This Commerce Life

Rochelle teaches us about kombucha. Phil meets Oprah.  MotherLove Ferments is a Kelowna-based business that is dedicated to creating healthy and tasty ferments. We had a great talk with Founder Rochelle to learn more about their story.   Shop MotherLove here: https://www.motherloveferments.com/ Find Rochelle here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rochelle-minagawa-7617491a5/

Stephanie Horman has a plan to give back. It's called Cabin 5 granola, and it's awesome.  This was recorded during our last trip out to Kelowna at the end of August, and we're sorry it took so long to get this out.    check them out here: https://cabin5granola.ca/ Find Stephanie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-horman-a9046759/

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/hadda...

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.stb...

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-boudreau If you're not signed up for the...

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/  ...

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.link...

Paloma & Andrew created a place where culture, quality and respect come together as Paz Bakery. As the maker of the ball-shaped Cheese Dots, Lara and her husband Andrew Hoto have spent a good amount of time distinguishing between their Brazilian-inspired snack and that sedate, spherical milk product taking up space on charcuterie boards or the deep-fried bad decision also bearing the cheese ball n...

Like many pet food companies, Rob & Geraldine Brouwer didn't start out thinking they would create a dog food company. They started by simply trying to feed their dog the best food possible.  Big Country Raw started d2c and never looked back.   Check out Big Country Raw here: https://bigcountryraw.ca/   Check out Ontario made here: https://supportontariomade.ca/

Michael Clark is the Winemaker, General Manager and co-owner of Clos du Soleil. We stop to sample some beautiful wines, talk about the winery, how Michael approaches wine making, and what consumers should know about the wine business in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valley   Check out Clos du Soleil here: https://www.closdusoleil.ca/

We're on a roadtrip. We get some real feedback on wine in the Okanagan valley, and the BC Fruit Grower's situation.   If you're curious what we're doing, head to our instagram to check out where we are and what we're doing. Thank you for Paul Martin from Peter's YIG, Avi and Binne from Farming Karma and of course, to Peter Boyd, Peter's YIG for setting all this up.    

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-SMKbk To find Kristina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-cavallari-923341b4/ To...

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...

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.com Find Nimesh here: https://www.linke...

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/