Recognizing a career dedicated to groceryand retail industry growth and innovation

Dino Bianco, CEO of Kruger Products, presented with award for decades of commitment toward continuous improvement of the industry

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Achieving success within the Canadian retail industry requires dedication, commitment, desire, passion, a good amount of business acumen, and a whole lot of hard work, among a few other things. Sustaining that success means doubling down on all of the aforementioned qualities, and not relenting, ever. It’s a set of traits and characteristics that at least partially fits the profiles of some leaders within the industry. However, when considering Dino Bianco, Chief Executive Officer, Kruger Products Inc., they are qualities that help describe him very well. And, they are also qualities that recently earned him the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada at the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards gala.

An illustrious career

Bianco served for nearly two decades within a number of different positions at Kraft Canada as a marketer and executive leader, all the while honing his understanding of the business and capacity as a leader. He’d go on to become Kraft Canada’s VP of marketing, and President, before earning a promotion to EVP of the Kraft Food Group, leading its beverages division as President.

In 2018, Bianco joined Kruger Products as the CEO where he now oversees the continued development of iconic brands that include Cashmere®, Purex®, SpongeTowels®, Scotties®, White Swan® and Bonterra® as well as the White Cloud® brand in the US. Throughout his career, Bianco has also been recognized with a host of accolades and awards for his incredible work and dedication to the industry. However, from the retail veteran’s perspective, the most rewarding aspect of his career to date has been the people that he’s made connections with.

“It’s been an amazing journey for me within this amazing grocery industry,” he said proudly. “Every time I attend one of these events, I look out at all of the incredible people who I’ve had the opportunity to work with, work for, those who have worked for me, and others I’ve interacted with over the years, and I realize how much they’ve helped me become a better person and a better leader. And, they’ve also helped me drive great business results. Quite frankly, they’ve all made me look good.”

Gratitude and recognition

He went on to pay his gratitude to Kraft and Kruger Products for providing him with the opportunities that he seized so firmly and effectively. And, he spoke fondly, too, about the many partnerships that he’s formed throughout his illustrious career with players operating within the Canadian retail industry, highlighting the ways in which these relationships have helped him grow as a professional.

“I also want to recognize the amazing retailers that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years,” he said. “You’ve taught me so much about an industry world bigger than my own. You’ve sharpened my perspective and shown me how to drive mutual benefit. Not all of the meetings that I’ve been involved in with retailers have been love-ins, but at their core we’d always find compromise in a respectful way, and move forward for the good of our companies, and for the good of the industry and its people.”

An industry like no other

The pride that Bianco possesses when it comes to the industry and the achievements that he’s been a part of through the years is clear. The “journey” as he describes it has been an incredibly meaningful and fulfilling one for him. It’s something that he recognizes, and a realization that he says won’t soon be lost on him as he continues to achieve success and growth within the industry, leading Kruger Products into a new age of grocery retail.

“My 34-year career has been filled with successes, failures, uncertainty, stress, joy, learning, teaching, and a whole lot of fun. And sometimes all in one day. It’s a journey that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I have one of the best jobs in the world, having the opportunity to serve a basic human need and form relationships with our customers from coast-to-coast. From food to toilet paper, we do it all. Through pandemics, inflation and global impacts, we have not just persevered, but excelled. The grocery retail industry is an incredible one, providing good paying jobs and careers, driving efficiency, creating supply chain resiliency, making impact for a better planet, progressing social change, and giving back to communities, causes, and individuals in need. There is not a better industry or career than serving Canadians through the grocery industry.”

Visit the official RCCSTORE24 Conference website to view a full list of past winners of the Canadian Grand Prix Lifetime Achivement Award, or for more information about Retail Council of Canada’s Awards of Distinction Pro-