Changing consumer needs open up a huge market in Canada, particularly for fast-food restaurants, but supply management a roadblock
Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day – particularly for the fast-food industry. In the business world, breakfast has traditionally been seen as a low-margin, low-revenue market. But now it's giving some food chains a new life. McDonald’s most recent financial results show that its all-day breakfast strategy in the U.S. is paying off. Given the breakfast…
If Alberta's industries can't learn to embrace change in consumer demands, they will fail and no one will mourn their passing
What is it about Albertans? The business community asserts a near religious devotion to free enterprise and the market but, surprisingly, often displays complete contempt for changing market sentiments. It seems Albertans only love the market when it agrees with them. Much of Alberta’s oil and gas industry, for example, refuses to admit that the public’s…
The Earls restaurant controversy is just the tip of the iceberg for a Canadian industry that has been slow to adapt to changing needs
The Earls restaurant decision to turn to a U.S. supplier for humanely-produced beef points to a significant problem for the future of the cattle industry in Canada. The Earls decision follows a similar one by A&W a few years ago. That chain had to procure beef from Montana and Australia for its “no hormones, no steroids”…
Liberals on the defensive after the Prime Minister sidesteps a question about Canada's mission against ISIL to talk about 'quantum computing' instead
With all due respect to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his sudden fascination with quantum computing is about as real as Al Gore having discovered the Internet. Trudeau surprised Canadians last week when he spoke about the subject during a media conference at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont. How could the leader…
Campbell Soup's decision to be bisphenol A free by mid-2017 is more about perception than evidence-based science
A recent study by environmental groups suggests that more than 70 per cent of food cans in major Canadian retail stores contain bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical often linked to health complications. In fact, many studies have suggested that BPA can mimic the hormone estrogen and conceivably affect behaviour and neurological development in infants and young children.…
The consumer is becoming the true CEO of the food supply chain
The politics of food distribution is alive and well, or so it would seem. Without notice Loblaws decided to dump French’s Ketchup causing a two-day viral backlash by the public. The pressure was so large that Loblaws actually reversed its decision just a few days after making its decision public. Many are speculating how unfair…
With better technology in the hands of the consumer, food fraud will begin to disappear
Date tampering in food stores is in the news again, and horrified consumers want to know how it can be stopped. Over the last 12 months, reports from B.C., Ontario, Alberta and Quebec suggest store employees have been asked to repurpose food products and change expiry dates. Products include dairy, meats, and even fish and seafood.…
Should be lauded for building partnerships that work for all, especially for consumers
The food industry is showing signs it can change, and the timing couldn't be better. Animal proteins have been a dietary mainstay in much of the western world for thousands of years. But demand for processed and red meats has been declining for a number of years now, for a variety of reasons. The arguments against animal protein consumption…
McDonalds Canada has committed to exclusively use cage-free eggs within 10 years
If you’re looking for a recent textbook case of responsive supply management engineering, look no further than McDonalds Canada. Echoing its U.S. partners, the fast food giant committed to exclusively use cage-free eggs within the decade, already committing to the use of 5 per cent free-range eggs by the end of this month. McDonalds Canada…
Everyone wins from Loblaw’s campaign to reposition “imperfect” produce in its stores
We waste a lot of food; tons of it, in fact. Indeed, some studies suggest that the overall cost of food waste in our country exceeds $100 billion annually. In response, Loblaw has decided to take action. The company now sells bags of “Naturally Imperfect” apples and potatoes in select grocery stores across Ontario and…
Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day – particularly for the fast-food industry. In the business world, breakfast has traditionally been seen as a low-margin, low-revenue market. But now it's giving some food chains a new life. McDonald’s most recent financial results show that its all-day breakfast strategy in the U.S. is paying off. Given the breakfast…
