This Commerce Life
A Canadian Podcast, focused on Canadian brands, determined to talk about Canadian success stories. We are two retail guys that believe that Canadians are smart, resourceful entrepreneurs that Canada needs to know about. We find great stories of entrepreneurs for inspiration, teach the principles of retail, share best practices,. We play the role of connector to help entrepreneurs to find great partners.
Episodes
From Cologne to Canada: What We Learned Walking 10 Football Fields at Anuga
Phil and Kenny take the podcast on the road to Anuga, one of the world's largest food trade shows in Cologne, Germany. Recording their raw observations while navigating German parking lots and autobahns, they share what surprised them most: Bulgaria's emerging food innovation, the surprising absence of crowds at the Chinese pavilion, and how geopolitical ten...
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Shauna Fidler, founder of Design Farm and producer of the Basin Food Summit, as she takes us deep into British Columbia's Kootenay region—a place where local food culture thrives and producers connect directly with buyers who care.
Shauna shares her journey from running a cookie shop in Calgary to pioneering gluten-free baking before it was mainstream, and eventually finding her home in the...
From Ice Cream Cart to National Brand - The Hazel's Ice Cream Story
In this episode, hosts Kenny and Phil sit down with Sam Vermeulen, co-founder of Hazel's Ice Cream, to discuss the remarkable journey from a COVID-era ice cream cart idea to a growing national frozen novelty brand.
Sam shares how what started as a father-son dream of running an ice cream shop evolved into handcrafted premium ice cream bars. Born out of necessity duri...
Scaling CPG Brands with Roadmap CPG's Michelle Prychidny and Koreann Webster
In this episode of This Commerce Life, hosts Phil and Kenny welcome the dynamic duo behind Roadmap CPG - Michelle Prychidny and Koreann Webster. Together, these industry veterans share their combined decades of experience helping emerging CPG brands navigate the treacherous waters of retail scaling.
From their early days at Vega and their rocket ship journey...
We sit down with Sanaz Bahrami, founder of Melts Infusions, who shares her remarkable journey from aspiring surgeon to herbal wellness entrepreneur. After nerve damage derailed her medical career dreams, Sanaz discovered the power of adaptogenic herbs during a challenging period in graduate school studying biomedical engineering.
What started as brewing "peace tea" in her apartment to manage anxiety and depression has evolved into a...
From Stadium Cleaner to Craft Brewer - The Latina Beer Story
Phil and Kenny sit down with Carlos Castro, the Venezuelan-Canadian founder of Latina Beer, for an inspiring conversation about entrepreneurship, immigration, and following your passion.
Carlos shares his remarkable journey from cleaning Rogers Stadium as an entry-level job to building his own craft brewery in St. Catharines, Ontario. What started as a casual conversation w...
The Kristina Farrell Episode: Fighting for Canada's Food System from the Inside
In this episode, hosts Phil and Kenny sit down with Kristina Farrell, CEO of Food & Beverage Canada, to explore the complex world of Canadian food manufacturing policy. Christina, who represents domestic food and beverage manufacturers across the country, breaks down the critical distinction between companies that actually make products in Canada versus ...
CHFA Now Toronto 2025 Preview with Aaron Skelton & Lynsey Walker
Join Phil and Kenny as they chat with Aaron Skelton (CEO) and Lynsey Walker (Chief Marketing Officer) from the Canadian Health Food Association for an exciting preview of CHFA Now Toronto 2025, happening September 19 - 21, 2025
What's New This Year:
- BDC & Be Local Thursday Night Event - Special networking event at BDC Square (37th floor of CIBC Tower) with stunning l...
From Bartending Tips to 24 Locations: The Foxy Box Story
In this episode of This Commerce Life, we sit down with Kyla, the bold founder and CEO of Foxy Box Laser & Wax Bars, who turned bar tips and brazilian waxes in her dining room into a 24-location franchise empire across Canada.
Starting 12 years ago in her dining room (yes, you read that right), Kyla used her bartending tips to fund her venture into the hair removal industry. Wh...
A celebration of success. Re-sharing Caitlyn Vanderhaeghe's episode from 2022 on the evolution of Kidstar. In light of her announcement last week of getting National distribution, we thought it'd be a good time to re-share Caitlin's journey with Kidstar.
A small Canadian company, that put in a lot of work to get here! Congrats Caitlyn and the Kidstar team!!
Check out Kidstar here: https://kidstarnutrients.com/
Mid-Summer Update - Road Trips, Trade Shows, and What's Next
Phil and Kenny reconnect for a candid mid-summer update on what's been keeping them busy and what's coming up for This Commerce Life. After spending five hours together booking travel (and learning they should have let Keelin handle it), the duo shares their exciting plans for the fall.
In This Episode:
- Anuga 2025: The hosts are headed to Germany's massive food trade sho...
Amy Rempel - From Third-Generation Grocery to Pioneering Kids' Skincare
In this episode, we sit down with Amy Rempel, owner of Elevation Brands and founder of Fresh Faces Skincare, Canada's first skincare line specifically designed for kids. Amy brings a unique perspective to the natural products industry as a third-generation grocery professional whose great-grandfather helped bring Metro stores to Ontario.
What You'll Learn:
- How...
Trading Cards to Facebook Fame: How One Collector Built a Digital Empire
Join Phil and Kenny as they dive deep into the fascinating world of modern card collecting with special guest Anthony from Red Light Sports. What started as a COVID hobby digging through childhood collections has evolved into a thriving Facebook Live business that's redefining how collectors buy and sell.
Anthony takes us behind the scenes of his innovative appr...
Burgoo Restaurant's Justin Joyce on 24 Years of Comfort Food & Vancouver's Evolving Food Scene
We had an amazing conversation with Justin, owner of the four Burgoo restaurant locations in Vancouver, who joined us despite dealing with a power outage and a sick dog. What started as a discussion about his restaurants quickly evolved into a deep dive about the challenges facing independent operators in today's market.
The Burgoo Stor...
Food Fraud and Authenticity Testing with Deleo De Leonardis, CEO of Purity IQ
In this eye-opening conversation, Kenny and Phil sit down with Deleo De Leonardis, CEO and co-founder of Purity IQ, to discuss a critical issue that affects every consumer: food fraud and adulteration.
Deleo shares her unexpected journey from 20 years in retail (including VP of Private Label at Sobeys) to becoming an entrepreneur in the science-based world ...
Automating Food Safety with Normex
In this episode, we sit down with Tanguy Etoga, founder and CEO of Normex, to dive into the often overlooked but critically important world of food safety management.
Tanguy shares his fascinating journey from a childhood in Cameroon—where a conversation with his father about preserving mangoes year-round sparked his passion—to becoming a food safety consultant and tech entrepreneur revolutionizing ...
Hot Sauce Without the Heat - Viggy from Toca Foods
What happens when an aerospace engineer meets a sommelier and decides to revolutionize the condiment aisle? In this episode, we sit down with Viggy, co-founder of Tocha Foods, who's created something that sounds impossible: "hot sauce without the heat."
From his journey as a would-be rocket scientist to discovering a gap in the sauce market that left millions of people with nothing b...
Ashlyn Newlove, Founder of SmartSip
Ashlyn Newlove, Founder of SmartSip. We had an absolute blast talking with Ashlyn Newlove, the competitive and charismatic founder behind SmartSip - a calorie-friendly, fiber-rich powdered coconut oil creamer that's taking the health and wellness world by storm.
Ashlyn proves that with the right product, solid margins, authentic social media presence, and enough competitive fire to power ...
Getting Graded: Inside the Wild World of Card Authentication with TGA's Tyler
Ever wondered how a piece of cardboard can be worth millions of dollars? This week, we dive deep into the fascinating (and slightly insane) world of sports card grading with Tyler, founder of TGA(True Grade Authentication), a new Canadian authentication company that's shaking up an industry dominated by American giants.
What You'll Learn:
- Why ge...
Kyle Schumacher, founder and owner of Caliente Hot Sauce Company, joins the podcast to discuss his entrepreneurial journey from trades worker to successful hot sauce manufacturer. Based in British Columbia, Kyle has built a unique fresh hot sauce business that operates exclusively in refrigerated retail sections.
find Kyle here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-schumacher-1a345190/
Check out Caliente here: https://calientehotsauceco...
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