After 30 years in the food industry, I have a passion for seeing others succeed in this business, I relish the opportunity to share my in-depth knowledge of the retail landscape and consumers with food producers and food processors, who want to grow their sales.

It is so exciting for me to see producers and processors navigate the marketplace more effectively and get your items in to the shopping cart of the consumer more often.

My career started in a store where I learned the importance of listening to the consumer and the challenges of implementing strategies at retail. During my 19 years with Loblaw Companies, I gained valuable experience in product development, building relationships throughout the supply chain and retail merchandising.  I expanded my knowledge working in various departments, including merchandising for produce, deli, home meal replacement, seafood, bakery, floral, marketing, advertising and real estate.

In 2007 Loblaw made the decision to centralize the structure and we decided the right decision professionally and for our family was to leave Loblaw and go out on my own. I had always believed there were more opportunities for success when suppliers and retailers understood each other better. I have had the privilege of working with producers and processors across Canada and in the U.S. to help them understand their customers and consumers better while growing their sales.

In 2014 I published a la cart, a supplier’s guide to retailers’ priorities. The book was written for suppliers, to help them better understand where their customers are focusing their efforts. There is a chapter devoted to each of the retailer’s priorities and suggestions for how suppliers can develop products and programs to support these initiatives.

It has become very clear to me that success in this industry is not about making great products to sell; it is about selling the great products you make.