October 7, 2024 • 44 mins
Venture into the vibrant world of Canadian food retail, with our special guest, Sophia Rouleau, Director of Marketing, Banner Planning and Strategic Priorities, Sobeys. In this episode, Sophia pulls back the curtain on how Sobey’s visionary insights have harnessed immense growth opportunities across the country, utilizing multicultural marketing. Sobeys’ FreshCo and Chalo! FreshCo brands are not just selling groceries, they are committed to authentically engaging with Canada's diverse communities, using the universal power of food as a connector.
Uncover the challenges and triumphs of crafting campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences, illustrated by Freshco's insights like “grocery shopping just like home,” and its "valuelicious" campaign, a masterclass in linguistic and cultural adaptation.
Hear Sophia's reflections on the importance of respecting cultural nuances, conducting thorough research, and fostering collaboration across various functions to ensure that marketing initiatives are both meaningful and effective. Drawing upon her 16 years of grocery and food marketing experience, Sophia cites specific examples of brands that have thrived by taking calculated risks, while maintaining consistent brand activity.
This episode is a rich source of inspiration for marketers eager to generate organic, authentic engagement with diverse audiences. You don’ want to miss this!
Biographies
Guest: Sophia Rouleau is a strategic, action-oriented marketer who passionately challenges the status quo, to create meaningful connections between brands and their customers. She is a veteran marketer with 16 years of experience, having worked with brands such as ACE Bakery, Weston Foods and GreenSpace Brands to name a few. Today, Sophia serves as the Director of Marketing, Banner Planning and Strategic Priorities at Sobeys and one of her important responsibilities is leading the charge in multicultural marketing for the FreshCo and Chalo FreshCo brands at Sobeys.
Host: Sharifa Khan is the visionary founder of Canada’s multicultural marketing discipline. She is also the founder and CEO of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. Her firm, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, continues to innovate at the top of its field. In 2021, Sharifa received the industry’s highest honour, as an inductee in the prestigious Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends.
Subscribe now and never miss an episode, featuring top industry experts and thought leaders on their multicultural marketing journeys (and don’t forget to rate and review this podcast).
Social Media: (Follow: #Balmoral and #MulticulturalMarketingPodcast)
LinkedIn:
Sharifa Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharifa-khan/
Balmoral Multicultural Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/balmoral-multicultural-marketing/
IG:
@sharifa7147
@balmoralmulticultural
@kekadasgupta
Resources:
www.balmoralmkt.com | 416.364.0046 | inquiries@balmoralmkt.com
Credits and Acknowledgements:
· Keka DasGupta – executive producer
· Daniel Ho, ReMarketing Company Inc. - video and editing services
· Rima Maamari - podcast advisory services
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sharifa (00:06):
Welcome to Canada's first ever multicultural
marketing podcast.
I'm Sharifa Khan, founder andpresident of Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing.
In each episode, join me as Iinterview high-profile marketing
executives, where they will besharing their experiences in
(00:26):
reaching Canada's diversecommunity.
Gain valuable insights andlessons and grow your
multicultural affluence.
Let's get started.
Hello everyone, welcome to theMulticultural Marketing Podcast
again.
It is such a great pleasure forme today to welcome a very
special guest on our podcast isSophia Rouleau, director of
(00:50):
Marketing, banner Planning andStrategic Priorities at Sobeys.
Welcome.
Sophia (00:55):
Thank you.
Thank you, well done.
It was a mouthful.
Sharifa (00:59):
Oh yeah, that's a long title for you.
You know, of course, among allthe great things you're doing at
Sobeys, Sophia is a strategicand action oriented marketer who
passionately challenged astatus quote and creating
meaningful connection betweenthe brand and also the consumers
.
She's a veteran of 16 years ofwork in many CPG, including like
(01:26):
A's Bakery, Western Foods andGreen Space brands.
Today, one of Sophia's mostimportant responsibilities is
really to be the lead and incharge of multicultural
marketing for Sophie Banners andpreviously for Freshco and
Chalo Freshco brands.
Sophia (01:46):
Welcome.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much, Sharifa.
Sharifa (01:48):
You're such an accomplished marketer and
business builder, especiallywith CPT retail and food space.
I would like to dive into yourexperience and for you to share
some of the journey that youhave done, the learnings that
you had, so that we can knowwhat you have done over the
course of these years withmulticultural marketing.
Sophia (02:09):
Amazing.
Well, thank you so much forhaving me on today.
Honestly, I'm very gratefulbecause I've really had such a
very fun, rewarding andcontinuously learning trajectory
in my career so far and what Ilove about it is there's just
been such this connection andintertwining with food the
entire way through.
And what I love about it isthere's just been such this
connection and intertwining withfood the entire way through and
, as we know, throughmulticultural marketing and just
(02:31):
with you know, cultures ingeneral, food is just such a
central hub of experience.
So it's really allowed me tohone in on food but also have
that great connector back tomarketing to a diverse range of
people.
I would say one of my mostnotable experiences.
So, while I have a lot ofexperiences in the CPG company,
(02:52):
I would say my time currently atSobeys on the Freshco and Chalo
Freshco side and even currentlyfocused on our full service
banner.
So Sobeys and Safeway just a lotof learning and growth on the
multicultural marketingexperience.
So I'll rely specifically alittle bit on Freshco and Chalo
Freshco, just because it's themost recent.
(03:13):
We've done a lot of work as abusiness unit where all of our
cross-functional partners, wereally held hands and knew that
this was a path that we wantedto take our business and take
our brands forward.
So between all of ourcross-functional leaders, we
worked in harmony to make surethat we curate all of our stores
, to make sure we have all theassortment and the products for
(03:35):
customers, location by location,and then going so far to invite
customers into our store to beable to experience that.
So I've been doing that now forfive years and it's been
excellent to the point where nowI've taken on this greater role
to bring the same learning overto our full-serve banner.
So I'm very excited.
Sharifa (03:53):
So it is a commitment with Empire.
It is that it is going to be aninitiative that is across the
board.
Because you have so manybanners, you know from coast to
coast that it is a commitmentthat is across the board.
Because you have so manybanners, you know from coast to
coast that it is a commitment,that is an initiative that has
to cross all verticals.
Yes, so, and when was thatcommitment?
(04:17):
Was it like two years ago,three years ago?
Sophia (04:22):
It's definitely been something top of mind for a long
time years ago.
It's definitely been somethingtop of mind for a long time.
The good news it's witheverything we've been doing on
the Freshco side and the ChaloFreshco side, you really see the
potential and the power thatcomes from reaching to these, to
our customers and our diversecustomers, in an authentic way.
Sharifa (04:41):
Yeah, so it's actually, I think, a lot of successful
business is when there is topdown you know, initiative where
is the senior management or thatand also be bottom up so that
it will meet at the middle withcollaboration and transcend into
the whole establishment beforeit can be a big business, right?
(05:02):
So, Sophia, what gets youexcited about this opportunity,
especially in this nichediscipline of multicultural
marketing?
There are a lot of marketersand brands that are still
sitting on a fence and theyhaven't dived into it because
they don't know what to do andthey're afraid of doing it.
And then can you also tell mewhat they're missing, or rather
(05:27):
that they are not doing?
Sophia (05:29):
Amazing.
Well, thank you so much forasking that question.
I'm so excited, Um just to talkabout the potential that I see,
because I do believe there's somuch potential, um and such, I
would say, untapped potential,but also so much runway in terms
of what we could do, what wecould say Um, even if you look
back and reflect on our owncountry, here in Canada,
immigration is driving ourpopulation growth and right now
(05:53):
I was looking at a stat onStatsCan, actually and newcomers
today represent the largestshare of population in over 150
years.
Sharifa (06:00):
That's right, and there are approximately 11 million
Canadians right now thatidentify themselves as
multicultural or visibleminority, and that is already
26% of the total Canadianpopulation.
Sophia (06:14):
Yeah, it's powerful, it's so powerful and it really
you think about how that isgoing to shape us as who we are,
as Canadians.
It'll shape what our countrystands for.
And when you think about all ofthis, and if you marry this
into the cyclical process ofimmigration, you have newcomers
(06:38):
who land they, you know, a bitof disorientation where do I
need to go?
What grocery store do I need to?
I have to buy food, I need ahome, I need a bank.
So there's a newcomer elementand as years progress, they fall
into this more assimilatingstage where they're connecting
with the country they now callhome, but still connected back
to the country that they calledhome prior and, let's add on, a
decade after that and nowthey're fully assimilated into
(07:00):
the Canadian roots.
So you think about all thisimmigration that's coming and
the cycle that keeps happening,happening.
There's so much opportunity tobe able to reach all of these
different customers,multicultural audiences, in
their moment in life, dependingon the region, where they're at.
I think there's and it's acycle, so it goes on.
It's not something that's oneand done, where we're going to
(07:20):
market and then we peel back.
It's.
The potential is honestlylimitless and I think there's so
much power in that that I don'tthink a lot of marketers today
recognize Absolutely.
Sharifa (07:32):
And of course, I've shopped at Fresco, ocello,
fresco and Sobeys and I love thefact that it's as if you have
stocked your products accordingto the journey of these new
immigrants too, because whenthey first come here they would
go to the mom and pop store oftheir local ethnic convenience
(07:53):
store to find the food, thefoodstuff, the product they're
acquainted with.
But what I love about it thatmany of my friends they're new
immigrants.
They can walk into a fresh goaland they know that they could
find things that are from India,from Pakistan, from actually
from China and from Hong Kongthat are acquainted with and
(08:13):
also, at the same time, thatthey don't have to go around
looking for other, especiallythe ones that have been here a
little bit like in our year ortwo.
Sophia (08:20):
they're buying mainstream products and they
have such convenience yes so Ilove the part that you are
actually be able to track thejourney of consumers as to what
stage they're at and be able toprovide the appropriate products
absolutely, and that's a hugefocus for us, and at empire I
(08:41):
think we have the benefit ofhaving different types of
grocery store formats to bewelcoming and provide that
offering to all of the customers.
So, whether you're just lookingfor your brands, nothing else,
we have Fresh Go, we have ChaloFresh Go, and then you can come
into Sobeys and you can stillfind those brands, but an
opportunity to discover maybesome local brands or other
(09:04):
brands and products that you,you know they may not have been
comfortable finding earlier on.
So it all comes back to thiswhole cycle with respect to the
immigration process and we'revery fortunate that we have the
ability to provide to thosecustomers.
Sharifa (09:18):
Some of the brands that I know, for example, that they
would be doing research as towhat are some of the product
that these newcomers acquaintedwith.
Back home.
They might not have exactly thesame product, but what they
have is something very similar.
So in a sense, that's theproduct equity that they have,
(09:40):
the value that these people feel.
So some of the smart from whatI feel, so some of the smart
from what I know, some of thesmart marketers are also looking
into brands.
They're very similar so theyreally don't have to start from
scratch, like even like acleaning product.
You know, yeah, that they said,wow, they're so similar.
It's great opportunity.
But of course, these have to bedone with research, you know,
(10:03):
knowing what is the consumptionbehavior before they come to
Canada.
And is there an opportunity forthese brands to be marketing
their products that are similarand these newcomers will right
away get?
Sophia (10:19):
it.
Sharifa (10:21):
And I find so many of them have been successful in
doing that, but of course you dohave to.
It's not like anecdotal at all.
Right, it's got to be reallybased on insights in order to do
a business plan for it a fewyou know, with the campaigns
(10:48):
we've worked on.
What are you most proud of?
Can you tell me a few of them?
Sophia (10:50):
without even without giving out secret sauce.
No, honestly, I also love thisquestion and I could probably go
on for days and days about allof the initiatives, and not
personally that I've done, butwhat we were able to to lead as
an organization, as a team.
Um, I'll talk in depth aboutone of them and I'll touch a
little bit on on a few others.
Like I said, I could rambleabout this all day, but I won't.
I would say the biggest pieceinitiative-wise is I'll start
(11:14):
with Chalo Fresco.
So, for those who aren't aware,chalo Fresco is a grocery store
, so a low, a discount grocerystore that is also catered to
the South Asian community.
And so Chalo Fresh Go opened upin Ontario in 2015 with the
intention of bringing value,bringing all of these great
products with a vast assortmentof South Asian products
(11:36):
available for the South Asiancommunity to find, so
essentially like a one-stop shopwith the value proposition of a
Fresh Go.
There was a great adoption inOntario when we launched, we
were able to open up and scaleup to five six now stores within
the Ontario market, and when welaunched out west, it was a bit
of a different story and whatwe realized is the adoption
(11:57):
wasn't as immediate as it was inOntario, and so we knew we had
some work to do to try toeducate exactly what a chalo
fresco was, and we did a lot ofresearch, we did a lot of
insights and what we uncoveredis the first generation South
Asian community tends to shop atmultiple locations in order to
complete their full grocery shop, and, amongst all other
(12:18):
research and data that we werepulling, we thought there was an
amazing opportunity to tell ourChalo Fresh Go story to the
South Asian community in WesternCanada, to invite them in our
store and have them experience afull grocery shop just under
one roof, and so, in partnershipwith Bell Moral Multicultural
Marketing, we launched acampaign for Chalo Fresh Go
(12:39):
under the name was GroceryShopping Just Like Home, and it
was adapted in two languages inHindi and in Punjabi.
Sharifa (12:45):
I remember it's the one that we have it in the
marketplace.
Sophia (12:48):
Yes, exactly, and we had TV spots, we had radio, we had
print digital, we also wrappedsome transit buses.
We even partnered with PTCPunjabi Canada to be the lead
sponsor on a competition cookingshow called Canada to Super
Chef, and we were able to makeconnections with celebrities
(13:09):
that were recognized within theSouth Asian community.
And so we did all this and injust 10 weeks we had such
incredible metrics.
We reached so many, you know,south Asians across our stores,
trade areas, across WesternCanada, so in BC and in Alberta,
and the results are fantastic.
So it elevated our awareness,it elevated our familiarity, it
(13:30):
elevated traffic into the stores, of course, sales and business
growth, and it's allowed us toactually be able to sustain that
momentum.
So it was an amazing initiativethat we were able to tell that
story in a meaningful way,thanks, obviously, to our
partnership and also thanks tothe research that we conducted.
Sharifa (13:49):
What you're saying is also that what have worked in
Ontario and it has been verysuccessful.
There's so many stores that isreally a bit different
regionally.
Yes, in that you really have tomake that effort and you can't
take it for granted that onesize fit all right.
You're absolutely right.
So you have to know the region,the habits and also who are the
(14:11):
immigrants that are coming intoBC, because at times it could
be a difference.
You know a lot of them from ourresearch.
We know there are a lot ofprofessionals that are coming to
South Asia or otherwise, butthen there are a lot of family,
big family oriented.
You know families that are oversettling in BC too.
So regionally, at times theimmigrants are different, you
(14:34):
know, and some of them even tothe point of shopping behavior
are different.
So I totally agree, research isso important and then regional
marketing initiative shouldreally be customized.
Sophia (14:48):
Absolutely.
There's so many nuances withineach of the regions and the
lifestyles of everybody.
Sharifa (14:56):
So what are some of the greatest takeaways that you've
learned on all the projects andthe campaigns that you've done?
Sophia (15:04):
takeaway that you've learned on all the projects and
the campaigns that you've done.
A few things Before I jump onthat one, though, I'm just going
to add two more thoughts.
to your other question oninitiatives, I'm going to build
very quickly the other one.
That's super relevant and itgoes back to your comment around
painting everything with thesame brush.
I would say that's a hugelesson because, as an example,
on the Fresh go side, we, one ofour most recent campaigns, we
(15:26):
wanted to tell us a story aboutvalue.
And how do we tell a storyabout value without having to
bore the customer and say allthese things that we're doing?
And so you know, again with ourpartners, we invented a word in
english called valuelicious,and so the challenge was how do
we take the spirit of?
Because it's not even a word inenglish, so of course it's not
going to be a word in all theother languages.
(15:47):
So how do we take the spirit ofwhat it is we're trying to
communicate and bring it into alanguage or a word or some sort
of communication that hasmeaning to our cultural
audiences?
And again, with an amazingpartnership with Balmoral, we
were able to look at the lens ofour customers and actually
(16:07):
recreate and adapt that word andthe spirit in which it was
intended into five differentlanguages, and so we were able
to come out with a huge campaign, not just in English, but in
Hindi, in Tagalog, in Arabic, insimplified Chinese and
traditional Chinese.
It was probably the biggest,most multicultural campaign that
(16:27):
we've done so far at Freshcoand in such an authentic way and
different from everything.
It's not like we just said theword valuelicious.
We took the time to make surethat we were authentic to the
customer.
So I'd say one of the lessonsdefinitely is around just not
painting everything with thesame brush.
You need to be authentic.
It has.
It's not about your personalgain.
(16:49):
How do we make sure we'retaking the time to be able to
connect with each and everydifferent person, customer?
Secondly, another lesson Iwould say is really
understanding and respecting thesignificance of what it is
we're trying to say.
There are so many culturalnuances among different cultures
(17:13):
and you just really need tomake sure that you spend the
time to do research, to askaround, to ask friends, ask for
somebody, to poke holes in whatyou're presenting, because if
you want to be authentic, youreally need to do your research
and understand and respect thecultures at hand.
Sharifa (17:30):
Definitely there's no such thing, and the biggest
mistake a lot of marketers makeis that they translate or do
verbatim you know, and most ofthe time it doesn't mean
anything to these individualgroups because you don't even
understand the value.
You know all the nuances and Ithink a lot of brands, when they
(17:51):
haven't really done theirhomework, is that they take it
for granted that they, theseconsumers, will understand you.
You know and they don't, andyou got to be really talking to
them, because you can't treatthese groups like they'll just
absorb everything.
No, they don't.
And you got to be reallyauthentic and it has to be the
(18:12):
key word I always say it has tobe relevant to them absolutely.
Under what context is thatyou're using the similar word in
their own language as value,licious, right, but if you don't
even understand them, theywould say well, you mixed up.
Every different culture has away of saying things, especially
(18:33):
within the context of buyingfood.
Yes, you know.
Yes, what it means to them.
What it means is that thepricing, is it it the offering?
Is it the product?
So you have to have an allaround 360 degree, look into
each and every ethnicity inorder to be successful, and I
really applaud.
You know Fresh Gold be able totake that time to be able.
(18:57):
You know you just have one kickin the can If you're going to
launch it.
You know you've got to take thetime and do it.
Either don't do it or you do itwell, exactly, and I've got to
applaud Freshco for doing that.
Sophia (19:10):
Thank you.
Sharifa (19:10):
So what are some of also the lessons business
lessons that you learn overallin your multicultural work.
Sophia (19:19):
Absolutely, and what I love about the learnings from
Freshco that you just talkedabout is the fact that we can.
We're now bringing this intoall of our banners under Empire.
So how do we take the learningsbusiness learnings, marketing
learnings over to Safeway, overto Sobeys, and there's a lot of
great work and greatcollaboration that's happening
with our cross-functionalpartners.
I would say it really taught methe value of making sure that
(19:43):
we're collaborative with eachand I say cross-functional.
It takes a village, it takes ateam, to really be able to bring
this to life.
As we think about our job inmarketing is to invite customers
to store.
But if we invite customers tostore and we don't carry the
products that is relevant tothem, we don't have the price
point that is relevant or thatmakes sense, we don't have the
(20:05):
store experience or the storeconditions that makes a customer
feel like they're welcome.
All of that is to waste.
So it really is such a like Ilike to use the word like
nucleus of teams and people tobe able to understand what our
goal is and be able to make thathappen for the customer.
So the collaboration, thecross-functional collaboration,
(20:27):
is a huge key takeaway, andapplying diverse voices, like I
mentioned earlier, it's you kindof want a bit of challenge, you
want a bit of healthy debatelike I'm not the smartest person
in the room, I don't know ineverything and this is where
it's so important to do research, to have feedback, to
understand truly is what we'redoing and saying to the customer
(20:47):
the most relevant and will itbe the most memorable at the end
of the day?
And then leveraging ourinsights and you know, seeing
what is working, what's notworking, how do we adapt?
Sharifa (20:59):
And also I have found that from working with your
organization, inclusivity is areally important word for
internal collaboration with alldepartments you know, based on
the merchandising part, theinternal, the marketing
operations.
So how would you have talkedabout inclusivity of the Empire
(21:24):
Group or your company?
Sophia (21:26):
It's a huge I don't even want to say it's a huge focus,
because it's not about it beinga focus.
It's part of our culture and Ithink where Empire and Sobeys
has done a great job is actuallybringing it and embedding
diversity, equity and inclusionwithin the mix.
It's not something that's likeoh, we're operating day to day
(21:46):
and now we need to think aboutDE&I.
It's just so rooted in the waythat we operate and we go to
business and it's just such anatural part, and I'm so proud
of the fact that it is somethingthat is so embedded within our
organization that I don't thinkhappens in a lot of.
Sharifa (22:04):
But it's so very, very organic in the way it's being
done.
It's not as if it's forced downthe pipeline, you know.
So you know your business modelobviously have worked very well
with you and with allorganization.
The commitment to inclusivityreally position your
organization as leaders inmulticultural internally because
(22:27):
you have so many diverse staffin it and all externally and
it's driving both businesssuccess and also positive social
impact because you would beknown that this is something
that is in your DNA exactly, asopposed to force down the
pipeline right, yeah so in thevarious roles that you have held
(22:51):
in your career and beenresponsible for brand
expressions for many companies.
How do you guide an overlaycultural lens, you know into a
product or company's brandexpression?
Brand expression is really howyou project your brand out there
.
What do you want your customerto look at you?
(23:13):
What kind of story you're gonnatell them about your brand, and
can you share some of yourviewpoint how you do that?
Sophia (23:20):
Absolutely, and it's such a that's.
Another key piece in marketingis you can celebrate all of the
significant holidays andmemorable and significant
moments within our customers'lives, but what's also important
is being able to your pointaround, taking that brand
expression and how do we show upin a way that is meaningful to
(23:41):
a customer but also maintainingwhat it is that we want to stand
for as a brand, and so itreally is.
Again, going back to researchand having a really deep
understanding of our customers.
You know, I emphasize very muchabout partnering with cultural
experts and agencies such asyourself, about moral marketing,
just to make sure that we'rereally set up for success,
(24:04):
Because I think what the powerlies is all in the subtleties
and the nuances.
At the end of the day, anybodycould Google you know Google
Translate Anybody could Googlewhat Lunar, New Year or Diwali
stands for, but where the impactreally lies is in the
partnerships and that rootedunderstanding and customer
(24:26):
insight to know what thesubtleties are and the nuances
that then are projected into thelanguage used, the expression
that we use, the way that we goto market, the channels that we
leverage.
Do we communicate in languageor is English okay, and when?
Generational?
So there's so many functionsthat you know from getting
(24:51):
rooted in insights and researchand in partnership, I think is
the key to be able to deliver onthose subtleties.
Sharifa (24:56):
That's very powerful takeaway because, like how you
do, the narrative and thecontext is so important.
You know and it's not just youknow this is niche marketing,
right?
Multicultural marketing.
It's no different from whenmainstream is saying I'm
targeting mothers, right, youcall that.
Have children, so you reallyhave to custom make the
(25:20):
narrative and the messaging tothem.
So I think a lot of brands haveto start thinking like that.
You know that, okay, we have 25%of the population that are of
multicultural origin, and theneven within them there are some
of the really big population.
How are we going to have aconversation with them?
(25:40):
That is not going to be justthat.
We're talking to the 75%, right?
So, because most of the time itdoesn't work, it'll just be
like phew over their head andbecause it's not relevant to
them.
And it's so easy for peoplethat are on the computer or on
the television and said I don'tthink they are talking to me,
(26:00):
right?
You know at all.
And there's two things.
First of all, they'll switchyou off.
Secondly, they feel that youwould be also disrespectful,
exactly Because you really don'tunderstand them and they're not
relevant.
So you have walked the walk andtalk the talk and you're
integrating with all yourexperience, whether you're CPG
(26:23):
brand and now with your present,and by integrating in-store
merchandising and operation andwith marketing strategy.
How do you come overcomechallenges?
There must be a lot ofchallenges out there because
this internally, you have somany banners already and they
have their own objective.
They have their own locations.
They have their own objective.
They have their own locations.
They have their own productoffering.
(26:45):
How do you overcome some ofthese challenges?
Sophia (26:49):
It's an excellent question.
I think it goes back to if youthink about how quickly our
landscape and our country ischanging.
We talk about a quarter of thepopulation currently
multicultural and you thinkabout in 10 years' time it's
going to be a third of thepopulation.
So this is our landscape ischanging so quickly and
sometimes it's changing fasterthan our systems or our
technologies can actually allow,especially in a bigger
(27:11):
organization.
I think, at the end of the day,it's important that we're all
clear on what our objective is,what our plan is, and making
sure there's alignment withinthe organization.
We talked about the top and howdoes that cascade down?
Making sure that you know theteams all over, not just in our
offices but even in our stores,are brought up to speed on the
(27:33):
why it really goes back to.
Why are we doing this?
Why is it important?
Building those authenticconnections and when you in an
organization as big as ours, itdoes require a lot of
cross-functional conversation.
We actually have prioritizedthis.
So thinking about like keepinga focused lens, we have
prioritized this and we do meetwith our merchandising,
(27:55):
operations, finance, hr,marketing, et cetera, et cetera,
et cetera.
We come together regularly tomeet to discuss what it is that
we want to achieve.
What does success look like,what is the timeline?
And we also address realities.
So maybe there's is somethingthat we can't achieve because
there's, our technology doesn'tallow, but what is a way in?
(28:17):
And we are really solutionsoriented in that way.
So, even though there's a lotof challenges that come to us,
we try to find ways to be ableto pivot and figure out what is
meaningful and relevant to thecustomer.
And what we have been doing alsois we've been prioritizing the
education to our store teams.
So you think about, like I'llgive an example.
(28:37):
So you know, during festivalsor very significant moments such
as Diwali or Vaisakhi, we tryto educate our store teams as to
the stories behind why this hascome to be, what are the foods
that are eaten and why, and itgives people a really exciting
(28:57):
sense of like they just kind oflearn something new, and
everybody loves to learnsomething new.
So you kind of learn a littlebit of a tidbit and then you
understand if a customer comesto you in your store during
Lunar New Year and they'relooking for noodles, you know,
at least somebody could say, oh,I actually understand why
noodles are so significant overthis holiday.
So it's, it's providing thateducation and, in turn, the
(29:20):
feedback we've been receivingfrom our store teams is that
they really love the ability tohave that understanding which
they didn't before.
Sharifa (29:27):
I think that's a really great strategy within the
company, because you don't wantto disconnect, because these are
the people that are frontlineand they do have to understand
why is the company implementing,implementing these measures and
also, what are the productsthat are coming through?
Yeah, and if they're facingcustomer, how are they going to
(29:49):
answer?
You know the questions they'relooking for and you know it
cannot be better when you haveyou have strategy, of course,
you have strategies, you haveplanning, you have operation
planning and very importantly isthe training of employees,
because these are all criticalcomponents to successful
business building and definitelyin the long run and I'm sure
(30:11):
you've seen it is exponentialgrowth, particularly with the
way how you operate andparticularly how you implement
multicultural marketing andparticularly how we implement
multicultural marketing.
I know that at Western Foodwhich is one of your past CPG
experience is with Ace Bakeryand Artisan Brands you play a
really key role in growing thatbusiness and can you share some
(30:34):
of the insights that this brandto various customers,
particularly the newcomers, whomight not be familiar with the
artisan brands of bread orwhatever the products that they
have?
How do you handle that?
Because there's so manynewcomers that at times they're
also eager to adopt the Canadianculture, but they don't
(30:59):
understand it also.
But they sort of like lookaround what everybody's eating,
what are some of the things thatthey should offer to their
children?
So can you share some of theexperience that you had?
Sophia (31:11):
Absolutely, I would say.
Marketing at Ace Bakery wasprobably my very first gateway
into the world of being veryprecise and targeted with your
messaging to customers.
I would say Most of the time,most of the time, experiencing
is believing.
So an opportunity here is likemarketing artisan or Canadian
(31:32):
brands to a multiculturalsegment.
There's an opportunity to diveinto the storytelling.
How does this product add valueand why is it important to the
customer?
If it is a product, definitelyencourage sampling, you know,
and talk about what the valuethat this product brings to the
(31:52):
customer.
Is it maybe a healthier versionof something that your kids
have seen on TV or is it youknow you're actually supporting
the local business or localeconomy?
You know, I reflect back and Icannot imagine that the
immigration process is an easyone, and so I feel like all the
steps that it takes in order tocome into a country like Canada.
Once you're able to call Canadahome, there is that emotional
(32:15):
connection.
So how do we like that's one ofthe thinking is how do we make
sure that we're bringing ourcustomers along for the journey
and the ability to taste that,what Canada has to offer, or the
craftsmanship that artisanproducts have to offer?
So it's always keeping thatstorytelling in the back of your
mind and being able to tellthat story to customers.
Sharifa (32:34):
And also understanding their story and understand their
journey is so important.
You know, I'm an immigrantmyself.
I have many friends that areimmigrants, been here some a few
years, some quite a few years.
But also one reason why we allcome here?
Because really to have a betterlife, particularly the ones
(32:55):
that have children.
They feel that Canada is safer.
There's no wars as far as weknow so far, and then the
environment is better.
And one of the aspiration wehave found from many of our
research is that they want theirchildren to grow up as big and
strong as Canadian children, andthey sacrifice a lot when they
(33:19):
give up their homeland, theygive up their wealth, they give
up their position, but they comehere for their children.
So it's very important thatwhat you have done is the
narrative saying to that weoffer healthy products and
that's what they're constantlylooking for.
What can make my children growup healthier and also are
(33:40):
stronger, you know?
And what food should they eat?
And also, at the same time,what are some of the foods in
Canada they should really starteating so that they will feel
that they're culturally moreCanadian.
Exactly, and I think Ace BakeryArtisan has been doing the
right thing totally.
Sophia (33:58):
And then the other thing too is my experience on the
retail side is having strongcollaborations with influencers,
with community groups thatresonate with our multicultural
audiences.
It really helps elevate andbuild that trust and awareness.
Sharifa (34:14):
It's so important that I've always tell a lot of my
clients that you know be workingwith community leaders.
Part of the that they shouldand and, of course, influencers
and we call also KOL, keyopinion leaders and a lot of
them miss it is that communityoutreach is such an integral
part of the marketing mixbecause they are so focused on
(34:39):
just talking about the productitself, talking about a company,
but a lot of them sit on anivory tower while they are
marketing.
So, but if you're not out there, you see who are the community
leaders, because they can beyour ambassadors.
If they're convinced that youare very authentic, they're
really, of course you're comingin, hopefully they would do
(35:02):
business with you, but you'retruly convinced that you're
interested in their community.
So it makes a lot of differenceand I think that a lot of
brands downplay the part ofcommunity outreach.
Sophia (35:15):
I love that you said that, because that's also
another key focus area.
It was on the fresh, go andshallow side, and what we're
trying to bring now to Sobeysand Safeway is humanizing the
brand Because, to your pointabout like you could sit at a
desk and create plans and createstrategies, but what's so
important is actually theability to interact with our
customers and connect our brandand have that face time, because
(35:39):
it goes back to the experience.
The experience could be tastinga product, but could also be
the experience you are having inthe store, but also out of the
store, and so there have been alot of community events and
community partnerships, ourfranchise network.
You know we definitelyencourage them to be out in the
community to create those, thoseone-on-one conversations with
(36:00):
with the community, which isincredibly powerful yeah, and
and it's so, so important.
Sharifa (36:04):
I couldn't you know in in my career I couldn't have
stress, know the important partof when you're actually trying
to implement multiculturalmarketing discipline.
It's so important.
So, beyond marketing, I knowthat also you're passionate and
also your company is passionateabout people development in
(36:24):
terms of coaching andprofessional growth.
Can you share with some of ourlisteners the benefits of
surrounding yourself with adiverse workforce and what is
the outcome of doing that?
Sophia (36:38):
Absolutely Honestly, people leadership, I would say,
is probably my most favoritething, my most favorite part of
my job, and it's not just aboutbuilding great, effective teams,
it's really about buildingdiverse teams, and sometimes
that requires you to take a stepback and try to understand,
like, do I have all of thepossible opinions I can have
around my team to help elevatethe brand or business even
(37:02):
greater?
You know, it could also havereputation protection at the end
of the day.
I'm not going to take creditfor this term, but I have leaned
into this whole concept aroundintent versus impact for a
number of years.
And that just goes back tosometimes and you know, nobody
wakes up in the morning and islike I want to do something,
(37:22):
have a bad day at work.
No one, no one thinks that way.
But sometimes what?
The impact that we have basedon the communication or what we
put out there in the marketdoesn't actually have the same
impact as we were intending andcan actually be detrimental.
To just validate that what itis we want to communicate will
deliver on the impact, willdeliver the impact in which we
(37:52):
are seeking to have.
So there's the reputation sideof it and then it's just
building the trust andcredibility with customers,
because the more and more youdeliver on the message and
deliver the impact in which youintend, then more and more
you're building thatfoundational trust.
Sharifa (38:09):
Creating trust is so important with your end
consumers, but also it lies withhaving a good leadership right
so that it would driveinnovation internally and drive
business growth.
But when you show outside thatyou are cultivating a positive
workplace, then it would alsocreate a great social impact.
(38:34):
People would see that you are agreat company.
So now we're almost at the end,sophia, but is there anything
else you would like to sharewith us listeners today?
You know you know for the past30 minutes you've given so much
value in especially some of ourlisteners or viewers today as to
what have been your experienceMost of the key things that you
(38:57):
have to remember when you aredoing multicultural marketing,
so maybe you can share, as aparty note, what are some of
your experience and what do youwould like to share.
Sophia (39:08):
Absolutely.
I can't believe it's overalready.
I would really like toemphasize the importance of just
continuous learning.
You know I didn't.
I jumped into this opportunityin this role five years ago and
to this day I am learning everyso much, every single day.
So I definitely encourageeveryone to continue harnessing
this continuous learning.
(39:30):
Don't assume you have all theanswers, because you don't, and
that's okay, and it's aboutstaying open and curious to
understanding the stories of whyand trying to take that into
what you could do in the futureas a marketer.
You think about just as how ourCanadian landscape is changing.
Marketing is changing a lot.
You know the way that weapproach customers, the
opportunity for personalization.
(39:51):
There's a great opportunity tolike adapt based on the needs of
all of our customers.
And it goes back to thiscontinuous, this continuous
learning.
The other piece, too, is justbasically what we were talking
about earlier, about having adiverse team and being open to
diverse perspectives anddifferent points of view.
I think our brains are sohardwired to operate so fast
(40:15):
that sometimes, an alteringpoint of view, we can get a
little bit defensive becausewe're so close to whatever we're
working on.
But it's one of those thingsthat I would encourage everyone
listening that if you findyourself in that way, catch
yourself, because that onethought and that one comment can
actually be the thing thateither elevates your brand in
(40:35):
business or even saves it in away.
So I would say, embracingdiversity and inclusivity in all
aspects drives success anddrives reputation and, honestly,
just builds a higher performingteam in general.
Sharifa (40:49):
I found that from my experience at Balmoral for 35
years.
It's just that of course, youhave to look at the market
situation what's out there, whatare potentials but also, at the
same time, I think that peopleshould take risk If it's a
calculated risk, that you haveall the data there, all the
(41:09):
insights, all the proof pointsand you could see, wow, I'm
going to capture a great marketshare.
That I think some of mycompetitors haven't done.
You know, if you do all thehomework and improve points, I
think people should jump off thefence and be able to dive in it
, because you won't regret it Ifyou've done all your homework.
(41:31):
You would be in such a betterposition in a couple of years
because you've taken thatcalculated risk.
Sophia (41:37):
I think that's huge, because it's also sometimes it's
the white space or the magic is.
It's not.
All this research is telling meI need to do something.
It's OK, this is all theinformation I know, and it is
calculated.
It's based on the research, butit's also based a little bit on
wisdom and a little bit ontaking a little risk and testing
and learning at the end of theday, because that's where the
(41:58):
magic would happen is in thisarea, and keep on going.
It's another piece I think isalso important is it's not just
a one and done, it's how do youhave a rhythm of activity?
So you are that brand that istop of mind to your audience.
Sharifa (42:11):
I totally agree, because I think there are brands
that are okay.
So they oh, we did it, we justdid a shotgun approach and, of
course, maybe the way theyexecuted was not even in the
right direction.
And then they give up.
Right, and then they would sayI don't think it would work, but
I think that I think theyshould take example.
There's so many great brandslike yourself, you know, and the
(42:32):
listeners here have learned somuch about the insights and
experience that they have toknow that there's nothing that
is easy.
Sophia (42:41):
And then what I want to build on is just have fun At the
end of the day, whether you'rein marketing or any aspect of
the business.
Yes, it's a niche world that wemarket in and work on, but
there's so much fun involved.
You can test and learn, youcould try new things, you adapt
and learn as you grow, and Ithink that is one of the biggest
takeaways for me is it has beentruly a fun, rewarding
(43:05):
experience to work on.
Sharifa (43:06):
I totally agree and I tell you the last 35 years I had
lots of fun, you know,especially as a niche market,
right, but it can be done.
And look at the brands, likeyourself, empire, sobeys, fresh
Gold, other brands of my clientsthat have put in the work, put
in the homework, put in theresearch and are are doing very,
(43:29):
very well and they're seeingthe results, how they're
capturing additional marketshare that they never dreamed of
that they would be doing buttoday.
Thank you so much, sophia, whata powerful conversation we had
and thank you for sharing somuch value to our listeners and
they have so much to learn todayfrom you.
(43:51):
Thank you so much for having meand congratulations on 35 years,
thank you, thank you, it's amilestone and we're very proud
of this, and thank you everyonefor watching today again and
I'll see you next time.
Thank you for joining us today.
If you have enjoyed thisepisode, please subscribe to our
podcast and rate and review theshow.
(44:13):
Join us next time for anotherjourney into the exciting world
of multicultural marketing.
Thank you.
Welcome to Canada's first ever multicultural
marketing podcast.
I'm Sharifa Khan, founder andpresident of Balmoral
Multicultural Marketing.
In each episode, join me as Iinterview high-profile marketing
executives, where they will besharing their experiences in
(00:26):
reaching Canada's diversecommunity.
Gain valuable insights andlessons and grow your
multicultural affluence.
Let's get started.
Hello everyone, welcome to theMulticultural Marketing Podcast
again.
It is such a great pleasure forme today to welcome a very
special guest on our podcast isSophia Rouleau, director of
(00:50):
Marketing, banner Planning andStrategic Priorities at Sobeys.
Welcome.
Sophia (00:55):
Thank you.
Thank you, well done.
It was a mouthful.
Sharifa (00:59):
Oh yeah, that's a long title for you.
You know, of course, among allthe great things you're doing at
Sobeys, Sophia is a strategicand action oriented marketer who
passionately challenged astatus quote and creating
meaningful connection betweenthe brand and also the consumers
.
She's a veteran of 16 years ofwork in many CPG, including like
(01:26):
A's Bakery, Western Foods andGreen Space brands.
Today, one of Sophia's mostimportant responsibilities is
really to be the lead and incharge of multicultural
marketing for Sophie Banners andpreviously for Freshco and
Chalo Freshco brands.
Sophia (01:46):
Welcome.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much, Sharifa.
Sharifa (01:48):
You're such an accomplished marketer and
business builder, especiallywith CPT retail and food space.
I would like to dive into yourexperience and for you to share
some of the journey that youhave done, the learnings that
you had, so that we can knowwhat you have done over the
course of these years withmulticultural marketing.
Sophia (02:09):
Amazing.
Well, thank you so much forhaving me on today.
Honestly, I'm very gratefulbecause I've really had such a
very fun, rewarding andcontinuously learning trajectory
in my career so far and what Ilove about it is there's just
been such this connection andintertwining with food the
entire way through.
And what I love about it isthere's just been such this
connection and intertwining withfood the entire way through and
, as we know, throughmulticultural marketing and just
(02:31):
with you know, cultures ingeneral, food is just such a
central hub of experience.
So it's really allowed me tohone in on food but also have
that great connector back tomarketing to a diverse range of
people.
I would say one of my mostnotable experiences.
So, while I have a lot ofexperiences in the CPG company,
(02:52):
I would say my time currently atSobeys on the Freshco and Chalo
Freshco side and even currentlyfocused on our full service
banner.
So Sobeys and Safeway just a lotof learning and growth on the
multicultural marketingexperience.
So I'll rely specifically alittle bit on Freshco and Chalo
Freshco, just because it's themost recent.
(03:13):
We've done a lot of work as abusiness unit where all of our
cross-functional partners, wereally held hands and knew that
this was a path that we wantedto take our business and take
our brands forward.
So between all of ourcross-functional leaders, we
worked in harmony to make surethat we curate all of our stores
, to make sure we have all theassortment and the products for
(03:35):
customers, location by location,and then going so far to invite
customers into our store to beable to experience that.
So I've been doing that now forfive years and it's been
excellent to the point where nowI've taken on this greater role
to bring the same learning overto our full-serve banner.
So I'm very excited.
Sharifa (03:53):
So it is a commitment with Empire.
It is that it is going to be aninitiative that is across the
board.
Because you have so manybanners, you know from coast to
coast that it is a commitmentthat is across the board.
Because you have so manybanners, you know from coast to
coast that it is a commitment,that is an initiative that has
to cross all verticals.
Yes, so, and when was thatcommitment?
(04:17):
Was it like two years ago,three years ago?
Sophia (04:22):
It's definitely been something top of mind for a long
time years ago.
It's definitely been somethingtop of mind for a long time.
The good news it's witheverything we've been doing on
the Freshco side and the ChaloFreshco side, you really see the
potential and the power thatcomes from reaching to these, to
our customers and our diversecustomers, in an authentic way.
Sharifa (04:41):
Yeah, so it's actually, I think, a lot of successful
business is when there is topdown you know, initiative where
is the senior management or thatand also be bottom up so that
it will meet at the middle withcollaboration and transcend into
the whole establishment beforeit can be a big business, right?
(05:02):
So, Sophia, what gets youexcited about this opportunity,
especially in this nichediscipline of multicultural
marketing?
There are a lot of marketersand brands that are still
sitting on a fence and theyhaven't dived into it because
they don't know what to do andthey're afraid of doing it.
And then can you also tell mewhat they're missing, or rather
(05:27):
that they are not doing?
Sophia (05:29):
Amazing.
Well, thank you so much forasking that question.
I'm so excited, Um just to talkabout the potential that I see,
because I do believe there's somuch potential, um and such, I
would say, untapped potential,but also so much runway in terms
of what we could do, what wecould say Um, even if you look
back and reflect on our owncountry, here in Canada,
immigration is driving ourpopulation growth and right now
(05:53):
I was looking at a stat onStatsCan, actually and newcomers
today represent the largestshare of population in over 150
years.
Sharifa (06:00):
That's right, and there are approximately 11 million
Canadians right now thatidentify themselves as
multicultural or visibleminority, and that is already
26% of the total Canadianpopulation.
Sophia (06:14):
Yeah, it's powerful, it's so powerful and it really
you think about how that isgoing to shape us as who we are,
as Canadians.
It'll shape what our countrystands for.
And when you think about all ofthis, and if you marry this
into the cyclical process ofimmigration, you have newcomers
(06:38):
who land they, you know, a bitof disorientation where do I
need to go?
What grocery store do I need to?
I have to buy food, I need ahome, I need a bank.
So there's a newcomer elementand as years progress, they fall
into this more assimilatingstage where they're connecting
with the country they now callhome, but still connected back
to the country that they calledhome prior and, let's add on, a
decade after that and nowthey're fully assimilated into
(07:00):
the Canadian roots.
So you think about all thisimmigration that's coming and
the cycle that keeps happening,happening.
There's so much opportunity tobe able to reach all of these
different customers,multicultural audiences, in
their moment in life, dependingon the region, where they're at.
I think there's and it's acycle, so it goes on.
It's not something that's oneand done, where we're going to
(07:20):
market and then we peel back.
It's.
The potential is honestlylimitless and I think there's so
much power in that that I don'tthink a lot of marketers today
recognize Absolutely.
Sharifa (07:32):
And of course, I've shopped at Fresco, ocello,
fresco and Sobeys and I love thefact that it's as if you have
stocked your products accordingto the journey of these new
immigrants too, because whenthey first come here they would
go to the mom and pop store oftheir local ethnic convenience
(07:53):
store to find the food, thefoodstuff, the product they're
acquainted with.
But what I love about it thatmany of my friends they're new
immigrants.
They can walk into a fresh goaland they know that they could
find things that are from India,from Pakistan, from actually
from China and from Hong Kongthat are acquainted with and
(08:13):
also, at the same time, thatthey don't have to go around
looking for other, especiallythe ones that have been here a
little bit like in our year ortwo.
Sophia (08:20):
they're buying mainstream products and they
have such convenience yes so Ilove the part that you are
actually be able to track thejourney of consumers as to what
stage they're at and be able toprovide the appropriate products
absolutely, and that's a hugefocus for us, and at empire I
(08:41):
think we have the benefit ofhaving different types of
grocery store formats to bewelcoming and provide that
offering to all of the customers.
So, whether you're just lookingfor your brands, nothing else,
we have Fresh Go, we have ChaloFresh Go, and then you can come
into Sobeys and you can stillfind those brands, but an
opportunity to discover maybesome local brands or other
(09:04):
brands and products that you,you know they may not have been
comfortable finding earlier on.
So it all comes back to thiswhole cycle with respect to the
immigration process and we'revery fortunate that we have the
ability to provide to thosecustomers.
Sharifa (09:18):
Some of the brands that I know, for example, that they
would be doing research as towhat are some of the product
that these newcomers acquaintedwith.
Back home.
They might not have exactly thesame product, but what they
have is something very similar.
So in a sense, that's theproduct equity that they have,
(09:40):
the value that these people feel.
So some of the smart from whatI feel, so some of the smart
from what I know, some of thesmart marketers are also looking
into brands.
They're very similar so theyreally don't have to start from
scratch, like even like acleaning product.
You know, yeah, that they said,wow, they're so similar.
It's great opportunity.
But of course, these have to bedone with research, you know,
(10:03):
knowing what is the consumptionbehavior before they come to
Canada.
And is there an opportunity forthese brands to be marketing
their products that are similarand these newcomers will right
away get?
Sophia (10:19):
it.
Sharifa (10:21):
And I find so many of them have been successful in
doing that, but of course you dohave to.
It's not like anecdotal at all.
Right, it's got to be reallybased on insights in order to do
a business plan for it a fewyou know, with the campaigns
(10:48):
we've worked on.
What are you most proud of?
Can you tell me a few of them?
Sophia (10:50):
without even without giving out secret sauce.
No, honestly, I also love thisquestion and I could probably go
on for days and days about allof the initiatives, and not
personally that I've done, butwhat we were able to to lead as
an organization, as a team.
Um, I'll talk in depth aboutone of them and I'll touch a
little bit on on a few others.
Like I said, I could rambleabout this all day, but I won't.
I would say the biggest pieceinitiative-wise is I'll start
(11:14):
with Chalo Fresco.
So, for those who aren't aware,chalo Fresco is a grocery store
, so a low, a discount grocerystore that is also catered to
the South Asian community.
And so Chalo Fresh Go opened upin Ontario in 2015 with the
intention of bringing value,bringing all of these great
products with a vast assortmentof South Asian products
(11:36):
available for the South Asiancommunity to find, so
essentially like a one-stop shopwith the value proposition of a
Fresh Go.
There was a great adoption inOntario when we launched, we
were able to open up and scaleup to five six now stores within
the Ontario market, and when welaunched out west, it was a bit
of a different story and whatwe realized is the adoption
(11:57):
wasn't as immediate as it was inOntario, and so we knew we had
some work to do to try toeducate exactly what a chalo
fresco was, and we did a lot ofresearch, we did a lot of
insights and what we uncoveredis the first generation South
Asian community tends to shop atmultiple locations in order to
complete their full grocery shop, and, amongst all other
(12:18):
research and data that we werepulling, we thought there was an
amazing opportunity to tell ourChalo Fresh Go story to the
South Asian community in WesternCanada, to invite them in our
store and have them experience afull grocery shop just under
one roof, and so, in partnershipwith Bell Moral Multicultural
Marketing, we launched acampaign for Chalo Fresh Go
(12:39):
under the name was GroceryShopping Just Like Home, and it
was adapted in two languages inHindi and in Punjabi.
Sharifa (12:45):
I remember it's the one that we have it in the
marketplace.
Sophia (12:48):
Yes, exactly, and we had TV spots, we had radio, we had
print digital, we also wrappedsome transit buses.
We even partnered with PTCPunjabi Canada to be the lead
sponsor on a competition cookingshow called Canada to Super
Chef, and we were able to makeconnections with celebrities
(13:09):
that were recognized within theSouth Asian community.
And so we did all this and injust 10 weeks we had such
incredible metrics.
We reached so many, you know,south Asians across our stores,
trade areas, across WesternCanada, so in BC and in Alberta,
and the results are fantastic.
So it elevated our awareness,it elevated our familiarity, it
(13:30):
elevated traffic into the stores, of course, sales and business
growth, and it's allowed us toactually be able to sustain that
momentum.
So it was an amazing initiativethat we were able to tell that
story in a meaningful way,thanks, obviously, to our
partnership and also thanks tothe research that we conducted.
Sharifa (13:49):
What you're saying is also that what have worked in
Ontario and it has been verysuccessful.
There's so many stores that isreally a bit different
regionally.
Yes, in that you really have tomake that effort and you can't
take it for granted that onesize fit all right.
You're absolutely right.
So you have to know the region,the habits and also who are the
(14:11):
immigrants that are coming intoBC, because at times it could
be a difference.
You know a lot of them from ourresearch.
We know there are a lot ofprofessionals that are coming to
South Asia or otherwise, butthen there are a lot of family,
big family oriented.
You know families that are oversettling in BC too.
So regionally, at times theimmigrants are different, you
(14:34):
know, and some of them even tothe point of shopping behavior
are different.
So I totally agree, research isso important and then regional
marketing initiative shouldreally be customized.
Sophia (14:48):
Absolutely.
There's so many nuances withineach of the regions and the
lifestyles of everybody.
Sharifa (14:56):
So what are some of the greatest takeaways that you've
learned on all the projects andthe campaigns that you've done?
Sophia (15:04):
takeaway that you've learned on all the projects and
the campaigns that you've done.
A few things Before I jump onthat one, though, I'm just going
to add two more thoughts.
to your other question oninitiatives, I'm going to build
very quickly the other one.
That's super relevant and itgoes back to your comment around
painting everything with thesame brush.
I would say that's a hugelesson because, as an example,
on the Fresh go side, we, one ofour most recent campaigns, we
(15:26):
wanted to tell us a story aboutvalue.
And how do we tell a storyabout value without having to
bore the customer and say allthese things that we're doing?
And so you know, again with ourpartners, we invented a word in
english called valuelicious,and so the challenge was how do
we take the spirit of?
Because it's not even a word inenglish, so of course it's not
going to be a word in all theother languages.
(15:47):
So how do we take the spirit ofwhat it is we're trying to
communicate and bring it into alanguage or a word or some sort
of communication that hasmeaning to our cultural
audiences?
And again, with an amazingpartnership with Balmoral, we
were able to look at the lens ofour customers and actually
(16:07):
recreate and adapt that word andthe spirit in which it was
intended into five differentlanguages, and so we were able
to come out with a huge campaign, not just in English, but in
Hindi, in Tagalog, in Arabic, insimplified Chinese and
traditional Chinese.
It was probably the biggest,most multicultural campaign that
(16:27):
we've done so far at Freshcoand in such an authentic way and
different from everything.
It's not like we just said theword valuelicious.
We took the time to make surethat we were authentic to the
customer.
So I'd say one of the lessonsdefinitely is around just not
painting everything with thesame brush.
You need to be authentic.
It has.
It's not about your personalgain.
(16:49):
How do we make sure we'retaking the time to be able to
connect with each and everydifferent person, customer?
Secondly, another lesson Iwould say is really
understanding and respecting thesignificance of what it is
we're trying to say.
There are so many culturalnuances among different cultures
(17:13):
and you just really need tomake sure that you spend the
time to do research, to askaround, to ask friends, ask for
somebody, to poke holes in whatyou're presenting, because if
you want to be authentic, youreally need to do your research
and understand and respect thecultures at hand.
Sharifa (17:30):
Definitely there's no such thing, and the biggest
mistake a lot of marketers makeis that they translate or do
verbatim you know, and most ofthe time it doesn't mean
anything to these individualgroups because you don't even
understand the value.
You know all the nuances and Ithink a lot of brands, when they
(17:51):
haven't really done theirhomework, is that they take it
for granted that they, theseconsumers, will understand you.
You know and they don't, andyou got to be really talking to
them, because you can't treatthese groups like they'll just
absorb everything.
No, they don't.
And you got to be reallyauthentic and it has to be the
(18:12):
key word I always say it has tobe relevant to them absolutely.
Under what context is thatyou're using the similar word in
their own language as value,licious, right, but if you don't
even understand them, theywould say well, you mixed up.
Every different culture has away of saying things, especially
(18:33):
within the context of buyingfood.
Yes, you know.
Yes, what it means to them.
What it means is that thepricing, is it it the offering?
Is it the product?
So you have to have an allaround 360 degree, look into
each and every ethnicity inorder to be successful, and I
really applaud.
You know Fresh Gold be able totake that time to be able.
(18:57):
You know you just have one kickin the can If you're going to
launch it.
You know you've got to take thetime and do it.
Either don't do it or you do itwell, exactly, and I've got to
applaud Freshco for doing that.
Sophia (19:10):
Thank you.
Sharifa (19:10):
So what are some of also the lessons business
lessons that you learn overallin your multicultural work.
Sophia (19:19):
Absolutely, and what I love about the learnings from
Freshco that you just talkedabout is the fact that we can.
We're now bringing this intoall of our banners under Empire.
So how do we take the learningsbusiness learnings, marketing
learnings over to Safeway, overto Sobeys, and there's a lot of
great work and greatcollaboration that's happening
with our cross-functionalpartners.
I would say it really taught methe value of making sure that
(19:43):
we're collaborative with eachand I say cross-functional.
It takes a village, it takes ateam, to really be able to bring
this to life.
As we think about our job inmarketing is to invite customers
to store.
But if we invite customers tostore and we don't carry the
products that is relevant tothem, we don't have the price
point that is relevant or thatmakes sense, we don't have the
(20:05):
store experience or the storeconditions that makes a customer
feel like they're welcome.
All of that is to waste.
So it really is such a like Ilike to use the word like
nucleus of teams and people tobe able to understand what our
goal is and be able to make thathappen for the customer.
So the collaboration, thecross-functional collaboration,
(20:27):
is a huge key takeaway, andapplying diverse voices, like I
mentioned earlier, it's you kindof want a bit of challenge, you
want a bit of healthy debatelike I'm not the smartest person
in the room, I don't know ineverything and this is where
it's so important to do research, to have feedback, to
understand truly is what we'redoing and saying to the customer
(20:47):
the most relevant and will itbe the most memorable at the end
of the day?
And then leveraging ourinsights and you know, seeing
what is working, what's notworking, how do we adapt?
Sharifa (20:59):
And also I have found that from working with your
organization, inclusivity is areally important word for
internal collaboration with alldepartments you know, based on
the merchandising part, theinternal, the marketing
operations.
So how would you have talkedabout inclusivity of the Empire
(21:24):
Group or your company?
Sophia (21:26):
It's a huge I don't even want to say it's a huge focus,
because it's not about it beinga focus.
It's part of our culture and Ithink where Empire and Sobeys
has done a great job is actuallybringing it and embedding
diversity, equity and inclusionwithin the mix.
It's not something that's likeoh, we're operating day to day
(21:46):
and now we need to think aboutDE&I.
It's just so rooted in the waythat we operate and we go to
business and it's just such anatural part, and I'm so proud
of the fact that it is somethingthat is so embedded within our
organization that I don't thinkhappens in a lot of.
Sharifa (22:04):
But it's so very, very organic in the way it's being
done.
It's not as if it's forced downthe pipeline, you know.
So you know your business modelobviously have worked very well
with you and with allorganization.
The commitment to inclusivityreally position your
organization as leaders inmulticultural internally because
(22:27):
you have so many diverse staffin it and all externally and
it's driving both businesssuccess and also positive social
impact because you would beknown that this is something
that is in your DNA exactly, asopposed to force down the
pipeline right, yeah so in thevarious roles that you have held
(22:51):
in your career and beenresponsible for brand
expressions for many companies.
How do you guide an overlaycultural lens, you know into a
product or company's brandexpression?
Brand expression is really howyou project your brand out there
.
What do you want your customerto look at you?
(23:13):
What kind of story you're gonnatell them about your brand, and
can you share some of yourviewpoint how you do that?
Sophia (23:20):
Absolutely, and it's such a that's.
Another key piece in marketingis you can celebrate all of the
significant holidays andmemorable and significant
moments within our customers'lives, but what's also important
is being able to your pointaround, taking that brand
expression and how do we show upin a way that is meaningful to
(23:41):
a customer but also maintainingwhat it is that we want to stand
for as a brand, and so itreally is.
Again, going back to researchand having a really deep
understanding of our customers.
You know, I emphasize very muchabout partnering with cultural
experts and agencies such asyourself, about moral marketing,
just to make sure that we'rereally set up for success,
(24:04):
Because I think what the powerlies is all in the subtleties
and the nuances.
At the end of the day, anybodycould Google you know Google
Translate Anybody could Googlewhat Lunar, New Year or Diwali
stands for, but where the impactreally lies is in the
partnerships and that rootedunderstanding and customer
(24:26):
insight to know what thesubtleties are and the nuances
that then are projected into thelanguage used, the expression
that we use, the way that we goto market, the channels that we
leverage.
Do we communicate in languageor is English okay, and when?
Generational?
So there's so many functionsthat you know from getting
(24:51):
rooted in insights and researchand in partnership, I think is
the key to be able to deliver onthose subtleties.
Sharifa (24:56):
That's very powerful takeaway because, like how you
do, the narrative and thecontext is so important.
You know and it's not just youknow this is niche marketing,
right?
Multicultural marketing.
It's no different from whenmainstream is saying I'm
targeting mothers, right, youcall that.
Have children, so you reallyhave to custom make the
(25:20):
narrative and the messaging tothem.
So I think a lot of brands haveto start thinking like that.
You know that, okay, we have 25%of the population that are of
multicultural origin, and theneven within them there are some
of the really big population.
How are we going to have aconversation with them?
(25:40):
That is not going to be justthat.
We're talking to the 75%, right?
So, because most of the time itdoesn't work, it'll just be
like phew over their head andbecause it's not relevant to
them.
And it's so easy for peoplethat are on the computer or on
the television and said I don'tthink they are talking to me,
(26:00):
right?
You know at all.
And there's two things.
First of all, they'll switchyou off.
Secondly, they feel that youwould be also disrespectful,
exactly Because you really don'tunderstand them and they're not
relevant.
So you have walked the walk andtalk the talk and you're
integrating with all yourexperience, whether you're CPG
(26:23):
brand and now with your present,and by integrating in-store
merchandising and operation andwith marketing strategy.
How do you come overcomechallenges?
There must be a lot ofchallenges out there because
this internally, you have somany banners already and they
have their own objective.
They have their own locations.
They have their own objective.
They have their own locations.
They have their own productoffering.
(26:45):
How do you overcome some ofthese challenges?
Sophia (26:49):
It's an excellent question.
I think it goes back to if youthink about how quickly our
landscape and our country ischanging.
We talk about a quarter of thepopulation currently
multicultural and you thinkabout in 10 years' time it's
going to be a third of thepopulation.
So this is our landscape ischanging so quickly and
sometimes it's changing fasterthan our systems or our
technologies can actually allow,especially in a bigger
(27:11):
organization.
I think, at the end of the day,it's important that we're all
clear on what our objective is,what our plan is, and making
sure there's alignment withinthe organization.
We talked about the top and howdoes that cascade down?
Making sure that you know theteams all over, not just in our
offices but even in our stores,are brought up to speed on the
(27:33):
why it really goes back to.
Why are we doing this?
Why is it important?
Building those authenticconnections and when you in an
organization as big as ours, itdoes require a lot of
cross-functional conversation.
We actually have prioritizedthis.
So thinking about like keepinga focused lens, we have
prioritized this and we do meetwith our merchandising,
(27:55):
operations, finance, hr,marketing, et cetera, et cetera,
et cetera.
We come together regularly tomeet to discuss what it is that
we want to achieve.
What does success look like,what is the timeline?
And we also address realities.
So maybe there's is somethingthat we can't achieve because
there's, our technology doesn'tallow, but what is a way in?
(28:17):
And we are really solutionsoriented in that way.
So, even though there's a lotof challenges that come to us,
we try to find ways to be ableto pivot and figure out what is
meaningful and relevant to thecustomer.
And what we have been doing alsois we've been prioritizing the
education to our store teams.
So you think about, like I'llgive an example.
(28:37):
So you know, during festivalsor very significant moments such
as Diwali or Vaisakhi, we tryto educate our store teams as to
the stories behind why this hascome to be, what are the foods
that are eaten and why, and itgives people a really exciting
(28:57):
sense of like they just kind oflearn something new, and
everybody loves to learnsomething new.
So you kind of learn a littlebit of a tidbit and then you
understand if a customer comesto you in your store during
Lunar New Year and they'relooking for noodles, you know,
at least somebody could say, oh,I actually understand why
noodles are so significant overthis holiday.
So it's, it's providing thateducation and, in turn, the
(29:20):
feedback we've been receivingfrom our store teams is that
they really love the ability tohave that understanding which
they didn't before.
Sharifa (29:27):
I think that's a really great strategy within the
company, because you don't wantto disconnect, because these are
the people that are frontlineand they do have to understand
why is the company implementing,implementing these measures and
also, what are the productsthat are coming through?
Yeah, and if they're facingcustomer, how are they going to
(29:49):
answer?
You know the questions they'relooking for and you know it
cannot be better when you haveyou have strategy, of course,
you have strategies, you haveplanning, you have operation
planning and very importantly isthe training of employees,
because these are all criticalcomponents to successful
business building and definitelyin the long run and I'm sure
(30:11):
you've seen it is exponentialgrowth, particularly with the
way how you operate andparticularly how you implement
multicultural marketing andparticularly how we implement
multicultural marketing.
I know that at Western Foodwhich is one of your past CPG
experience is with Ace Bakeryand Artisan Brands you play a
really key role in growing thatbusiness and can you share some
(30:34):
of the insights that this brandto various customers,
particularly the newcomers, whomight not be familiar with the
artisan brands of bread orwhatever the products that they
have?
How do you handle that?
Because there's so manynewcomers that at times they're
also eager to adopt the Canadianculture, but they don't
(30:59):
understand it also.
But they sort of like lookaround what everybody's eating,
what are some of the things thatthey should offer to their
children?
So can you share some of theexperience that you had?
Sophia (31:11):
Absolutely, I would say.
Marketing at Ace Bakery wasprobably my very first gateway
into the world of being veryprecise and targeted with your
messaging to customers.
I would say Most of the time,most of the time, experiencing
is believing.
So an opportunity here is likemarketing artisan or Canadian
(31:32):
brands to a multiculturalsegment.
There's an opportunity to diveinto the storytelling.
How does this product add valueand why is it important to the
customer?
If it is a product, definitelyencourage sampling, you know,
and talk about what the valuethat this product brings to the
(31:52):
customer.
Is it maybe a healthier versionof something that your kids
have seen on TV or is it youknow you're actually supporting
the local business or localeconomy?
You know, I reflect back and Icannot imagine that the
immigration process is an easyone, and so I feel like all the
steps that it takes in order tocome into a country like Canada.
Once you're able to call Canadahome, there is that emotional
(32:15):
connection.
So how do we like that's one ofthe thinking is how do we make
sure that we're bringing ourcustomers along for the journey
and the ability to taste that,what Canada has to offer, or the
craftsmanship that artisanproducts have to offer?
So it's always keeping thatstorytelling in the back of your
mind and being able to tellthat story to customers.
Sharifa (32:34):
And also understanding their story and understand their
journey is so important.
You know, I'm an immigrantmyself.
I have many friends that areimmigrants, been here some a few
years, some quite a few years.
But also one reason why we allcome here?
Because really to have a betterlife, particularly the ones
(32:55):
that have children.
They feel that Canada is safer.
There's no wars as far as weknow so far, and then the
environment is better.
And one of the aspiration wehave found from many of our
research is that they want theirchildren to grow up as big and
strong as Canadian children, andthey sacrifice a lot when they
(33:19):
give up their homeland, theygive up their wealth, they give
up their position, but they comehere for their children.
So it's very important thatwhat you have done is the
narrative saying to that weoffer healthy products and
that's what they're constantlylooking for.
What can make my children growup healthier and also are
(33:40):
stronger, you know?
And what food should they eat?
And also, at the same time,what are some of the foods in
Canada they should really starteating so that they will feel
that they're culturally moreCanadian.
Exactly, and I think Ace BakeryArtisan has been doing the
right thing totally.
Sophia (33:58):
And then the other thing too is my experience on the
retail side is having strongcollaborations with influencers,
with community groups thatresonate with our multicultural
audiences.
It really helps elevate andbuild that trust and awareness.
Sharifa (34:14):
It's so important that I've always tell a lot of my
clients that you know be workingwith community leaders.
Part of the that they shouldand and, of course, influencers
and we call also KOL, keyopinion leaders and a lot of
them miss it is that communityoutreach is such an integral
part of the marketing mixbecause they are so focused on
(34:39):
just talking about the productitself, talking about a company,
but a lot of them sit on anivory tower while they are
marketing.
So, but if you're not out there, you see who are the community
leaders, because they can beyour ambassadors.
If they're convinced that youare very authentic, they're
really, of course you're comingin, hopefully they would do
(35:02):
business with you, but you'retruly convinced that you're
interested in their community.
So it makes a lot of differenceand I think that a lot of
brands downplay the part ofcommunity outreach.
Sophia (35:15):
I love that you said that, because that's also
another key focus area.
It was on the fresh, go andshallow side, and what we're
trying to bring now to Sobeysand Safeway is humanizing the
brand Because, to your pointabout like you could sit at a
desk and create plans and createstrategies, but what's so
important is actually theability to interact with our
customers and connect our brandand have that face time, because
(35:39):
it goes back to the experience.
The experience could be tastinga product, but could also be
the experience you are having inthe store, but also out of the
store, and so there have been alot of community events and
community partnerships, ourfranchise network.
You know we definitelyencourage them to be out in the
community to create those, thoseone-on-one conversations with
(36:00):
with the community, which isincredibly powerful yeah, and
and it's so, so important.
Sharifa (36:04):
I couldn't you know in in my career I couldn't have
stress, know the important partof when you're actually trying
to implement multiculturalmarketing discipline.
It's so important.
So, beyond marketing, I knowthat also you're passionate and
also your company is passionateabout people development in
(36:24):
terms of coaching andprofessional growth.
Can you share with some of ourlisteners the benefits of
surrounding yourself with adiverse workforce and what is
the outcome of doing that?
Sophia (36:38):
Absolutely Honestly, people leadership, I would say,
is probably my most favoritething, my most favorite part of
my job, and it's not just aboutbuilding great, effective teams,
it's really about buildingdiverse teams, and sometimes
that requires you to take a stepback and try to understand,
like, do I have all of thepossible opinions I can have
around my team to help elevatethe brand or business even
(37:02):
greater?
You know, it could also havereputation protection at the end
of the day.
I'm not going to take creditfor this term, but I have leaned
into this whole concept aroundintent versus impact for a
number of years.
And that just goes back tosometimes and you know, nobody
wakes up in the morning and islike I want to do something,
(37:22):
have a bad day at work.
No one, no one thinks that way.
But sometimes what?
The impact that we have basedon the communication or what we
put out there in the marketdoesn't actually have the same
impact as we were intending andcan actually be detrimental.
To just validate that what itis we want to communicate will
deliver on the impact, willdeliver the impact in which we
(37:52):
are seeking to have.
So there's the reputation sideof it and then it's just
building the trust andcredibility with customers,
because the more and more youdeliver on the message and
deliver the impact in which youintend, then more and more
you're building thatfoundational trust.
Sharifa (38:09):
Creating trust is so important with your end
consumers, but also it lies withhaving a good leadership right
so that it would driveinnovation internally and drive
business growth.
But when you show outside thatyou are cultivating a positive
workplace, then it would alsocreate a great social impact.
(38:34):
People would see that you are agreat company.
So now we're almost at the end,sophia, but is there anything
else you would like to sharewith us listeners today?
You know you know for the past30 minutes you've given so much
value in especially some of ourlisteners or viewers today as to
what have been your experienceMost of the key things that you
(38:57):
have to remember when you aredoing multicultural marketing,
so maybe you can share, as aparty note, what are some of
your experience and what do youwould like to share.
Sophia (39:08):
Absolutely.
I can't believe it's overalready.
I would really like toemphasize the importance of just
continuous learning.
You know I didn't.
I jumped into this opportunityin this role five years ago and
to this day I am learning everyso much, every single day.
So I definitely encourageeveryone to continue harnessing
this continuous learning.
(39:30):
Don't assume you have all theanswers, because you don't, and
that's okay, and it's aboutstaying open and curious to
understanding the stories of whyand trying to take that into
what you could do in the futureas a marketer.
You think about just as how ourCanadian landscape is changing.
Marketing is changing a lot.
You know the way that weapproach customers, the
opportunity for personalization.
(39:51):
There's a great opportunity tolike adapt based on the needs of
all of our customers.
And it goes back to thiscontinuous, this continuous
learning.
The other piece, too, is justbasically what we were talking
about earlier, about having adiverse team and being open to
diverse perspectives anddifferent points of view.
I think our brains are sohardwired to operate so fast
(40:15):
that sometimes, an alteringpoint of view, we can get a
little bit defensive becausewe're so close to whatever we're
working on.
But it's one of those thingsthat I would encourage everyone
listening that if you findyourself in that way, catch
yourself, because that onethought and that one comment can
actually be the thing thateither elevates your brand in
(40:35):
business or even saves it in away.
So I would say, embracingdiversity and inclusivity in all
aspects drives success anddrives reputation and, honestly,
just builds a higher performingteam in general.
Sharifa (40:49):
I found that from my experience at Balmoral for 35
years.
It's just that of course, youhave to look at the market
situation what's out there, whatare potentials but also, at the
same time, I think that peopleshould take risk If it's a
calculated risk, that you haveall the data there, all the
(41:09):
insights, all the proof pointsand you could see, wow, I'm
going to capture a great marketshare.
That I think some of mycompetitors haven't done.
You know, if you do all thehomework and improve points, I
think people should jump off thefence and be able to dive in it
, because you won't regret it Ifyou've done all your homework.
(41:31):
You would be in such a betterposition in a couple of years
because you've taken thatcalculated risk.
Sophia (41:37):
I think that's huge, because it's also sometimes it's
the white space or the magic is.
It's not.
All this research is telling meI need to do something.
It's OK, this is all theinformation I know, and it is
calculated.
It's based on the research, butit's also based a little bit on
wisdom and a little bit ontaking a little risk and testing
and learning at the end of theday, because that's where the
(41:58):
magic would happen is in thisarea, and keep on going.
It's another piece I think isalso important is it's not just
a one and done, it's how do youhave a rhythm of activity?
So you are that brand that istop of mind to your audience.
Sharifa (42:11):
I totally agree, because I think there are brands
that are okay.
So they oh, we did it, we justdid a shotgun approach and, of
course, maybe the way theyexecuted was not even in the
right direction.
And then they give up.
Right, and then they would sayI don't think it would work, but
I think that I think theyshould take example.
There's so many great brandslike yourself, you know, and the
(42:32):
listeners here have learned somuch about the insights and
experience that they have toknow that there's nothing that
is easy.
Sophia (42:41):
And then what I want to build on is just have fun At the
end of the day, whether you'rein marketing or any aspect of
the business.
Yes, it's a niche world that wemarket in and work on, but
there's so much fun involved.
You can test and learn, youcould try new things, you adapt
and learn as you grow, and Ithink that is one of the biggest
takeaways for me is it has beentruly a fun, rewarding
(43:05):
experience to work on.
Sharifa (43:06):
I totally agree and I tell you the last 35 years I had
lots of fun, you know,especially as a niche market,
right, but it can be done.
And look at the brands, likeyourself, empire, sobeys, fresh
Gold, other brands of my clientsthat have put in the work, put
in the homework, put in theresearch and are are doing very,
(43:29):
very well and they're seeingthe results, how they're
capturing additional marketshare that they never dreamed of
that they would be doing buttoday.
Thank you so much, sophia, whata powerful conversation we had
and thank you for sharing somuch value to our listeners and
they have so much to learn todayfrom you.
(43:51):
Thank you so much for having meand congratulations on 35 years,
thank you, thank you, it's amilestone and we're very proud
of this, and thank you everyonefor watching today again and
I'll see you next time.
Thank you for joining us today.
If you have enjoyed thisepisode, please subscribe to our
podcast and rate and review theshow.
(44:13):
Join us next time for anotherjourney into the exciting world
of multicultural marketing.
Thank you.
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