This Commerce Life

Spreading the popcorn gospel. Tanner Townsend talks about switching crops, and becoming Canada's largest popcorn grower.  check out Uncle Bob's popcorn here: https://www.ontariopoppingcorn.com/ Tanner isn't on Linkedin much, but he's here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanner-townsend/

Retailing is an art and a grind. Kristina Cavallari has both - the art to retailing and the grit to grind it out in retail. We talk about Aura Natural Market, how Kristina thinks about retail and serving her customers.  In case you're wondering what the store looks like...we filmed a tour. https://youtu.be/Pshrw-SMKbkTo find Kristina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-cavallari-923341b4/To find Kurt Astle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurt-astle-22343a170/To find Aura Natural Market: https://www.auramarket.ca/

We got together with Todd Fisher from KC and Sukaina Sumar-Ebrahim from Foodbanks Mississauga to talk about the partnership they've built, and the new challenges that a "temporary" solution like a food bank is supposed to solve.  To find out more about Mississauga Food Banks: https://www.foodbanksmississauga.ca/Find Sukaina here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukaina-sumar-ebrahim/Find Todd here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-fisher-0b56493/

We get into it, and totally forget to introduce Steve Rad, CEO of Abacus. We get into AI, how Steve is using AI and how he and Abacus thinks about AI and the future.  Check out Abacus brands here: https://www.abacusbrands.com/Find Steve Rad here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-rad-5959943b/  Thanks to Gainops for sponsoring this episode. www.gainops.comFind Nimesh here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimesh-jaspal-462615/

This episode is a little overdue. Carmen Wakeling, Co-Owner of Eatmore Sprouts comes on to talk about sprouts and turning the tide on a 25 year old incident.  Find Carmen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-wakeling/Find Eat More Sprouts here: https://eatmoresprouts.com/  

We're building some ties here in case you're wondering. Last week, you heard from Mike Nunn  on security. This week you're hearing from Sam Wong,  Data executive at Marc Anthony leading organizations to work smarter with Data and AI.  Phil has known Sam for a long long time. Fun fact, Sam was Phil's pianist at his wedding.  You can find Sam here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-wong-analytics/  

Max's store is interesting enough that Kenny would drive there.Max saw the future of trading cards before we all caught on. A fascinating take on a childhood past time that has grown into something for grown-ups Check out Max's website: www.zephryepic.com  

Mike Nunn is the CEO of TLC Solutions. We talk about how to keep yourself cyber safe, and the things that brands and businesses should worry about  Find Mike here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikednunn/Find TLC solutions here: https://tlcsolutions.ca/ Mike has a webinar hosted by BC Food & Beverage on Sept 19th. We'll post about this when we get the link.  

It's a good time to continue the conversation about having a good time in the summer and have options on beverages. Mitch Cobb is the founder of Libra Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer. We talk about his experiences "crossing over" from Upstreet Craft Brewing to the non-alcoholic side. To find Mitch : https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchacobb/To find Libra: https://drinklibra.ca/  This episode is sponsored by Food & Beverage Atlantic. You can find them here: https://atlanticfood.ca/Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletters at www.thiscommercelife.com ,we promise to make it worth your while!

Michelle Mckay-Prychidny is the CRO at Shelfgram.  She talks about super-charging the store visit, and the new thing they've built for students. To find Michelle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-mckay-prychidny-b6b0492/Shelfgram is here: https://www.shelfgram.com/Congratulations to the teams at Shelfgram and Fieldagent - this is a great match!!