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Food retailers are getting a lot of attention lately related to increases in supply chain fees imposed on their suppliers. These fees are the cost of doing business with large retailers who have significant shares of the market. It forces suppliers to buy access to large shares of the food customers. Retailers cite the costs of PPE and other COVID safety measures and investments in store upgrades and ecommerce as rising costs and a desire not to raise prices as a reason for

Listening to the recent Freakonomics podcast “Policy-Making is not a Science (Yet)” encouraged me to stop and think more carefully about some of the research conducted within the Food Focus team. Broadly, we are focused on small-scale or regional issues looking at how people change their behaviour when some kind of intervention is introduced. My own research looks at how individuals react to different information presented on food products. While some of the consumer research

At the end of every trip to the store, we are faced with two checkout options. The first is to step right up to a self-checkout machine, for which there is rarely a line, or else to wait an additional few minutes to interact with a cashier and pay for our purchases in person. For myself, the choice is always clear. I much prefer checking out with a cashier. This is largely because I find self-checkout doesn’t actually save me much time. Between searching for product codes, we

The recent release of the May consumer price numbers for food generated considerable news. Year over year, the price of food has gone up 3.5%. Particular attention was given to the year over year increase in fresh vegetable prices which came in at 16.7%. There was much wringing of hands and I got several calls from the media to speak to the reasons for the incredible increase in the price of fresh vegetables. This food price angst highlights again the appeal of the soundbite

Doug Ford’s Ontario Government has made selling beer and wine in convenience stores a policy priority. A recent twitter blitz has highlighted that we can expect changes soon. While I am generally in favour, I am puzzled as to why it is being prioritized and touted as a significant policy initiative. Perhaps I underestimate the value that Ontarions put on access to beer and wine - it may be a significant vote getter. However, I do not think there has been enough discussion as

As discussed in my last blog post, meal kits will always have issues with variety. They need to be familiar enough that most people are comfortable with them, but they need to do something different from traditional meal-making in order to be novel. In my view, this treading of fine lines is emblematic of the meal kit industry. Not only are there issues around the novelty of meals and the food skills necessary to cook them, there are also interesting points concerning the tim

I was recently given a framed copy of a Loblaws flyer from July 1938. The flyer provides some insight into how things have changed in food retail in the last eighty years. It is remarkable how different this flyer is from one we would see from Loblaws today. So, what has changed in the past 80 or so years? Prices It will come as no surprise that things have changed significantly when it comes to prices. Prime rib roast for $0.24 per pound and pot roast for just $0.16 per poun

I find myself to be an atypical grocery shopper. I usually visit the grocery store at least 2-3 times a week as it is on my way home from work making it a convenient stop. When I shop, I take the time to look at new products and interesting labels. As I shop more frequently, my visits tend to be short, making this an easier proposition. I also don’t use a list when shopping, deciding on that night’s meal in the store. I recognize this may be unusual and makes me curious as to