The Voice of Retail Food professor Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Food Futurologist Dr. Morgaine Gaye and a peak into the future of retail cannabis beverages with Terry Donnelly from the Hill St. Beverage Company
Welcome to the The Voice of Retail, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
In this episode, recorded live in early March backstage the Restaurants Canada trade show in Toronto, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University returns to the podcast as my special guest. We talk pre-COVID-19 macro trends around dining out, meal kits, his Zamboni theory of retail cannabis and this big picture perspective on plant based proteins, the environment and its impact on food decision and what drives the pace of change in food trends.
Next, just off the plane from London England is Dr Morgaine Gaye, Food Futurologist to talk about how she practices her craft helping food companies and advertising agencies see around corners, plus the three big future trends in food.
Last but certainly not least a long time friend and colleague Terry Donnelly, CEO at Hill Street Beverage Company joins me as we catch up on the latest developments in his nation leading non-alcoholic beverage company poised to take advantage of retail cannabis 2.0 with his top of the line, category creating infused cannabis beverages.
But first, let’s jump right into my conversation with Sylvain Charlebois
******
Thanks to Sylvain, Morgaine and Terry for being my guests on this episode. Well Now let’s hit the highlights of the retail news in Canada and around the world with Retail This Week for the week of March 16, 2020
That’s a wrap on this edition of The Voice of Retail. If you liked this podcast you can subscribe on Apple iTunes or your favourite podcast platform, please rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.
I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co or of course on LinkedIn
Until next time, have a great week!
Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career.
Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada’s Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.
Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael’s cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.
Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.