The Food Professor

Hosted by Michael LeBlanc, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois

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Oct 2026

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Join Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax with host Michael LeBlanc as they look at the hot issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries. We'll discuss proprietary industry and consumer food related research, check out fresh new ideas and talk about half baked strategies. © 2020-2026 M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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November 5, 20261 hr 2 min

Osmow’s Shawarma President Bernadette Osmow on Manifesting Success, new Dairy Dilemma, Foodtastic see MTY as a Snack and More Hacked Grocery Fridges

Can a sub shop in Streetsville become the world’s largest Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food franchise? Bernadette Osmow, President of Osmow’s Shawarma, makes the case. Osmow’s began when Sam Osmow left Egypt in 1998 and opened a sub shop in Streetsville, Mississauga. A shawarma concept from his homeland grew that shop into roughly 250 locations across Canada and the United States, including Halifax. Bernadette started in the business young, left to build her business acumen and follow her own interests, and has returned to lead the company with her brother. She talks about franchisee value, community service and why Osmow’s runs its own production facility to control quality, price and cost. On policy, Sylvain previews his 32nd appearance as a parliamentary witness, this time before the House of Commons ethics committee on AI and surveillance pricing. Surveillance pricing means two shoppers seeing different prices for the same product based on personal data. Dynamic pricing means prices that move with supply and demand. Sylvain says he has seen no evidence Canadian grocers are doing the former, and argues Walmart has long used dynamic pricing upstream with suppliers. The Canadian Dairy Commission recommended a 2.8% farm-gate increase starting February 2027, the highest since 2022 but below the 3.55% rise in production costs its own survey found. Sylvain explains why provinces may go higher and why shoppers could see 4% to 5% at retail. He also shares news of succession planning at Canada’s Food Price Report, due December 3. In food service, the hosts debate Foodtastic’s proposed takeover of MTY, which would put Second Cup, Pita Pit and Milestones under the same roof as Thai Express and Sushi Shop, and whether the Competition Bureau would care. They also look at a New York Times report on Sysco and independent restaurants, and Kraft Heinz’s plan to sell most of its coffee business, including Maxwell House. On the grocery side: the November-to-February supplier blackout period, now running for the first time with the Grocery Code enforced, and why Sylvain calls it archaic. Then cyberattacks that took control of store refrigeration in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Michael’s best guess points to Russia. Sylvain warns that tougher cybersecurity demands from grocers could push small suppliers out. The episode closes with tributes to Toronto restaurateur Franco Prevedello of Centro and Guilano Boselli the founder of Ottawa’s Mamma Teresa, and a farewell to Caplansky’s at Pearson’s Terminal 3. Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

October 29, 20261 hr 1 min

High Liner Sold, B.C.’s Coming ALR Shake-Up, the Food Science of Time Change plus Tyler Groeneveld, CEO, Protein Industries Canada

Tyler has 31 years of experience and sat on PIC’s board before becoming CEO. PIC is one of Canada’s five global innovation clusters, and Sylvain calls it the strongest of the group. The harder question is whether it’s taking enough risk. Sylvain also shares what Saskatchewan mayors and councillors asked him this week: why the CFIA is so hard to deal with, interprovincial trade barriers, how to get private capital interested in agri-food, and which export markets beyond the U.S. are worth chasing. Out west, B.C.’s new government has Prairie producers thinking about port access. It also puts in play the Agricultural Land Reserve processing rule that Sylvain has criticized in public. On the East Coast, High Liner Foods leaves Canadian hands after 125 years, which raises hard questions about who owns the country’s food brands. Also: permanent standard time, full Halloween candy shelves, a U.S. lawsuit over tariffs on Canadian goat cheese, Olymel’s $142-million expansion and restaurant no-shows. Topics include: Protein Industries Canada and plant-protein investment B.C. agriculture and the ALR High Liner Foods and foreign ownership Permanent standard time Halloween candy and goat cheese tariffs Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

October 22, 20261 hr 2 min

AGT Foods CEO Murad Al-Katib on Value-Added Food, Plus Record Food Bank Use and Quebec’s Maple Syrup Shock

Murad built AGT on one bet: that Prairie farmers would replace summer fallow with lentils, chickpeas, peas and beans. The company now runs 41 manufacturing facilities on five continents, with Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial as its partner. He makes the case for adding value to even a fraction of Canada’s harvest, for fixing east-west trade infrastructure from Churchill to the Atlantic Gateway, and for a real industrial strategy. In the news Canadian Food Sentiment Index: The fifth edition finds coupon use down from 30.5% to 20.3% as shoppers settle on private label. Omnivores have fallen to 56.7% of Canadians, and GLP-1 use could reach five million by 2030. HungerCount 2026: Food Banks Canada reports 2.35 million visits a month. B.C. posted the largest increase at 14%, and children make up a third of those served. Quebec maple syrup: The province’s strategic reserve is empty. Demand is outpacing supply, and new production is held back by the cost of equipment and the wait for it. Plus: an egg-plant lockout in Quebec and the Save-On-Foods loyalty-program breach and France grocery cyber-attack. Topics include: AGT Foods and the protein revolution Canada–India trade and agri-food exports Value-added food processing and industrial strategy Food insecurity and food bank use Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

October 15, 202651 min

What Singapore Can Teach Canadian Grocers, MNP Latest Report on G20 Food Rankings plus guest Vinayak Madappa, Strategic Advisory Partner, Capgemini

Vin explains why Canada’s heavy reliance on trade with the U.S. and Mexico leaves fresh produce, seafood and imported proteins most at risk. He also looks at why 89% of Canadian organizations report raw-material scarcity, compared with 67% in the U.S., and why the nine-to-12-month stockpiles many companies built to ride out tariffs are reaching a tipping point. He makes the case for counter-seasonal sourcing from the Southern Hemisphere and AI-driven inventory intelligence, and for treating the supply chain as a business-continuity asset rather than a cost centre. Before the interview, Michael and Sylvain preview the third annual MNP Food and Beverage Business Outlook. Canada ranks seventh in the G20, and Sylvain names the one lever he’d pull to move it into the top five. They also cover McCain’s expansion in India, Taylor Farms pausing Mexican sourcing, an oversupplied global wine market, rising banana prices and Italy as country of honour at SIAL Canada and Michael raves about Pirates of Coffee in advance of the Coffee Association of Canada's upcoming conferenc Thursday, November 12th, 2026 Topics include: Canadian grocery supply chain resilience Capgemini World in Balance 2026 study Inventory buffers and raw-material scarcity MNP Food and Beverage Business Outlook G20 rankings Canada–India agri-food trade Banana prices, diesel and monoculture risk Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

October 8, 20261 hr 12 min

Wild Fork Gets the Fork, Boycott Math, New PQ Government & AG and guests Vicky Trépanier, President, and Jean-François Théorêt, Master Distiller, WfE Distillery

WfE stands for Whisky for Everyone. Unlike most young distilleries, it makes no gin or vodka to pay the bills while its own spirit ages. Instead, the team buys aged Canadian whisky in bulk, re-ages and blends it, then finishes it in ice cider casks to create an approachable "onboarding" whisky. They also cover SAQ listings, rising bottle and cask costs, ready-to-serve cocktails, and the liquor-board rules that keep craft distillers from shipping across provincial lines. In the news, Sylvain sizes up the Parti Québécois's sweeping election win, its pledge to source 75% of public-institution food from Quebec, and his shortlist for agriculture minister. New Statistics Canada data show agri-food exports to the U.S. up 5.8% and America's share of our imports edging higher. Is the "elbows up" boycott showing up anywhere? Michael asks whether restaurant diners can even choose. Plus: Nortera steps back from Green Giant, JBS closes Wild Fork, the Westons move on Boots, the U.S. molasses ban and a Goodles taste test. Topics include: Quebec craft whisky Interprovincial trade barriers Quebec election and agriculture Canada–U.S. agri-food trade Surveillance pricing Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

October 1, 20261 hr 13 min

Booze Boycott Numbers & Coffee's Canadian Contribution, with guest co-host Steve Dennis and Jason Buechel, CEO, Whole Foods Market and VP, Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores

It's an in-depth conversation with Jason Buechel, CEO of Whole Foods Market and Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores , a pick-up of an interview from my Remarkable Retail podcast with Steve Dennis from last fall. Jason shares Amazon’s rapidly expanding grocery ambitions. Already surpassing $100 billion in gross sales, Amazon is leaning into grocery as a strategic category driven by frequency, loyalty, Prime stickiness, and the potential to unite all household purchasing into a seamless digital and physical ecosystem. Buechel explains how Amazon is transforming grocery shopping—a category in which consumers currently visit four to five retailers a month—into a single, unified experience. With more than 1,000 same-day grocery delivery locations today scaling to 2,300 cities, store-level innovations such as Whole Foods Daily Shop formats, and the integration of perishables directly into Amazon baskets alongside electronics or apparel, the company is erasing long-standing channel barriers. He also outlines the “one grocery” operational vision: unified supply chains, technology stacks, and customer journeys across banners, while preserving the brand trust and standards that Whole Foods customers demand. First, the news. Canpotex is spending $500 million to expand at the Port of Vancouver, BHP's Jansen mine is set to break the Saskatchewan potash oligopoly, and Belarusian potash is headed for New Orleans. Sylvain explains why that is good news for farmers' fertilizer bills and bad news for provincial royalties. New research on Health Canada's magnifying-glass symbol found that more than half of Canadians who noticed the label switched products. Reformulation, though, looks more like a defensive move than a pricing opportunity. On trade, the U.S. ban on Canadian consumer-ready products is now in force, hitting Moosehead, whey, cheese and Crosby's molasses. Michael and Sylvain ask whether the provincial boycotts of American wine and spirits actually hurt U.S. exporters, and who picked up the shelf space and tumble some numbers. Also: Canada's $34-billion coffee economy, cannabis as an export, and the Driscoll's pesticide allegations unpacked. Topics include: Amazon Grocery and Whole Foods Market strategy Potash competition and fertilizer prices Front-of-package nutrition labelling U.S. ban on Canadian food and alcohol Coffee Association of Canada economic impact Driscoll's and CFIA compliance Celebrate & Support all things Canadian and pick up a six-pack of Moosehead next time you are shopping for a delicious cold beverage! Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

September 24, 20261 hr 2 min

Potash Poker, Super El Niño & Caviar Gets Busted plus Annemarie Swijtink, President & CEO, McDonald's Canada

On Season Seven, Episode Five of The Food Professor Podcast, Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Annemarie Swijtink, President & CEO of McDonald's Canada, for her very first Canadian podcast interview. Annemarie started as a 15-year-old crew member in the Netherlands, studied economics in Rotterdam, joined McDonald's as a marketing intern and went on to lead the Dutch business before taking the top job in Canada a year ago, where she supports franchisees and restaurant teams across 1,500 restaurants. What surprised her most? How Canadian McDonald's Canada really is. Annemarie explains that 85% of the company's supply chain is sourced domestically, including beef, chicken, eggs, potatoes and milk, and shares how vertical farming partnerships now deliver 100% Ontario and BC tomatoes year-round. She makes a clear commitment to keep buying Canadian beef, a promise that dates back to the 2003 BSE crisis, and describes investments in 4-H, young cattle producers and farmer mental health. The conversation also covers food inflation and affordability, including the $5 meal and $1 coffee with prices frozen for a year, the rise of beverages and chicken, protein-forward menus in the GLP-1 era, the "three-legged stool" of franchisees, suppliers and corporate, a "high tech, high touch" approach to restaurant labour and technology, new formats like Winnipeg's first drive-thru-only restaurant, and what McDonald's will look like in five years. Spoiler: the Big Mac stays on the menu. Plus, Sylvain tests just how Canadian she's become by asking about her favourite hockey team. But first, we start with the food and agriculture news of the week. Sylvain unpacks potash politics after President Trump floated replacing Canadian potash with supply from Belarus, explaining Canpotex, the global potash cartels and why Canada's geography remains a competitive advantage. We look at Canada–India trade talks toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the opportunities for pulses, grains and pork, then ask whether a Super El Niño will push food prices higher, delay the Prairie harvest or disrupt shipping. Using Grocery Pulse data, we break down the month's biggest grocery price increases, led by strawberries, chicken breast and flour, plus why beef volumes are down and what supply management has to do with chicken prices. We also discuss a major Wendy's franchisee with 314 U.S. restaurants seeking creditor protection, Maple Leaf Foods consolidating U.S. plants, the end of the long Metro strike, a possible Safeway strike in Alberta before Thanksgiving, Sobeys' Competition Bureau agreement on property controls, Nestlé's seized assets in Russia, caviar's direct-to-consumer price shake-up, and Barilla's acquisition of high-protein mac and cheese brand Goodles. Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

September 17, 20261 hr 1 min

Can Canadian AG Win In Europe, plus AG Gets Some, The Worst is Over and guest Aidan Connolly, President AgriTech Capital

Is artificial intelligence about to transform agriculture more than any other industry? On Season Seven, Episode Four of The Food Professor podcast, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois and Michael LeBlanc sit down with Aidan Connolly, President of AgriTech Capital and past president of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), one of the world's leading voices on agtech and the future of farming. Aidan helped Alltech grow from roughly $25 million to $2.5 billion in revenue and now connects startups, investors and agri-food companies to help innovation scale. He separates agtech hype from real value, explaining why vertical farms, cell-cultured meat and insect farming struggled, and why AI's potential in agriculture may exceed any other sector if the industry can solve its farm data problem. He shares his DRIVE framework for AI adoption and weighs in on data ownership, cooling agtech venture capital, mega-farms and food traceability. Then he ranks countries on an S-to-D agtech tier list. Find out why Canada earns a B, Israel an A, and what Canada can learn from the Netherlands and New Zealand. You'll also hear Aidan's magic-wand fix for turning Canada into an agri-food superpower. In the news, Michael and Sylvain unpack a good week for Canadian agri-food policy. Canada's investment summit focused on energy and infrastructure. Even so, Farm Credit Canada's $1 billion project financing initiative, $150 million in agri-food capital and a new productivity tax break for small and medium-sized businesses could help farmers and food processors invest in automation and R&D. Sylvain argues a more productive, competitive food sector is Canada's best answer to U.S. tariffs. The hosts also weigh EU associate membership, the CETA payoff for Canadian cereal exports to Europe, and why Canada should say "yes to all" trading partners. Agriculture makes up just 1.9% of Canada's growing trade with China, while Chinese tariffs on Canadian peas add uncertainty. On grocery prices, food inflation has eased to 2.8%, but prices are up 28.9% since September 2021. Sylvain explains why food price volatility is the real enemy, with Canada logging 17 month-to-month drops in five years, the most in the G7. They also cover beef imports up 13%, with Australia and Brazil gaining, easing cattle prices, and why high diesel costs could add 0.4 percentage points to food inflation this winter. Plus: the return of Yves Veggie Cuisine under Maple Leaf Foods, crisis communication lessons from the Taylor Farms outbreak and the Silk recall, why the CFIA should declare when a recall is over, and a fun Dairy Farmers of Canada pop-up café on Toronto's Queen Street. Like, subscribe and share The Food Professor for weekly insights on food prices, agtech, trade and Canadian agriculture, and watch the full video episode now on YouTube. Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

September 10, 202651 min

Tariff Whiplash, Rudolph on the Menu, A Bigger Africa & Ag plus Vreshin Nagarajan, Chief Ghee Officer, OG Ghee

Everything you thought you knew about ghee is wrong. In this episode of The Food Professor podcast, Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois sit down with Vreshin "Vresh" Nagarajan, Founder and Chief Ghee Officer of Vresh Foods, makers of OG GHEE, recorded live on the show floor at the SIAL Food Innovation Show in Montreal. Vresh makes a compelling and slightly incendiary case: roughly 90% of the $100 million of ghee sold in Canada every year isn't actually ghee. It's anhydrous milk fat, or butter oil, an industrially processed dairy ingredient usually made offshore, shipped in shelf-stable, repackaged here and sold as "pure desi ghee." Real ghee is cultured butter cooked until the water evaporates and the lactose and casein caramelize, a distinction the Codex recognizes and one you can smell the moment the jar opens. In four years Vresh has gone from a South Asian meal-kit side hustle in Calgary to a national Loblaw listing and a Costco Ontario rotation, built on an unlikely premise: that ghee is Canada's last viable domestic cooking fat. With a 485F smoke point, a five-year shelf life, no refrigeration required, and 30 litres of Canadian milk in every kilogram, he argues ghee is the best milk-utilization story in the country. He also has pointed words about who has been underselling South Asian consumers, and why "desi" should mean Canadian. The full video interview is on The Food Professor YouTube channel. But first, we start with the food and agriculture news of the week. Michael and Sylvain open on the Prime Minister's address to the nation, and the name he never said, before turning to the latest U.S. tariff recalibration, the new ban on Canadian spirits and wine, and what the September 15 and 29 deadlines mean for agri-food. Sylvain argues the real damage isn't the tariff math, it's the total absence of predictability, with dairy leaders now openly weighing whether to shift production south. Sylvain points to Mark Warner's CBC interview, Ian Lee's parallel argument, and calls for Parliament to be recalled, citing the 1988 free trade debate as precedent. Then: reindeer. Ottawa is putting $800,000 behind a northern herd grown from a few hundred animals to 7,000, and Sylvain explains why no Canadian parent is selling Rudolph at the meat counter. Plus Sapporo's non-alcoholic production possibly heading stateside, Africa's redrawn map and its enormous agri-food potential, McDonald's dropping pumpkin spice after 34 years of PSL dominance, fresh Satov Consulting research on whether Dunkin' can win over Canadian coffee drinkers, why Sylvain would rather support than boycott, Walmart's delivery ambitions, and a farewell to New Coke architect Brian Dyson. Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

September 3, 202649 min

Rolling Back the Counter-Tariffs, Beef Politics Redux, Retail Crime & Punishment in Vancouver and guest Dave Jones, President & CEO of Bento Sushi

Season Seven, Episode 2 of The Food Professor podcast lands its first guest interview, and it's a Canadian food business story three decades in the making. Michael LeBlanc and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois are joined by Dave Jones, President and CEO of Bento Sushi, the company that turned a small 1996 takeout counter in downtown Toronto into the largest sushi business in Canada. Dave joined Bento in 2009 in an entry-level management role, moved through operations, procurement and supply chain, and took over as CEO in 2022. He unpacks a business most Canadians walk past every day without realizing its scale: more than 700 locations inside grocery stores, universities, hospitals and other retail environments, ten commissaries, roughly 2,500 distribution points, about 800 employees and close to 30 million packs a year. He explains the difference between made-in-store kiosks and the delivered commissary model, why automation now shapes production of items like onigiri, how global sourcing and procurement hold up under pressure, and what price sensitivity looks like in a category built on fresh, daily-made food. Bento's 30th anniversary in 2026 gives the conversation a natural lens on how retail foodservice, grocery prepared food and Canadian consumer expectations have all changed. Before the interview, Michael and Sylvain work through a busy news week. Ottawa applied counter-tariffs to seafood and fish and reversed course within 48 hours, a reminder of how tangled Canada-US supply chains really are. Honey and molasses stayed on the list, with Manitoba, Canada's largest honey exporter, taking the hit. Sylvain pushes back on Chapman's plan to replace 70 percent of its American ingredients, questioning the timing and the nationalistic framing. On beef, the hosts dig into the Trump administration's push on prices, the 300,000 tonne Brazilian import move, the JBS White House visit, the Department of Justice probe into beef pricing, and why cattle futures fell and ranchers are unhappy. Sylvain's view: ranchers are price takers in a North American market, retail prices won't move much, and Canadians could end up paying more. Also on the docket: dairy dominating CUSMA consultation submissions, Daniel Gobé's election in Quebec and his supply management odds, and Q2 trade numbers showing exports up 3 billion dollars net year over year with 2.6 billion of that heading to the United States, despite all the diversification talk. In the retail block, Michael breaks down the Canadian Tire and Tim Hortons loyalty partnership and why coalition programs need high-frequency categories, plus Loblaw's expanded capital spending on T&T, discount and specialty formats, its real estate DNA and its exit from banking. The episode closes on retail crime, and the arson at a Pattison Foods Nesters store in Vancouver. The full video interview is live on The Food Professor YouTube channel. Join us at the Coffee Association of Canada's Annual Conference Thursday, November 12th, 2026 at Angus Glen in Toronto (Markham) Are you ready for the Next Wave? Get Your Tickets Here This year’s conference will bring together leaders from across the industry for a day of bold conversations, market insights, networking and inspiration, focused on the ideas, people and innovations shaping the future of coffee in Canada. Don’t miss Canada’s premier coffee industry event — we sell out every year! About Us Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries. With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues. Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.