This Commerce Life

Always be ready. Toronto based Shop Shndy  got discovered in Scarborough, and is being featured in Paris Fashion Week 2024.Shindy Gu  shows off some old fashioned work ethic and customer service skills to retain and grow her consumer base. Find Shindy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shindy-gu-92a895164/?originalSubdomain=caCheck out Shop Shndy here: https://shopshndy.com/

We meet up with the remarkable Winnie Hsu. Founder of Vision2Reality Foundation & CEO of NexGen Accounting takes a few mins  to catch us up on her amazing journey from having no skills to running an organization to help people start their dreams. Find Winnie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winniehsu-v2rf/ Check out Vision2Reality here: https://www.v2rf.org/ Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter www.thiscommercelife.com 

We catch up with the amazing Corwin Hiebert. We talk about his podcast, the work he does and how to stay focused on your consumer. Find Corwin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corwinhiebert/Check out Aisle 42 podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/aisle-42/id1709520061  

John Doherty has to put up with us city mice. Stonepost Farms’ mission is to farm ethically, to produce nutrient dense food using ethical and regenerative farming practices that are both economically viable and sustainable for future generations.  Check out Stone Post Farms here: https://stonepostfarms.ca/  

Mitch needs a hug. The founder of Rviita talks about starting in the CPG world from scratch. Connect with Mitch here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-jacobsen-p-eng-89277649/check out Rviita here: https://rviitalize.com/

Our first food scientist! Lara Tiro comes on to talk about our favorite topic...FOOD!Lara talks about how she helps brands and how she thinks about food development.  Lara's Linkedin is here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laratiro/Her website is here: https://rebelbotanica.ca/Lara and her partner DID launch their first episode. You can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ph6xKO7td6ADDeXS2Z176?si=p6IEIDdcTv-Mp8yfiAzeeg

We can still taste their cider. Val Steinmann and Brent Klassen moved from Toronto to get back farming. Kieran and Brent talk about what it takes to run a farm in southern Ontario, their amazing Heartwood Sparkle, and what it takes to be in a family based business. Check out Heartwood Farms here: https://heartwoodfarm.ca/Find Kieran Klassen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieran-klassen-879b38b8/   

Jared  talks about: being a dad, an ex-CPG founder, relationship builder, researchers & strategist. We do not talk about him being a really tall guyFind Jared here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredkligerman/  Subscribe to our emails to stay connected to more things: www.thiscommercelife.com   

They planted 36 acres of cottonwood trees and then the papermill shut down.Melanie MacInnes talks about being flexible, nimble, the irrational fear of losing the farm. Locality Brewing talks about going field to glass, and what they've had to do to stay open.Check out Locality Brewing: https://www.localitybrewing.ca/You can find Melanie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-macinnes-691a4094/

Jan Stenc, Co-Founder and Head Distiller at Copperpenny Distilling Co. teaches us about gin, and also sorts of yummy alcoholic things.  To reach Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-stenc-9651a955/To find Copper Penny: https://copperpennydistilling.com/ Thank you to our sponsor today. The Food Executives Club of Vancouver https://fecov.com/ 

Aeryon came on to talk about lady bits and chlamydia. We had some internet issues, but the CEO of Aeryon Wellness Nutraceuticals was super informative and lots of fun!Find Aeryon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aeryon-ashlie-027040105/check out the website here: https://www.aeryonwellness.com/You can find Aeryon's podcast, Friends you keep here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/friends-you-keep/id1668005542

He's fixated on data. We know how hard it is to get good data - Nimesh finds your data, fixes it, and helps you tell the story.CEO of Gainops, Nimesh Jaspal talks about what does the data tells us.  to check out Gainops: https://www.gainops.com/to find Nimesh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimesh-jaspal-462615/  

Happy 10th birthday to Moonshine Mama's! Mel Divers talks about putting summer in a bottle.I could have sworn I produced it, but I can't find it!(Phil) Check out Moonshine Mama's here: https://moonshinemamas.ca/Melinda is here on Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/melinda-divers-75a32259/Her episode on Hearts & Carts is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/bg/podcast/melinda-divers-ceo-founder-moonshine-mamas/id1653692647?i=1000632562460  

He has 18+ years of real estate development, and he knows music spaces. But now, he knows kitchens too. COO of Coho Collective Kitchens, Amrit Maharaj talks about one of our favorite subjects - food! check out Coho Commissary here: https://www.cohocollectivekitchens.com/Find Amrit here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amrit-maharaj-00334b193/  

This one is a different episode. Daniel Rabu is an aquaculturist. We didn't really know what that was. Daniel talks about his work with First Nations,  he talks about growing seaweed, abalone, oysters, sea cucumbers and many more things.  You can find Daniel here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-rabu-177b3b16/?originalSubdomain=ca 

We get naked and saucy (sortof) with Founder Paul Gill. Paul talks about his sauces, but he also gives an episode full of tips & tricks for founders - things that he's learned along the way. You can find Paul here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillpaul/Check out  Naked & Saucy here: https://nakedandsaucy.com/Make sure you subscribe here: www.thiscommercelife.com  

John Danyluk and Michael Rende  from Earth's Own come on to talk milks - oat, almond and we get a bit of masterclass in how to look at category analytics and how they look at strategy. John Danyluk - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-danyluk-7194405b/Michael Rende - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrende/Check out Earth's Own here: https://earthsown.com/

We spend some time with Hope Aylen. We learn a few things and see how a designer sees the process of designing our hopes and dreams in packaging and labels.  To find Hope https://www.linkedin.com/in/hope-aylen-designfulhope/check out her services here: https://www.designfulhope.com/ 

We brought her back to talk about her! Cheryl Grant, the founder of Vitality comes on to talk about her journey. Last time she was on, she spent a lot of time talking about Save our Supplements. We wanted to make sure we got a chance to talk to Cheryl about Cheryl. We're glad we did. We talk about work life balance, taking time for oneself, and what it takes to "unplug" To find Cheryl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylgrant25/ Shop Vitality here: https://www.vitality.ca/  

Former broadcaster Patrice Mousseau started making eczema lotion, and now she's moving into helping other businesses.  Find Patrice here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrice-mousseau-1109791a/ Shop Satya here: https://satya.ca/