn't really one and that there isn't a balance that works for everybody. If we're going to use the word balance, it's you got to find what works for you and you got to find what's going to allow you to do your best, and that looks different than the person sitting on either side of you, and that's okay.

Speaker 3 7:19

To me, balance that looks different every single day and you just have to have that grace and forgiveness for it that looks different every single day and you just have to have that grace and forgiveness for it.

The Log Cabin That Built Her

Speaker 3 7:29

So, as we shift back to your career, so far, what are some of the highlights or achievements that you're most proud of? I think here in the grocery space, some of the ones that recently helped work on for Houchin's Food Group was the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive Program, and it was an opportunity to provide customers that received SNAP the ability to get a discount on fat-free and 1% milk. I worked with Auburn University and Karen Newby, who's absolutely amazing to work with in that process work and did the heavy lifting of grant proposals to help us qualify for that program as it's supported by the USDA, and immediately launched into working cross-functionally across teams from our IT department, accounting to merchandising to really help get that project across the finish line, and in June of this year we rolled that out and so our customers that received SNAP dollars are able to stretch them just a little bit further and I hope that helps to bring them more healthy nutrition, give them more access to use their dollars as needed.

Speaker 2 8:40

That's a phenomenal program that you headed up there Very impressive, and you should be very proud of what you've done and the impact that will make. Congratulations to that launch as well.

Speaker 3 8:51

Thank you. It was one of those that had personal value to me. I've known intermittent hunger in my youth. I also am on the board for the Kentucky Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland, and I do a lot of work with them to try to gain that access to nutrition for those that need that help.

Speaker 2 9:09

That gives me goosebumps to hear you say that and share that story and that, something that you experienced and that you can now have an impact so others don't have to realize that, and utilizing that for good is just commendable, thank you.

Speaker 3 9:24

Yeah, childhood hunger is one that children can't always control their circumstances, and anytime I can do my part in helping alleviate that, even if it's just for one child, then I want to volunteer for that.

Speaker 2 9:37

Anything not on your resume that you're proud of.

Speaker 3 9:42

Probably something people would be surprised to know about me was the experience I had growing up in Kentucky. I spent 10 years of my childhood helping my parents build a log cabin in the woods and that was everything from harping the trees, running a sawmill, building a log cabin by hand. I remember helping putting roofing on and laying flooring and putting windows into the walls, and it took 10 years to accomplish that. Part of that is the hand-building piece of it that my dad wanted to do. Banks just wasn't willing to loan out in that way, but that didn't stop him and that was super important for me to learn from a very young age.

Speaker 3 10:31

You can have a dream and it can have these blockades to them, but you don't stop, and I've always referenced that period of my life that it was that house that built me. It built me as a person to learn that hard work matters, to never give up. Families that build together stay together, and it's one that I've always tried to convey into my children that nothing is given to you in life and that if you work really hard and you continuously keep your chin up, you can accomplish great things.

Speaker 2 11:07

That was really just inspiring to hear Not only what you went through and the determination from your dad to achieve his dream and everything that you helped contribute to that, but just what you've learned and taken and how you apply that to what you do today and even down to your children, and just very inspirational.

Speaker 3 11:26

Thank you. I can share that my husband doesn't love my knowledge of how to build as much because his project list gets longer, because I know we can do it if we just try.

Professional Growth and Networking

Speaker 2 11:38

That's great. I love that. So let's pivot a little and chat about opportunities for growth within the industry networking, mentorship, personal and professional development. Where do you find these opportunities that bring the most value to you?

Speaker 3 11:52

Absolutely For me. The first one that I encountered in the grocery industry was WGA. It was absolutely an amazing experience. I love the network of women that come together and the support they give to each other and the networking and sharing of that experience, and I recommend, if you haven't been to WGA yet and you haven't joined and been to the symposiums, then you should. You are truly missing out. It really creates an environment where you can find someone that's a mentor. You can find someone who just gives you a different perspective that you always need in your work to bounce ideas off of or just get advice from, and how to navigate through your career.

Speaker 3 12:39

That would be the number one that I would recommend to take a look at. Number two is any of the industry trade shows, such as Engie. It really gets you in touch with people in the industry and constantly challenges what you know and gives you opportunities to continuously learn. And then really the third space, and probably the one that I use the most often, is I am so fortunate to have an absolutely amazing team in my marketing and communications area.

Speaker 3 13:09

We have some absolute great strength, from our grocery manager, kyle Wilson, to our digital manager, stephen Maresca, our QSR manager, savannah Watkins. They have a lot of knowledge in their respective areas and a lot of passion for what they do, and it's a constantly learning from your team. Don't feel like that is something that pushes down. It comes up to, and it's when you can work together with people and just bounce crazy ideas off of you land on something that can be executed. My boss, craig Caniz, that recently came in as chief marketing officer and was in our north division in operations, really has a wealth of knowledge and is always willing to sit down and work with me on questions that I have or new things that I want to learn, and so take advantage of all of those people the trade shows and the WGA to really broaden your network of people that you can constantly learn from.

Speaker 2 14:09

Shannon, I didn't realize that WGA was the first organization or event that you were a part of, and so that makes my heart fall. Is there anything or advice that you have on how to get the most out of the opportunities when you share, like what those opportunities are when you go to a trade show? Are you engaged with an organization like WGA or even leaning into your team?

Speaker 3 14:30

I would say don't be afraid to ask. I think when you approach networking, it can feel like an overwhelming experience at first, but the reason people come to these type of symposiums and volunteer to be a mentor is they are wanting to share knowledge. So don't be afraid to ask for that knowledge and continue to dive deeper. In working with WGA and some of the amazing people I met there, one of them guided me over to programs that are available through NGA and that's how I landed at the Cornell Executive Leadership Development Program and was able to enroll into that experience and that even got me further in touch with more people in the industry. That was across the country and met some amazing individuals from different sectors of the grocery business and as we worked on those projects together it created some bonds that I've carried past that experience and still reach out to them and have some good laughs and still reach out and bounce ideas off of them.

Speaker 2 15:40

I love that. The Executive Leadership Development Program at Cornell is amazing. I had the opportunity to attend that as well. As we look deeper into support and help, is there anybody along your career path specifically that's helped you navigate the industry and, if so, in what way?

Speaker 3 15:58

I would say there are two people that come top of mind.

Speaker 3 16:02

One of those I work alongside with is the IGA Partnership and that's Ashley Page that does marketing for IGA.

Mentorship and Female Leadership

Speaker 3 16:11

We obviously have a natural relationship because of Halton's Food Group and IGA. But Ashley is an individual who has a high passion for the independent grocery space, a high passion for customers, and so we share that definitely in common and she's been a really great resource and friend to constantly bounce creative ideas off of, but also just someone that is always willing to lend an ear and to give guidance within the industry and to give guidance within the industry to point towards resources to deepen my knowledge as someone who is still newer to the grocery space. And the second one is Craig Rosenblum, whom I met through Inmar at the time. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable people I know in the space and I still keep in touch with Craig and if I have some questions about the industry I can guarantee that he'll have a little bit of knowledge or guidance on that and has been a great resource and friends to help me learn the grocery industry. I probably couldn't have made it without those two the grocery industry.

Speaker 2 17:27

I probably couldn't have made it without those two.

Speaker 3 17:32

And as we dig deeper, is there any other female leaders who have inspired or motivated you in this space? One of the women and she probably doesn't know it, and she was the 2025 NGA Women Grocer of the Year Amy, president of Circo. When she was at WGA and she was doing a panel, she was one of the ones, I think, that used that original comment that I made that they say that you can have it all, but that's not true. You can just not at the same time.

Speaker 3 17:57

I give her full credit for that one, and what she inspired in me was someone who really took a very realistic approach to a life work balance. Someone who you could clearly see was very passionate about what she did for her company and equally passionate about her family, and it really helped me level set in a better way in my life and up to that point, I can admit to be very career focused, but still trying to give everything I could to my family, and it was really a voice in the calm that I heard from her. It helped me to extend that grace and forgiveness of myself of not being able to be there every single minute for both sides of the equation and to learn how to approach things with better balance and that's allowed me to be more in the moment and because I've richened the moment, that means I get more out of it. So, thanks to Amy, I think that it really revitalized my energy and my passion for my work and my family and finding that balance.

Speaker 2 19:10

Yeah, I love that story so much, not only in what you took away from it and how it's impacted you, but I've also had a conversation recently with somebody else about the power of mentorship, unknown mentorship, and that everything that you do can have an impact on somebody in some way, shape or form, and they might not even know that. So the fact that you share, that you are inspired by Amy and that she may not even know that, I think, is just a pretty awesome story. There's always things to take away from people that you encounter in your life.

Speaker 3 19:44

You never know how something you say, something that you do, can impact someone's life and the trajectory of it, and so I always approach that with kindness and knowledge and grace, and that just doubles itself in the world. Yeah yeah, amy is a well-deserved recipient of that award.

Speaker 2 20:03

I couldn't agree more. You know we talk about challenges and personal challenges, how you show up, but what challenges do you feel that we're facing today that may be different than past generations or that you see coming into the industry? Is there anything that stands out to you?

Current Industry Challenges and Differentiation

Speaker 3 20:21

I think there's a really high focus on price at the moment, and that has absolute value to concentrate on, and for customers especially. However, I think differentiation gets overlooked right now, and really shoring up what makes you different as a grocer or retailer at large and really owning that differentiation is so vitally important right now, and there's been retailers that have lost their way, and I think that's been some of the most engaging stories I've seen unfold on LinkedIn. I'm a big brand lover. Starbucks is one of those and their CEO is navigating those waters, and I think they've had some really great communication on hey, we took our eye off the ball and we forgot that you love your name on the cup and that you really want a really good cup of coffee and you want that fast. So those were the things that made Starbucks special and differentiated us from other competitors. So they are shoring that back up. They are going back to really focusing on that differentiator, and I think that that is something that's really important for all grocery right now.

Speaker 3 21:42

And the second for me is just really understanding where different consumer segments are and as you look forward into consumer segments and you take a look at how do I survive into the future. It's the younger generations are really making their choices based off experience and how they feel inside your space and how you make them feel as a consumer, and I think that's an area for independent grocery that can be a little bit harder or tougher to define and figure out how to really hone in into that area, but it's very different than what it used to be. You can't always win the game on price and you can't always just put a paper out on the street anymore. You have to engage consumers in different ways and you have to understand the different segments and what appeals to them. It's tough out there, but if you're lucky like me and have an absolutely amazing team, it makes it easier to navigate those waters.

Speaker 2 22:48

Yeah, meet the customer where they're at, on their journey, and it is a very different landscape, and ever-changing too, I think. I think there's a lot that we could talk about about what that looks like. But as we look towards the future, then what trends do you think we need to be keeping an eye on right now?

Speaker 3 23:06

As we look towards the future, then what trends do you think we need to be keeping an eye on right now?

Speaker 3 23:09

Obviously, there's a lot of conversation and interest in AI right now and it's understanding that it is a great guide, but not the only one.

Future Trends and Customer Experience

Speaker 3 23:25

And to also make sure that you continuously look through the lens of your consumer, continuously look through the lens of your experience and combine all those things when you come up with how to implement something new into the space. But definitely when I was at Grocery Tech, there was some amazing thoughts around AI. Thoughts around AI and, from the marketing perspective, how your data definitely has to change because you may or may not be talking to a person in the decision-making process. Technology in and of itself, as we mentioned earlier, is moving at a very fast pace and shoring up your data is an absolute must. To continuously take a look on and continuously adapt to support where technology is going. And then figuring out how to incorporate technology into the physical store experience in a seamless way to create engagement with customers is definitely another arena to me that, as we look to the grocery store of the future, there'll be much more digital components inside the store to engage in, but that doesn't take away from that amazing customer experience that will always win the day.

Speaker 2 24:42

AI, data and experience are three very recurring themes of conversation. So what excites you the most about the future of the industry?

Speaker 3 24:55

how do you take a customer and fit into their life? I feel like there was a point in retail where that was much more controlled by the retailer, and today those that thrive and survive are those that embrace the customer and their experience, and so customers need you to be very flexible. They have a lot they are trying to get done, so they need to shop with you in a store, they need to be able to purchase online and do pickup at your location, or they may need to just have it delivered to their house, and you want to be able to engage and encounter those customers and all of those touch points and fit into their life as needed.

Speaker 2 25:44

You've given out so many good nuggets of information, so much advice through this conversation, but is there any advice that you would give someone aspiring to join the industry or continue advancing their career in grocery that we haven't touched on yet?

Closing Advice and Final Thoughts

Speaker 3 25:58

For me, it's put in the hard work. Don't ever be discouraged in your career. Take the opportunities of when you may not be growing as quickly as you can to broaden your skill set. Always be a constant learner and that, I believe, has served me well in my life. I am never afraid to try to learn something new and when you can do that, I think that allows you the opportunity for someone to think about you, for a new project. I think become known as someone that is a resource for a company, and so you just constantly be willing to put in that work, work to do that little bit of extra and to be that resource and learner.

Speaker 2 26:51

Great advice. So, Shannon, I'm going to throw a little curveball at you and ask if you are writing a book or creating a podcast about the industry today. What would the title be?

Speaker 3 27:10

That's a good one. That is a curveball, I'd probably name it edit as you go, and that is to say that everything is changing at such a pace that you can't have a fixed mindset. You definitely have to be in constant pivot mode, you have to be constantly learning from your customer and you have to edit what your strategies are based on where the moment is, and being flexible and being able to have very nimble teams are really valuable assets to the grocery industry right now.

Speaker 2 27:45

So good. I can't wait to read or listen to that when you release it. Shannon, I want to thank you so very much for sharing your time and your thoughts with us today. I really appreciate you. I appreciate you sharing your story with us and your contribution to the industry. You're doing remarkable things.

Speaker 3 28:01

Thank you for having me today and thank you for all the work that you do at WGA. You do an absolutely amazing job and I'm always excited every year to go back and learn more from you.

Speaker 2 28:14

Sounds great. Thanks, shannon, and to our listeners, thank you so very much for tuning in to today's episode. We hope you enjoyed the discussion as much as we did. If you found value, be sure to subscribe to never miss an episode and leave a review on your favorite listening platform to help others discover Grocery From Her Seat. Until next time, keep making a difference with gratitude. Thank you.

Speaker 1 28:36

On behalf of the Women Grocers of America, we thank you for listening to our podcast today and ask that you subscribe, leave a five-star review and share with a friend. If you have a suggestion for a guest from the industry, mention them in the comments. Episodes are released every other week and they are sponsored by nga, hosted by kristin pop, president of wga, and published by rachel milo with swa marketing.