Emily Mallahan: Patience, Wonder, And The Power Of Independent Grocers

Transcript

Season Three Kickoff

Producer 0:05

Welcome to season three of Grocery from Her Seat, the Women Grocers of America podcast. This season you will hear from influential CEOs and industry icons to rising stars and game-changing entrepreneurs. We are bringing you bigger conversations with bolder voices you won't hear anywhere else. Every episode is packed with leadership tips, fresh strategies, and grocery insights for store owners and operators, as well as product and service providers. Grocery from Her Seat is where inspiration fuels action. Now, let's dive into another episode of Grocery from Her Seat, powered by the NGA Foundation and hosted by WGA President Kristen Pop.

Kristin Popp 0:45

I

Meet EVP Emily Malahan

Kristin Popp 0:46

am your host, Kristen Popp, and today I have the opportunity to Emily Malahan, Executive Vice President with Superfridge. Welcome to Grocery Firmers, Emily, and thank you so much for sharing your time with us today. Thank you for having me, Kristen. Emily, let's go ahead and start with your current

What Superfridge Does

Kristin Popp 1:01

role.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Can you expand on who Superfridge is and the services you're happy to say that Superfridge is a 30-year-old company. It's actually been in the marketplace for quite some time. The new ownership, Tom O'Reilly, purchased the company about 18 months ago. And Superfridge is a dual-temperature refrigerated or frozen unit. It can be used either way. And it is placed in the grocery store, and it's got marketing material on the outside, as well as we've added a new 13-inch uh video screen, display screen that's on top of the unit as well. And we run 26 events through the year. CPGs participate in those events and it drives a significant amount of sales, and it's great for both CPG as well as uh the retailer.

Kristin Popp 1:52

Yeah, I've seen those units, they're pretty interesting. So excited to see them out in the retail space and see the continued growth that you guys are

Inside The EVP Role

Kristin Popp 2:01

realizing. But you know, as executive vice president, I'm curious as to what that means for you on a day-to-day.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Yes, it's a very busy role. We have a small but mighty team. And so as executive vice president, I do everything from clean the toilets to speak with Kroger. And it varies daily. And I say clean the toilets, but what I mean is that we all are willing to jump into whatever role is needed and help fulfill that space or that opportunity for whatever is at hand. But it is also steering the company. And so that's been a great way for me to use my expertise in this industry to steer the company and steer the direction, but also be able to be hands-on and help grow the team around me.

Kristin Popp 2:53

Well, congratulations. I know that's a newer role for you and sounds pretty exciting. So wanted to say congratulations.

Career Origins In Grocery

Kristin Popp 2:59

And next I want to dive into how you got involved, your journey, and how you've gotten to where you are today.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

It's funny because of the other podcasts that I've listened to and people that you have interviewed, we we all kind of have a similar journey. I think we maybe started in the grocery industry with the expectation that it was, you know, the temporary job that we were going to work our way through college with and ended up really being involved in a much greater scale than we really ever imagined. And I'm actually super thankful for that. I worked pushed carts and have done pretty much everything in the grocery store until I graduated from college and then went to work for a CPG for some years, went back to the retail side for about 13 years, got into the technology side of the business, and then digital couponing, loyalty, all those kinds of things. And uh it's been a very rewarding career career for me in that I've been able to use, you know, really a plethora of business skills across many different business units. It's been very rewarding.

Kristin Popp 4:04

You mentioned listening to previous podcasts and hearing those stories, and it's always so fascinating to me to hear everyone's path. A lot of us started in our high school days or in our college careers. We don't we didn't go to school saying I'm gonna sell groceries for the rest of my life or I'm yeah, I'm gonna work in a in a grocery

Skills Across CPG And Retail Tech

Kristin Popp 4:22

store. I think when we were getting ready for this, you mentioned that you were trying to get out of it at one point.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

I worked in the grocery space even from a young child. My neighbor had a uh grocery store. So I started very early. I really thought that I would get out. I actually was an auditor for a while because I have a pretty extensive accounting background as well. So I thought maybe I'd take that path, but it was just too boring. There's something about this industry that is challenging and also you're not really sure what you're gonna walk into that day. And I actually appreciate that in this business.

Kristin Popp 4:55

Yeah, I think it continues to highlight the fact that there is no direct path to success in this industry. But you're taking advantage of every opportunity that is invaluable to your growth throughout your career journey in this, how it can, like you said, how you've utilized what you've learned along the way and the senior leadership role that you're in today.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

Absolutely.

Relationships And Industry Community

SPEAKER_01 5:20

And and also the relationships that you build, right? Like this industry, there can be many different paths, and there's many different people that you meet along the way, but it is funny how you will meet those people again and just how important those relationships that you build with people are as you move through the industry. It's it's really vital. I also really enjoy helping other people in the industry, you know, get their footing and grow within the industry because, like you said, there's many different paths. And so that is that's been really rewarding. And also really having a family while being in this industry. The industry is family oriented, and even though sometimes we work long hours or we travel or we do all those things, I think it's been very rewarding to me to balance the family time and the industry and that it's worked out really well in my life.

Kristin Popp 6:15

You know, relationships, family orientation, all of that is so true. And I appreciate that you bring those up. As you've looked back, Emily, on your career and and the path that you've taken, what is the greatest thing you've learned throughout your journey?

SPEAKER_01 6:30

I would actually

Lessons: Patience And Wonder

SPEAKER_01 6:31

have to say there's two things that I think have been really great learning in this industry and just my overall career. One is to have patience. I'm pretty intense. And I think patience is a very important thing that we all can learn. Having patience is really important. And sometimes, as you have patience, you can let things evolve the way they would naturally, anyways, without forcing it. Um, and the other is to keep a sense of wonder, like what could be next, and to have a vision of what you think it could be, but also be open to when the bumps happen and what those can provide you and can turn into great opportunities. So so I do think keeping an open mind and having really that sense of wonder and curiosity has been really important.

Kristin Popp 7:20

I think those are fantastic uh nuggets of information. And I think that that's too somewhat overlap, too, right? I mean, patience is a virtua, and I think a lot of times we do, you know, we move so fast and everything happens at such a quick rate. But sometimes to just slow down and have that patience, sometimes holding yourself back a little bit to really understand what that looks like, but really understand what's happening in the current moment to figure out what might be next.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Exactly. Yes, I I completely agree. And and being open to that, right? Like sometimes I think, especially I'm old, right? So so sometimes I think, oh, I know all this, but if you sit back and you're patient, you can see things unfold in a way that you hadn't imagined, and it can be the best thing ever, right? And so so I really, really do appreciate that as I especially as I've gotten older. I appreciate um being able to have the patience and continue with a really grand sense of wonder. I love the day-to-day, even though it can be hectic and demanding, but I love it.

Family, Work, And Bringing Kids Along

Kristin Popp 8:24

Yeah, I'm still on my marathon and will be for a while as far as I can see. But you mentioned earlier the industry being family oriented. So I want to pivot a little bit and let's talk about your family. Can you share a little bit about your kids and their passions?

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Oh, for sure. Yes. I've got two great kids. Um, my son graduated from Gonzaga University, Gozags, and he is um working actually as an auditor. He's an accountant and uh working as an auditor now. So I'm happy he's a graduate and employed, so that's great. But I did get him started in the grocery business. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back to that at some point. He uh he did start working in a grocery store when he was 16. And then I have a daughter that's uh 14 years old, going on uh 25, and she's great. She is her own person as well. It's kind of amazing to me how different kids can be. And I can't wait to put her to work at a grocery store.

Kristin Popp 9:23

Yeah, yeah, I've actually had the opportunity to meet her, and I think it's cool that you've brought her to events. And so can you talk about some of that and how you've integrated that into your career as well?

SPEAKER_01 9:35

I think it's always been important to me that my kids see their mom working and that they know what it takes. Um, because the time I do spend with them, I try to be focused on them, right? Like I really do try to work really hard and then when I'm with them, put work aside. But then for them to see that what their mom does is just really important and it shows them a different side of you than just being their mom. And that has always kind of worked for me and and they've enjoyed it. I think it's it's kept their curiosity on. I don't know that it's brilliant and sometimes it's kind of stressful to have your kids at something that you're you're working at as well. But I think it has been really good for them to see me working and what it takes to to work hard and then to still be able to be around them and be present when you're with them as well.

Kristin Popp 10:35

I absolutely love that. I've had the opportunity to bring my girls to a field work uh functions. And I think if you hit it head on, is when you're with them, your mom, right? And they don't necessarily get the opportunity to see you in a different capacity. And when they can see your hard work, you're setting an example, but you're also showing them if you have the drive and the initiative to do this hard work, it affords you these other opportunities as well. So I absolutely love that you do that. I love that I got to meet Katie. And then I think I saw her in Washington, DC and a couple other places.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

So I love that. I know she has, and one of her favorite things actually was the student presentations at NGA. And she sat in on some student presentations when I was um on the panel. And that was really a great experience for her because she got to see some college-age uh people that are gonna turn into professionals and how they

Education And Talent Pipeline

SPEAKER_01 11:30

how they set the stage and did the presentation and communicated really well and just all the work that that went into those things and then their ideas, right? Like their creative ideas. I mean, her questions afterwards were like, are you guys gonna implement any of those? She was curious. Where does this go from here? So that was that was a really great experience to have her be a part of.

Kristin Popp 11:53

And again, I love that for all of the reasons. Not only was she curious and asking questions about the content, but she also got to see there are opportunities and there are people that aren't too far off from her in age that are participating. I mean, we need that for the future of this industry. So the kudos to you for making that happen. And like you said, I'm sure it's stressful sometime having a 13, 14-year-old in Las Vegas or Washington, DC with you in trying to navigate work and all of the things. I applaud you. That's just fantastic. So as we shift back throughout your career, you've had the opportunity to work on various projects and initiatives. What are some of the ones that you're most proud of?

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Well, I would like to do more, honestly. I have a very big passion for education. And, you know, the grocery industry isn't glamorous. And I think a lot of kids come out of business school and they think, oh, they're gonna go get a tech job or they're gonna go work for some glamorous position, Amazon, Google. And the grocery industry is not that. But I do think through some of these educational foundations and supporting those educational foundations and being involved in them, we can bring some really good talent and show people a really great career path through this industry, right? I mean, we need everything. We need people in operations, we need folks in finance, we need folks that um are marketing. You know, everybody, there's a there's a role for everything in this industry. I have always felt like your education is something that nobody can ever take away from you. And uh, over these last few years, you know, there's been kind of a downplay on universities and that whole experience of going to college. I think that's a time when kids get the opportunity to, in a safe environment, become who they're gonna be, that first phase of your life. And I think being able to support an education through the grocery industry is really important and to bring those newly educated minds into our industry is really important. And so I would like to be

Mentors Who Shaped Leadership

SPEAKER_01 14:00

more involved in things that support uh education.

Kristin Popp 14:03

I wholeheartedly agree. I mean, there is literally every opportunity in this industry. Yes. And to to open and educate individuals' eyes on that, but to also support the education that they're getting to bring into the industry as well. We didn't all go to school thinking we're gonna be grocers and we're gonna do that until we retire, but we are all here for for a very specific reason, and it's such a stable environment to be in, but it takes everybody to make it work, and there's so many opportunities and just making sure we're continuing to educate that next generation on you can be technology, you can be accounting, you can be finance, you can be HR, you can be operations, you can be the all of all of the above. It takes all of the above. Uh, I love your passion around that. So let's talk about mentorship. As you've navigated your career, you've had mentors or others who have helped you along the way. Who has that been?

SPEAKER_01 15:03

I've been so lucky to have great mentors like wherever I've been. And I've held just a variety of roles. I've I've really had great mentors, but I would say my biggest growth was when I was working for a grocery retailer, Hagen, in the Pacific Northwest. And I would say that because the leadership at that time, Don and Rick Hagen were the owners, and Dale Henley was the CEO. And he fostered an environment of entrepreneurialship and ownership. And he gave me just a ton of rope, but gave me some guidance, but also let me figure it out. Of course, everything wasn't perfect. There was bumps in the road, but he would support it because he knew that what I was trying to do was on the right path. Dave Norton, an EVP of merchandising, he was super influential to me and still is. But then people, you know, currently, Tom O'Reilly, who I um was hired on to take this current role, he's just been a great mentor. He's super patient and he's very calming and he has just great faith. And learning from people, I think almost everyone that I meet, I learn something from. I feel like if you keep learning, you can see mentors, even younger folks that I've worked with or trained, have really taught me many things. Like the mentorship with Dale Henley was so powerful to me because he maybe taught me not only what to do then, but also he really mentored me for the future and that how I want to be and how I want to encourage people to think for themselves and but also back them up so that it's not so risky.

Kristin Popp 16:52

I love the growth mindset that you share there, and also that you can look to the next generation to learn from all as well. It's not just somebody that has to be more uh experienced in their career

Leadership Focus: Block Distractions

Kristin Popp 17:05

or have a longer tenure. We're changing and things are coming at us at such a rapid pace that we can't have it all. And so, who are we taking nuggets of information for to continue growing and keeping that open mindset to be able to do so?

SPEAKER_01 17:19

Absolutely. And and now more than ever, right? You know, this next generation is very powerful and they have a lot of incredible ideas and and they're motivated a little differently. It's great to understand where they're coming from and what they know, right? And I think that's a way that we can draw more people in this industry, is that we are open to this next generation of people and the ideas that they can bring forward to make things better.

Kristin Popp 17:51

Well, look at what they grow up with and the resources that they have are vastly different than when I was going through school and learning and accessing information. So the tools that they're using are very different, and that's what the next is the the way they approach finding solutions to things. I just said in awesome times of my even my nine-year-old, and uh, you know, it's holy cow, how did you know that? What are you using? How did you even know that that existed? But those those are the tools that they have, and so if we learn to embrace that instead of be afraid of it, we can use it to enhance how we move forward.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Exactly. Like I don't find it as threatening, I find it as a way to make actually in general my work life easier. That's that's what they have learned to do. And I think that's wonderful.

Kristin Popp 18:45

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Emily, as we look at leadership, whether it's your role now or a previous role that you've held, but what are some of the challenges that you see leaders facing in today? And how can we overcome that or work through some of those challenges?

SPEAKER_01 18:58

I think lots of times we overcomplicate things. Um I think

Trends: AI, Wellness, And Community

SPEAKER_01 19:04

that the biggest thing for leaders today is not to be too distracted. I think there's a lot of things that can distract you or take your eye off of the core competencies of whatever you do. I think it's important that people stay open-minded and have a learning mind. Don't forget the basics and don't get easily distracted by things that really don't matter because oftentimes they can take a lot of time and not get you anywhere. Just because it's trending on social media doesn't mean it's a good move, right? I think that's just really important for people to remember.

Kristin Popp 19:45

It's easy to stray too far from the basics and lose that core. And you know, that's something that we focus on here as of recently is back to the basics. And we need to make sure that we're doing and executing those very well. That's that's right. Yeah. Emily, as we shift and look at the current state of the industry and beyond, what trends do you think will shape our future?

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Well, I do think that there's kind of a dichotomy going on. I mean, I think that everything is moving so quickly, of course, with AI. And at the same time, I think there's a great movement towards health and wellness and people being more cognizant, especially in this space of what they're eating. So I do think that is gonna influence what's happening in this industry. And so I'm I'm actually excited for that. And then I also think there's really a trend for people to continue to maybe unplug more and have community. And I'm excited about that because I think that brings the relationship element back to this industry specifically.

Kristin Popp 20:51

I I I agree with you, and uh, it's interesting to me. You we start to see a shift of back to in-person work. It was all remote, and then it was a hybrid. I personally feel that there is so much loss in the remote or disconnected meetings. I hope you're right.

The Strength Of Independents

Kristin Popp 21:10

I hope that is kind of what we see going forward because I think that there's a lot of opportunity or missed opportunity there right now.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Yes, I do too. And it this is a relationship industry. And even though online shopping has really kind of taken off in the grocery space, there's still the majority of shopping being done in store. And it's because people need people. And I don't think that goes away. And I I'm hoping that we can kind of bring a lot of that back.

Kristin Popp 21:39

Yeah, there's a lot of times that as a retailer, you're the only interaction that that person has for the day. And so there is a lot to be said for that. As we continue to look towards the future, what excites you the most about the industry?

SPEAKER_01 21:52

I am excited about the industry because I think there was a lot of doom and gloom coming into these last few years about independent retail. And, you know, that Kroger and Albertsons were going to take over the world in the grocery space. And I don't think that's happening. I think people are still loyal to their independent. I love the David and Goliath. I mean, we work with Kroger and we work with Albertsons. We work with some big retailers as well. But I really do have a passion for the David and Goliath thing. I do love to see the continued success of independent and regional retailers. And I'm happy to see them stay in business and also have see them growing and coming up with things that set them apart in whatever market they're in. And I'm also really excited about the health trends. I think that it's great that we are really taking a good look at what we're putting in our bodies and that there's going to be some changes in

Advice For Future Grocers

SPEAKER_01 22:45

what um is going into the food that we eat. And so I'm excited to see that.

Kristin Popp 22:49

Yeah, that will definitely be something to keep an eye on and see how that pans out for the future. And it is exciting to see that there is a bigger focus being put on health overall. Emily, you've given so much great advice, but is there anything that we haven't covered that you would share with somebody that's either aspiring to join the industry or continue advancing their career in grocery?

SPEAKER_01 23:13

I think stay current on what is happening in the industry and give it a shot. It's a stable industry. Everyone eats. And so it doesn't matter if the economy is struggling or if the economy is in a boom. The grocery industry is a very stable industry. And there's really a place for everyone in the grocery space. And I would just encourage people to stay curious, investigate what they can do and stay in touch with some of the major events, right? Like NGA is a great resource, uh, FMI is a great resource, WAFC is a great resource, all these groups wherever you live, stay in contact because they also know opportunities that are out there. It's a great networking. Just keep yourself out and in front of people, I think is is really important.

Kristin Popp 24:07

Great, great advice, Emily. Emily, thank you so very much for sharing your story and your voice with us today. I appreciate everything you're doing for the grocery industry. Keep leading, keep inspiring, and I look forward to following the impact you will continue to make. Thank you, Kristen. Thank you so very much for tuning in to today's episode. I hope it sparked ideas, inspiration, and a reminder of the impact that you make every day. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a conversation and consider leaving a review to help others discover grocery from her seat. With gratitude, making a difference, one story at a time.

Producer 24:40

Thank you for listening to today's insightful interview on the Grocery from Her Seat Podcast. If you think someone should hear her story, please share this podcast with a friend. You don't want to miss any episodes this season, so be sure to subscribe. And remember, more people will hear about stories of her success if

Closing And Calls To Subscribe

Producer 24:56

you like, follow, and leave a five star review. Episodes are sponsored by NGA, hosted by WGA President Kristen Popp, and published by Rachel Milo with SWA Marketing. Until next time, continue your great work in the independent grocery industry.