The economic environment might be challenging for chicken marketers, but growth opportunities still abound.

Strategies that will enable merchandisers to identify and capitalize on those opportunities will be spotlighted at the Chicken Marketing Seminar 2009.

Sponsored by the National Chicken Council in cooperation with the National Poultry and Food Distributors Association, the Seminar will be held July 12 to July 14 in Carlsbad, Calif., at the La Costa Resort & Spa.

There is complementary registration for retail grocery and foodservice poultry executives.

Chicken Marketing Seminar 2009 will feature speakers who will provide information, insights and ideas that are designed to enable marketers to build sales during the tough times, and to be adroitly positioned when consumer demand returns to a more robust pace.

Discussions also will be facilitated among attendees, including key poultry marketing and sales managers, food distributors, supermarket and foodservice executives, processors, traders and brokers, and a variety of allied industry representatives.

Key speakers and their sessions include:

Stephen Rannekleiv, vice president, Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory, Rabobank International: Succeeding in a Rapidly Changing Economy;

Tom Vierhile, director, Productscan Online Product Launch Analysts, Datamonitor: Connecting the Dots from Information to Creating New Products;

Anne-Marie Roerink, director of research, Food Marketing Institute: The Power of Chicken: Staying A-Breast of What Matters Most in Meat;

Sue Trudell, vice president, EMI Analytics: Outlook for Chicken

Karl D. Skold, vice president, Commodities Enterprise Procurement, ConAgra Foods: Outlook for Competing Meats;

Linda Eatherton, partner, Global Food & Nutrition Practice, Ketchum: What to Expect When the Food Consumer is the CEO.

Participants in the Supermarket/Foodservice Roundtable, include:

Kelly Mortensen, meat director, Associated Food Stores;

Michael Loftus, director of meat, Raley’s Supermarkets;

Kevin Weatherill, president and chief executive officer, The Markets LLC;

Vicki Spiller, senior director, U.S. Supply Chain, McDonald’s USA;

Lara James, director of supply chain, Noodles and Company;

Gary Schwartz, vice president of procurement, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro;

Ian Vaughn, chief operating officer, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers.

To view the complete program and for registration information, visit nationalchickencouncil.com.

William Roenigk is senior vice president and chief economist for the Washington, D.C.-based National Chicken Council.