Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
April 22, 2024, VANCOUVER, B.C.— Today was Day 1 of Grocery & Specialty Food West 2024 (GSF 2024) and record registration has been set — Highest ever!
Day 1 began with the MORNING CONFERENCE at the Vancouver Convention Centre, East Building. Tom Shurrie delivered welcome remarks that set the stage for a panel discussion at 9:15AM by Amanda Lai, McMillanDoolittle; along with U.S. independent grocers Nancy Lebold, New Seasons Market and Lauren Redman, Rudy’s Markets to discuss the future of food innovation — an in-depth discussion about practical approaches to how they differentiated themselves from larger players in the grocery space to drive sales and build customer loyalty.
At 10:00AM attendees were treated to a live taping of the Chatter that Matters podcast, hosted by Tony Chapman with guest Jay DeMerit, former Captain of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Jay recounted his story of chasing his dreams, beating the odds and how he developed a culture of winning,
The LIVE trade show floor officially opened its doors at 11:00AM and attendees were eager to check out the wide range of products and booths in Halls A, B and C.
The Best Booths awards were announced and the winners were:
Single Booth:
Greenhouse Juice
Booth #: 511
Double Booth:
Lucifer’s House of Heat
Booth #: 1600
Marketed Booth:
Sonray Sales Ltd.
Booth #: 620
Multi Booth:
McCain Foods
Booth #: 1121
Then came the highly anticipated “TOP TEN IN GROCERY AWARDS”! In the afternoon, Editors from leading trade publications along with a retail committee voted on their top picks for the “Top 10 in Grocery Awards” chosen amongst the New Product Showcase entries.
The winners of the Top TEN in Grocery are (in no particular order):
SINFIT Protein Chips
Pizza flavour
Booth #: 1615
Best Health and Wellness Product
Company: SINFIT
Distributor: True North Nutrition
Manufacturer: SINFIT
Zanzibar Spice Barbecue Marinade
Booth #: 304B
Best Sauce Product
Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Aki’s Fine Foods Ltd.
Cavendish Farms Quick Crisp
Onion Rings
Booth #: 720
Best Convenience Product
Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Cavendish Farms
Saputo Halloumi Style Cheese Fries
Original flavour
Booth #: 609
Best Snack Product
Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Saputo Dairy Products Canada GP
Mediterania Soft Creamy Feta
Soft Creamy Feta
Booth #: 1205
Best Dairy Product
Company/Manufacturer: Chaeban Artisan
Smoked Soy-Free Tofu
Firm
Booth #: 1501B
Best Vegan Product
Company/Manufacturer: Big Mountain Foods
Cake Jar
Eggless Red Velvet
Booth #: 1730
Best Dessert Product
Company: Just Cakes Bakeshop
Breaded Oysters
Smoked
Booth #: 302
Best Seafood Product
Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Sawmill Bay
Häagen-Dazs exträas Key Lime Pie
Key Lime Pie
Booth #: 615
Best Frozen Product
Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Nestlé
Localcoin ATM
Bitcoin ATM
Booth #: 1201
Best Non-Food Product
Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Localcoin ATM
The day concluded with a “mix and mingle” followed by a Gala Dinner co-hosted by Laura Collaton and Tony Chapman with entertainment by comedic magician, Wes Baker. The Canadian Foundation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) celebrated the following Life Members at the Gala Dinner: Larry Chmielewski, Dan Bregg, Ian Dickson and Scott Mitchell.
–30 –
Contact:
Nancy Kwon Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, T: 416.219.0952, nkwon@cfig.ca
For graphics or images and links:
Package shots of the Top Ten winners’ products: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AVlsjT7F5Bm-phoqIhGK-tc_TdnbdZSE?usp=sharing
Sophia Chan, Art Director
The Justin Poy Agency, E schan@justinpoy.com
Vanessa Huang, Account Manager
The Justin Poy Agency, E vhuang@justinpoy.com
