Dee Munson
President

Dee Munson is a nationally recognized food expert and veteran food marketing communicator with expertise in advertising, public relations and promotions for both consumer and foodservice markets. She and her partner, Kate Munson, now guide a variety of programs for Ocean Mist Farms, Sharp Electronics, Pink Lady America® (apples), the Washington State Potato Commission and Roman Meal Bread.

Before creating The Food Professionals, Dee was a founding partner of EMB partners, inc. where she guided the agency’s food business, including Driscoll’s strawberries, Sunsweet Growers, the Washington Egg Commission, American Egg Board and D’Arrigo Brothers Company (Andy Boy Produce), among many others.

As president of the Evans Food Group she directed consumer public relations and promotions programs and foodservice advertising, promotion and public relations programs for 22 commodity clients, including Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, National Honey Board, California Kiwifruit Commission, California Table Grape Commission, North American Blueberry Council, National Watermelon Promotion Board and many others. She was key to Evans Group’s gaining the multi-million dollar United Soybean Board/American Soybean Association business.

At Cole & Weber Advertising, Seattle, she was vice-president of the Food Center, directing consumer programs for Roman Meal Bread and foodservice programs for the Washington Apple Commission and Lamb-Weston.

Before moving to Seattle, Dee spent eight years as vice-president, Advertising, Foodservice and Consumer Education for the American Egg Board, Chicago. She directed the multi-million dollar and award-winning Incredible Edible Egg national consumer ad campaign, AEB’s many publicity and educational programs to consumers and regular training seminars for state egg association promoters. She created AEB’s foodservice department and initiated their first-ever foodservice advertising and promotion campaign and a wide variety of foodservice educational programs.

Dee’s decades of experience also includes positions as assistant food editor of Better Homes & Gardens magazine and as food editor of Institutions magazine (now R&I), where she edited the first edition of the Culinary Institute of America’s The Professional Chef. She has authored or edited numerous cookbooks and frequently appears as a media spokesperson for her clients. She was also director of home economics for the Wheat Flour Institute, representing the milling industry for wheat flour, self-rising flour, durum wheat products (pasta) and the National Sandwich Idea Contest.

In addition to those already mentioned, clients Dee has served include Iowa Soybean Promotion Board, Tanimura and Antle Salad Time, Tree Top Inc., Washington Nutrition Education Network, Campbell Soups, Colorado Greenhouse Tomatoes, National Turkey Federation, Northwest Cherry Growers, California Fig Advisory Board and California Kiwifruit Commission.

For 12 years Dee directed all advertising, promotion and foodservice activities in Washington and Alaska for the Washington Egg Commission. She and Kate Munson, The Food Professionals' vice-president, edited The Eggcyclopedia, a 150-page compendium of information about eggs, for the American Egg Board.

During her career Dee has trained a wide variety of food communications professionals, creating and presenting the Food Communications Seminars at the Culinary Arts Institute in Chicago (one of the first professional programs on food styling, test kitchen management and food writing), several seminars on food styling and more than a dozen seminars on all aspects of food communications for state egg promotion personnel. She has often acted as a media spokesperson and is frequently a speaker on food and consumer trends, most recently at the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Consumer Trends Forum International and for the Dairy Marketing Institute’s Cheese program.

Dee has been very active in food-related professional organizations, including IFEC (International Foodservice Editorial Conference), PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals), Consumer Trends Forum International. She created the program for the 2003 Consumer Trends Forum. She is currently writing a series of features for Flavor and the Menu on the many resources commodity boards offer to foodservice decision makers.

She has been recognized by IACP with their Marketing Communicator Award of Excellence, by HEIB (Home Economists in Business) as Business Home Economist of the Year, and by her alma mater, Purdue University, as Outstanding Graduate and Outstanding Alumna.

Her programs regularly win awards from the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Public Relations Society of America, the Food Marketing Institute and others. She considers her three most important rewards the positive long-term relationships she has with her clients and fellow food professionals, her son and daughter, and her twelve year old grandson and 6 year old granddaughter.