You have been in the natural products sector for most of your career. What changes have you observed?
One big change is that products that were prevalent in the health food space are now mainstream. When I operated a health food store in Toronto, trends like gluten-free and plant-based would be one end cap but today there are lots of product offerings in mainstream grocery stores. What’s different is that products now have cleaner ingredients. While this makes for a more competitive environment, it has expanded the reach of natural and organic foods to people who would not have shopped at a health food store. However, with 35 stores, this gives us more buying power and I have a platform to bring in on-trend, innovative and local brands at the same price point or less than anybody else.
Two other changes that are tied are the growth of organics and the influx of younger shoppers who are more proactive about their health and want to know what is in their food. They’re looking for organic or natural products with clean ingredients that are local. At Healthy Planet, 100 per cent of our produce is certified organic and other grocery products are natural health products. And we always try to support local whenever we can source it for our produce section.
What criteria do you use for selecting new products?
We want to be ahead of the trend and be able to put new products on the shelf that are clean, natural or organic. By default, any product we list has to be of the highest quality and of course taste good. We try to focus on Canadian first and then local. Of course, if there is a product we want and there is no Canadian or local option, we will look at offerings from the U.S. We want to have complete transparency of where a product and ingredients are sourced. In meat protein, we focus on certified organic Halal and natural to ensure the full demographic of customers visiting our stores. We also have a list of ingredients we don’t want to see in products, such as GMO canola oil, artificial additives or preservatives, or high-glucose syrups. We will consider products with natural colouring, but we’ll investigate it first and would want certification. Price points are also now a consideration because shoppers are on budgets. However, I won’t select a product just because it has a good price point; that’s a slippery slope. We then look at if we can find the same or similar product at a lower price or try to negotiate a better price. We’re looking at the value proposition for our customers and it’s one reason we’ve started our own brand, Benefits by Nature, and why we try to buy more in bulk with brands.
What is the most interesting trend you have seen?
People not cooking from scratch but wanting home-cooked-style meals, so growth of grab-and-go. It’s not a new trend because TV dinners were invented in the ’70s, but today it’s having that offering in the organic and natural products world. There are so many more products available, and really anything you can get in a conventional store aisle, you can now find in organic or natural products. On the innovation side, there has been a lot of change. Probiotic RTD canned drinks is massive trend, with Cove and Poppi being two big ones that come to mind. Non-alcoholic as part of the health food set is now a real lifestyle, not just a trend, and of course there has been a huge growth in shots and wellness drinks led by Toronto’s own Greenhouse Juice Co.
A product that really stands out for me is called Sick Day, by Goodvibes Juice Co., which is essentially a shelf stable wellness shot; I just love the idea of this product for everyday use without needing to refrigerate.
What earns your respect when it comes to brands and suppliers?
Hard work and good old-fashioned sales. Instead of e-mailing me three times because I haven’t responded, pick up the phone. Have a plan A, B and C. If it doesn’t work to see me the first time, don’t try the same approach the second time. And if you get in to see me, make sure you’ve done your homework. You need to know your customer, know the competition and you need to persuade me it is a product that is better than the competition.
Healthy Planet has been on an expansion track in recent years. What procurement challenges does this present?
The challenge is keeping up with the pace and ensuring we have the stock levels at the right time to fill our stores. Our stores are different sizes, so, for example, our Etobicoke store has 55 freezers, and it was a massive challenge to stock because many of our other stores have 29 freezers. So we’re always on the lookout for new products to ensure we have the flow of products for our stores. Another challenge is with our support of smaller local suppliers because some may not have the ability to scale up. That’s why we try to work with these companies via a distributor that can support them.
Congratulations
MONICA WALKER & TEAM
Recipient of the
2024 Grocery Business Magazine Innovator Award for Health & Wellness
From your friends at
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