Richard Baker

Canada’s grocery sector has been in a state of flux since the beginning of the pandemic, and the inflationary wars that have emerged. During this period the media have referenced the term “Greed Flation” without acknowledging that since 2015, though the cost of food has increased 32.3%, the price per litre of gasoline has increased […]

June 1974 represented a historic day in the grocery sector. In a Marsh’s supermarket in the US, on the package of a Wrigley’s gum, the UPC code made its first commercial appearance. The UPC code was a response to a business need first identified by the US grocery sector in the early 1970’s. Canada represented […]

Consumer shopping habits are constantly evolving, especially during these inflationary wars. For instance, Nielsen IQ just announced the US FMCG sector experienced its first positive unit growth month (April 2024) over the past 15-months. Monthly negative FMCG unit growth in Canada has been a constant over the same time frame. This is what makes the […]

Life has always been about coping with challenges. More than two decades ago I was diagnosed with depression. When I was first diagnosed, I kept it to myself. Today, I still do. Though I feel it is a stigma that I am not proud of, many well known personalities such as Dwayne Johnson, Michael Landsberg, […]

Growing up, Kraft Dinner was a favourite for Canadians. Great taste and it was easy to prepare, especially for an amateur chef like myself. Introduced simultaneously in both Canada and the US in 1937, Canadians consumed 55% more boxes per capita than Americans.[i] I remember when Kraft admitted their iconic product contained synthetic colours. Due […]

Brand loyalty, is the mission for business when launching a new product. When I was the Brand Manager for Tabasco Sauce in Canada, they enjoyed  an +80% brand loyalty level. That was during an era of no social media, and food prices were stable. Today, that term is more fiction than fact. “The death of […]

In the early 1990’s I remember the first Dollar store opening up in the GTA. Having identified this new retail channel, I brought it to the attention of Senior Management in Canada, and the United States. My concerns were unheeded by Senior Management, and I was told they would never become a serious threat to […]

The Canadian grocery sector is in a volatile state due to the inflationary wars. Though much has been made about the rising food prices in Canada, the UK’s November’23 CPG inflationary figure came in at 9.2%[i], as compared to 5% for Canada.[ii] Over the past year, though food sales increased 6.6%, it was all fueled […]