Canadian Grocer August 2022

Are you ready for the metaverse?

Perking up coffee sales

Meet our 2022 Impact Award winners AUGUST 2022

EMPIRE TAKES AIM AT CLIMATE CHANGE svp Mohit

Grover on how the company is getting aggressive with its climate strategy

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Contents

August 2022 || Volume 136 - Number 5

Opinions 7 || Front Desk 23 || Consumer Connection People 8 || The Buzz

Cover Story

EMPIRE TAKES AIM AT CLIMATE CHANGE

10

Comings and goings, store openings, awards, events, etc.

10 || Sarah Goodman

How the Chiwis founder turned a love of dehydrated fruit into a growing healthy snack business

Ideas 13 || Coping with inflation

Tactics shoppers are using to manage spiralling food costs

15 || Let’s make a deal!

Survey says: consumers are more willing to share personal data in exchange for affordable food

66

16 || Are you ready for the metaverse?

Why grocers may need to start exploring this latest digital revolution

Features

STEPPING UP 31 Meet the companies making a positive difference— the winners of Canadian Grocer’s 2022 Impact Awards

19 || Labour pains

Attracting and retaining front-line staff is the biggest operational challenge for leaders: study COVER PHOTO: MIKE FORD, SARAH GOODMAN PORTRAIT: TANYA GOEHRING, CAPPUCCINO: SHUTTERSTOCK/PROSTOCK-STUDIO

24 svp Mohit Grover on how the grocery company is getting aggressive with its climate strategy

21 || Catching up with GenNext We talk to past winners of our Generation Next Award to find out: “Where are they now?”

Aisles 63 || Personal best

GRAND SLAM! 57 A look at the winners of the 29th Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards

As consumers put more effort into skin and hair-care routines, retail sales are enjoying a boost

66 || Full steam ahead

See what trends are perking up coffee sales

67 || New on shelf

Shining a spotlight on the latest products hitting shelves

Express Lane 70 || Up, up and away!

Upcycled Food Association’s Ben Gray on the momentum of sustainable food systems

31

Follow us on @CanadianGrocer Canadian Grocer Magazine

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

5

CANADIAN

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SALES Canada Beef offers three new value-cut demand-building resources designed to show retailers how to merchandise beef cuts to optimize value, expand meat case options and grow profits.

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Front desk

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Sandra Parente

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CHEERS TO THE CHANGE MAKERS! Time to recognize the companies working to make a positive difference

VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS

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The world is a tricky place to navigate just now and endless news reports about the calamities facing us is enough to tax the spirit of even the glass half-full types.

But I’m pleased to tell you we have a remedy for that—welcome to our positive impact issue!

We believe that good work deserves to be recognized and that’s why, last year, we launched the Canadian Grocer Impact Awards. We wanted to call attention to actions—both big and small—taken by companies in our industry to make things better for their employees, their communities and the planet. We were blown away by the response the program received last year and we were just as impressed with this year’s submissions.

As you will see in our coverage, this year’s Impact Award-winning companies have stepped up in myriad ways to make a meaningful difference. Their initiatives range from subsidizing registration fees for hockey families, to helping B.C. communities devastated by last fall’s floods to providing crucial funds for children’s mental health programs and making employee benefits packages more inclusive with the addition of gender affirmation coverage (check out all 40 of this year’s winners, starting on page 31).

Empire is also working to make a positive impact. For our cover story this issue, we talk to Mohit Grover, the company’s SVP of innovation, sustainability and strategy, about the grocer’s aggressive

new Climate Action Plan (starting on page 24) and how it is stepping up its efforts to slash food waste and single-use plastics in its operations.

And staying on the topic of sustainability, we talk to Ben Gray, co-founder and chief innovation officer at the Upcycled Food Association, about the momentum of the upcycled foods movement in Canada and what impact this solution can have on our mounting food waste problem (read the interview on page 70).

At a time when we most need it, it’s encouraging to see so many companies stepping up to make meaningful change. CG

Shellee Fitzgerald Editor-in-Chief

sfitzgerald@ensembleiq.com

Keep up to date on the latest news by signing up for our e-newsletter. It’s free and we’ll deliver it to your inbox four times a week.

Visit canadiangrocer.com to subscribe August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

7

The Buzz

The latest news in the grocery biz

The Hillside Supercentre is Walmart’s first new store in B.C. since 2018

OPENINGS

AISLE 24, a fully-automated cashierless grocery market, opened a new Toronto location in late July. Open 24/7, the ”hyper-urban grocery store” is located at 21 Ordnance Street and features what the company describes as an integrated security solution to safeguard customers and allow franchise owners to manage operations remotely. Aisle 24 currently has 16 locations in Ontario and Quebec and has plans in the works to open 40 more stores—extending its reach to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Halifax—by the end of the year.

Aisle 24 is expanding its network of fully automated, cashierless stores

Nature’s Emporium will be coming to downtown Toronto in early 2023

NATURE’S EMPORIUM is heading to downtown Toronto.

The natural food and health market has announced it will open its first store in the city’s South Core district in early 2023. The 25,000-sq.-ft. store will occupy space in a mixed-use development within the Shops at One York.

“For years, people have been asking us to open a store in Toronto, but we couldn’t find the right location,” CEO Joe D’Addario tells Canadian Grocer. He adds, “The South Core has a void that needs to be filled in terms of a natural and organic supermarket.” Nature’s Emporium currently has four locations in the Greater Toronto Area: Newmarket, Maple, Burlington and Woodbridge. The company says further expansion in Halton Region is “coming soon.”

News to share? Tell us about your openings, comings and goings, etc. by dropping a line to sfitzgerald@ensembleiq.com 8 CANADIAN GROCER

|| August 2022

WALMART CANADA, AISLE 24

Victoria, B.C. is home to a new WALMART SUPERCENTRE. Located at the city’s Hillside Shopping Centre, the store is the first new Walmart in British Columbia since 2018.

The sprawling 145,000-sq.-ft. supercentre includes a pharmacy, a 4,000-sq.-ft. Jack Nathan Health medical centre as well as Walmart Express Pickup service with grocery orders ready in two hours or less. The Hillside store is Walmart’s third location in the Victoria area.

AWARDS/RECOGNITION COMINGS AND GOINGS

André Gagné

Michael Rose

Deepti Chandrasekaran

David Marsan

Tim Lute

Leslie Mackay

Trent MacDonald

Metro has announced longtime executive André Gagné is retiring in September.

Gagné joined Metro in 2003 as vicepresident and general manager of Loeb Canada. He later stepped into the role of vice-president, conventional merchandising for A&P Canada before taking on his current position as Metro Ontario’s vice-president, fresh merchandising. Michael Rose, currently director, category management, conventional merchandising, will replace Gagné.

Deepti Chandrasekaran has joined Loblaw as its director, omnichannel merchandising for centre of store in the market division. Chandrasekaran comes to Loblaw from CIBC’s digital-banking arm, Simplii Financial. She also spent more than a decade at Canadian Tire in progressive roles across category management, business planning and strategy.

At Agropur Dairy Cooperative, David Marsan has been promoted and is now vice-president, major accounts and retail. Prior to joining the Quebec-based company in 2019, Marsan racked up experience at Kraft Foods, where he spent 17 years, and Danone.

Conagra Brands Canada has made changes to its leadership team. The company announced that Tim Lute has joined the company, taking on the role of vicepresident, commercial strategy, insights & transformation. Prior to joining the company, he spent 20 years at Coca-Cola Canada. Leslie Mackay has been named vice-president, customer leadership organization. Mackay previously held the role of vice-president of sales. Conagra announced that Mike Lund, interim leader of sales, has left the company. Paul Hogan has been promoted to vice-president at Conagra Brands where he will oversee business growth in Canada, Mexico and global markets, while continuing to act as general manager in Canada.

Flow Alkaline Spring Water has announced some executive changes. Trent MacDonald has been named chief financial officer, replacing Devan Pennell who has assumed the role of chief strategy officer at the Toronto-based beverage company.

The Very Good Food Company also has a new chief financial officer. Pratik Patel stepped into the role at the plant-based food company in late July. Patel was previously head of finance at Bardel Entertainment.

THE 2022 GOLDEN PENCIL WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

The Food Industry Association of Canada has announced that Carmen Fortino, executive vice-president, Ontario division head and national supply chain at Metro, and Michel Manseau, senior vice-president and general manager Canadian consumer business unit at Kruger Products are the recipients of the 2022 Golden Pencil Award, the grocery industry’s highest honour.

Presented since 1957, the prestigious Golden Pencil Award recognizes individuals who have made significant and worthwhile con­tributions to improving the Canadian food industry as well as their communities.

Fortino and Manseau will be presented with their awards at the Golden Pencil Awards ceremony, part of Canadian Grocer’s Grocery Connex conference, in Toronto in November.

EVENTS

The Canadian Health Food Association’s CHFA Now conference and trade show is set to take place at Toronto’s Exhibition Place from Sept. 15 to 18. For details, visit chfanow.ca.

Canadian Grocer’s 2022 Star Women in Grocery Awards are returning to a live event on Sept.

28 at The International Centre in Toronto. For details, visit starwomen.ca.

Grocery Innovations Canada , presented by the Canadian Federation of Independent

Grocers, returns to the Toronto Congress Centre Oct. 25 to 26.

Visit groceryinnovations.com for more info.

Canadian Grocer’s Grocery Connex is coming to Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York on Monday November 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.. Grocery Connex combines three great events—Canadian Grocer’s GenNext Awards, Thought Leadership CEO Conference and the Golden Pencil Awards—in one live experience.

Visit groceryconnex.com for information and tickets.

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

9

People FRUIT TO GO

How Sarah Goodman turned her love of one dehydrated fruit into a growing healthy snack business

By Andrea Yu Photography

by Tanya Goehring

Who you need to know

A

little more than a decade ago, Sarah Goodman bought a dehydrator and began creating different snacks to fuel her hikes through the mountains of British Columbia. Dried kiwis ended up being her top choice. “They were crispy and light, and they tasted like healthy Sour Patch Kids,” she recalls.

At the time, Goodman was running a consumer health tech company. But by late 2019, she felt ready for a career change. During her evenings and weekends, she researched the food production industry, participated in business workshops and networked with distributors.

She named her company Chiwis, a portmanteau of chips and kiwis, and developed a second product—a tropical mix of dried kiwis, rich coconut and sweet pineapple. For her products, she’d use upcycled fruit, when possible, to reduce costs and make the product more appealing to eco-conscious consumers.

By March 2020, Goodman was ready to launch her business. She left her job at the consumer health tech company, rented space from a small commercial kitchen in Squamish, B.C., and purchased commercial dehydrators and food-safe manufacturing equipment.

She intended to start small with independent markets and build up to a major grocery chain. But to her surprise, a distributor quickly brought Chiwis on board and landed her a contract of 20 cases for seven Whole Foods Market locations in British Columbia. “I ​i mmediately thought ‘​this is amazing. This is so great.

And so terrifying’.”

Goodman got to work; she put in 15-hour shifts to get the order ready, doing everything from slicing kiwis on a mandolin to arranging the slices by hand on dehydrator trays, then packaging and heat-sealing bags.

Her first round of Chiwis ended up on Whole Foods’ shelves a few weeks later, in April. “To see it come to life and then to go into a store like Whole Foods was such a cool feeling,” says Goodman. A month later, her distribution grew to two other small grocery chains in the province— Nesters Market and Choices Markets— reaching a total of 50 stores. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, Goodman encountered some stumbling blocks as she scaled the company. “The commercial drying machines weren’t providing a consistent product,” she says. “Some chips would be great, and some would be burnt.”

So, in May 2020, Goodman made the

difficult decision to halt production.

“There was no way I could scale the business with what I was working with, and COVID had also just started,” recalls Goodman. “I took a pause because I needed to figure out how to grow the business in a better way.”

During that time, Goodman recalled some advice she received from food industry veterans. “I was told so many times, ‘if somebody else has the equipment, the staff and the space to do what you’re doing, use them. Don’t reinvent the wheel,” she says. So, Goodman partnered with a co-manufacturer in California, placing a 1,000-pound order with an intended relaunch for January 2021.

The order, however, didn’t turn out as Goodman expected. “The pit in my stomach was so deep,” she says. “They had overdried them, and they had also used fruit that wasn’t ripe enough. They were really sour and inedible.”

Thankfully, the co-manufacturer took ownership of the off-batch and remade the order for a February 2021 relaunch in 75 stores. They’d be back at Whole Foods, Nesters and Choices as well as a handful of independent health food stores.

The growth of Goodman’s business has been steady ever since. By the end of last year, Chiwis were available in 385 stores, mostly in British Columbia. She also introduced three new SKUs to the lineup: pineapple, mango, and orange chips.

Keeping the momentum going, earlier this year, Goodman launched in 85 London Drugs stores in Western Canada. In the spring, she made her first two fulltime hires: an operations manager and a marketing manager. Save-On-Foods came on board in May, extending her reach in the Western provinces, along with adding distribution in Yukon. The summer of 2022 also saw Chiwis go national thanks to a launch in 7-Eleven.

By the end of August, Chiwis will be in more than 1,000 stores.

Goodman is now focusing on research and development with plans to introduce more products in 2023. Around the same time, she hopes to launch in the U.S. Pacific Northwest with a digital marketing campaign focused in Washington, California and Oregon.

Now that her business is getting off the ground, Goodman is paying it forward to other entrepreneurs seeking advice. “I was so lucky that people gave me their time when I was beginning and I got to learn so much so fast,” she says. “The food industry community is amazing.” CG

30 seconds with …

SARAH GOODMAN What inspires you and keeps you passionate about your work?

Creating products that people love and feel good eating.

Seeing the looks on customers’ faces and the feedback that they love our snacks.

What’s your favourite Chiwis product?

When I was developing the new chips, I thought my least favourite would be the orange.

But now they’re my full-blast favourite. I always have a bag of orange chips in my car, and I must eat three to five oranges in chips a day. They’re so good, and they’re so good for you.

What are your favourite cuisines?

I can eat sushi or tacos any day of the week.

What’s an unexpected way to enjoy Chiwis?

We’ve been crushing up the pineapple chips, rimming glasses with honey and then rimming them with pineapple chips for margaritas. We did it for a little summer party that we had, and they were so good.

At Christmas, we also dip the orange chips in dark chocolate.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Mountain biking, hiking, snowboarding and hanging out with my dog. Her name is Norah the Explorer. We’re really lucky to be in Squamish.

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

11

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SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR

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COPING WITH INFLATION Canadian grocery shoppers are using a variety of tactics to cope with spiralling food costs, including buying fewer brand name products and shopping at discount banners more frequently, says a new study.

Field Agent Canada’s “Inflation Situation” survey of 2,739 shoppers found 75% have begun purchasing different groceries to offset rising food costs—which in June were 8.8% higher than they were at the same time last year, according to Statistics Canada data. (The one bit of good news for Canadians is that inflation may have peaked.)

The study found 74% of respondents are purchasing less expensive brands, while nearly half (48%) said they have started buying some items in bulk. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) said they have started shopping more at low-cost retailers, while 23% indicated they are getting a membership at a warehouse club retailer such as Costco.

In verbatims, survey participants said they are also comparing flyers from the various grocery banners to price match and

are increasingly using coupons and/or discount codes more often. One shopper said they are also now “extra careful” in the number of brand name products they buy.

The study also found rising costs are putting a dent in impulse purchases, such as pop and chocolate bars. More than half (53%) of respondents said they are less likely to grab an unplanned treat while shopping, with 19% saying they are much less likely to do so. “We don’t have room for impulse buys in our budget anymore,” said one respondent.

Nearly all of the shoppers surveyed (95%) said they have noticed a spike in food prices in the past three months, with 28% indicating they are “much higher.”

While slightly less than one-third of respondents (31%) said they haven’t noticed changes in stock levels, 42% said they are a little lower and 15% said they are much lower. Low stock is problematic for CPG companies, said Field Agent, because that means shoppers could swap it out for an available competitor and potentially make a permanent switch.—Chris Powell

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

13

! y a d o le t e n b i l a l n i o a v y a p o y c t i t 2 n 2 a 0 qu 2 r u d o e t y i ts r e m i r d L o r p O e m/r

co . r e c o r nG a i d a n Ca

WHO’S WHO 2022

Annual directory of chains and groups in Canada

Ideas

Let’s make a deal

New study finds consumers might be more willing to share personal data during inflationary times in exchange for affordable food By Rebecca Harris Canadians are happy to hand over their personal data if it will net them a deal at the grocery store, a new study suggests.

The Agri-Food Analytics Lab (AAL) at Dalhousie University in Halifax recently asked more than 7,000 Canadians about data and privacy. The survey comes on the heels of a federal and provincial investigation of Tim Hortons, which was found to have violated privacy laws when its mobile app tracked and recorded users, even when the app wasn’t open.

As consumers increasingly use apps and loyalty programs for discounts rather than traditional flyers, the AAL sought to answer: Are Canadians willing to sacrifice some of their privacy for more food affordability in an inflationary market?

The answer is a resounding yes.

The researchers asked respondents how concerned they are about apps from food delivery companies, grocers or restaurants in three specific scenarios: • Gathering personal information that consumers or someone else has posted online to create a detailed profile of their interests and personal traits.

• Using information available about the consumer online to target specific products they may be interested in buying.

• Using information available about them online to give them a more convenient shopping experience.

The survey found that 70% of Canadians are not concerned about any of the three ways data will be used, and 30% are concerned by at least one of them.

Only 16% of Canadians are concerned about all three ways their data will be used, and only 4.5% are unwilling to share their personal data.

The study also looked at how much of a discount Canadians are expecting if they share personal data with a food company, a retailer or restaurant. On average, 43% of Canadians will share data for up to a 10% discount. In addition, 65% of Canadians are willing to share data for up to a 15% discount.

“People want to see that [sharing data] means something, that there is value in return,” says Janet Music, research program co-ordinator at AAL. “It can’t just be collecting data for data’s sake.”

For most consumers, the value exchange of loyalty programs and apps can be beneficial, when used in the right way.

“These things exist because they are successful, and if it saves consumers money and takes the thought process out of it, potentially this is a good thing,” says Music. “The more nefarious part for me is that you don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes or who has access to [your data], or what they could potentially be doing with it.”

In the report, AAL director Sylvain Charlebois said while privacy is important, food inflation is likely making Canadians willing to compromise to get better deals. “The Tim Hortons incident can be considered a warning to the food industry. Companies need to be clear on intent and how apps will work to build loyalty.”

When it comes to sharing data for more targeted marketing, the survey found Canadians are lukewarm. Nearly half of Canadians don’t want to share data that will result in marketing messaging, while 27% are comfortable with their data being used to market to them.

HOW MUCH OF A DISCOUNT DOES IT TAKE TO EXCHANGE DATA? What would be the lowest dis­count amount on retail products for which you would be willing to give your personal data?

1% to 5% 6% to 10% 11% to 15% 16% to 20% 21% or greater

2.8 %

18.9% 25.2% 21.9% 15.7% 15.6%

None—I would give my data for the convenience regardless of the discount SOURCE: AGRI-FOOD ANALYTICS LAB, DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY, JUNE 2022

What would be the lowest dis­count amount on prepared meals or food for which you would be willing to give your personal data?

1% to 5% 6% to 10% 11% to 15% 16% to 20% 21% or greater

3.8%

18.8% 25.9% 22.6% 14.7% 14.4%

None—I would give my data for the convenience regardless of the discount August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

15

Ideas

ARE YOU READY FOR THE METAVERSE?

There could be time in the not-too-distant future when employees will be trained entirely within a virtual grocery store that mimics a real one; where customers don virtual reality (VR) gear to see only the products and information relevant to them as they walk the grocery aisles.

Once the domain of science fiction novels and video games, the metaverse is gaining momentum as a viable—and inevitable—evolution of the internet and is pushing the limits of possibility within the digital world.

“Metaverse” is a term originally coined in 1992 by Neal Stephenson in his novel Snow Crash to depict a computer-generated universe. Today, it’s the most 16 CANADIAN GROCER

|| August 2022

popular word used to describe a digital environment (i.e., platform) that uses augmented reality (AR) and VR to give users the ability to immerse and interact in a digital world that mimics our real one.

Daniel Vogel, an associate professor in the Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, is part of a research team developing a metaverse-type lab environment. Rather than a virtual world people get in and out of, the focus is on creating an augmented reality that layers digital information on top of real-world objects. “It’s still fully immersive, but you’ll be using hand and body gestures to interact with real-world objects with layers of additional digital information,” he says. In a grocery

SHUTTERSTOCK/LED GAPLINE

Why grocers may need to start exploring this latest digital revolution By Rosalind Stefanac

Ideas setting, that could mean using VR gear that would allow you to see digital information, usually found through your phone, displayed on walls or products where it makes the most sense, says Vogel. He notes there are already available devices that do this, albeit too bulky and expensive for regular use. “If you think [about] how fast virtual reality has happened, a lot of the technology is related so AR isn’t far behind.”

While many will say this notion of a mainstream augmented and virtual reality environment is still in its infancy, a number of companies are already exploring what the metaverse will mean for their businesses—and what they can do to capitalize on it.

A 2022 report by McKinsey and Company, Value Creation in the Metaverse, notes that corporations, venture capital and private equity have invested more than US$120 billion in the metaverse in the first five months of this year alone—more than double what was invested in 2021. The report also estimates that most learning and development could be happening in a metaverse environment by 2030, with 57% of metaverse-aware companies saying they are already adopters.

Real-life grocery applications

It’s not surprising that large technology companies are the biggest investors, so far, but organizations across industries (including grocery) have also started exploring the space, even going so far as to create strategies and investments for operating in the metaverse. In fact, it has been reported that big box retailers like Walmart are developing their own cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to use in the metaverse. Meanwhile, French grocery giant Carrefour has already bought property in an area of this virtual world called The Sandbox, equivalent to 30 supermarkets. This past May, the grocer launched its first NFT collection called NFBEES, inspired by veggie or fruit pollinated by bees, and is planning to provide fun and educational bee-themed games in The Sandbox.

Marty Weintraub, national retail leader at Deloitte, points to several “buckets” of opportunity for grocers in a metaverse environment, with training and onboarding as a key one. “Turnover is high in a grocery store, so you’re training people constantly on how to stock shelves, unload a truck, make a price change or run a cash lane,” he says. “There is efficiency and agility in being able to do that in a metaverse environment without employees having to be physically in the store.”

Another area of opportunity is in store layout and design. “[In the metaverse] you could run three or four very different planograms simultaneously, and in less time, so you could really make that merchandise execution process a lot more streamlined,” he says. “Likewise, you could make a lot of quick changes to store fixtures and design.”

While Weintraub believes the notion of curated customer shopping experiences using AR and VR

will eventually be feasible, he says internal uses of the technology are easier “to wrap your head around” and offer a clearer return on investment.

“Depending on how [the world’s] economic situation plays out, we could start to see simpler use cases for the metaverse in the next two to three years,” he says.

At the same time, he points to the need for retailer awareness around data privacy, cybersecurity, fraud and user health and safety. “These are things that don’t get as much press but are extremely important as we get caught up in the ‘shiny penny’ aspects of the metaverse.”

Next steps for grocers

With the pandemic heightening consumers’ expectation of digital capabilities, retailers are being pushed to rethink what their online platforms are going to be in the future, says Sonia Mathur, managing director & management consulting practice lead, Canada at Accenture. “Some of the grocers out there have publicly disclosed that [metaverse] planning is part of their strategic objectives,” she says. “It is something they are thinking seriously about as part of contingency plans, expanding portfolios and reach, and really just for the competitive element.”

With Canada lagging behind early adopters in Asia, Europe and the United States, Canadian grocers also have the advantage of coming into the metaverse after major technology issues and application misses have been resolved, says Mathur. “We can take some of those learnings and apply them here,” she says, advising retailers to “be open to the value you can tap into…don’t be afraid to learn and experiment with some of the ways other markets are availing this technology.”

Best-selling author, retail industry futurist and founder of Retail Prophet, Doug Stephens says there is no harm in grocers of all sizes “dipping a toe in the waters” to better understand the notion of digital real estate and how applications in the metaverse could enhance experiences for both their employees as well as their customers.

But, he believes it is blockchain (the digital, decentralized ledger of transactions across computer systems that cryptocurrencies rely on) that will most benefit grocers as the metaverse evolves. “Grocery’s main problem today is waste and inefficiency and blind spots within the supply chain,” he says. “If I’m a grocer, I can look into that blockchain and see the movement of product from one end to the other, which means I can also validate claims that a product is fair trade or has a net-zero carbon [footprint].”

Stephens predicts all of Canada’s major grocers will be employing some level of blockchain within the next five years to optimize their operations in the metaverse. “As a small- to medium-sized business, you don’t want to get locked out of those blockchains and [supply chain] relationships,” he says. “It’s something everyone should be getting out in front of now to better understand the kind of work being done.”

Internal uses of the technology are easier “to wrap your head around,” says Deloitte’s Marty Weintraub, and offer a clearer return on investment.

“Depending on how [the world’s] economic situation plays out, we could start to see simpler use cases for the metaverse in the next two to three years”

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

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NEW!

A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES

Ideas

LABOUR PAINS

SHUTTERSTOCK/ESB PROFESSIONAL

Attracting and retaining front-line staff is the biggest operational challenge right now: survey By Rebecca Harris WHAT’S KEEPING retailers and other executives up at night? Look no further than the “Help Wanted” signs in their windows.

A recent survey by WorkJam, a digital front-line workplace platform for organizations with shift and hourly employees, found that leaders consider labour shortages (48%), employee turnover (31%) and even workplace stress (10%) as larger operational challenges than supply chain issues (9%). The study engaged 138 global executives in 21 major industries, including retail, manufacturing, consumer goods, and transportation and warehousing.

The study also found employee retention trumps improving customer service as executives’ No. 1 priority. One third of respondents cited retention as their top imperative, followed by attracting talent (28%), upskilling staff to be able to “do more with less” (20%), improving operational efficiency (12%) and delivering better customer service (7%).

Rich Halbert, chief strategy officer at WorkJam, says two problem areas are “white hot” right now. First, the pandemic created a deep “Us versus Them” divide for companies with front-line workers because it was basically business as usual for corporate employees who were able to work from home and continued to get paid.

Front-line employees, on the other hand, were either sent home and out of work or had to continue working on the front lines and face the risks of the pandemic. “But the bottom line is they only got paid if they worked. And so, that created a big divide in the employee base,” explains Halbert. “Now, there is a big effort around bridging that in a more sustainable way.”

The second problem area is hiring and retention. “Businesses have to do more with less and then somehow make their workplace the place people choose over others,” says Halbert. “Some of this is shifting away from the employee’s favour, but employees have been very much in charge of their destiny for the last couple of years because there has been so much hiring required and options everywhere.”

Other key findings in the survey: · Executives understand better retention is linked to business success: 72% of respondents understand investing in employee retention will result in better ROI, but only 50% think their organization is doing an excellent or good job retaining front-line employees. · Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives rank low on employees’ lists of desired workplace improvements: Scheduling flexibility (57%) tops the list of areas employees have indicated

they’d like to see improvements. Meaningful work (54%), compensation (53%), schedule predictability (49%), growth (46%) and company culture (45%) all ranked much higher than DE&I efforts (17%). · In retail, front-line workers are looking for better pay and scheduling: Retail executives say their front-line employees are looking to them to boost pay and provide more flexible schedules, with each factor cited by 57% of respondents. Employees would also like to see improvements in schedule predictability and career growth opportunities, both at 52%. · Companies are prioritizing mental health services as important workplace benefits: 62% of respondents said their company either already offers or plans to offer mental health services to employees. In addition, 67% offer or plan to offer employee rewards and 63% offer or plan to offer flexible/self-scheduling arrangements.

“Mental health and work-life balance is definitely a concern because even though employees have a job, there is still a lot of external pressure and stress and people with multiple jobs,” says Halbert. “This is a world where if they don’t work, they don’t get paid. And that in and of itself is naturally stressful.” · Compensation and better career path opportunities are the main reasons employees leave: Three-quarters of executives think employees are leaving their company for better-paying jobs, while 67% think they’re leaving for career development reasons. Less than half (49%) believe employees leave to attain better schedule flexibility and work-life balance and only 44% believe employees leave in search of better benefits. · More than four in 10 execs surveyed said they’re trying to improve retention by sharing employees across locations: While pay increases (60%) and adding perks (50%) top the list of ways companies are trying to improve retention, 41% said they’re looking to share employees across locations and regions.

“If you have a grocery store in one town and five miles away have another store, your employees can work in both,” says Halbert. “This creates options and flexibility for employees and, in turn, employers can spread their labour pool and use [that flexibility] as a recruiting tool to attract employees.”

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

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WHAT’S

NEW NEW PRODUCTS IN GROCERY

Twice the Snack in Just One Pack

Chill out with Kiju Kiju Organic is made from organic fruit, grown, juiced and packaged according to the strictest standards.

Kiju is expanding into the chilled category with three 100% organic juices with natural functional benefits: Orange (Magnesium), Carrot-Mango (A+E Vitamins) and Berry-Pomegranate (with Polyphenols). More than ever, consumers are looking for beverages with natural benefits as a path to wellness. That’s why Kiju continues to be committed to offering organic juices with no added sugar, artificial flavours or colours.

New Armstrong Cheese Combos are a hearty snack containing cheese sticks and naturally smoked meat sticks.

Convenient and delicious, Armstrong Combos make the perfect snacking pair.

Available in two flavours and individually wrapped for convenience, these sticks are a source of protein and calcium, and contain only 90 calories or less per stick.

Perfect for consumers who are looking for a quick, on-the-go snack.

Good for Every Appetite Parents are looking for healthy and convenient snacks for their kids. This is why iÖGO nanö is pleased to introduce a new convenient large size bottle enabling parents to adjust the portions based on their children’s appetite.

This yogurt snack is ideal for parents and their kids’ nutrition needs. It has 40% less sugar than the leading drinkable yogurt and is a source of calcium. The new 900ml bottles are offered in two different flavours children love: strawberry and vanilla, and as always, are made with real fruit.

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE IN CANADIAN GROCER

|| August 2022

Ideas

Catching up with Generation Next

For the past 12 years, Canadian Grocer’s Generation Next Awards have been celebrating the industry’s rising stars (under age 40). We recently checked in with a few of our past winners to see what they’ve been up to since nabbing the award By Rebecca Harris

Mark Condoluci 2019 WINNER Job then: Category director, No Frills (Loblaw) Job now: Procurement category director, Loblaw

Teresa Blakney 2018 WINNER Job then: Brand manager, brand development at Conagra Brands Job now: Director of marketing, snacks & sweet treats, Conagra Brands

What has changed in your career since 2019, when you won a GenNext Award?

What do you like best about your current role? Everything! If I have to pick just one,

What is your biggest career highlight?

Can you share a tough career lesson you’ve learned? Learning how and when to say

I moved from category director of No Frills produce merchandising to our produce procurement team at Loblaw. I’m now procuring berries, pomegranates and cranberries for the enterprise.

Being chosen for the GenNext Award was one of my largest highlights, along with being selected to represent Loblaws at CPMA’s Passion for Produce program in 2014. There was a great mentorship piece where we had one-on-one conversations with leaders in the produce industry.

This was a huge opportunity for me as it helped set the foundation I needed to continue to grow, gain knowledge, learn how to network more effectively, and pick the brains of leaders to learn what has worked well for them. Ultimately, it gave me the confidence that I can one day be a leader in the industry.

Can you share a career lesson you’ve learned? You’re always selling and building your brand no matter what you’re doing. Whether you’re on a conference call, store tour or even just having a coffee with a colleague, you’re always building on who you are and what you represent.

So, it’s best to be authentic!

I’d say the ability to impact consumer behaviour and their food journey. My role enables me to set the strategic vision to grow the business and, at the same time, do the right thing for consumers.

no. I’m a people pleaser but over the years, as I’ve gained more experience and [have been] surrounded by strong women mentors, I’ve learned how to evaluate those decisions. Gone are the days when I had to deprioritize my other projects and put in a lot of extra hours just to please others.

I’ve learned that saying no, especially to more senior co-workers, doesn’t make you weak. In fact, you earn their respect. ‘No’ doesn’t mean never, it’s just not now.

What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received? Stay authentic, and it’s okay to be vulnerable. Everyone is unique and has something to bring to the table. Even though I’m not in a global market role, do not underestimate my past work experiences in Malaysia and China because it leads to different perspectives. And that’s what I like about the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that are gaining more awareness and traction nowadays.

Mike Longo 2014 WINNER Job then: Vicepresident of fresh foods, Longo’s Job now: Chief merchandising officer, Longo’s

What has changed in your career since 2014, when you won a GenNext Award?

The biggest change I’ve experienced in the last eight years is how quickly the grocery industry has evolved and how consumer behaviour has transformed. There is a constant need to adapt and pivot, especially over the last few years, to stay on top of technology and trends. In a positive light, I believe we have never been in a better position to respond to consumer demand through technology as we focus on our guest experience.

Can you share a tough career lesson you’ve learned? I’ve learned many tough lessons

over the years. One of the toughest is around implementation projects; if you’re ever leading an ERP [enterprise resource planning] implementation project, ensure you have adequate budget (think of a number and double it), extend your timelines, and then cut down your benefits.

What advice do you have for future “rising stars” in the grocery industry? There

are so many great career opportunities in the grocery industry. Try different things along the way to get a good understanding of the entire business and how it all comes together. When you do this, you will land in the area you’re most passionate about. CG

GENERATION NEXT 2022 – CALL FOR NOMINATIONS! Do you know a rising star in the grocery industry?

Nominate at cggennext.ca August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

21

WHAT’S

NEW NEW PRODUCTS IN GROCERY

Sides in a Snap

The Ultimate in Flavourful Refreshment Made with real fruit juice, these cranberry sparkling beverages from Ocean Spray® are bursting with fruity bubbliness. The naturally bold taste of cranberries plus the refreshment of bubbles, provide the ultimate in flavourful refreshment. Contains no artificial sweeteners, flavours, or preservatives and comes in a convenient single serve 6 pack that can be enjoyed at home, or on the go. Consumers can drink it straight up or add it to their favourite beverage.

Conagra Brands is disrupting the veggie market with exciting innovation. With eight new items, Swanson® Steamfresh® and Oven RoastersTM are taking the hard work out of serving deliciously steamed, roasted and flavourful vegetables. These side dishes are ready in less than 25 minutes, with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. With a wide variety of pre-seasoned options, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

The Snacks Dreams are Made of Introducing Cha’s Organics Coconut Rolls, now available in Original Coconut, Chocolate and Ginger flavours. Gluten free, vegan and free from all major allergens, these delightfully crispy wafer rolls are made from pure organic coconut milk combined with wholesome, real food ingredients all rolled into an unparalleled bite-sized indulgence.

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE IN CANADIAN GROCER

|| August 2022

CONSUMER CONNECTION || Ransom Hawley

In inflationary times, Canadians are prioritizing value

More consumers are feeling the pinch and it’s impacting their shopping behaviours

For both brick-andmortar and online retail, the next battlefield for grocers may well be loyalty as costconscious consumers look beyond brand and focus on the best price

In just a few years, the world has seen intense disruption. From the pandemic to the war in Ukraine and the current economic turmoil, consumers’ priorities have shifted and their grocery shopping is increasingly shaped by a search for value and convenience.

A pulse check of grocery consumers reveals some of these changes are not only here to stay—but could shape the aisles of the future.

Even more Canadians are feeling the pinch of inflation. According to Caddle’s 10,000-member Daily Survey Panel (January 2022), 90% of consumers believe food prices are higher now than six months ago—that’s up four basis points from September 2021. And that belief is held across multiple generations, including 93.5% of baby boomers, 91.9 % of gen-Xers, 85.1% of millennials and (a growing) 79% of gen-Z consumers.

With inflation top-of-mind, shopping behaviours are changing. While historically consumers preferred to do their purchasing in one place, many now visit multiple stores in search of value. Discount and traditional grocery stores are still drawing the lion’s share of shoppers followed by Costco and Walmart. And when there are deals, shoppers want to know about them. Nearly nine out of 10 Canadians like to get some kind of flyer from grocers; however, there are signs of a rapidly changing promotional marketplace.

Compared to a physical flyer, grocery store apps are now the preferred platform to receive promotions, and retailers are rising to the challenge with highly customized offerings to get shoppers in-store.

For brick-and-mortar shoppers, the top Net Promoter Score (NPS) drivers are cleanliness and hygiene, quick shop and checkout, and good value for price. These are clear indicators that the pandemic

and economic climate are influencing shoppers. As a one-stop-shop, Costco maintains the highest in-store NPS nationally, followed by Giant Tiger and No Frills.

Despite the resurgence of brick-and-mortar shopping and the lifting of pandemic restrictions, shoppers are still buying groceries online. In that regard, retail giant Amazon enjoys the highest NPS of online grocers, but the data suggests loyalty is still in flux.

Consumers are still figuring out which company offers the best user-experience and this means brand promiscuity. More than half of shoppers say they’re likely to try another online platform for their next shop. Indeed, for both brick-and-mortar and online retail the next battlefield for grocers may well be loyalty as cost-conscious consumers look beyond brand and focus on the best price.

As a result, grocers are working even harder to get people back in their stores and to remove as much friction for shoppers as possible. We’re seeing some innovations in the grocery store aisles to accomplish just that. Technologies such as interactive screens, aimed at engaging and educating consumers, are appealing to three out of four Canadians—especially if it saves them money.

At the checkout, convenience is king. A whopping 59.2% of Canadians use credit card tap-to-pay, whereas boomers are the most likely to stick to cash and least likely to choose self-checkout to settle up.

Yet, self-checkout is here to stay. Largely thanks to the pandemic’s focus on reducing social contact, grocers have vastly improved self-checkout experiences. Now, there are more Canadians using self-checkouts on a regular basis than those who don’t, and 85.1% who use the service say they’re satisfied with the experience.

Other technologies haven’t totally caught on.

Though more retailers are using digital pricing, only 21.5% of Canadians have noticed them in aisles.

There’s also a lack of understanding around checkout-less shopping, with older generations saying they’re less likely to try it.

Those generational differences persist when it comes to innovations in the last mile of store-to-door consumer delivery: drones and robots. Just over 40% of Canadians say they’re interested in automated delivery and gen-Zs are most intrigued.

Though consumers appear to be interested in automated delivery, this isn’t a done deal yet. Yes, convenience moves the needle for many shoppers, but in the current economic climate, grocers must ensure automated delivery doesn’t mean an added cost for consumers. While we can expect to see grocers continue to sway shoppers through innovation, from Canadian consumers’ point-of-view, value is the bottom line. CG

Ransom Hawley, former packaged goods leader, is founder and CEO at Caddle Inc., the largest mobile-first insights platform that rewards Canadians for sharing data and engaging with brands.

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

23

Sustainability

EMPIRE TAKES AIM AT CLIMATE CHANGE svp Mohit Grover

on how the grocery company is getting aggressive with its climate strategy

By Shellee Fitzgerald Photography by Mike Ford

NO QUESTION, THE PLANET is getting warmer, and the impacts of this reality are already being felt in ways both dramatic and devasting. Deadly floods, scorching heatwaves, fires, droughts and the knock-on effects of these weather events are grim reminders of our climate predicament. Unless more serious action is taken to slow the Earth’s rising temperature, scientists warn, things are only going to get worse for the planet’s inhabitants. Much worse.

According to an April United Nations climate report, our window to limit global warming to 1.5 C to avoid the worst consequences of climate change is closing. It’s “now or never” warned the report, to significantly slash our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Others echo the urgency. Researchers at the University of Oxford call the 2020s the “Decisive Decade” to act on climate change. Though immense, the climate challenges we face are not insurmountable. Combatting the crisis, say the experts, will require more collaboration, more engagement and more action from individuals, governments and businesses.

The race to net zero Companies like Empire are answering the call. In July, the grocery retailer announced its Climate Action Plan, a new strategy to meaningfully cut its GHG emissions and begin the transition to decarbonizing its business. Under the ambitious plan, outlined in Empire’s recently released 2022 Sustainable Business Report, the company is pledging to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040 with a goal of attaining net zero for its Scope 3 emissions by 2050. Put simply, Scope 1 and 2 emissions are those generated in its own operations, while Scope 3 are those coming from its value chain.

In the report, Empire president and CEO Michael Medline wrote that while it’s encouraging to see the conversation around climate change reach new heights, “the time for talk is over. We are in a new phase of this challenge that we believe requires aggressive action.”

While scores of companies have announced goals to tackle GHG emissions, science-based targets are at the heart of Empire’s plan and that’s an important distinction, says the company.

Science-based targets provide companies with

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

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Sustainability a clearly defined path to reduce GHG emissions that are in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 C. The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)— a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature—provides standards and guidance for companies to set their targets.

“We’re one of 50-odd Canadian companies that have set science-based targets, which is a really meaningful target to set,” explains Mohit Grover, Empire’s senior vice-president of innovation, sustainability & strategy, during an interview at the company’s Mississauga, Ont. office in late July.

“We’re one of Canada’s largest grocers,” says Grover, “so we feel we have a responsibility to take action, specifically around our emissions profile.”

Empire’s commitment is no small thing. A giant in Canadian retail, the company has a network of more than 1,500 stores across the country under retail banners that include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Farm Boy, Longo’s, Lawtons Drugs as well as e-commerce delivery services Voilà, Grocery Gateway and IGA. net; Empire has the clout to make a big impact by delivering on its climate commitments.

But setting goals is one thing, ensuring the company meets its ambitious targets is quite another. Grover says the company has a roadmap to keep it on track.

“We’ve really planned out the next three to five years, and execution against that plan is going to be really important. It’s a long journey; these targets are set many years out, but we want to start to execute soon so we can have impact early,” explains Grover, who joined Empire about three years ago, with sustainability being added to his responsibilities a year into his tenure.

Key steps Empire will take to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in its operations include energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration retrofits in its stores; the installation of rooftop solar panels at more of its locations to turn these underutilized spaces into “clean energy-generating stations;” and the electrification of its delivery and fleet vehicles. “And we’re thinking about how we’ll do that in Voilà, too. Our trucks are refrigerated, and they require additional load,” he says, adding that Empire will be looking at innovative solutions to be able to power the trucks for the distance needed to travel and refrigerate product.

“On the Scope 3 side, which is with our vendor partners, that’s all about engagement,” says Grover.

And that’s crucial to the plan’s success as much of the company’s emissions profile is generated in the company’s value chain, which is complex for a company that works with large multinational vendor partners all the way down to local Canadian companies. “And so, part of that action plan will be for us to engage with and educate [our vendors] so they are

doing the right things around emissions,” he says, noting that those conversations are already taking place. “Our Scope 3 emissions from our supply chain is a big focus area for us to have impact over the next decade and beyond and to meet those goals that we have for a net-zero target.”

Grover adds that while the 115-year-old company has always acted on environmental issues (“It’s been part of our company’s ethos from the start”), in the last few years Empire has started to be more transparent around the work it’s doing.

“The way we look at it, we want to hold ourselves accountable,” says Grover, adding that Empire will continue to enhance its disclosures. “We’ve already aligned against SASB, which is a sustainable accounting standards board, and they have a food retailers and distributor standard that we already published against last year and we’re doing that again this year,” he explains. “We’re also looking to our investors, analysts, other stakeholders and in this year’s [Sustainable Business] report you’ll see we’ve strengthened our disclosures around governance programs, policy programs, because we heard a lot of feedback from that group. They wanted to know more about how we internally govern and track.”

Declaring a war on waste (plastic and food) Though a big priority for the company, the new Climate Action Plan isn’t the only piece of its sustainability strategy. Empire established itself as a leader in curbing plastic waste in 2019, when Sobeys announced it would eliminate single-use plastic bags at checkouts at all 255 stores, it was the first national grocer to do so. In May 2021, Empire expanded the effort to its other banners resulting in approximately 800 million single-use plastic bags removed from circulation annually.

The company is now building on that momentum and recently began developing a multi-year Plastics Action Plan. The plan will focus on three key areas: reducing plastic waste, improving reuse and improving value recovery. According to its new sustainability report, targets will focus on reducing unnecessary and hard-to-recycle single-use plastics within its own brand and operations, increasing the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic material in packaging as well as leading on circularity while engaging with its customers to help reduce the amount of plastic waste generated at home.

And then there’s food waste. It’s a massive problem in Canada where the estimated value of unnecessarily lost or wasted food is in the neighbourhood of $49 billion annually, according to a 2019 report from Second Harvest and Value Chain Management International.

With food at the core of its business, Empire says it has a responsibility to reduce waste from its operations and across its supply chain. “We set a goal for food waste reduction to try to hit 50% by 2025;

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

27

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Sustainability

SOBEYS

we’re about halfway there,” explains Grover. To cut waste, the company has implemented a multi-tiered food waste prevention program at its stores, which includes things such as staff training, computer automated ordering as well as finding ways to use surplus ingredients.

A strategic partnership with food rescue organization Second Harvest is helping it get closer to its goal. Between May 2021 and May 2022, Empire donated more than 9.6 million pounds of surplus food to the organization, the company equates this to nine million meals provided to families in need.

Empire notes that not only is the partnership helping combat the problem of food insecurity in Canada, but it’s keeping food waste out of landfills and diverting GHG emissions.

Infarm has been another important partner for the company. The German company’s hi-tech indoor farming systems started appearing in Empire’s stores in 2020 and the partnership has expanded to also include growing centres that supply fresh leafy greens and herbs to the company’s network of grocery stores. Infarm is touted as a smart, sustainable solution for feeding urban populations as its produce requires 95% less water, 95% less land to grow and is grown without pesticides. In fact, Empire says it has saved five million litres of water as a result of its Infarm partnership.

“It’s a great customer proposition,” Grover says of the Infarm offer. “Customers want to have something that’s grown close to home that has a better freshness and taste. But in addition to that, we use less water, we use less emissions transporting the goods to our stores, and we have less waste. So that’s an innovation that we’ve brought to life in our stores and scaled across our network, and we are really proud of it.”

At a time when customers, employees and investors are demanding companies do better when it comes to important issues like sustainability, Grover says Empire is well positioned to do its part. “ESG is just part of our company’s business strategy, and it’s integrated into everything we do. And if you meet any of our executive team members, or district operators, or store employees, they’re going to talk about our journey in many areas of sustainability,” he says. “We’re really excited about the progress we’ve made, but more excited about the future ahead.” CG

PLASTIC WASTE CHALLENGE

Sobeys sparks innovation with sustainable packaging competition It began this past March when, in partnership with Ignite Atlantic, Divert NS, and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), Sobeys announced its Plastic Waste Challenge. The goal was to find “a viable and sustainable commercial solution for in-store wrapped meat and seafood packaging.”

In 2019, Sobeys planted a sustainability flag in the ground when it became the country’s first national grocery retailer to announce it was eliminating single-use plastic bags at its stores.

“When we first made that announcement in 2019, we always viewed it as a first step in a journey towards plastic waste reduction,” Eli Browne, Sobeys’ director of corporate sustainability, tells Canadian Grocer. “We always intended to look for more opportunities… [and] we really started to target non-recyclable meat and seafood packaging.”

The challenge began with a call for submissions. Applicants described their experience in the space, concepts and design, estimated production costs, noted where they were in the

development process and the steps needed to fully realize a prototype. Commercial viability was key, but Sobeys was also looking for an innovative product that would be diverted from landfills and meet its criteria around food safety and durability.

“We were blown away by the response,” says Browne. “The variety in the submissions that we got was really encouraging.”

From there, a panel of Sobeys, Ignite Atlantic, Divert NS and ACOA execs whittled the applicants down to six finalists and invited them to Halifax to pitch their products in person. In the end, the victor was Newmarket, Ont.’s Eco Guardian, which won with its fibre-based product.

Anil Abrol, president and CEO of Eco Guardian, says the win “has validated what we are doing. That is why I think the award is so important for us, because the Eco Guardian name will be with Sobeys as one of the leaders in innovation.”

Eco Guardian will work with Sobeys to pilot its packaging in Nova Scotia, with the hope that it will roll out nationally.

If that happens, Browne notes, it will mean millions of sustainable packages in circulation as opposed to the Styrofoam and plastic variations currently in use.

Did the challenge work?

“In my opinion, yes, it was a success,” says Browne. “We’re on a journey here. And we’re really excited about continuing the momentum.”

—John Grigg August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

29

2022 WINNER COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

­

KrugerBigAssist.ca ® ®

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

STEPPING UP 40 ways the industry is making a difference

if doing good is good for business, then things look rosy for Canada’s grocery

industry. In actions big and small, grocers and CPG companies across the country are making things better for their employees, their communities and the planet. To shine a light on these efforts, last year we launched the Canadian Grocer Impact Awards.

Read on to see how this year’s 40 winners are making a positive impact in the areas of sustainability; supporting employees; diversity, equity & inclusion; and community service.

By David Brown, Carolyn Cooper, Rebecca Harris and Danny Kucharsky

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

31

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

Community Service ATLANTIC GROCERY DISTRIBUTORS (AGD)

For two years, the pandemic prevented Atlantic Grocery Distributors (AGD) from hosting its annual Herbert J. Powell Memorial Golf Tournament, a fundraiser for the Alzheimer Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. But AGD still wanted to continue its more than 20-year involvement with the organization, to which it has donated more than $260,000.

Erin Higdon, vice-president, business strategy, AGD says, “during the height of the pandemic, while our world shut

AGD is a longtime supporter of the Alzheimer Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

down, those living with Alzheimer’s disease in our province, along with their families, still relied on their services.”

However, it was challenging for the Society to maintain daily operations as many funding sources were shut down.

AGD asked its vendor partners to donate to the Alzheimer Society instead of paying the fees to attend its annual golf tournament. The company also found other creative ways to raise funds for the Society, including the donation of $1 from the sale of each tub of Moritz Icy Squares chocolates. The response was overwhelming and AGD was able to donate more than $30,000 to the Society in spring 2021. Higdon says AGD is energized about its support of the Society as progress continues to be made with therapies, support and research toward a cure.

BURNBRAE FARMS

Burnbrae Farms has a long history of supplying Canadians with nutritious and affordable eggs. In recent years, the fam-

Calgary Co-op Fresh Food Rescue was launched in April 2022

AGD, CALGARY CO-OP, KRUGER PRODUCTS, BURNBRAE FARMS

Kruger’s The Second Assist helps promote inclusivity and diversity in hockey

Burnbrae Farms’ staff raise funds for the YMCA of Eastern Ontario

ily-owned company has been surpassing its goal to donate at least one million eggs or egg products annually.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Burnbrae donated more than four million eggs and egg products to more than 30 Canadian charities. And last year, the company almost doubled its donations to more than seven million

eggs, including 219,000 pounds of eggs and egg equivalents to Second Harvest, a food rescue charity. In addition, Burnbrae’s annual holiday food drive collected nearly 13,000 pounds of food for Canadian food banks.

Many of Burnbrae Farms’ employees volunteer their time to deliver eggs and participate in community events.

For example, in 2021, employees at the company’s Winnipeg facility served 400 breakfasts with Burnbrae Farms eggs to the Siloam Mission. And each October, employees help the YMCA of Eastern Ontario, in Brockville, run a fire truck pull to raise money for that organization’s financial assistance program.

“Our desired outcome is for the communities in which we operate to see and feel the impact of our charitable giving, colleague volunteerism and food assistance support,” says Burnbrae Farms president and CEO Margaret Hudson.

CALGARY CO-OP

Calgary Co-op has been helping the Calgary Food Bank with cash and non-perishable food donations for many years, but the retailer expanded its initiatives in April 2022 by launching the Calgary Co-op Fresh Food Rescue, which donates fresh food and assists with deliveries to the food bank.

As part of the program, vegetables, dairy products, frozen goods, fresh meat and other items nearing their expiration dates—but are still safe to eat—are delivered daily to the Calgary Food Bank.

Within a few months of the launch, Calgary Co-op had donated 260,000 pounds of food with a usability rate of 98%, and helped more than 16,000 community members put fresh, healthy food on their tables. “The focus of Calgary Co-op’s giving strategy is improving food security. Our Fresh Food Rescue Program, in collaboration with the Calgary Food Bank, is just another way our inspired team members work together to support our community,” says Ken Keelor, CEO of Calgary Co-op.

KRUGER PRODUCTS

In 2020, Kruger Products launched the Kruger Big Assist to provide financial assistance to keep kids on the ice by subsidizing registration fees for Canadian hockey families.

In its second year, recognizing the

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Calgary Co-op is a proud recipient of two Canadian Grocer Impact Awards

Community Service & Supporting Employees 3,850 INSPIRED TEAM MEMBERS

COMMITTED TO DONATING $3 MILLION TO LOCAL CHARITIES IN 2022

PROUD AWARD RECIPIENT

FRESH FOOD RESCUE PROGRAM HAS POSITIVELY IMPACTED 36,000 LIVES SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY THROUGH HIRING AND BUYING LOCALLY

We are passionate about people and the communities we serve. calgarycoop.com

f@calgarycoop

@calgarycoop

Community Service continued

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

importance of inclusivity and diversity in minor hockey, Kruger launched The Second Assist, with an additional $50,000 grant for one of the 15 organizations awarded the Kruger Big Assist.

The Cape Breton Female Hockey Association in Nova Scotia, which won the first Second Assist, is using the grant to create teams in First Nations communities, develop all-female referee crews, train female and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) coaches and implement a financial assistance program.

“All sports, particularly hockey in Canada, play an integral role in the development of children both physically and mentally, and we are proud to assist current and potential hockey families across the country participate in the game we love,” says Susan Irving, CMO, Kruger Products and a hockey mom of two.

Over the past two years, the program has awarded more than $400,000 to Canadian minor hockey associations to cover registration fees and has helped more than 1,000 kids.

To combat food insecurity, Metro Ontario launched its Out of Reach food bank drive last fall, raising more than $3 million

Through its P’tit Quebec brand, Lactalis Canada is helping rural Quebec communities complete small but meaningful projects

METRO ONTARIO, LACTALIS CANADA

LACTALIS CANADA

Lactalis Canada’s P’tit Québec cheese is a mainstay in rural Quebec—an area of the province that doesn’t get the financial attention big cities receive. As a result, many small projects go unfinished due to a lack of funding and resources.

To improve the situation, P’tit Québec launched P’tits projets pas si P’tits (not-so small, small projects), which helps communities conduct small but meaningful projects.

The initiative kicked off last September in the Sainte-Rose-du-Nord (population 439) in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, where the local senior citizens residence and elementary school received more than $25,000 worth of donations, equipment and labour.

Projects included installation of a new bike rack, a protective railing along a scenic walk, repainting the playground’s fence and picnic tables, and replacing the local school’s baseball benches.

“This unique, locally-focused initiative helped support communities with a hands-on approach, including repairing, building and enhancing community infrastructure to bring together communities stronger than ever,” says Vince Vetere, general manager, cheese and table spreads at Lactalis Canada.

METRO ONTARIO

Realizing that people may walk through grocery stores unable to purchase enough food for their families, Metro Ontario launched the Out of Reach food bank donation drive during Thanksgiving and the 2021 holiday season.

“Metro Ontario prides itself on being Ontario’s community grocer,” says Carmen Fortino, executive vice-president, Ontario division and national supply chain at Metro. “With that, we felt the weight of knowing that thousands of people in the 100-plus communities we live and work in, go without basic needs like food, shelter and hygiene every day.”

Fortino says consumers feel empowered to donate to food banks when they know it benefits people in their communities who are affected by food insecurity.

Metro Ontario created opportunities for customers to donate $2 at the checkout and matched their donations up to a collective $700,000 (between Metro and Food Basics).

As a result, more than $3 million was raised between October and December 2021, with nearly $2.4 million coming

from consumer donations. The funds benefited food banks, shelters, soup kitchens and other charities designated by local stores.

“We wanted to give shoppers the ability to fundraise for these families directly in their communities,” Fortino says.

NATURE’S EMPORIUM

This year marked the 10th Nature’s Emporium Run for Southlake, which over the years, has raised more than $2.3 million in support of urgent patient care priorities at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont. Hundreds of people laced up their sneakers on April 24 in support of Southlake Foundation, raising more than $330,000. The five-kilometre run was held in person this year, after two years of virtual events thanks to COVID-19.

The run has become Southlake Foundation’s largest annual event and funds raised ensure the hospital has the tools and equipment it needs to support leading-edge care.

“Our simple, yet important belief is that when we choose to eat well, we live better

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P&G Force for Growth and Good Proud Winners of the 2022

Pantene champions the 2SLGBTQ+ community through education, allyship and storytelling.

Their #HairHasNoGender campaign encourages people to live their true identities, including expressing themselves through their hair.

Olay is engaging over 10,000 girls to build the skills and confidence needed to fulfill critical roles as future leaders in STEM.

Tide Loads of Hope provided free laundry services to families affected by the BC floods in 2021 to give them a sense of normalcy.

The #CrestSmileWithPride campaign is raising the next generation of allies to create a world with more smiles.

Community Service continued and sleep better, move better, feel better,” says Joe D’Addario, CEO of Nature’s Emporium, a health food grocer with four locations in the Greater Toronto Area. “As a leading health food market, we play a very important role in the communities we serve. Our partnerships build on our objective to educate our customers and empower them to take a proactive and preventative approach to their health and wellness,” he says.

The partnership with the Southlake Foundation has served as a springboard for Nature’s Emporium to initiate more community-based initiatives. For example, the retailer recently joined Halton Food for Thought’s Breakfast for Dinner campaign as presenting sponsor to raise funds for student nutrition programs.

NATURE’S PATH

Organic community gardens can help increase food security by providing people with access to fruits and vegetables.

That’s why Nature’s Path launched its Gardens for Good program more than a decade ago. The program provides grant

2022 IMPACT AWARDS funds to community gardens across Canada and the United States to improve access to organic food.

In 2021 and 2022, Nature’s Path added an in-store component to spread awareness about Gardens for Good, with an emphasis on supporting local gardens run by or serving BIPOC communities. More than 600 applications were received, and grant fund donations totalled more than $200,000.

“My grandfather was a berry farmer in the 1940s and he taught my dad to always leave the soil better than you found it,” says Jyoti Stephens, vice-president, mission and strategy at Nature’s Path. “This has grown into our mission at Nature’s Path—to always leave the earth better than you found it, in every sense of the phrase.”

To date, Nature’s Path has provided more than $600,000 in grant funding to community gardens across North America. “We believe everyone has the right to quality organic food,” Stephens says, noting the company also provides at least $2 million worth of organic food annually to food banks.

For the past 10 years, Nature’s Emporium has raised crucial funds for the Southlake Foundation

PATTISON FOOD GROUP

When a state of emergency was declared last November after record-breaking rainfall caused floods and landslides in Southern B.C. and Vancouver Island, Pattison Food Group companies jumped into action to ensure residents and stranded travellers received essential goods.

Save-On-Foods (part of Pattison Food Group) launched a Canadian Red Cross disaster relief campaign to raise funds to support devastated communities.

Customers could donate in all Save-OnFoods, PriceSmart Food and Urban Fare locations across Western Canada and the Yukon. Save-On-Foods matched each donation for a campaign total of $258,078.

Save- On-Foods co-ordinated emergency supply drops by helicopter and airplane to communities that were cut off, and hired additional truck drivers to double the number of deliveries made from its Edmonton warehouse to still accessible B.C. communities.

In the District of Hope, Save-On-Foods also co-ordinated a convoy of 20 delivery vans packed full of essential goods, and with an RCMP escort made the first delivery into the devastated community.

“The extreme flooding in the fall of 2021 brought devastation and unprecedented challenges to communities across B.C. and I am so proud of the great lengths that our teams across the Pattison Food Group went to in order to get food and medicines into stranded communities, like the District of Hope,” says Darrell Jones, president of Pattison Food Group.

PEAK OF THE MARKET

NATURE’S EMPORIUM, PATTISON FOOD GROUP

Pattison Food Group companies jumped into action to help B.C. communities hit hard by floods last fall

Through a partnership with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Peak of the Market is tackling the problem of food insecurity. In February, the company launched “Powered by Peak,” which provides fresh produce to community groups throughout Manitoba. Every month, volunteers from the Blue Bombers football team, along with Peak of the Market staff, pack boxes of fresh produce and deliver them to community groups. In just a few months, the company has donated enough produce to feed more than 3,000 families.

The program helps Peak of the Market give back to local communities, while also addressing the company’s sustainability practices. By creating the program, Peak of the Market has seen a significant decrease in the amount of

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Dave Powell

The team at Atlantic Grocery Distributors Limited, who proudly serve the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, is honoured to be recognized with a 2022 Canadian Grocer Impact Award.

AGD is fiercely dedicated to supporting and giving back to the communities they serve, from smaller rural initiatives to large charitable organizations. We see the impact our support has, and there is nothing quite as rewarding as enlisting our resources and our amazing employees to help others province-wide.

The Alzheimer Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, however, is an organization that is especially near and dear to our hearts and the hearts of the Powell family. For the last two decades, our annual fundraisers for the Alzheimer Society have helped raise more than $260,000 for their life-changing research and work for those in our province living with the disease. As their largest benefactor, we were grateful for the partnership of our sister companies and our vendors so the Society could rely on our support in 2021, despite the limitations put on fundraising events during the pandemic.

While our work is food distribution, our passion is serving the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Giving back to our province is a natural extension of that passion, and we look forward to continuing those meaningful and impactful showings of support for years to come.

PROUD WINNER OF 2022

IMPACT

AWARDS

Ranked as #1 seafood brand

by Canadian NGO SeaChoice on Seafood Progress, a tool to assess seafood brands’ approach to sustainability.

Every can of Rio Mare tuna is responsibly sourced with a goal to achieve 100% from MSC certified fisheries or from Credible and Comprehensive Fishery Improvement Projects by 2024 (70% is achieved in 2021).

Transformative partnerships with WWF and Oxfam to protect the health of our oceans and improve the social impacts of the supply chain.

Community Service continued produce ending up in landfill or for animal feed. The program also builds on Peak of the Market’s history of giving back. For the past five years, the organization has donated approximately $14 million worth of fresh produce to Harvest Manitoba and other community service organizations across Canada.

“Synonymous with community, Peak of the Market and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are proud to team up to ensure local community groups are powered by nutritious and delicious fresh produce,” says Pamela Kolochuk, CEO, Peak of the Market. “Not only are we fulfilling important sustainability practices but, together, we ensure bodies and minds are nourished.”

P&G CANADA

In November 2021, flooding devastated many communities in British Columbia.

P&G Canada stepped up to support these communities by donating health and hygiene products and providing free laundry services in Abbotsford and Kamloops through its Tide Loads of Hope program.

For more than 15 years, Tide Loads of Hope has been cleaning clothes for families affected by natural disasters.

For its efforts in British Columbia, 2,750 clean-up kits were donated and more than 2,650 pounds of laundry were cleaned during the crisis.

“When we saw the devastating impact caused by the floods in British Columbia last year, we knew we could help by offering cleaning products and free laundry services to those displaced by the flooding, as well as the disaster relief responders,” says Moses Ogbonnaya, vice-president, fabric and home care, P&G Canada. “The basic comfort of clean laundry in times of crisis restores a sense of hope, dignity and optimism to those in great need.”

Tide Loads of Hope has cleaned more than 68,000 loads of laundry across North America and the company is committed to expanding the program tenfold over the next decade, with a focus on communities most affected by climate change.

P&G CANADA

RABBA FINE FOODS

Rabba Fine Foods has long-standing partnerships with several charitable organizations and continues to find ways to make a difference.

“Rabba has deep roots in the community it serves. In addition to food

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

P&G teamed up with GlobalMedic to distribute hygiene kits to B.C. communities devasted by floods

insecurity, Rabba contributes to health and emergency services and is also a supporter of arts and events that add colour to local communities,” says Rima Rabba, director of marketing. “Rabba believes that a good community starts with good neighbours.”

As part of its Rabba Roots Community Giving program, the grocer teamed up with P&G Canada to donate toiletries, baby supplies and other essentials to The Mississauga Food Bank to help 2,000 refugees arriving from Afghanistan last summer. In April, Rabba and Burnbrae Farms donated 5,400 eggs to The Mississauga Food Bank, just in time for Easter.

This year also marked Rabba’s fourth annual Super Bowl dinner at Good Shepherd Ministries community shelter in Toronto. With support from partners such as P&G Canada, Maple Leaf Foods and Nestlé Canada, Rabba donated food and individual care packages for nearly 1,000 homeless men. Rabba also participates in The Grocery Foundation’s Toonies for Tummies campaign and has raised a total of $40,000 since 2015.

SOBEYS

Just a few months into the pandemic, Sobeys made a big commitment to children’s mental health. The retailer launched “A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative,” in partnership with the Sobey Foundation and Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations. The initiative funds local mental health programs to support 13 children’s hospital foundations across Canada.

In its second year of fundraising, Sobeys developed a robust marketing campaign to drive awareness, raise funds and educate people on the state of child and youth mental health in Canada, demonstrating the specific need for prevention and early-intervention programs.

Launched in September 2021, the campaign spotlighted experts and their families, and told the stories of the partner hospital foundations and how their programs are funded. Sobeys also partnered with social media influencers who showcased candid family moments, educated their followers about the campaign, and encouraged their followers to donate.

According to Sobeys, the campaign made a meaningful impact: $2.29 million was raised for child and youth mental health, along with a $150,000 contribution by Sobeys.

“Evidence shows that investments in prevention and early intervention have the greatest potential to reduce the impact of mental illness on children,” says Sandra Sanderson, senior vice-president of marketing at Sobeys. “That’s why we’re so proud to be driving impactful change for children and youth across the country.”

SPUD

When devastating floods and mudslides hit British Columbia last November, wiping out roads and damaging farms, SPUD pitched in to help. The Vancouver-based grocery delivery service collected food donations from customers, and then worked out complicated logistics for its vans to make deliveries to communities that were severely impacted.

SPUD then teamed up with United Way and the non-profit Chilliwack Bowls of Hope Society, which provides daily meals for 900 schoolchildren, to ensure the donations got to where they were needed most. The grocer and its partners organized numerous trips to deliver more than 1,000 pounds of food donations to remote Indigenous communities in the Seabird Island First Nation.

For SPUD, the initiative sparked ongoing relationships with United Way and B owls of Hope. For example, SPUD recently donated 550 kilograms of pulses to Bowls of Hope, providing 10,000 meals for people in need.

“Cultivating healthy communities is one of our core values and the best way we have found we can support our communities is to serve those who are food insecure,” says Arndrea Scott, vice-president, communications and marketing, SPUD. “Initially, the goal was to help get much-needed groceries to those in need. From there, the relationship between the United Way and Bowls of Hope grew into so much more.”

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PROUD WINNER OF THE 2022

IMPACT AWARD

Georgia Main Food Group has always been proud of its B.C. roots and supports local in everything we do. That's why we're committed to sustaining the environment and supporting our community from sourcing products, recovering food, choosing responsible packaging and everything in between.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusıon JAMIESON WELLNESS

As Jamieson Wellness marks its 100th anniversary this year, the company is putting a sharp focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I).

“It is important to recognize DE&I as an ongoing aspect of growth that needs to be built into the fabric of an organization’s culture,” says Mike Pilato, president and CEO of the vitamin and natural health product company. “It is an organization’s responsibility to both better itself and the world in which it operates by getting this work started. You can make great progress and will experience some setbacks along the way, but not starting is not an option.”

In 2020, Jamieson Wellness committed to fight anti-Black racism, which evolved into a full-on DE&I movement within the organization. The company established an Advancement of Diversity and Inclusion Council, created an official DE&I policy, and made several commitments. Progress to date includes a new recruitment process to ensure candidate slates for all open roles are equitable; the inclusion of identity-specific communities within recruitment activities; and a mentorship program for employees who identify as racialized persons, women and LGBTQ2S+.

The company has a goal of reaching fair representation of women in leadership and board roles by 2025. To meet its goal, Jamieson is empowering its women leaders to advance through mentorship programs, networking events and by supporting its women’s employees resource groups.

2022 IMPACT AWARDS Neil, Martha and the company to become leaders in their small rural community.

Kudrinko’s joined The Welcoming Project, which encourages organizations to make LGBTQ2S+ patrons feel welcome, and Neil was successful in getting several other local businesses to sign up as well. The grocer is also the lead sponsor for Westport Pride, which Neil founded in 2021 with former employee Jessica Roberts.

Kudrinko’s made its benefits package more inclusive by adding gender affirmation coverage for trans individuals.

The company is also a supporter of PWA Toronto’s Friends for Life Bike Rally, which raises funds to support people living with HIV and AIDS. In August, Neil is riding 600 kilometres from Toronto to Montreal, and Martha is volunteering as a crew member.

“Taking a leadership position in DE&I has helped us attract new staff, develop a more loyal customer base, and [I] encourage my industry peers to make the grocery industry more welcoming to all,” says Neil Kudrinko.

LONGO’S

Longo’s has long been known for its strong workplace culture, which includes an emphasis on family values. But in 2020, the grocer put a deeper focus on DE&I. In partnership with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, Longo’s established a DE&I Council. Among its initiatives, the council provides the

company’s leaders with ongoing education and bias awareness training. For all employees, Longo’s uses an online training platform that covers topics such as unconscious bias and inclusive language.

Longo’s also celebrates diverse holidays and events that are important to its team members including Black History Month, International Women’s Month, Pride and Ramadan, among others. Currently, Longo’s is collecting employees’ DE&I demographic information that will help the company further identify opportunities. For example, Longo’s recently added coverage of gender affirmation surgery to its benefits package.

On the community front, Longo’s has partnered with the Pinball Clemons Foundation and Jamaal Magloire Foundation, which support underserved and marginalized youth by providing education resources and assistance.

“At Longo’s, we are deeply committed to ensuring that every team member in our community feels safe and supported,” says Anthony Longo, president and CEO of Longo’s. “Our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion helps us build strong cultural connections where everyone has a sense of belonging.”

MUSKOKA BREWERY

Muskoka Brewery is making efforts to address diversity in the craft beer sector. In 2020, the Ontario brewery created Born This Way IPA, with a portion of sales

A portion of sales from Muskoka Brewery’s Born This Way IPA goes to The Get Real Movement, a non-profit combatting discrimination

KUDRINKO’S, MUSKOKA BREWERY

KUDRINKO’S

Kudrinko’s efforts in DE&I extend far beyond the walls of its supermarket in Westport, Ont. Last year, Neil Kudrinko, who owns Kudrinko’s with his wife Martha, publicly disclosed that he identifies as queer/ pansexual. While Kudrinko’s has always had inclusive hiring practices, the public coming out presented an opportunity for

One way Kudrinko’s has taken a leadership role in DE&I is by adding gender affirmation coverage to its benefits package

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2022 Award Winner

Community Service, Local Impact & Giving Back

To our team members across the Pattison Food Group, thank you for coming together to support the District of Hope and all affected areas during this incredibly challenging time. This was truly a team effort and we are so proud that we could be there for our communities and neighbours when they needed us the most.

Congratulations Pattison Food Group team members and all 2022 Impact Award winners!

MD

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion continued

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

P&G CANADA

P&G Canada has launched a number of DE&I initiatives including its #HairHasNoGender campaign and its partnership with Spencer West, a disability and LGBTQ+ advocate

going towards The Get Real Movement, a student-run non-profit that works to combat discrimination and promote acceptance for all. To date, $21,000 has gone towards inclusivity training at university campuses and corporations.

Last year, the company received a Gold Certification for gender parity by Women in Governance, a not-for-profit organization working to close the workplace gender gap at all levels, in all industries.

Since 2015, between 40% to 46% of Muskoka Brewery employees have identified as female, and its six-person leadership team comprises three women, including two from the LGBTQ2S+ community.

“Muskoka Brewery is proud of strides made in the past but remains committed to progression and ongoing change to ensure an environment that welcomes everyone,” says Kyra Dietsch, marketing and communications manager. “We look forward to continuing to support our friends at the Get Real Movement and working towards achieving platinum for our next Gender Parity Award!”

While gender equity has been a top priority, Muskoka Brewery is now focusing on equity across all underrepresented groups. The company has partnered with Indspire, a not-for-profit that invests in

the education of Indigenous people. In a five-year commitment, Muskoka Brewery is offering a co-op position and a $5,000 scholarship per year.

P&G CANADA

P&G Canada is working to create meaningful change in DE&I on many fronts.

Last year, the consumer goods company launched an Indigenous Pro fessional Network (IPN) and donated $100,000 to GlobalMedic to distribute P&G hygiene kits to Indigenous communities across Canada. The company also matched $200,000 in donations to the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Fund by Unite for Change and launched a national Indigenous student internship program.

To support employees with disabilities, P&G engaged a research firm to interview employees to better understand the disability experience at work.

The company also connects employees with disabilities to global P&G support groups and has partnered with universities to encourage more people with disabilities to apply for jobs.

P&G continues to align its brands to DE&I initiatives. This year, long-time Pride supporter Crest partnered with disability and LGBTQ+ advocate Spencer West for Pride.

The toothpaste brand’s “Smile With Pride” campaign centred on the importance of raising the next generation of allies.

Pantene launched the third chapter of its #HairHasNoGender campaign in support of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

The initiative was inspired by research that revealed 53% of LGBTQ2S+ individuals feel the need to hide their identities at work. Pantene created a film series named “Workplace: Reimagined,” which explores how an inclusive workplace can give LGBTQ2S+ individuals the confidence to express themselves at work.

With its 70-year history in skincare science, Olay is empowering young women to envision a future in STEM through its #FaceTheSTEMGap initiative by highlighting prominent women in the industry. Olay donated $75,000 to the National Girls Program by Actua, Canada’s largest STEM youth outreach organization, and released a limited-edition Retinol STEM jar in collaboration with Walmart.

“At P&G, we believe an equal world is a better world for everyone. We aspire to be a force for good toward a world free from bias, with representation, voice and equal opportunity for all individuals,” says Geraldine Huse, president, P&G Canada.

“By championing equality and inclusion

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Empire is thrilled to be recognized for its work bringing impactful initiatives to life across the Sustainability, DE&I and Giving Back categories. Thank you to all those who played a part, including our teammates, customers and communities.

Driving Climate Action Sobeys is deeply committed to and invested in driving sustainability, whether it be through reducing surplus food, eliminating plastics or setting new science-based targets to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Over the last year, Sobeys announced a national partnership with Second Harvest, removed 800 million single-use plastic bags from circulation annually, and reduced its energy use through upgrades to refrigeration, lighting and HVAC systems in over 900 stores.

A Culture of Inclusion Over the past year, Sobeys has driven meaningful change across the company, successfully advancing a supportive, compassionate culture of inclusion and making each element of diversity, equity and inclusion a key priority. Through various initiatives, including a Diversity Self-Identification process, diversity and anti-racism training, and a recent partnership with Kids Help Phone, Sobeys has successfully embedded DE&I into every level of the organization.

Building a Family of Support Sobeys’ second annual fundraising campaign for A Family of Support: Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative addressed the need for early intervention and raised $2.44M for local mental health programs at 13 children’s hospitals across Canada. The partnership with Canada Children’s Hospital Foundations helps reduce patient wait times, create and adapt clinical spaces, expand capacity across the healthcare system, and enhance training for mental health leaders, pediatricians, and frontline healthcare workers.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion continued

efforts both internally and externally, we ultimately drive growth for our business and value creation for all of our stakeholders including employees, consumers, retailers, and the community.”

SOBEYS (EMPIRE)

Empire has seen the positive impacts of having diverse teams, from driving innovation to delivering great customer experiences. With DE&I being a critical part of its success, the company continues to advance its efforts.

Empire president and CEO Michael Medline worked closely with senior leaders to embed DE&I into every level of the organization and ensure accountability.

For example, 90% of staff at the director

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

level or above developed a DE&I goal, and the outcome impacts their annual bonus.

Empire implemented a self-identification process to help increase understanding of the diversity of its workforce and set meaningful goals. The company also implemented diversity and anti-racism training across its network.

Founded in 2018, Empire’s Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN) addresses barriers to the advancement of women and provides development and networking opportunities. Today, WIN represents nearly 800 retail and office employees across the country.

On the community front, Empire partnered with Kids Help Phone as part of its “A Family of Support: Child and Youth

Supporting Employees

Recognizing that DE&I is critical to its success, Empire has embedded it into every level of the organization

Mental Health” initiative. The partnership will support two community-based mental health programs: RiseUp and Finding Hope, to connect Black and Indigenous youth to real-time virtual counselling and crisis help.

“At Empire, we understand that fostering a culture of care, trust, respect, and inclusion goes hand in hand with success,” says Simon Gagné, executive vice-president & chief human resources officer for Sobeys. “We’re proud to have driven meaningful change to advance a supportive and compassionate culture.”

In 2021, Bimbo Canada stepped up its safety and wellness (including mental health) efforts

BIMBO CANADA

BIMBO CANADA

Last year, Bimbo Canada developed a cross-functional, national Safety and Wellness Engagement Team to strengthen the safety and wellness culture at its Canadian bakeries and sales centres. The Safety and Wellness Engagement Team provides site leaders with communication toolkits and resources to help them drive relevant local and national safety and wellness initiatives,

and to empower all hourly associates to become safety and wellness champions.

In 2021 alone, Bimbo Canada held 150 Associate Wellness programs at its facilities across Canada.

Other initiatives include local Site Central Safety Committees to improve safety in Bimbo Canada facilities, a Mental Health Committee to increase awareness

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is proud to recognize two programs for winning Impact Awards.

A special thank you to our passionate store teams and our partners for their continued support.

You make these initiatives possible.

One More Bite: Corporate Affairs METRO’s food recovery program, One More Bite, redistributed the equivalent of more than 9.4 million meals in Ontario and Quebec in 2021.

Out of Reach: Marketing, Metro Ontario The Out of Reach campaign raised $2.6 million, thanks in large part to the generosity of our customers.

Supporting Employees continued and decrease stigmatization of mental well-being, a “Healthy Minds” Training program customized for its people leaders, and weekly safety meetings where operational leaders from across the country determine actions to avoid future incidents. Since 2020, Bimbo Canada has also had mandatory Safety Leadership training for all people leaders and has trained almost 500 associates.

“At Bimbo Canada, we prioritize safety and wellness over everything else,” says Leslee Wills, the company’s vice-president, people & corporate affairs. “We are a deeply humane company [that] understands that safety and wellness impact our associates, our peers, friends, families and the communities that we live and work in.”

CALGARY CO-OP

CALGARY CO-OP

Calgary Co-op has long been committed to the communities it serves and strives to help its 3,850 team members feel good about their jobs. This year, the grocer launched a number of initiatives to support its employees and, for the sixth year in a row, was named one of Alberta’s Top 75 Employers.

The retailer offers employees coupons, programs and incentives, as well as management training and career advancement opportunities. Calgary Co-op also contributes to employee scholarships (nearly $100,000 in 2021) and funds post-secondary bursaries at Mount Royal University, University of Calgary and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

“At Calgary Co-op, valued team members are pivotal to its success,” says CEO Ken Keelor. “Team members have shown dedication, resilience and caring support and service throughout the pandemic and beyond.” Keelor adds that the company is honoured its team members have won numerous White Hat Awards for Best Retail Customer Service.

DANONE CANADA

“Our continuous goal remains to support the well-being of our 500 employees in Canada,” says Mélanie Lebel,

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

senior vice-president, human resources at Danone Canada. “We strive to live our values of humanism, openness, proximity and enthusiasm, and this award recognition is a true testament to our values in action. Delivering great results while supporting, protecting and empowering employees is at the core of what we care about.”

For a third year in a row, the company has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. The company has been certified as B Corp since 2018, and was recertified in 2021, recognizing the company’s initiatives to improve the safety and well-being of its employees and the communities in which it does business.

In the early days of the pandemic, Danone took action ahead of government guidelines to implement safety protocols and participated in the collective effort to accelerate the province’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Other initiatives included internal social media channels dedicated to sharing mental health and wellness tips; a new peer-to-peer recognition program; moving the downtown Toronto office to a more modernized and collaborative workspace; and giving employees the flexibility to participate in internal events in-person or virtually.

KOOTENAY CO-OP

Just like other workplaces, Nelson, B.C.’s Kootenay Co-op adapted to the pandemic by making it possible for any employee who could, to work from home. And in October 2021, all employees received a

Calgary Co-op prides itself for supporting its employees. The retailer has been among Alberta’s Top 75 Employers for six years running

generous bonus for their hard work.

To ensure its most vulnerable employees would feel as safe as possible coming to work, Kootenay Co-op was ahead of provincial health orders in implementing COVID-19 safety protocols and installing all necessary measures for staff. While following the mask mandate as part of the provincial health order, Kootenay Co-op faced an increase in offensive behaviours from some customers, resulting in employees feeling harassed and unsafe. Some were even brought to tears by aggressive customers. As a result, the Co-op’s managers increased their presence on the floor and addressed situations as they arose. “Employees communicated their need for increased safety, so we hired a security guard for as long as it was deemed necessary,” explains Amanda Verigin, marketing and sales manager at Kootenay Co-op.

“Employees never have to navigate difficult or stressful situations alone and always have the option to walk away from a situation that escalates.”

And to better help employees experiencing a mental health crisis find the support they need, all managers and assistant managers completed a Mental Health First Aid course earlier this year.

Canadian Grocer’s Impact Awards will be returning in 2023.

Watch for our call for nominations in the New Year.

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2022 Award Winner

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION We are honoured to be a recipient of an Impact Award in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion category, presented by Canadian Grocer. At Longo’s, our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion helps us build strong cultural connections where everyone has a sense of belonging.

Thank you to our Team Members for living the Longo’s values and helping us achieve this honour.

28636127 - 2022 2022 Canadian Grocer Impact Award_Half Page Ad.indd 1

2022-08-08 12:13 PM

As the first national trade association to endorse the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision for a New Plastics Economy in June 2019, FHCP is helping to move Canada towards a future of zero plastic waste.

Focused on the journey to a circular economy, FHCP works with governments and partners across the country to develop: Making Our Voice Heard In Support of Transformational Change

Congratulations Michelle Saunders

FHCP, Vice President, Sustainability Canadian Grocer, Impact Award Winner Sustainability (2022)

improved alignment across Canada in environmental policy focused on packaging, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which transfers financial and operational oversight for the delivery of recycling programs to ensure packaging never enters the environment; industry-led collaborative initiatives to ensure progress in eliminating plastic waste through innovations in packaging, packaging materials and system design; approaches grounded in the feasibility and efficacy of their measures, and; productive and positive engagement of manufacturers, regulators, and advocates across environmental issues.

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

Sustainability

Last year, Que.-based maple syrup processor Appalaches Nature became a certified carbon neutral company

APPALACHES NATURE/ MAPLE JOE CANADA

“At Appalaches Nature we treat every sugar maple tree like one of the family,” says co-founder Serge Dubois. “A big part of that is caring for the environment they grow in. Another is developing sustainable tree-to-table products, like those under our flagship Maple Joe brand.

Being environmentally responsible is simply in Joe’s nature!”

Thetford Mines, Que.-based Appalaches Nature took the unprecedented step of becoming a certified carbon neutral maple syrup processor. The company is constantly reducing its carbon footprint through product development, optimization of processes and controls, packaging and logistics improvement and by helping its producer partners become more efficiency-focused in their own production and logistics practices. In 2019, Appalaches Nature built one of the most energy efficient production facilities in the world, heated entirely using biomass.

“Being tree people at heart, we take part in tree planting initiatives that help rehabilitate degraded forest ecosystems across Canada,” says Dubois, who believes Appalaches Nature is a driving force behind raising standards in the Canadian maple syrup industry. To that end, the company has been actively investing in its network of maple producers to create an innovative carbon neutral product certification initiative with Ecocert Canada.

APPALACHES NATURE,, CHA’S ORGANICS, BOLTON GROUP

BOLTON GROUP – RIO MARE

“As a market leader in the seafood sector, Rio Mare is aware of its responsibility towards the environment, and it aims at generating a positive and restitutive impact on the natural resources involved [in] its supply chain,” says Luciano Pirovano, global sustainable development director, food, Bolton Group. “Our commitments were rewarded by the Canadian NGO Seachoice, which ranked us first on Seafood Progress, a tool to assess seafood brands’ approach to sustainability.”

In 2009, North York, Ont.-based Rio

Last year, Rio Mare increased its advocacy efforts around better seafood management

Cha’s Organics’ heirloom rice from Sri Lanka is grown using regenerative agricultural practices

Mare was among the founding companies of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, and since 2016 it has committed to sourcing its tuna from MSC-certified fisheries or from Credible and Comprehensive Fishery Improvement Projects by 2024. The seafood company achieved 70% of this goal in 2021 and expects to reach its target over the next two years.

Last year, Rio Mare increased its advocacy efforts for better seafood management, while committing to minimize the impact of its fishing operations on the oceans and biodiversity. For this reason, by 2024 the company has committed to only using biodegradable FADs (Fishing Aggregating Devices). Its fleet also developed and adopted an innovative

solution, called the hopper, to prevent the deaths of vulnerable species as a result of incidental capture.

CHA’S ORGANICS

“At Cha’s Organics, when we’re considering innovations we always ask ourselves to go beyond just the product and ask ourselves how we can make this product a vehicle to bring more empowerment to people and make positive impacts environmentally,” says Matthew Caspersz, director of sales. “When these aspects align, we know we’re on the right path.”

Among the Montreal-based company’s sustainable practices is the use of handmade packaging for its curry kits. The packaging is made of upcycled and recyclable paper from a Sri Lankan artisanal

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Proud Winner of the 2022 Impact Awards

Sustainability continued women’s co-operative, which helps create livable wages for the workers. In 2021, Cha’s Organics became a purveyor of organic ancient heirloom rice from Sri Lanka grown using regenerative, organic agricultural practices. While introducing a rice grain with more nutrition to Canadians, the move also supports organic, regenerative agriculture in Sri Lanka, where conventional farming has a negative human and environmental health impact.

The rice is packaged in handcrafted biodegradable paper bags that are also made by the same women’s co-operative.

“Our heirloom rices need less water, utilize traditional farming practices handed down for generations, need no chemical inputs and trap carbon in the soil, which can be farmed for generations without losing integrity and fertility,” explains Caspersz.

Cha’s Organics saw huge developments in distribution and availability in the past year and partnered with Costco to offer a six-pack of premium organic coconut milk, which supports Cha’s “1% for the Elephants” project, protecting Sri Lanka’s wild elephant population.

EQUIFRUIT

“Consumers are unaware that cheap bananas keep farmers in a cycle of poverty,” says Kim Chackal, director of sales & marketing at Equifruit. She adds that her organization’s mission is “to change [the] consumer and retail mindset on banana prices while working towards global Fairtrade banana domination.”

Equifruit is 100% Fairtrade-certified,

As a 100% Fairtrade-­ Certified banana importer, Equifruit is working to solve the “cheap banana problem” and keep farmers out of poverty

2022 IMPACT AWARDS which guarantees a sustainable floor price for farmers, safe working conditions, no forced child labour, gender equity, and US$1 Fairtrade social premium for each banana case ordered, to be reinvested in projects with positive environmental, economic and social impacts.

In 2021, the Drummondville, Que.based company contributed $432,880 in Fairtrade social premium to its farmer communities in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua and Mexico, and supported several meaningful projects. In Ecuador, for example, farmers were able to repurpose the bags used to protect the bananas as they grow into pallet guards, diverting thousands of plastic bags from landfills.

Equifruit communicates its efforts through packaging and messaging , with POS materials, social media, podcasts, trade shows and strategic partnerships. Consumers often choose Equifruit bananas because they’re aware of Fairtrade certification and want to support ethical sourcing and help farmers, explains Chackal. “We want people to feel like they’re part of the banana badass community and tailor our messaging as an invitation to help us solve the cheap banana problem.”

FOOD, HEALTH & CONSUMER PRODUCTS OF CANADA (FHCP)

“Protecting our planet and its valuable resources remains a key priority for FHCP-member companies and Canadians alike,” says Michelle Saunders, FHCP’s vice-president of sustainability.

“As the first Canadian trade association

to endorse the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision for a New Plastics Economy in June 2019, FHCP has been at the forefront of efforts to move Canada towards a future of zero plastic waste.”

Stemming from this commitment, FHCP plays an important role in facilitating industry alignment and influencing government proposals and policies that lead to a circular economy. The organization works with governments and partners across the country to develop alignment on environmental policy focused on packaging, to eliminate plastic waste and to encourage productive and positive engagement of manufacturers, regulators and advocates.

In 2021, FHCP co-founded the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP), an organization driving collaboration in rethinking how businesses design, use and reuse plastic packaging, and launched Circular Materials, a not-for-profit producer responsibility organization.

GEORGIA MAIN FOOD GROUP

In 2020, Georgia Main Food Group, the parent company of B.C. grocery brands IGA and Fresh St. Market, implemented a food rescue program at all of its stores in partnership with food recovery service FoodMesh, to divert its surplus edible food away from the waste stream to achieve its highest end use.

“The networks of charities that support the stores help to alleviate food insecurity in the communities that we operate by distributing our surplus food to those in need,” says Tom Truchan, the retailer’s manager of sustainability. “Since April 2020, we have diverted over one million kilograms of food away from the waste stream, generating the equivalent of 1.7 million meals and eliminating 2.6 million kilograms of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.”

In addition, all of Georgia Main’s stores receive monthly metrics on their diversion, while in-store signage engages associates and customers, and social media posts celebrate the company’s milestones.

EQUIFRUIT

GROWCER/ NEW HORIZON CO-OP

Not long ago, the town of Grande Prairie, Alta., had no access to local fresh greens and the team at New Horizon Co-op wanted to do something about it.

That’s when they discovered Growcer, a

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Sustainability continued

Metro’s “One More Bite” program sees unsold, but still edible food donated to food banks. Since 2016, 18-million kilograms of food has been redistributed

Grande Prairie’s New Horizon Co-op now has access to fresh, local greens thanks to a sustainable, modular farm from Growcer

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MCCORMICK & COMPANY

McCormick & Company is already a global giant of the food flavouring industry, but has ambitious goals to create a healthier planet, and more resilient communities wherever the company operates and sources its herbs and spices.

In 2017, the company introduced its Purpose-led Performance plan, a range of initiatives to be a more sustainable company. Among its goals, McCormick aims to sustainably source 100% of its top five raw materials—black pepper, cinnamon, oregano, red pepper and vanilla—by 2025, and increase the resiliency of 90% of the farmers who grow them.

While McCormick’s vision is global, it has taken specific actions in Canada including a financial commitment to researching bee health at the University of Guelph on behalf of its Billy Bee Honey brand, and the construction of a ketchup manufacturing facility in London Ont., closer to the tomatoes it uses, thereby reducing its carbon footprint.

For the farmers that grow its products, McCormick has introduced programs to support regenerative agriculture and initiatives to improve skills, raise incomes, provide access to financial services and education. In 2019, McCormick also introduced its own “verified sustainability standard” for suppliers. Called Grown for Good, the standard is intended to

ensure an ethical and sustainable supply chain at all levels, with a focus on three key areas: ethical and safe supply chains, regenerative production systems and resilient communities.

METRO

Six years ago, Metro set a goal to reduce its food waste by 50% by 2025, and last year was proof how committed—and how effective—Metro has been. Dubbed “One More Bite,” the program sees unsold but still edible food donated to Food Banks of Quebec, while in Ontario the food goes to Second Harvest and Feed Ontario.

Since 2016, the program has saved and redistributed more than 18 million kilograms of food, the equivalent of 35 million meals. The program was particularly important during the pandemic, with demand in Quebec up 22% in 2021 compared to 2019, and up 10% in Ontario.

In 2021, the program redistributed the equivalent of more than 9.4 million meals in the two provinces.

According to Metro, its food waste strategy is both good for those in need and good for the environment by reducing organic waste in landfill. But donating isn’t the only strategy for the grocer.

GROWCER/NEW HORIZON CO-OP, METRO

Canadian company with technology that allows communities in remote locations to have access to fresh, locally-grown produce year-round. It was a perfect match.

One of Growcer ’s modular farms arrived at New Horizon’s Trader Ridge store last October. The farms use hydroponics—nutrient-rich water instead of soil—to grow plants. The container farms are climate controlled with factors like light, nutrients, temperature and humidity monitored and controlled in real time, meaning the farms can operate in communities with the most extreme weather and inhospitable growing conditions.

In just a few months, the New Horizon Local Garden is producing an average of 216 heads of lettuce, 45 packages of kale, 30 packages of spinach and 150 packages of herbs (such as mint, basil, etc.) every week, which are sold at the co-op’s two Grande Prairie locations. Aside from providing customers with fresh produce, the system cuts down on waste and packaging since the freshly grown product need only travel from the modular farm in the parking lot, to the produce aisles in store.

“The New Horizon Local Garden provides food security and sustainability for our members and customers,” says Karen Fladager, director of operations at New Horizon. “Its controlled environment allows us to provide local produce that is fresh … all year round.”

2022 IMPACT AWARDS

Vancouver’s NADA is building a more sustainable grocery system that includes food-waste diversion strategies and carbon-neutral home delivery

package-free, resulting in a big reduction in our carbon footprint,” explains Miller, the company’s CEO. The founders’ vision and dedication to a greener grocery system has earned them recognition in BMO’s Celebrating Women program, (and a Canadian Grocer Generation Next award for Miller) as well as media attention from the likes of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

NADA

PILLER’S FINE FOODS

“We implemented measures to ensure products are sold and consumed by our customers rather than thrown out or donated,” says Metro’s Stephanie Bonk, who helps manage the One More Bite program. “For example, we introduced discount programs for fresh and consumable products that are close to their expiry date.” And even food residue is being put to good use. “For example, we send residues to processors (for animal feed and industrial uses) and industries that produce compost and biogas.”

in mind. Mondelēz recently ran a marketing campaign with Walmart built around the fact Mondelēz brands are now made with 100% sustainable cocoa. Cadbury Dairy Milk gained 0.7 share, and the program surpassed its targets by 114% overall, and by a remarkable 230% for Walmart.

This year, Mondelēz is expanding Cocoa Life into cookies with Oreos made from 100% sustainable cocoa. “Canadians are seeking out brands that have a vested interest in our planet and community and at Mondelēz we do just that,” says Butler.

MONDELĒZ INTERNATIONAL

NADA GROCERY

Mondelēz is a global snack-food giant famous for its chocolate, and it created its Cocoa Life program to help the cocoa farmers that make it all possible. The program aids farmers in six cocoa-growing regions—Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, India, the Dominican Republic and Brazil—by providing education and training on modern agriculture techniques and environmental practices that ensures a more sustainable business. There are more than 210,000 Cocoa Life registered farmers, and more than 300,000 training sessions have been delivered. According to Mondelēz, farmers saw net incomes increase between 15% in Ghana and 33% in Cote d’Ivoire since 2019.

“Mondelēz is passionate about creating snacks as sustainably as possible,” says Chantal Butler, the company ’s vice-president, marketing. “In Canada we are proud to source 100% of the cocoa used in creating our chocolate from the Cocoa Life program.”

And customers seem to like the idea of eating chocolate made with sustainability

For seven years now, Alison Carr and Brianne Miller have been working to build a more sustainable grocery system that includes a “package-free, food supply chain.” In 2018, they opened NADA Grocery in Vancouver, and since then they’ve introduced food waste diversion strategies, sourced low-carbon products from local suppliers, and offered carbon neutral home delivery. It hasn’t been easy, says Miller. The biggest challenge has been “getting funding and growth capital as an impact company that prioritizes people, planet and profit—not just profit.”

But Carr and Miller’s belief in the absolute necessity of reducing emissions from the food system has led to a program that saved 1.2 million upcycled containers for reuse, and a waste diversion program— including a store-front café selling imperfect goods—that has kept 3,509 kilograms of food from landfill. The commitment to local food has translated to support for more than 100 local suppliers.

“We work with hundreds of suppliers to get products to us locally and

In 2021, Piller’s Fine Foods realized a number of accomplishments towards its goal of being a more sustainable food business. “By implementing sustainable programs at our facilities and educating staff on the benefits of them, we have generated greater awareness surrounding the important role that businesses (and our teams) hold in ensuring a more sustainable future,” says Trent Hilpert, the company’s president.

Among the accomplishments last year, Piller’s achieved a 51% landfill diversion rate (up 11% from the year before), on its way to a goal of 80% by 2025. After a thirdparty energy audit, the company identified—and implemented—a number of water conservation strategies that saved the equivalent of 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It also installed two energy-­ efficient boilers at one facility that are expected to save 560,000 cubic metres of natural gas. And after installing LED lights in two facilities in late 2020, Piller’s reduced energy usage by 1.5M Kwh. Piller ’s also has sub - committees charged with brainstorming ideas around nutritious food, people, communities and, of course, the environment. “Focus areas for 2022 include working with our suppliers on sustainable packaging initiatives for post-consumer recycled materials and recycle-ready materials, as well as continued waste reduction and landfill diversion measures,” says Hilpert.

SOBEYS (EMPIRE)

Last year, Empire/Sobeys undertook a review of its operations and business practices to identify what environmental issues were most important to stakeholders and most impactful on the business.

From that review, the company moved quickly to introduce programs to reduce food waste, eliminate plastics and fight climate change.

In April, the grocer started working

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PROUD RECIPIENT OF THE 2022

We believe everyone has the right to quality organic food.

Gardens for Good program granted $110,000 to 22 community gardens this year.

PROUD WINNER OF THE 2022 CANADIAN GROCER IMPACT AWARD DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION “It’s one thing to talk about and promote inclusivity – but it’s another to take action and be affirming.”

Neil Kudrinko

92%

of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies feel that diversity policies (including sexual orientation and gender identity) are good for business.*

30%

of LGBTQ employees in Canada report experiencing discrimination in the workplace compared to only 3% of non-LGBTQ employees*

“ Kudos to Kudrinko’s for their leadership in creating an affirming space through progressive policies and a comprehensive benefits program that attracts and retains top talent.”

Sustainability continued with Second Harvest’s “Food Rescue App” to redirect surplus food to community partners in need. It set a goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2025, and has already reduced it by 24%. Also last year, Sobeys completed its commitment to remove plastic grocery bags from all banners—that represents 800 million fewer plastic bags annually. Now, 85% of Sobeys customers bring reusable bags or are not using bags at all. And finally, moves to become more energy efficient, including upgrades to refrigeration, lighting and HVAC systems in 900 stores resulted in a 144 million kWh reduction in electricity use.

“At Sobeys, we’re proud to embed sustainability in every corner of our business,” says Mohit Grover, the company’s senior vice-president, innovation, sustainability, and strategy. “Our passionate team, led by Eli Browne [director of corporate sustainability], has worked tirelessly to challenge industry standards and reinforce our commitment every day to create a more sustainable business and future.”

STONG’S

SPUD

As a grocery retailer focused on working with local farmers and other suppliers, SPUD has sustainability built into its business model. But SPUD has done more than that. “Food waste is a major contributor to climate change. It’s never been more important that we tackle this as an industry,” says Angela Anderson, director, communications at SPUD. “We are laser focused on managing inventory and expiration dates [and] developing strong community partnerships that can multiply our efforts around food waste while contributing to food security for those who need it.”

This year, SPUD introduced a task force dubbed “Food Waste Fighters” comprised of warehouse staff spending time each day identifying food near its expiry and carefully selecting the product in best possible condition for community partners. SPUD also weighs all its donated food, converting it to meals and carbon to measure the environmental benefits of the programs—in May alone, SPUD donated the equivalent of 3,000 meals to local families in need.

SPUD extended its waste-fighting ways to its store aisles and shelves, by creating and selling products made from imperfect, rescued foods such as “DIY rescued

2022 IMPACT AWARDS apple pie,” and “DIY rescued smoothies.”

Taking that a step further, SPUD provided customers with recipes, inspirations and tips to make use of flawed produce and food scraps at home.

It’s all good work, but SPUD wants to do more. “We are already doing well, but our goal is to be under 1% food waste ongoing,” says Anderson. “This takes constant attention, training and evaluating practices.”

STONG’S MARKET

The roots of Stong’s Market go back more than 100 years, but the grocer earned an Impact Award for its modern, progressive, forward looking sustainability policies and practices.

“Sustainability and reducing our environmental impact is an important pillar to our business and the communities we work and live in,” says Brian Bradley, president of Stong’s Market, which has two locations in Vancouver.

In-store, Stong’s gives customers the choice of a printed receipt or not, which saves paper, and it recently added a Soapstand Refillery that lets customers fill their own containers of dish soap and laundry detergent. So far, the grocer has sold 230 litres of soap, which translates to 460 fewer plastic bottles. In its bakeries, Stong’s uses “Good Nature” packaging made from plant-based renewable materials free of BPAs, phthalates and other harmful chemicals. To cut down on food waste, Stong’s works with Food Stash Foundation to deliver near-expired food to those in need, and this year it introduced the Too Good To Go app for its customers, which offers deals on surplus products. And finally, last year it partnered with conservation program Ocean Wise to combat overfishing.

“Making sure that sustainability is an ongoing conversation in our company helps our business not only be responsible with our environmental impact, but also takes into account our social and economic impact,” says Bradley.

UNILEVER CANADA

Unilever has been working on social good causes like sustainability and the environment for years, and has set the ambitious goal of being a net-zero company by 2039.

In addition, the company has introduced programs to source from farmers using regenerative practices to come up with better packaging options and to eliminate

deforestation in its supply chain.

In 2019, Unilever Canada launched a campaign—featuring five of its brands— to help consumers understand how its products do good for the planet. For both Dove and Seventh Generation, the focus is on reducing the environmental impact of its bottles. All Seventh Generation and Dove body wash, shampoo and conditioner bottles are made of 100% recycled plastic and are fully recyclable across Canada. By using recycled plastic, Dove avoids 20,500 tonnes of virgin plastic globally each year. For Hellmann’s, the focus is on food waste reduction, raising awareness of the problem with Canadians and offering tools to help them avoid waste. Popular ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s supports small-scale farmers growing Fair Trade certified ingredients in Canada and is also supporting the Northern Ontario Indigenous community of Grassy Narrows from the threat of mining and logging. And for Knorr, 93% of all vegetables and herbs used in the brand’s products are grown through regenerative or sustainable farming practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CG

Partnerships with Food Stash Foundation, Too Good To Go and Ocean Wise, help Stong’s Market be a more sustainable grocer

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New Product Award Winners

Be Better Epsom Salts RESTORE • Relaxing herbs with lavender & geranium oil scented epsom salts • Relaxation • Emotional balance

REST • Chamomile tea with orange & eucalyptus oil scented epsom salts • Refresh • Energize

Be Better Meal Replacement Bars • Made in Canada • No artificial flavours or colours • 24 vitamins & minerals • Chocolate: 13g protein/bar Vanilla: 17g protein/bar • Kosher

Nosh & Co. Everything Bagel Cashews

Nosh & Co. Lavender Lemon Cookies

• Made in Canada • Delicious “Everything Bagel” seasoning • 9g protein / serving • Great quality ingredients • Jumbo cashews

• Made in Canada • No artificial flavours or colours • Peanut & nut free • Kosher • Produced in small batches!

To find a Rexall location near you, visit Rexall.ca

Grand Prix Winners

GRAND SLAM!

A LOOK AT THE MOST NOTABLE NEW FOOD AND CONSUMER GOODS PRODUCTS LAUNCHED IN THE CANADIAN MARKET IN 2021 Plant-based dressings and vegan dumplings, roasted fava beans and instant oatmeal, are among the 40 winners of the Retail Council of Canada’s (RCC) 29th annual Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards, and are reflective of consumers’ growing appetite for healthy, convenient and high-quality products.

“The winners this year reflect the story of changing Canadian values. Canadians are seeking products that truly meet their needs and dietary preferences,” said Diane J. Brisebois, president and CEO of RCC. “The quality of meat and dairy alternative products is astounding and a testament that these product choices are here to stay.”

Here’s a look at this year’s winners:

National brands FOOD Deli Meats and Cheeses

Agropur Dairy Cooperative || Agropur Grand Cheddar

Snack (Sweet) BCC Foods || Nutybite Bakery Fresh (Par-Baked) Bridor || Sliced Croissant Loaf Baking Needs and Dried Bakery Conagra Brands || PAM Confectionery & Shelf Stable Desserts Dare Foods Limited || Realfruit Gummies

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CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS AND PRIVATE LABEL BRANDS ARE

in the 30th Annual Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards!

Finalists and winners of this prestigious awards program benefit from:

INCREASED VISIBILITY AND EXPOSURE Our jury of retailers and industry experts will test, evaluate, and provide feedback on your product, packaging, and positioning.

PERSUASIVE TRADE MARKETING Finalists and winners are profiled in showcase flyers on reebee and featured on The Food Professor Podcast and in leading grocery publications like Grocery Business, Canadian Grocer, Western Grocer and Food in Canada Magazine.

INDUSTRY-WIDE RECOGNITION Celebrate your team and recognize their outstanding work.

VIEW FOOD AND NON-FOOD CATEGORIES REGISTRATION OPENS SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

www.rccgrandprix.ca

For questions about this year’s Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards program, inclucing the submissions process, please contact Pierre Chartier | pchartier@retailcouncil.org or (514) 830-5429

Grand Prix Winners

National brands NON-FOOD General Merchandise Carlton Cards || Magic Moments

Appliance and Cookware Kilne || 6-Piece Steak Knife Set National brands food (continued) Condiments & Sauces

Health Care – Over the Counter Millennia TEA || Superfood TEA Cubes

Peace River Hot Honey

Paper, Plastic & Foil

Meat, Egg & Seafood Fresh/Refrigerated or Frozen

Recycled Aluminum Foil

Honey Bunny ||

Maple Lodge Farms || Maple

Reynolds Consumer Products Canada || ALCAN

Lodge Farms ULTIMATE Chicken Sausages

Household Products Whirlpool Canada || Swash Laundry Detergent

Frozen or Refrigerated Prepared Foods & Entrees Siwin Foods || Plant Based Chicken Flavour Dumpling

SPECIAL AWARDS

Beverages

All-Canadian

Shelf Stable Prepared Foods & Entrees The Spice Tailor || The Spice Tailor Biryani Kit

by Anjum Anand

Innovative Packaging Organic Meadow || Organic Meadow Zero-Carbon Milk Carton

The Not Company || NotMilk

Snack (Savoury)

Three Farmers || Roasted

Fava Beans

Dairy (Milk, Yogurt, Cheese & Spreadables)

Von Slick’s Finishing Touch || Von Slick’s Finishing

Touch - Made with Real Butter

Agropur Dairy Cooperative || Agropur Grand Cheddar

Excellence in Ethnic Products The Spice Tailor || The Spice Tailor Biryani Kit by Anjum Anand Innovation and Originality

Von Slick’s Finishing Touch || Von

Slick’s Finishing Touch - Made with Real Butter Overall Consumer Value Walmart Canada || Your Fresh Market Ricotta & Spinach Ravioli August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

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Grand Prix Winners

Private label FOOD Shelf Stable Prepared Foods & Entrees Metro || Life Smart Instant Oatmeals

Meat, Egg & Seafood Fresh/Refrigerated or Frozen Metro || Life Smart Naturalia Frozen Fish Fillet Bakery Fresh (Par-Baked) Longo Brothers Fruit Markets || Longo’s Curato

Hazelnut Crostata

Beverages Metro || Invitation Alcohol Free Wine Frozen or Refrigerated Prepared Foods & Entrees Metro || Irresistibles Shrimp Appetizers

Confectionery & Shelf Stable Desserts Metro || Selection Premium Truffles Snack (Savoury)

Rexall Pharmacy Group || Nosh & Co. Everything

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Rexall Pharmacy Group || Nosh & Co. Lavender

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Desserts, Fresh/ Refrigerated or Frozen

Save-On-Foods Limited Partnership || Ice Cream

Waffle Sandwiches

Condiments & Sauces Sobeys || Compliments Plant-Based Blue CheeseType Dressing Baking Needs and Dried Bakery Walmart Canada || Great Value 100% Superfine Almond Flour Fruit, Vegetable & Produce (Fresh, Refrigerated or Frozen) Walmart Canada ||

Great Value Sliced Kiwi Deli, Meats and Cheeses Walmart Canada || Our Finest Red Leicester Cheese

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Household Products Walmart Canada || Great Value Disinfecting Wet Mop Cloths 60 CANADIAN GROCER

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6

WINN ERS

6 Award-winning products to celebrate the best of innovation At Metro, we keep quality and innovation at the forefront of our Private Brands. These winning entries demonstrate this tradition, as well as Canadian naturalness and culinary culture.

Exclusively* at Metro, Super C and Food Basics.

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From innovative features to expert maintenance, plus leading resale value, Subaru brings safety to your drivers and value to your fleet.

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Clients : veuillez réviser ce dessin-clé de façon approfondie avant de donner votre approbation finale. Pigeon Brands fait tous les efforts raisonnables pour s’assurer que ce dessin-clé ne contient pas d’erreurs. Une fois que le client a donné 3.2 mm l’approbation finale pour ce dessin-clé, la responsabilité de Pigeon Brands quant aux erreurs et aux omissions se limite au remplacement des fichiers des dessins-clés que Pigeon Brands avait le mandat de préparer. Le fournisseur de prépresse et/ou l’imprimeur seront responsables de vérifier toutes les spécifications techniques/mécaniques cylindres. Toutes les modificationswarning apportées danssafety le but de répondre aux contraintes de la production impriméetechnology system connecting Full-time all-wheel drive for full-timeavant de produire les plaques ou les Innovative advance system On-board devront être soumises au client et/ou à Pigeon Brands pour approbation. Ce dessin-clé a été réalisé à 100 % du format final et toutes les images incluses dans ce dessin-clé sont en haute résolution, à moins d’indication contraire. Ce dessin-clé ne confidence in motion. that helps potential ond’indication contraire. Note your contient pas de « trapping ». Tous les « trappings »/surimpressions devrontSuperior être appliqués àdrivability, la préimpression. Les couleurs de cette épreuve ne doiventyou pas êtreavoid considérées comme étantdanger exactes, à moins : lesSubaru polices de to the world. 24/7 safety and outstanding and handling you can de texte, l’intervenant the doit road.

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En cas de modification posséder sa propre licence polices de caractères. Notre usage des polices estconvenience conforme à notre wherever 6.4 mm licence octroyée par le propriétaire count de la police.on.

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Customers enrollno in trapping. the SUBARU STARLINK® Connected Services program.This To proof should not be considered colour accurate, unless otherwise specified. Note: fonts sent this artwork are high-resolution, unless otherwise specified.are Thisrequired artwork to contains All trapping/overprints to be applied by pre-press.

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PERSONAL CARE CATEGORY

PERSONAL BEST

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As consumers put more effort into their skin and hair-care routines, retail sales are enjoying a boost

By Jessica Huras

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder but, from self-care rituals to the demand for brand transparency, the biggest trends impacting the beauty and personal care industry are more universal.

Evelyn Bell, a consultant at market research firm Euromonitor International, says the beauty and personal care category has rebounded well from the overall decline it experienced during the pandemic.

“With the relaxing of COVID restrictions, people are starting to go out a little more—they’re going to the office, they’re going back to school, so that’s helping in the recovery,” she explains. Data from Euromonitor shows the beauty and personal care category in Canada grew by 10% between 2016 and 2021 reaching US$9.1 million.

Bell cautions, however, that new factors affecting the category in 2022, such as inflation, may cause a slight softening of its growth this year. “This

August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

63

Aisles year, we do expect growth but not as much as last year, which was kind of the recovery or the bounce back of the industry [year],” she says.

More products, more time While subcategories like cosmetics and deodorant saw a decline in sales during the pandemic as consumers socialized less often, skincare was an exception, according to Lisa Reid, country leader for P&G Beauty Canada.

“As professional services were closed or limited, consumers really embraced a DIY approach and focused on home regimens to deliver on their needs for both beauty but also well-being,” she says.

More time at home during the pandemic allowed customers to take their time with skincare, often developing multi-step routines. “The number of [skincare] products people are using is larger than it was in 2019,” says Bell.

As consumers return to busier schedules, the treating skincare as self-care trend continues, along with interest in using an array of products to pamper the skin.

While multi-step skincare routines have traditionally been associated with female consumers, Vivien Siklodi, health, beauty and cosmetics expert at Nature’s Emporium, a natural and organic grocery chain in the Toronto area, says she’s seeing men take a greater interest in developing skincare regimens. Euromonitor’s Bell agrees, explaining that the growth in skincare purchases by male consumers is another example of a personal care trend that gained momentum during the pandemic, but continues into 2022.

The “skinification” of hair care Bell says consumers are also beginning to dedicate as much time and consideration to their hair-care routines as they have traditionally devoted to skincare, describing this trend as the “skinification” of hair care.

“It used to be just shampoo and conditioner, but now you have a bunch of treatments for everything,” she says.

It’s a trend P&G’s Reid has also observed.

“Consumers became much more educated on ingredients and the benefits that they were looking for—and while we had seen that for many years in skincare, we saw that really being elevated in hair care,” she says.

Reid says although sales of hair treatments have increased, many consumers are washing their hair less often because they believe it’s a healthier way to care 64 CANADIAN GROCER

|| August 2022

for their locks. This is driving consumers to become more selective about the shampoo and conditioners they use when doing these less-frequent washes, with many applying the same critical eye to the ingredients and benefits of their shampoo and conditioner that they previously reserved for skincare products.

“When you wash your hair two or three times a week, it means that your shampoo and conditioner and your treatment have to work harder to remove build-up from styling and restyling your hair throughout the week,” says Reid. With this in mind, P&G recently launched a “scalp rebalance and refresh” collection featuring rosemary under its Pantene brand.

Bell believes the trend toward multi-step hair care routines is in its early days and poised to take off. “We’re just at the beginning of the trend,” she says.

Call me responsible “I think as we all reflected during the pandemic, what accelerated is what I would call ‘conscious consumption,’” says P&G’s Reid.

Consumers are seeking brands that are transparent and ethical—from cruelty-free ingredient decks to a commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.

Reid says while consumers prioritize responsible brands, they also expect those brands to perform. She points to the Native brand, which P&G recently launched in Canada. “It delivers that great ingredient transparency that consumers are craving, combined with still a wonderful usage and performance experience,” she says.

“It’s beautiful how far natural brands have come in terms of skincare as well as makeup because they really do measure up,” says Siklodi at Nature’s Emporium.

She points to Canadian brand Green Beaver’s aluminum-free antiperspirant as an example of a product that’s effective while also offering a natural ingredient deck.

Alain Menard, co-founder of Green Beaver, says this antiperspirant has been a “gamechanger” for consumers who prefer the sweat-stopping capabilities of antiperspirant over deodorant (which only prevents odour), but dislike the aluminum content of conventional antiperspirants.

Consumers are conscious not just about the ingredients found in their products, but their packaging as well. P&G, for example, recently released Secret Aluminum-Free deodorant in a plastic-free, cardboard package in response to this

demand for eco-friendly packaging.

“Packaging has been a huge determinator in more customers’ purchases,” says Siklodi. “They are looking for items to be in glass, or to have sustainable packaging that’s either [made of] recycled materials or compostable packaging.”

Thalis Mann, body care purchaser at Toronto grocer The Big Carrot, says refillable beauty and personal care products are attracting interest. “Our toothpaste tablets, shampoo and conditioner bars, family sizes, and refillable items have become increasingly popular,” she says.

Euromonitor’s Bell notes consumers are often willing to pay more to support responsible beauty and personal care brands. “With the economic situation, you need to really think about how you’re going to invest your money and they [consumers] see these brands as an investment for their health,” she says.

Rethinking the beauty and personal care aisle As a lasting impact of the pandemic, consumers are continuing to make fewer retail trips—a shift that P&G’s Reid thinks grocers can leverage to boost sales of beauty and personal care products.

“We’re continuing to see consolidated retail trips and this—combined with the recessionary pressures that consumers are feeling in Canada—is really a fantastic opportunity for growth in beauty and personal care,” she says.

“Historically, people thought they could only get cheap and cheerful products at a grocery store,” adds Reid. Consumers can now find products that offer great value, as well as effectiveness, in grocery stores, saving them the additional trip and bigger expense of buying these products at a specialty store.

Reid recommends retailers showcase beauty and personal care products through their online channels, store flyers and end-of-aisle displays, highlighting their benefits and reasonable price points.

Green Beaver’s Menard wants to see retailers move away from displaying natural beauty and personal care products separately from their conventional counterparts. “I think it was fine when the demand was smaller than what it is today…but the way it’s going, I think within the next five to 10 years, most conventional products are going to be more naturally-based and with greener packaging,” he says. “It’s going to happen.”

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Full steam ahead

From whole beans and next-level offerings to dessert-inspired varieties, consumers discover new reasons to keep drinking coffee

By Michele Sponagle

CANADA IS MAD for coffee. In fact, it is the only non-­ European country to place among the world’s top 10 coffee-drinking nations. And Canadians consume more coffee than tap water, to the tune of US$18 billion a year, according to Statista’s figures.

At Italian Centre Shop (with locations in Edmonton and Calgary), shoppers can find more than 100 brands of coffee. Keeping pace with current tastes means constant updating of its coffee roster, according to company president, Teresa Spinelli. “Our customers are always looking for something new,” she says. Knowledgeable staff are on-hand to guide them to the store’s latest offerings.

In-store cafés at Italian Centre Shop are an effective sales driver with customers able to try coffees before buying an entire package. Serving novel twists on coffee beverages demonstrates new ways to enjoy it, from slushy drinks to lattes with Nutella. Products—­ most sourced from Italy and other European countries—are placed strategically near the cafés.

Coffee sales have resisted seasonality at Italian Centre Shop, explains Spinelli. It sells throughout the year and growth has been steady over the last two years. She finds many shoppers buying organic coffee or whole beans to grind at home, while millennials gravitate to more acidic brews. Looking ahead, she hopes to welcome brand ambassadors from coffee brands to do in-store sampling and encourage trial.

Manufacturers are looking to innovation to attract customers. Lavazza has seen substantial growth over the last five years, going from a $25-million brand to 66 CANADIAN GROCER

|| August 2022

a $45-million one. “Canada has a vibrant coffee culture and premium coffee is becoming more important every year,” says Andrea Chiaramello, head of Lavazza Canada. “The younger generation is looking for coffee innovation, especially in the iced/cold brew formats.” He notes Canadians between the ages of 17 and 49 are major consumers of specialty coffee, with consumption among millennials and gen-Zs growing by 5% to 6% every year.

Chiaramello points to an expansion of formats, innovation in single-serve options, and a focus on non-dairy substitutes (such as almond, oat or rice milk) for espresso-based and cold brew beverages as the trends to watch. He suggests retailers stay on top of emerging trends in the category and make room on their shelves for innovative products.

Conscientious consumers want to know about the origins of their coffee. “More than ever, the value of advocating sustainable products, as well as respect for the environment and coffee workers is essential,” says Chiaramello. For this reason, he believes demand for organic and sustainable products will continue to rise creating the perfect environment for innovation. “Although costs of these products are higher, they meet the expectations of consumers, who are ready to pay more,” he says.

Canadians are also looking for new ways to elevate their coffee drinking. “Consumers are reproducing the coffee shop experience at home and experimenting with new textures, flavours and diving into the world of specialty coffee,” explains Shilpa Khandelwal, director insights & innovation, Keurig Dr Pepper Canada. In fact, out of the average 2.7 cups of coffee consumed daily, premium coffee represents 2.2 of those cups, showing Canadian consumers are experimenting with specialty coffee experiences at home.

As inflation continues, at-home coffee consumption remains more affordable than the out-of-home experience, creating a unique opportunity for retailers to capture those occasions. To do so, Khandelwal says retailers should take a balanced portfolio approach by leveraging brands, pack size and innovations to meet consumer needs. The café-at-home trend is also impacting sales of single-serve brewers, now a bigger segment than traditional drip coffeemakers.

Flavoured coffees continued to steam ahead.

Keurig Dr Pepper Canada has seen category growth of 25% in two years. “Van Houtte has a leadership position in flavoured coffee,” Khandelwal explains. “Over the past year, it has expanded its flavoured coffee lineup by introducing a spirit and dessert-inspired indulgence roster, which includes Irish cream, Amaretto, Belgian Chocolate and Dulce de Leche.” The brand also launched an instant coffee, ticking those convenience and versatility boxes for consumers.

Consumers are “looking for high quality, rich tasting and aromatic coffee,” notes Khandelwal. “No longer is it restricted to only a cup of coffee in the morning; coffee is being consumed across many occasions in the day. Canadians love their coffee.”

SHUTTERSTOCK/PROSTOCK-STUDIO

Aisles

New on shelf!

Aisles The latest products hitting shelves

1 IMPOSSIBLE CHICKEN NUGGETS Impossible Chicken Nuggets Made From Plants feature what the company describes as a “crispy golden breadcrumb exterior and a tender, juicy bite on the inside.” They contain 12 grams of protein per 95-gram serving, and have zero cholesterol. Impossible Chicken Nuggets come fully cooked and ready to prepare in the oven, air fryer or microwave.

1 2

2 CHEEZ-IT SNAP’D CRACKERS Cheez-It SNAP’d baked crackers are thin, curvy and have a chip-like crispness. Made with real cheese and sold in 213-gram bags, Cheez-It SNAP’d crackers are available in three flavours: Double Cheese, Cheddar Sour Cream & Onion, and Jalapeño Jack.

3 IMMUNO10 PROBIOTIC BARS Rich and chewy Immuno10 Probiotic Bars from Yoso are packed with protein (10 grams) and fibre (15 grams) and contain 10 billion probiotics.

With only three grams of sugar and seven grams of fat, these new bars are also plant based, keto-friendly, Non-GMO-Certified and EcoCert Organic.

3

4 CHEEZMADE Tre Stelle has launched Cheezmade, which it describes as a dairy-based meat alternative made with 100% Canadian cheese that has the same taste and texture as chicken.

Available in patties or nuggets, Cheezmade is high in protein and calcium and free from artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

5 DEL MONTE DICED PEARS Del Monte has added pears to its lineup of ready-to-eat fruit snacks. Del Monte Diced Pear cups are available packed in water or 100% grape juice from concentrate. Both versions contain no artificial flavours or colours and are rich in vitamin C. They’re available in packs of four or 20. CG

Launching a product?

Tell us about it! Send product information and photos to managing editor Kristin Laird. klaird@ensembleiq.com

4

5 August 2022 || CANADIAN GROCER

67

Sol Cuisine Hot N’ Spicy Chik’n Wings

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Express Lane

UP, UP AND AWAY!

Upcycled Food Association’s Ben Gray on the momentum of sustainable food systems

By Danny Kucharsky IN APRIL, the Denver-based Upcycled Food Association, which formed in 2019, launched its Upcycled Certified program in Canada.

The new seal will help shoppers easily identify upcycled ingredients and products. Ben Gray, co-founder and chief innovation officer of the association, recently spoke to Canadian Grocer about the progress upcycled food is making in Canada. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How has the Canadian launch of Upcycled Certified gone?

It’s going really well. Since launching we’ve connected with hundreds of companies with ingredients and products in the Canadian market. There’s interest from the Canadian government as well as industry. A lot of companies see a key driver here that can help them meet their sustainability goals. We’re looking to bring the certification program to other parts of the world, and Canada has been a great learning experience.

A Dalhousie University study found 15.5% of Canadians have heard of upcycled foods. How does that compare to the U.S. and what can be done to raise awareness?

In the U.S., that number is closer to 10%. We know consumer awareness in Canada is higher. We also know Canada has five major grocery players, so the brick-and-mortar market is more centralized. Seeing upcycled food on the shelf is going to be really helpful for consumer awareness. For the hundreds of retailers who’ve publicly committed to reducing their carbon footprint, featuring upcycled food products on shelves and menus is a really tangible way to show that progress and engage with consumers.

How much impact can upcycled foods have on a massive problem like food waste?

Food surplus within the food industry is roughly worth US$250 billion a year. Generally, food waste is seen as a US$940 billion annual problem globally.

We see already that we’re inching ever closer to one billion pounds of food that has been diverted as a result of certified ingredients and products.

How do consumers perceive upcycled foods?

We know almost 50% are willing to purchase upcycled products and 62% are willing to pay more for food and beverages that are dedicated to stopping waste. Consumers, in some cases, are willing to pay the same or more than [they would for} a conventional product.

How many Canadian companies are certified?

What role can Canadian grocers play?

Currently, four companies have ingredients and products. As a distinction, the certification is for ingredients and products. It is not for companies.

For the companies that have successfully gone through the process, that translates to 26 ingredients and products. We also have upwards of about 40 companies that are in the pipeline to get ingredients and products certified.

They end up driving a decent amount of innovation.

If they want something to happen to an ingredient from the supply standpoint, they can probably make it happen. We know 95% of people want to do something about food waste. We’re talking about connecting with someone who already believes this is a pretty good idea and it’s the grocers who really have the power to amplify that message.

There are various definitions for upcycled foods.

What is your definition?

What reaction have you had from Canadian grocers?

Upcycled foods use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone for human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and 70 CANADIAN GROCER

have a positive impact on the environment. I think of it as “three U’s”—unseen, unwanted and untapped.

Unseen—things like tao fruit or coffee fruit where normally we’re only using the coffee bean or the cacao nibs but there’s all these other parts that can be used to make new products. Unwanted—ugly produce, fruits and vegetables that aren’t the right size or colour or maybe have some blemishes (but) can still be consumed and oftentimes taste just as good and are great for different applications. And untapped—things like oat milk. You’ve got a ton of pulp that’s being made as a result of oat milk that can be turned into a flour or spent grain.

|| August 2022

We’ve made great progress with a few of the major Canadian grocers. We expect that upcycled products will be in all the major grocers in Canada in due time. CG

UPCYCLED FOOD ASSOCIATION

Q&A

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