This Commerce Life

David Giffin shares his journey in establishing a hemp business.  We talk about the challenges of  hemp - the launch of the Earthli brand, addressing marketing challenges and consumer misconceptions about hemp. Find David here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-giffin-899947163/Find Earthli foods here: https://earthli.ca/

Andrew Elliott, former President of Foley's Chocolates comes on to talk about growing companies and the importance of leadership.  This was our first live podcast, filmed and recorded at JJ Bean's in East Vancouver.  You can find Andrew here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-elliott-936bba26/

A coast to coast podcast. Patrick Griffin, the Founder of the Oat Company joins us from Newfoundland. We talk about Patrick's move from public policy to oat maker, the logistics of manufacturing product from the east coast and trying to make it across the country.  Check out the Oat Company here: https://www.oatcompany.com/Find Patrick here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-griffin-94397556/  

We catch up with Michael Mazur, President at Freshfield Naturals, Inc. Freshfield won the 2024 CHFA Launchpad award in Vancouver To check out Freshfield, head to https://freshfield.life/To reach Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micmazur/

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/