September 29, 2015, TORONTO – The second day of Grocery Innovations Canada (GIC) has been a great wrap-up to the conference, filled with innovative stage demos, exciting announcements, and an evening of awards to follow.
Keynote and Workshops Day two of the conference commenced with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois’ keynote, “Are We Witnessing the Slow Death of Grocery Stores?” about how today’s grocers need to modernize to keep up with changing trends and tech in food retailing. Following Dr. Charlebois was another round of morning workshops led by the brightest in the industry. Steven Sage, VP of Sustainability & Innovation for Kruger Products L.P., led the discussion on going green with his workshop, “Grocery’s State of Sustainability.” FMS’ Robert Graybill examined the Independent Grocers’ Financial Survey Results, while J.C. Willams Group’s Suthamie Poologasingham led the session on “7 Global Innovation Trends & How Your Business Can Stimulate Innovation to Improve Sales.” Salima Jivraj from Halal & Co Marketing & Management discussed how halal and other categories will drive traffic in the future in her presentation, “The Minority is Becoming Mainstream.” To cap off the morning, Google Canada’s Mohit Grover gave a keynote on “Google & Grocery: trends, innovations and implications.”
DOWNLOAD PRESENTATIONS HERE
Canada’s Favourite Grocers of 2015 One of the morning’s most exciting workshops was led by Jeff Doucette, the founder of Field Agent Canada, where he revealed results and insights on Canada’s Favourite Grocers of 2015.
Using Field Agent’s app, the first of its kind mobile research agent, over 1,000 consumers were surveyed across the country. Results were scored on a weighted basis in categories such as shopping experience, pricing, and produce. In Jeff’s presentation he discussed findings like most the popular grocers in the top categories, up and comers to watch, and regional favourites.
The winners of the Top 5 Overall were: 1) Farm Boy 2) Longo’s 3) Loblaws 4) Save-On-Foods 5) Your Independent Grocer
For the full report click HERE.
Insights and Innovations Stage Demo First up on the Insights & Innovations Stage was Salima Jivraj from Halal & Co Marketing & Management with “Ethnic Consumer Insights: the Halal Conscious Consumers.” Jivraj looked at the growth from centre store to protein and why halal isn’t just for Muslim consumers. Next up was Gilles Deschênes of Dairy Farmers of Canada with his demo on “Perfect Pairings!” Gilles showed the audience the keys to growing deli cheese sales through cheese pairing demos and local cheese-maker offerings.
DOWNLOAD PRESENTATIONS HERE.
Grocer of the Year Awards Gala
Tuesday night the best grocers in Canada were celebrated at the annual awards night and gala. Over 500 attended to toast retailers from East to West.
SEE GALLERY OF WINNERS HERE.
ABOUT GROCERY INNOVATIONS CANADA (GIC) Grocery Innovations Canada (GIC) is Canada’s premier grocery event developed by industry professionals, for industry professionals. It is the only event in Canada dedicated to the entire grocery industry and is the largest one of its kind. GIC is at the forefront of innovation, showcasing cutting edge products and services. The conference provides exceptional opportunities for networking and foresight into current and upcoming industry trends. Website | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | #GICshow2015
For more information on Grocery Innovations Canada, interview opportunities, or exhibiting inquiries, please contact:
Nancy Kwon, Marketing/Communications director, E: nkwon@cfig.ca
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