Well, if you’ve made it this far, our new layout hasn’t thrown you for too large a loop.

As you’ve certainly noticed, we’ve redesigned the magazine. Why now? Well, it’s simple: there’s no better time to recreate our look and feel than in the same month as our highly anticipated annual Processor of the Year issue. Yes, The National Provisioner has a new look and feel, but not to worry, dear readers — we’re going to let you in on the ground floor of our thinking with this change — a change that has been a long time coming.

Some of the things we believe we've accomplished are:

• Refreshing the magazine’s cover look, with a new masthead that dominates the cover and gives a look of esteem. The National Provisioner has a strong foundation set in the meat and poultry industries, and this masthead demonstrates how much that tradition plays into our strategies. Of course, we will stick with our tried-and-true strategy of focusing on the people and processors who drive this industry’s trends and business.
• Creating a cleaner, sharper look that will draw the eye to the most important features without overloading them with rivers of text.
• Using more color and more engaging and intriguing photography that plays well with the copy and colors used. They say a picture’s worth 1,000 words, and we strive to live by that whenever possible.
• Sprucing up and tying together the overall layout of the departmental stories, again, with color and a much more eye-friendly font, keeping them in lockstep with the design trends guiding such stories as the special reports and cover features.
• Despite the overall redesign of the magazine, none of the departments or features has changed, nor has our editorial strategy changed. You’ll be able to get the best editorial content covering the people, products and process here, bar none, as you always have.

Coupled with the redesign of the magazine is the redesign of our Web site, ProvisionerOnline.com. We’ve launched the mainframe for the new site, and over the next few months, you will see new, exclusive content posted here, with new sections tailored toward bringing you the most up-to-date information that a monthly magazine cannot bring on a timely basis. The beauty of the Web is that it’s never static, and you’ll notice over the next few months the exciting additions we’ll be making to further serve you, the reader, in your battle to overcome the daily challenges of doing business.

Of course, our phone lines and e-mail inboxes are open for any suggestions or criticisms you may have. Feel free to drop us a line anytime.

In the meantime, enjoy the fresh, exciting, new look of The National Provisioner!