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We Can Improve Efficiency and Safety by Better Managing Lines at Grocery Stores

Mike von Massow

Aug 11, 2020
2 min

We Can Improve Efficiency and Safety by Better Managing Lines at Grocery Stores

The adjustment in operations throughout the food system has gone surprisingly well throughout the pandemic. We have adjusted to the new normal, such as it is, well and seem to be moving forward relatively well. As a teacher of operations generally and queuing theory specifically, it has surprised me that many stores, including grocery stores, have not done more to manage lines and capacities to improve flow. Many of us have stood in line outside a grocery store waiting to ge

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Mike von Massow

Jul 30, 2019
2 min

We are reaching label fatigue

We hear all of the time that people want to know more about the food that they are eating. I think that’s true. The problem we have is that everyone doesn’t want the same information about the food they are eating. The fragmentation of food markets - more people wanting different things - means it is ever more difficult to provide individual customers with the information they want. We are also seeing an increasing drive to mandate information on food products. Health Canada

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Mike von Massow

May 30, 2019
3 min

The challenge of choice in food retail

Grocery stores are relatively low margin businesses. They key to profitability is to increase the size of the customer’s basket - how much they buy on a visit. If they can sell you a large basket on your visit they make more margin. Basket drives profitability. The push for a bigger basket has driven the way supermarkets are laid out and the products offered. We have long known that the milk and bread are kept at the back of the store because, as staples, they end up in more

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Molly Gallant

May 13, 2019
5 min

The Millennial Myth?

Born between the years of 1980-2000, the millennial generation seems to be a common topic of discussion in the news as of late - specifically in relation to their food purchasing and eating habits. Recent population estimates in the US suggest that millennials have now surpassed baby boomers as the largest living generation. Not only do millennials now make up the majority of the workforce, they are also the largest segment of consumers making purchasing decisions, giving the

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Mark Wickson

Apr 18, 2019
6 min

Meal Kits with Mark, Part 1

Meal kits aren’t exactly a new food trend in Canada, but with some relatively recent industry shakeups like HelloFresh Canada buying Chef’s Plate and Metro partnering with Miss Fresh, consumers and foodies are keeping a close watch to see what new offerings come to our plates. If you don’t know anything about meal kits – don’t worry – I was in your shoes about a month ago. A meal kit is a box that comes with the basic ingredients and instructions to make a meal. They are mark

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Nebraska floods may lead to an increase in beef price

Mike von Massow

Apr 8, 2019
2 min

Nebraska floods may lead to an increase in beef price

We pay a lot of attention to food prices. The reality is that food prices are increasing at a relatively steady rate over time. Increases in food prices matter, but they have tracked relatively closely to the overall rate of inflation for the past thirty years as can be seen from the graph below. There is actually much more price variability within years than there is between years. You can see in the second graph that there is considerable seasonal variation in price which r

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Meat consumption is changing but it’s not because of vegans

Mike von Massow

Mar 13, 2019
4 min

Meat consumption is changing but it’s not because of vegans

A piece that my colleagues Alfons Weersink, Molly Gallant and I published in the conversation.com on March 11th, 2019. Meat consumption in North America is changing. Product developers and policy-makers need to understand the reasons for that change. It’s tempting to attribute the decrease in meat consumption to a rise in vegetarianism and veganism, but not all vegans are the same, and overall they play a relatively small role in consumption changes. How is meat consumption c

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Are all of the eggs in your basket the same?

Molly Gallant

Mar 11, 2019
4 min

Are all of the eggs in your basket the same?

The infamous egg has been through it all with us – the ups, the downs and the altogether scrambled. The rollercoaster ride of contradictory dietary recommendations experienced by the egg is not at all unique in the world of food. As nutritional scientists continue to study and evaluate the health consequences of certain foods, we learn new information every day and the food industry adapts accordingly. However, the humble egg is perhaps one of the few foods that after a prolo

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Bridging the retail and restaurant divide

Mike von Massow

Jan 29, 2019
3 min

Bridging the retail and restaurant divide

Canadians are spending a larger and larger proportion of their food dollar in restaurants. We’ve also seen a blurring of the line between traditional grocery retail and restaurants with delivery services and ready to cook meal kits either offered in store, or else delivered to consumers’ homes. It is interesting to watch different companies carve out new areas in the food landscape. These kinds of initiatives are all part of an effort to serve the diverse wants of an increasi

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Mike von Massow

Sep 12, 2018
3 min

Restaurants not only feed us, they shape our food preferences.

This was also published on the conversation.com on June 12th, 2018. Restaurants are playing an increasingly important role in the food culture of North Americans. In the United States, food prepared outside the home represents more than 50 per cent of the food dollar, or more than US$800 billion a year. Canadians spend $80 billion annually in restaurants, spending almost 30 per cent of their food dollars in restaurants. They also buy a lot of prepared food for consumption at

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Mike von Massow

Apr 30, 2018
3 min

Less meat, more bugs in our food future

A piece that my colleague Al Weersink and I published in the Conversation on April 17th, 2018. Biologically speaking, humans are omnivores and we like to eat a variety of things. There is increasing interest in all sorts of alternative sources of protein as we diversify our diets. This trend is accelerating in 2018. According to Nielsen, the consumer analytics company, the proportion of Canadians identifying as vegetarian and vegan is still relatively small (six per cent and

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The price fixing scandal might not be all bad for Loblaws

Mike von Massow

Apr 30, 2018
3 min

The price fixing scandal might not be all bad for Loblaws

This piece was also published on the conversation.com on April 11th, 2018. The bread price-fixing scandal has garnered Canada’s biggest grocery chain a lot of negative media attention. A recent survey from Dalhousie University suggested that consumer trust in Loblaws has fallen by 10 per cent since the announcement of the bread price-fixing issue. But will the scandal have a sustained negative impact on Loblaws? While the company may face civil suits at some point, there is n

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Mike von Massow

Nov 30, 2017
4 min

Is online grocery really going to take over?

This article has also been published in the Conversation on November 20th, 2017. Canadian grocery giant Loblaw recently announced it’s closing some stores and introducing home delivery of groceries in the Toronto market, while Walmart says it’s expanding its home delivery service. While it may feel that the Canadian market is late to the online grocery game — there are several chains that have been offering it in the United States for years, for example — it’s really a natura

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RELATED PROJECTS

Considering the complexity of food, it is no surprise that conversations about it can be broad and diverse. In order to better understand how people think about food, Mike is involved in several projects. Learn more about each project below.

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH SUSTAINABLE RESTAURANT PROJECT

Our team is a group of students, faculty and community partners that are committed to working towards a more sustainable future for the restaurant industry. Every year we hold a forum, bringing prominent speakers to the University of Guelph to discuss issues in the Canadian Restaurant Industry.

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Keep up with the conversation here.

RELATED PROJECTS

Considering the complexity of food, it is no surprise that conversations about it can be broad and diverse. In order to better understand how people think about food, Mike is involved in several projects. Learn more about each project below.

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH SUSTAINABLE RESTAURANT PROJECT