Author: MB Magazine

UNFI CEO Sandy Douglas  We recently sat down with United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) CEO Sandy Douglas to discuss how the company weathered the cyber incident that caused it to briefly shut down its business in June, what learnings it took away from the event, and how it hopes to help the industry deal with such issues.  First, are you able to talk about the company’s cybersecurity preparedness before this particular incident? Like any company our size, cybersecurity is a major priority. We had significant and modern investments in technology and process protocols, and you need…

The Inside Track on Furnishing a Restaurant That Works When it comes to furnishing a restaurant, it’s easy to focus on the visual impact—the colours, the shapes, the Instagrammable moments. But for Eugene Honcharuk, founder of Contract Supply and one of Canada’s most trusted voices in commercial furniture, that’s just the surface. “People underestimate how critical furniture really is,” he says. “Before a guest tastes the food or talks to a server, they’ve already formed an opinion based on what they’re sitting on and what they see.” A great chair, he explains, doesn’t just look good—it feels solid, holds up…

Kilworth Ontario is a little over two hours west of Toronto, part of Middlesex Centre and about 10 minutes outside of London, Ontario. Like every town in the province, it has various amenities, including a car wash. Kilworth Car Wash officially opened in 2022 and offers four self-service car wash bays, and two automatic car wash facilities, one being a soft-touch car wash and next to it a touchless car wash. It provides vacuums for customers to clean the interior of their vehicles, a vending machine for various sundries and customers can use the car wash’s app to pay for…

LED lights cast a soft pink glow in Haven Greens’ greenhouse. As grocers cut back on importing U.S. vegetables, a homegrown alternative to leafy greens has taken root at just the right moment.  Haven Greens, a new brand supplying Summerhill Market and other independent grocers across Ontario, is growing and packaging three varieties of greens: baby green leaf, baby red and green leaf and baby spring mix.   The first harvest was on March 21, and today, Haven Greens is producing over 6,000 lbs of leafy greens each day from Kinghaven Farms in King City, Ont.  Founded in 1967 by Donald…

Some aspects of leadership are learned on the job, and others are taught early on in life.  “I’m the youngest of four, and you either fight with your siblings and nothing gets done—or you figure out how to work together and get everything done,” says Lori Nikkel of Second Harvest, who has been with the country’s largest food rescue organization for 11 years, the past six as CEO.  Collaboration is key to Nikkel’s success as a leader and Second Harvest’s impact. In 2024, the “food bank to the food banks” rescued and redistributed 87.1 million pounds of surplus edible food.…

The traditional forecourt has changed significantly over the years. In the 1960s, they were often utilitarian—exposed pumps, basic lighting and large signs showing the fuel brand and price. Later enhancements included canopies for weather protection, better lighting and the addition of convenience stores. While there were design variations, the core idea of designing a functional space remained: a place to pump fuel, pay and leave. Over the past decade, there’s been a complete rethinking of what a forecourt should be and do. Linda Thompson, managing partner at Fuel Partners, a consultancy focused on retail fuel, car wash and convenience, says…

“Gift card programs can be effective revenue drivers for independent and small c-store chains” It’s not what you’d expect to find near the front counter at a small-town convenience store: a full rack of gift cards from big brands like Amazon, Apple, Sephora and Netflix, along with Vanilla Prepaid Cards issued by Visa and MasterCard. But at Hagersville Convenience—named for its location in the hamlet of Hagersville in Haldimand County, near Hamilton, Ont.—that’s exactly what you’ll see. Despite serving a community of fewer than 5,000 residents, the store features eight stacked rows of gift cards. “The Apple and Amazon cards…

Happy Dad may be relatively new to Canada but the hard seltzer brand has convenience in its DNA. Launched in the U.S. in 2021 by entrepreneurs, brothers Sam and John Shahidi, along with the NELK Boys—Canadian-American creators known for viral pranks—Happy Dad skipped the skinny cans, kept carbonation light, and delivered crushable flavours with just one gram of sugar and no artificial sweeteners. It first built a following in suburban and small-town convenience stores before breaking into bigger markets, fueled by the endorsement of rappers like Snoop Dogg and Post Malone, as well as UFC fighters Sean O’Malley, Colby Covington…

Bob Froese was watching the Toronto Maple Leafs face off against the Florida Panthers when he felt inundated by Made in Canada messaging. As chief creative officer of Toronto-based Bob’s Your Uncle, Froese is a strong supporter of brands embracing their Canadian identity amid today’s trade war with the U.S. But, even for an ad man, the red-and-white rush during the hockey game was a bit much.  “Really? Every brand? Every rink board? All the game, all the time? At one point, I started writing them down. I saw Made in Canada, Prepared in Canada, Made for Canadians, Authentically Canada,…

How did you get your start in the business? I’m from Italy and during my time at the University of Trieste, where I was studying economics, I was part of a program that allowed me to spend one year in a school abroad. I chose Germany and while studying there, I had an opportunity to intern and then work for a management consulting company in Munich. I was then contacted by a headhunter to join Ferrero, where I’ve stayed for the last 25 years. In those early years at both companies, I learned the importance of organization, discipline and reliability.…