In a story of becoming a victim of its own success, SEO optimization has made Google almost impossible to use. Try looking up a recipe. Almost all cooking sites are burying the information people are looking for at the end of a 900-word essay, cross-linked to the wahoo, and surrounded by ads. Why? Because to …
This is interesting news for anybody who’s supplementing, or thinking about it, their food product with vitamins or minerals. Health Canada has just announced new regulations for supplemented foods that will make adding supplements to food and drink products much easier. Supplemented foods are defined as pre-packaged foods or drinks containing one or more added …
The end of the TMA and what that means for supplemented food Read More »
If you already know the velocity expectation for your product’s category and are meeting or exceeding it, hi-five. Seriously, well done. You can close this email and get back to making braggy charts for your next pitch meeting. But if you don’t know, or if you don’t even know what I am talking about, keep …
The importance of velocity when launching a food brand. Or, go deep before you go wide. Read More »
Let’s talk about the current elephant in the room, the R-word. Recession. I co-founded my last business right in the middle of the 2008 recession. At the time, we looked at the challenging environment as a benefit, because it opened up opportunities we would otherwise not have had access to. Warren Buffet has famously stated …
Launching a food business from your home kitchen just got easier in Ontario. The Ontario government has published a guide on how to start a home-based food business, which includes an overview of public health laws that must be followed as a food operator. To further assist budding food entrepreneurs, the government has enacted legislative …
How to start a home-based food business in Ontario Read More »
One of the biggest misconceptions from food and drink entrepreneurs is that once you’re on shelf, once retailers start selling your product, life will be easy. After all, that’s what they have often spent years working towards. But in reality, that’s when the work really starts. Here’s what you need to be prepared for. Understand …
The work starts when you finally get your product listed with retailers Read More »
One of the most common points of frustration I hear expressed by food and drinks entrepreneurs is “retail buyers never call/email me back”. And that’s correct, even if you do everything right, sometimes you won’t be hearing back for months, if at all. But there are ways to increase your odds of a callback and …
5 ways to get retail buyers to open and answer your emails Read More »
The shift toward more informal, highly engaging UGC-style (user generated content) videos continues. Video content is quickly becoming an essential part of the marketing mix, not just for large brands but also for startups. Until recently, the cost associated with this has often been prohibitive. Working with independent creators specializing in short, engaging UGC style videos has …
Remember a few years when everybody was, “TikTok is that silly stuff for teens”? Well, TikTok is now the most visited website in the world, ahead of Google. 🤯 🤯 🤯 Crypto and NFTs are at the same stage TikTok was five years back, and if anything, they are entering the mainstream even faster. I guarantee …
How CG brands are utilizing crypto for community building and growth Read More »
Storytime: I am currently working with three companies that have invested heavily in building their brands, only to find out that the name they have chosen for their business cannot be trademarked, has already been trademarked by a competing company or is not usable in markets they are planning to expand into. The collective cost …
How to future-proof your food business by trademarking your intellectual property Read More »