This Commerce Life

Cam Bruce, owner of Famous Foods in Vancouver talks about coming to retail late in life, and what it takes to be successful  as an independent grocer.  Shop Famous Foods here: https://www.famousfoods.ca/  

From 1 to 150. Ben Osmow talks about the Osmow family hustle, building a business from scratch and introducing Ontarians to shwarma. If you're from Ontario, "chicken on the rocks" is like a whopper or a big mac. You have the Osmows to thank for that. check out Osmow's here: https://osmows.com/find Ben Osmow here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benosmow/  

We talk to Kurstin Leith and Christine about helping brands, how to know when you're ready for expert help like Agency Brand Management.  Find Kurstin Leith here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurstin-leith-68832131/Find Christine De Biasio here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-biasio-1444a914/ Check out Agency here: https://agencybrands.ca/

We hung out  with Marie Morden and Haddas Lederman to talk about Ontario Made.  A pandemic initiative that has been growing like crazy and creates a lot of exposure for SMBs.  This podcast is produced in Ontario, but without amazing Canadian made brands, we wouldn't be here ❤ Find Marie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-morden-61529814/Find Haddas here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haddas-lederman-201575120/Check out Ontario made here: https://supportontariomade.ca/ 

There's always time to talk about coffee. Founder of  Smoking Gun Coffee Brandon Liton talks about moving from social work to roasting coffee. Connect with Brandon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-litun-739b242b0/Find the cafe and Smoking Gun products here: https://smokingguncoffee.com/

We get a chance to talk to the guy who might make the best butter we've ever tasted. Bill van Nes talks about his transition to organic farming and the establishment of his creamery, St Brigid's butter. Wondering about the dairy industry? Heard about the milk quota but don't know what it is? Bill talks about this. We learn a ton about the dairy industry.  shop St Brigid's Butter: https://www.stbrigidscreamery.ca/Find Bill Van Nes here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-van-nes-a7902b24/   

We get a whole episode this time with Tareq Hadhad, Founder of Peace by Chocolate.  check out Peace by chocolate here: https://peacebychocolate.ca/ You can find Tareq here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tareqhadhad/  

"All tomato school stories stay in tomato school." Dwayne Boudreau  talks about challenges for brands growing up in Atlantic Canada. We talk about his experience from HJ Heinz, Cavendish Farms, Nestlé Foods, and Greco Pizza and celebrate some of the amazing brands that have come out of Atlantic Canada.  Find Dwayne here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwayne-boudreauIf you're not signed up for the FBA awards ceremony - it's not too late! sign up here:https://atlanticfood.ca/fba-conference-awards-2024/ 

In 1999, it all started as a labour of love with Nova Scotian entrepreneurs Gerry McConnell and the late Dara Gordon.  Head Winemaker Jean-Benoit Deslauriers talks about the process of setting up a "new" winery, and how long it takes for great wine to take hold.  Thank you to Food and Beverage Atlantic for connecting us with Benjamin Bridge. To find out more about FBA:https://atlanticfood.ca/ To shop for Benjamin Bridge: https://benjaminbridge.com/We'll be at FBA's award ceremony : https://atlanticfood.ca/fba-conference-awards-2024/

We're walking the show in today's episode. If you ever wanted to know what retail folks talk about during show walks, this is the episode for you. Come along with us, we're going to walk some aisles with some of our friends. Thank you to Izzy  (Izabella Shaker), Christine De Biasio and Coby Palidwar for walking us through some of their really cool brands.  Find: Izabella here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/izabella-shaker-96504422/Izzy took us to:https://www.allergysmart.com/https://www.umyum.ca/https://www.egglifefoods.com/Christine here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-biasio-1444a914/Christine took us to:https://chiwis.co/https://earthsown.com Coby Palidwar here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coby-palidwar-1246608a/Coby took us to: https://www.leftcoastnaturals.com/https://carbsbakery.com/https://www.madewithlocal.com