The growing bakery goods price fixing investigation puts the onus on manufacturers and retailers to reach out to consumers in meaningful ways
Canada’s Competition Bureau is alleging that almost every major food player was in on the bread cartel. This is extraordinarily disturbing and Canadians have every right to wonder if other grocery staples are affected by this type of collusion. The bread-price-fixing scheme, which allegedly lasted for 14 years, included major wholesalers such as Canada Bread…
Consumers increasingly want fresh, unprocessed food. The middle of the store now sees less traffic and that’s clearly affecting sales for most grocery products
Skippy peanut butter and Dad’s chocolate chip cookies are gone from the Canadian marketplace. If you feel sad about seeing these iconic brands go, brace yourselves. It’s just the beginning. Within days, two major U.S.-based food multinationals pulled well-known brands from the Canadian market. Mondelez International discontinued the iconic Dad’s cookies and Hormel Foods pulled Skippy peanut…
Generation Xers grew up in an era when food was functional and boring. As a result, many don't cook and have little interest in the culinary culture
Generation Xers don’t cook. They never acquired the skills. Most of this group (born between 1965 and 1976) grew up when food was essentially an afterthought. Different generations have different relationships with food and cooking. Recent studies show that baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) have time to cook and most do. Millennials (born between 1977…
With AI, yields can be improved and grocers can understand consumers – and predict their behaviour – better than consumers know themselves
HALIFAX, N.S., May 3, 2017 /Troy Media/ – Many Canadian consumers have noticed that lettuce and celery prices have skyrocketed recently. Such fluctuations happen all the time. But artificial intelligence is about to change that. AI has us on the cusp of a revolution in how we make decisions and how we manage virtually every aspect of our daily lives. The…
Canada's dairy farmers are about to pay a heavy price for Ottawa's lack of leadership. Dramatic changes are on the way on someone else’s terms
HALIFAX, N.S., April 25, 2017 /Troy Media/ – Supply management is officially on Donald Trump’s radar and Canadian dairy farmers are holding their breath. For years, farmers have defended the five-decade old system as perfect for this nation. They’re about to find out that the world has changed since the 1960s. Our supply management system, known globally as Canada’s milk…
A clear road map to make our dairy sector more competitive is urgently needed as it faces more European imports
HALIFAX, N.S., April 10, 2017 /Troy Media/ – Canada's cheese processing sector faces some dramatic changes. We’ll soon find out who gets to import tasty, inexpensive European cheese under the newly-ratified Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union. There’s some debate about how farmers and cheesemakers should be compensated under CETA. But what should matter most…
The federal budget injects some new life into Canada's agricultural industries, but not enough funding and not nearly enough clarity of vision
HALIFAX, N.S. Mar. 28, 2017 /Troy Media/ – Canada’s agri-food sector has underachieved for too long. The new federal budget gives the sector the opportunity to re-imagine its potential. Finally, Ottawa wants to make the agri-food sector a place to invest and foster innovation. The Liberal government aims to increase Canada’s agri-food exports to at least $75…
Canada, as one of Brazil’s main livestock industry competitors, will likely gain from this scandal, but the industry should not become too complacent
HALIFAX, N.S. Mar. 22, 2017 /Troy Media/ – Brazil, the largest exporter of meat products in the world, faces a food fraud crisis – and it seems federal authorities have been complicit. There's a lesson here for Canada. Brazil authorities recently announced they would investigate several companies, including meat-packing giants JBS SA and BRF SA. The companies are accused…
Recent surveys suggest the average adult spends more time watching cooking shows than actually cooking
HALIFAX, N.S. Mar. 15, 2017 /Troy Media/ – Canadians are cooking less and eating faster – and our obesity rates are at worrying levels. An increasing number of consumers are taking ownership of food systems, but taking control of our food systems can't be fully achieved unless some cooking is involved. Humans are the only species on Earth that cooks. But…
Same-store Canadian sales are up 8 per cent – higher than in any other country in which Costco operates. And the future looks even brighter
HALIFAX, N.S. March 9, 2017 /Troy Media/ – Unless you’re there on a Saturday, constantly trying to avoid collisions with oversized shopping carts, you probably like Costco, even though it will cost you more to shop there as of June. The basic membership fee is going up by $5 to $60, while premium folks will have to pay…
Canada’s Competition Bureau is alleging that almost every major food player was in on the bread cartel. This is extraordinarily disturbing and Canadians have every right to wonder if other grocery staples are affected by this type of collusion. The bread-price-fixing scheme, which allegedly lasted for 14 years, included major wholesalers such as Canada Bread…
