Prior to Covid, household grocery shopping was primarily an in-person, flexible, and social weekly routine. It was defined by: Frequent trips: Households made multiple trips per week to the grocery store. Meal planning: Meal planning was often minimal or improvised, with shoppers walking down aisles to see what looked appealing or inspiration-buying on the spot. […]
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From the 1970s to the late 1990’s, people embraced a wide range of foods with little concern for chemical additives or hidden sugars, while official nutrition labelling was still evolving. By the turn of the century, consumers demanded simple, recognizable, and wholesome ingredients, fueling the rise of the “Clean Label” movement. Today, food ingredient scanning […]
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Brands have shaped consumer behaviour for centuries. Early forms of branding date back to around 2700 BCE in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, where cattle ranchers marked livestock to show ownership. Branding evolved significantly during the Industrial Revolution (1750–1870), when mass production made it essential for companies to distinguish their products from competitors. Today, brands compete […]
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Millennials and Generation Z have significantly influenced the grocery industry. “They’re looking beyond tangible products and actually trying to understand what is it that makes the company tick. What’s its mission? What’s its purpose? And what is it actually trying to build for us as a society”?[1] Bo Finneman To meet modern consumer expectations initiated […]
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How a simple task such as grocery shopping has evolved. In the 1960s, my mother was responsible for grocery shopping. The only grocery store available was our local Dominion. 1960’s Dominion Flyer Special thank you to Jim Slomka Historically, cashiers manually entered the price of each item at checkout. This changed in July 1974 when […]
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I was fascinated to learn that The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations was the first modern international trade show, held in London in 1851. Commonly known as the “Great Exhibition,” it was organized by a Royal Commission to showcase the pinnacle of industrial and technological achievement from around the globe. […]
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It’s impressive to reflect on how grocery shopping has changed over time. When I was younger, it only took a five-minute drive to the local Dominion store since there was limited competition, private labels had not been introduced\, and health-conscious eating wasn’t a factor for shoppers. The approach to grocery shopping during the 1960s and […]
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I feel this quote from the CEO of Dollarama speaks candidly of the Canadian grocery shopper: “At some moments, it seems resilient, at others it seems fragile, so it’s really hard at this point to draw any trends on the health of the Canadian consumer.” Neil Rossy, CEO, Dollarama, September 2025 Global food prices have […]
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This past June, I celebrated my ninth wedding anniversary with my wife, Teresa. I still vividly recall our first date at an Irish bar in Toronto, where she ordered a Guinness. It was at that moment that an emotional connection for myself was forged, as I do not know many women who drink Guinness. This […]
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The global food industry is currently navigating unprecedented challenges. Since the pandemic, the food inflationary environment has significantly impacted food brands, particularly in terms of customer brand loyalty and the notable shift towards more affordable or private label alternatives. In the United States, 71.7% of consumers view a brand less favorably following a price increase, […]
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