Our guests live from SIAL in Montreal are competition jury President Isabelle Marquis, back for her third visit on the #pod, and Tertulia Brugge's El Gusto Gourmet Drip Coffee's Eugenia Sanchez. In the news, we look at the implications of the Bank of Canada's long-awaited interest rate cut, the labour challenges with beef processing in Canada, what that means for BBQ season, and California's strawberry boom.
Our guests live from SIAL In Montreal are competition jury President Isabelle Marquis, back for her third visit on the #pod, and Tertulia Brugge's El Gusto Gourmet Drip Coffee's Eugenia Sanchez, who won the Grand Prix Gold award. The brand will receive a $10,000 grant in products or services provided by Nielsen and a 100-square-foot bare booth for SIAL Toronto 2025.
In the news, we look at the implications of the Bank of Canada's long-awaited interest rate cut, the labour challenges with beef processing in Canada, what that means for BBQ season, and California's strawberry boom.
Michael LeBlanc 00:04
Welcome to The Food Professor podcast, presented by Caddle, season 4, episode 36. I'm Michael LeBlanc.
Sylvain Charlebois 00:11
And I'm The Food Professor, Sylvain Charlebois.
Michael LeBlanc 00:14
Our special guests this week, recorded once again live at SIAL in Montreal and our third interview of another innovation winner, this time the gold winner, Canada's Top Food Innovation show, Eugenia Sanchez, Tertulia Brugge and also with her is the great Isabelle Marquis, the president of the jury back for the third time on the show.
Sylvain Charlebois 00:36
No, absolutely and Isabelle, actually, I had the privilege to present with her at SIAL this year, being on stage with her was-, was a thrill and we actually, we didn't have any PowerPoints. He prepared PowerPoints and we just went on and ad libbed for a half an hour together. It was a lot of fun; our presenters came from the heart. It was great.
Michael LeBlanc 01:04
The heart, not the PowerPoint.
Sylvain Charlebois 01:06
Exactly. Yeah. Well, we talked about, you know, the 50th anniversary of the new food guide and, of course, she's a nutritionist. She's an expert in-, in Health Sciences and so we really had a great discussion with the crowd as well and it was a whole lot of fun.
Michael LeBlanc 01:23
She brings a great perspective to our conversation with the winner because she gives us context about what the jury thinks and how the jury operates. What made them stand out amongst many great competitors. So stay tuned.
Sylvain Charlebois 01:36
And you're talking from Spain this morning. So what are you doing in Spain?
Michael LeBlanc 01:41
That's right, you and I swapped lives, or at least we swapped travel lives. Last week, you're in Berlin. This time I'm in-, I'm in Spain, I'm live here, attending, I'm live obviously. I'm here in Barcelona or "Barthelona". Speaking of the retail conference called Shoptalk Europe, I'm doing some podcasting with my other podcast partner on Remarkable Retail, Steve Dennis, and we're being hosted, presented by a company from Sweden actually called bambuser, a video commerce platform.
Michael LeBlanc 02:10
So, we're doing some great interviews and just got off the mic with the chairman of IKEA, which was a fascinating interview, such a great person to meet. So that's what I'm doing here and then I got a couple of days, an hour on the back end, and then-, and then back home. You know, listen, it is, you know, there's a lot of things about living in Toronto, but one of them is you got a lot of direct flights to a lot of places. So, I get a direct flight here. It's easy peasy to get here and it's a beautiful city. It's just a magnificent city. So-
Sylvain Charlebois 02:34
Oh yeah, no, absolutely. I've been there once and yeah, absolutely beautiful. So hopefully, you'll be able to enjoy Barcelona a little bit and I understand that you have a nice reservation at a cocktail bar tonight.
Michael LeBlanc 02:48
That's right. So, one of the things I like to do is find a cocktail bar in each city and as it turns out from a big important list, the number one number, number one cocktail bar.
Sylvain Charlebois 02:58
Number one, not number two, number one.
Michael LeBlanc 03:00
Not number two, number one, not in Europe, but the world is located right here in Barcelona. It's called Sips, I'll explore that, now the number two cocktail bar in the world is the number one in America. That's Double Chicken Please, I've talked about that before. So now we're going to compare.
Sylvain Charlebois 03:15
You did.
Michael LeBlanc 03:16
Now we're going to compare these two. So anyway, and I was at Nobu last night.
Sylvain Charlebois 03:19
This is bucket list worthy.
Michael LeBlanc 03:20
It is, like if anybody has the opportunity, the views, there's a hotel and it's also a restaurant called Nobu. We went up there and had a drink and a bit of sushi and the views of Barcelona are spectacular. So if anybody's listening and going to Barcelona, a couple of recos there for you.
Michael LeBlanc 03:36
All right, well, let's get into the big news. So the big news is the little cut in interest rates, now, we didn't think that was gonna happen. Now, this was announced yesterday by the bank, and like I said, we weren't confident it was even going to happen. Now, clearly, we're not getting back to the low interest days of yore, the halcyon days, anytime soon. I mean, it's a very minor cut, but at least it's, you know, they've been plateaued for a bunch of you know, they had 10 Straight increases then they plateaued.
Sylvain Charlebois 04:04
Since July 2023. Yeah, right.
Michael LeBlanc 04:06
Right, we've been plateaued. So now, you know, does this have a-, both a psychological impact? I think there's some concern a little bit about its impact on foreign exchange and of course, for the groceries in the foodservice business. They pay a lot of-, a lot of their groceries or a lot of things in US dollars. So just talk about what you think the impact of this-, finally, of this rate cut is going to have on the grocery in the foodservice industry.
Sylvain Charlebois 04:32
Yeah. Well, I-, well, with yesterday's news, I basically the Bank of Canada is leading the way within the G7 again, but in reverse, so instead of being the first to raise rates, it is now the first to cut rates and so that, as you just mentioned, it may actually have an impact on our-, on our dollar, but I think it's actually good news because it brings predictability to a lot of consumers out there. Looking at renegotiating mortgages and let's face it when it comes to mortgages and debt, we're talking about way more money than the money spent on food. So, I suspect that it is a little help, but that help is going to be quite welcome for a lot of people, and it will allow people to spend a little bit more on food, I would think. Now, it's just basically the signal we got from the Bank of Canada that we've climaxed. Basically, I suspect that drops, we'll continue to see more cuts, but cuts will be much slower than what we saw with the climb a few years ago, for sure.
Michael LeBlanc 05:40
Yeah, yeah, I think they've been-, they've been-, they've been talking about that, if and when we do a cut, it's going to be slow and gradual. So, you know, its that fine, who was it that we talked, we've talked to economists before and, and they've talked about, you know, this balancing act between, you know, tap on the brakes on the economy and not driving us into a concrete wall, which we're kind of close to, you know, the mortgage rates are pretty punishing, even-, even with this drop, the mortgage rate renewals are gonna be pretty punishing, but at least psychologically.
Sylvain Charlebois 06:09
You can tell, I mean, despite-, despite the fact that I was a little bit surprised by the decision, to be honest. I think with the tone-, the tone conveyed by the governor, you can tell that their-, their approach is much more careful. Their bank is much more prudent than before for sure. Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 06:32
Yeah, for sure. Well, let's-, let's talk about, you were, you were doing some media I saw on social media, I'm gonna be checking in here from-, from Barcelona and I noticed you're, you're concerned about the cattle, the supply of meat, we got some labor issues happening, the Cargill strike in Guelph, there might be one and that's a big facility, right, that's a that's a massive processing facility and it was interesting, I saw someone kind of respond to it and say, well, we'll just import more from the US. The US is-, is not in great shape either. I mean, their cattle industry is suffering from everything from fires to droughts. So, it's not like they've got an oversupply. Maybe we'll see more of that. Mexican ungraded meat on our shelves. So are you concerned about the-, you know, we're talking about barbecue in the last episode, you're talking about it very soon for the-, for the lab. Are you concerned it's sitting right in the heart of barbecue season, talk about what you're thinking?
Sylvain Charlebois 07:26
Well, first of all, I think beef processing in Canada is a mess. We rely on three plants. Federally licensed plants.
Sylvain Charlebois 07:33
Yeah, exactly and-, and on the east-, in eastern region of the country. We've got Guelph and that's it. Out west we have two. We have GBS and Cargill as well and by the way, there's another strike vote affecting a Cargill plant in Calgary, which is supported by the larger Cargill plant in-, in High River. So I mean, beef processing’s a mess, but here's the paradox, Michael, with Chicken and, and, and pork, we've seen a lot of investment, a lot of capital investments. You saw Maple Leaf, for example, building new facilities in London and Hamilton, Brandon, the facility there is fairly new, very modern. Beef is a premium product compared to the other two elements of the meat trifecta, pork and chicken and there's barely been any capital investments in beef processing in the country, while we're seeing federally licensed abattoirs operating, you know, subpar facilities, provinces have actually shut down a lot of provisional license abattoirs, including in Ontario and so it's a bit of a mess, which is-, which is weird because in beef, there's lots of money. Cargill is not a small company; it employs 160,000 people.
Michael LeBlanc 07:33
Recipe for disaster.
Michael LeBlanc 09:04
It's not without resources. It's not without resources.
Sylvain Charlebois 09:07
And GBS is the same. I mean, they're-, they're private, privately owned companies, but they're larger operations. So, I don't know, like, I'm really concerned, we're-, we have a very vulnerable beef industry in North America, not just in Canada, but in North America, but it's a little worse in Canada because of the geography that we have.
Michael LeBlanc 09:29
Well, let's keep a close eye on it. As you say it's in the heart of barbecue season and, you know, beef is already expensive and already hard to come by. It's not the only labor dist-
Sylvain Charlebois 09:39
But make no mistakes, you're gonna have something to buy at the meat counter at the grocery store. It's just, we don't know what it's going to be and where it's going to come from, but you will. I mean, grocers will make sure you have something to buy. There's not going to be any shortages, for sure and you're probably, if you're an Ontario cattle producer, you're-, you're-, you're out of luck. I mean you're looking at transporting animals from Ontario to Alberta, so they can be harvested / slaughtered. Can you imagine?
Sylvain Charlebois 10:09
If you're an animal welfare advocate. I'd have a problem with that.
Michael LeBlanc 10:09
That's a long last trip.
Michael LeBlanc 10:13
That's not fun. That's not a fun trip for anybody. That's not a fun trip for anybody let alone.
Sylvain Charlebois 10:17
No.
Michael LeBlanc 10:18
Yeah. Anyway, all right, well, let's hope things get-, get sorted out. Let's-, let's move to the other side of the plate, I guess. Let's talk about strawberries. Strawberry season is upon us. The wonderful strawberries, one of my favorite fruits, but you're-, you're-, you're questioning if we can produce enough here, or more imports from California. What do you think about strawberries?
Sylvain Charlebois 10:40
Well, there's, there's a bit of a local dilemma emerging this year. So, you know, California has had this massive drought affecting North America's garden for a few years, but California was blessed with a lot of rain last year. So, water is no longer an issue and so California is back. Good news for consumers. Not so good news for our farmers because right now, what we're going to see and this is-, this is probably going to happen with not just strawberries, but with other commodities, like cauliflower, for example, leafy greens, California is producing more, but it's also selling more to the rest of the world, including Canada.
Sylvain Charlebois 11:28
With strawberries, we actually believe that California has exported well over $60 million worth of strawberries, a lot of it is coming to Canada. What's really problematic this year is that California imports are likely going to be competing against local strawberries right here in Canada in many parts of the country and so if you don't have a competitive strawberry sector, which is which is the case in Ontario, I would say that Ontario berries are pretty competitive, but in other parts of the country like in Quebec, or in the Atlantic, for example. Strawberries are way more expensive and so-, so farmers, my guess is that-, that consumers will be faced with this dilemma of either buying cheap, tasteless strawberries coming from abroad, or delicious, tasty strawberries coming from farmers right here in Canada, but they're probably going to be double the price. At least at beginning of the season later in the season the prices will drop, but at the beginning that dilemma is going to be pretty real.
Michael LeBlanc 12:41
All right now just before we get to a great interview, again live from SIAL, Montreal, with Eugenia Sanchez and Isabelle Marquis, let's have a few words from our presenting sponsor Caddle.
Michael LeBlanc 12:52
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Sylvain Charlebois 13:44
So, we're back at SIAL 2024 in Montreal. We have not just a guest, we have the Gold Award winner for this year.
Michael LeBlanc 13:56
Here we go.
Sylvain Charlebois 13:59
Eugenia Sanchez from Tertulia Brugge.
Eugenia Sanchez 14:03
Yeah.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:04
Did I pronounce it correctly?
Eugenia Sanchez 14:05
Exactly.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:05
From Costa Rica. Congratulations.
Eugenia Sanchez 14:08
Thank you so much.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:09
We also have joining us today; we have the great Isabelle Marquis.
Michael LeBlanc 14:16
For the third year in a row.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:17
For the third year in a row, you are our first guest that's coming back on a podcast for the third time. By the way, you're breaking a record.
Isabelle Marquis 14:25
Well, it's an honor.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:29
And so, Isabelle, of course, is the President of the jury at SIAL and you've been present for how many years now?
Isabelle Marquis 14:35
Well since 2018, every year that it's in Montreal. I-, I take the lead-,
Sylvain Charlebois 14:41
So, you've seen a lot.
Isabelle Marquis 14:42
I've seen a lot and I've actually been a jury member since 2015, '14 or so. So yeah, I've been around for a long while.
Michael LeBlanc 14:52
The jury is well led let's just put it that way, you know what you're doing, you know innovation when you see it.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:57
Exactly. So-, so tell us about this years crop of-, of companies and products, before we go to Eugenia. So how satisfied are you? Were you surprised by certain things? Give us the update?
Isabelle Marquis 15:13
Well, this year was really a great year. First, I have to mention, we had about 200 entries in the contest, which is much more than what we had in the past few weeks-, a few years, sorry, from 17 different countries. So, our first challenge was to narrow this group down to really pinpoint which products do bring something new to the Canadian market. So we selected 74 out of those 200 and then from 74, to 34, to 10, to 3.
Sylvain Charlebois 15:48
Were they aware that they were going through different cycles that they made it to the last round, the next round?
Isabelle Marquis 15:54
No, the only-
Sylvain Charlebois 15:55
You don't tell them?
Isabelle Marquis 15:56
Well, the only thing they are aware of if they made the first cut, so are they considered SIAL innovation selection? If it's the case, then they-, the only thing they know is that our Canadian jury or international jury, depending where the SIAL show happens. We'll evaluate their product. Much more in detail to, yeah-, to give them some marks and see if it's worth talking about it. So we had a great diversity of products this year, in our top 10, three products were from outside Canada, two of them are on our podium, which is also a first.
Sylvain Charlebois 16:39
Oh, it's a first.
Isabelle Marquis 16:41
Well, here in Canada, yes. Three are not from Canada.
Michael LeBlanc 16:47
Introducing Canadians to, and the Canadian market to global innovation. Fantastic. That's kind of like the agenda for the show. Take Canadians and take them global and vice versa. Right.
Isabelle Marquis 16:55
There you go.
Michael LeBlanc 16:56
Beautiful trade.
Isabelle Marquis 16:57
And a diversity of product and packaging. That was really, really cool. So, we had yes, coffee, but soups, pizza box, pepper.
Michael LeBlanc 17:08
Not just coffee. I'm looking at, you know, for the for the-, for the listeners, I'll explain it. We'll get to it but we've got just a beautiful presentation and we've got this innovative. You'll explain it, our guests, to explain it, but pour coffee through this process in a cup. I mean, it's pretty interesting stuff.
Sylvain Charlebois 17:24
For one cup, yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 17:27
And you had pizza boxes, you had all kinds of stuff I saw. It was fantastic.
Sylvain Charlebois 17:30
Yeah.
Isabelle Marquis 17:30
It was extremely diversified. So big challenge for our jury, but a big thank you once again, to all my jury members who were extremely professional and generous once again.
Michael LeBlanc 17:41
And for the listeners, how long does-, how long does this process take? It culminates at the show, but when does it start, a year? Like, it's a long process, right?
Isabelle Marquis 17:50
It's definitely a long process. I actually started the selection with the internet at the SIAL international jury in February of this year.
Michael LeBlanc 17:58
Okay.
Isabelle Marquis 17:59
Until we get to our official meeting with the Canadian jury, which happened last month in April. So it takes a few months to go through most-
Michael LeBlanc 18:08
Three months of intensive work. Fantastic. All right. Well, let's-, let's get to the winner. Let's talk about you.
Sylvain Charlebois 18:14
That's right. The winner, Eugenia.
Michael LeBlanc 18:16
Who are you and what's your background? Let's start there and then we can talk about your award-winning product.
Eugenia Sanchez 18:22
Sure, sure. Well, my name is-, my name is Eugenia Sanchez. I'm the CEO and co-founder of this amazing brand, that's why you will feel a lot of passion on each product because everything was developed since the beginning, thinking, adjusting, represent in the best way Costa Rica and not just coffee, but also cocoa powder, that's what-, that is what we are doing and the company burned like four years ago. So we are also a new company, so pretty much baby-, a baby company as I call it but since the beginning we've decided to not just tell the-, tell the world about the Costa Rican coffee as usually compass companies do, that it is like, they usually want to work in the coffee, but let's say like in the raw material, Costa Rica is very well known because of the quality of the coffee beans, and the cocoa beans and so on, but unfortunately, we are not as well-known as processors.
Eugenia Sanchez 19:31
So, what we decide to do is, okay, let's take advantage of these experience that Costa Rica already have, all these well known the ground that-, that Costa Rica has in terms of the raw materials, but let's do something different, not just by telling the world that we are good in raw materials, but also in final products. So that's how it started, and we also bet at for all the innovation, a way or to give the final consumer a different experience, thinking, okay, what's the best way to bring the natural flavors of a Costa Rican coffee to the different markets?
Michael LeBlanc 20:14
Well, and the brand I can see is El Gusto.
Eugenia Sanchez 20:17
El Gusto, yes.
Michael LeBlanc 20:19
And it covers, I see coffee and as you say, I'm looking right now for sugar free cocoa powder, and I see all kinds of different products. So, take us a little bit through the different products and, and let's start there. Yeah, and the brands. Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 20:31
It's a natural sweetener that-
Eugenia Sanchez 20:31
Okay. Yeah, sure. Well, we do-, starting for-, for the cocoa powder. We also do sugar cocoa powder, a traditional one. Classic cocoa, we do dark cocoa, but then we have our healthy items. That is sugar free cocoa, which is very healthy for the people that love, let's say, chocolate flavor, and maybe do not really care about oh, it is sweet, or it is not sweet. Yeah, but then and that is something important as well. We already submit-, we also submit sorry, the Monk Fruit cocoa. So, the Monk Fruit cocoa, it is a trendy item because of the formula that you have inside. So what we use is Monk Fruit that it is-,
Eugenia Sanchez 20:33
Exactly, it is over 300 times more sweet than sugar cane and we combine it with cocoa powder. So make it like I always say, like the perfect marriage. So, because you have two-, one healing ingredient that is well recognized in the oriental medicine as like that and the cocoa powder that is also a super fruit. So,
Sylvain Charlebois 21:41
A superfood.
Eugenia Sanchez 21:43
A superfood, yeah and coming from one of the most prestigious regions in the world, because in Costa Rica we do not produce a lot in terms of quantity, but we produce the highest quality-, highest quality.
Sylvain Charlebois 21:56
I do, sorry to interrupt. I do have one technical question to Isabelle. So, the award was given to the portfolio of products or just one product coming from El Gusto.
Isabelle Marquis 22:09
Just one product.
Sylvain Charlebois 22:10
Which one won?
Isabelle Marquis 22:12
The coffee.
Sylvain Charlebois 22:13
It's the coffee?
Michael LeBlanc 22:13
It's the drip-, drip coffee, right, is it the drip coffee that won?
Isabelle Marquis 22:17
It's the drip coffee, that's a good question, because we had a few companies like it, like over a year that do submit more than one product.
Sylvain Charlebois 22:24
So that's the one.
Isabelle Marquis 22:25
Yeah, and depending on the nature of their product, sometimes we decide to group them and evaluate them as a category or, and sometimes we decide to separate them. We will never have two products from the same company in our top 10, obviously, but in this case, we did evaluate both products independently and it's the coffee that won.
Sylvain Charlebois 22:46
And it's the coffee, but it's great that you actually have this platform now to showcase other products that you have, including the cocoa.
Eugenia Sanchez 22:53
Yeah, exactly and talking about the coffee. So, we do coffee for retail presentations or for the retail markets, online markets and also Oreca channel. So, and about the brand, yes. You were saying that the brand is really nice. Indeed we-, we try to be inspired in our own biodiversity because why-
Sylvain Charlebois 23:17
Well, that's the-, that's the that's the one thing that strikes me its the colors the design.
Michael LeBlanc 23:22
The tree frog, you get that cute tree frog on there.
Sylvain Charlebois 23:25
It's so nice. It's very, very colorful, very attractive.
Eugenia Sanchez 23:29
It's very eye-catching.
Sylvain Charlebois 23:30
Exactly. Absolutely. Yeah.
Eugenia Sanchez 23:32
Yes. Every time that we attend different exhibitions, it's something that is really like, high-
Sylvain Charlebois 23:39
People notice.
Eugenia Sanchez 23:40
Yes, and they're related with Latin country and specifically with Costa Rica, someone had been in Costa Rica before-
Sylvain Charlebois 23:48
Do you design, are you part of the design?
Eugenia Sanchez 23:50
Yes, exactly. As I said, this is my baby.
Sylvain Charlebois 23:53
So it's not just the product development, but you actually get involved in the design and the allure of the packaging.
Eugenia Sanchez 23:59
Yes, yes, yes. So, and-, one important, or maybe one curious feature about that design is that all of them are-, were made by hand. So that's why, would you see it as very original as well. So, an artist decided to do it by hand and then it was vectorized to put it onto the packaging, but that's why all of them are very original as well. So, like a painting and that’s what the people also notice when they have like the product in their hands. So.
Michael LeBlanc 24:29
So, so Isabelle, amongst a very competitive set of competitors. What is it that stood out in the jury's mind about this product and the format and the packaging that put them-, put them on top of a very, very competitive set?
Isabelle Marquis 24:43
A very competitive set, yes, indeed. Actually, it's not so much the coffee itself that won or attract-, caught our attention, but the packaging itself so the concept of drip coffee, which is something that we had never seen here in Canada and really the attention to details. So obviously, as Eugenia just said, the coffee inside is of top-, top quality and it's very good, by the way, if you want to try it
Michael LeBlanc 25:13
In and of itself not innovative in the way that you look at it.
Isabelle Marquis 25:16
Exactly. So, but, but yeah, if you want to take it, you have that little pouch that and you correct me if I'm wrong, Eugemia, but they used a very specific material that helps to infuse the coffee in just a perfect way. So that you get top quality coffee, a real on the go.
Sylvain Charlebois 25:40
While you were judging did you actually try the technology, did you try the coffee?
Isabelle Marquis 25:44
Well, we definitely opened it and yes we-
Sylvain Charlebois 25:48
Because you weren't there to show them.
Eugenia Sanchez 25:50
Exactly, exactly. You never know what they are going to use it and you'll always like be a little bit nervous.
Sylvain Charlebois 25:56
Are they going to know how to do it?
Eugenia Sanchez 25:57
Do they know, exactly, how they do it.
Sylvain Charlebois 25:59
How to optimize the flavors?
Michael LeBlanc 26:02
So what was-, what was the inspiration for this unique format, now it's a little, Isabelle, you did a good job describing it, it's kind of a single use, it sits on a cup, you pour your coffee through it, we'll put some pictures in the show notes so people can understand, but what-, what inspired this, this award winning format for coffee, did you, did you see it globally, did you say I'm gonna solve a problem that exists or how did it come up?
Sylvain Charlebois 26:27
I'm gonna kill the Keurig machine. That's what happened.
Eugenia Sanchez 26:32
Well, indeed, three years ago, I went to do an exhibition in China and I saw something similar, but for tea. So and then I started thinking because of course, it was one of my-, it was in-, in that journey, but it happened to me that every time that I have to go out that I suffer a lot with the coffee in many, many places where white, so I always say wow or you ended up with a headache or with a stomachache, or so on. So, I always say well, it would be wonderful if I have or if I can solve the problem because of course talking with people, you understand that this is not just my, my own perception.
Eugenia Sanchez 27:17
So many people really need a solution for the bad coffee that you can find in many places worldwide. So first, I saw the idea in tea but not exactly like that. So, then we started like okay, it could be really something nice because it can solve a problem that usually people have when they are traveling or just when you are at home chilling and you don't want to prepare the whole you know, the whole thing with the coffee or-
Sylvain Charlebois 27:48
What they say, they often say that the kitchen sick is the-, is the world's biggest coffee drinker because you make a pot.
Eugenia Sanchez 27:57
Exactly, exactly and then it was yes already it was a pain of the consumer that travel or that maybe do not want-, don't, do not have a lot of time to prepare the coffee to grind it and so on. So-
Michael LeBlanc 28:11
My God, what a great solution for hotels. I mean, the hotel coffee like in your hotel room, the hotel coffee is pretty, not great. This is such a great solution.
Sylvain Charlebois 28:20
Now seriously, this morning, my I-, like I get up early. Oh, nothing's open. I make coffee with this despicable coffee machine, it was disgusting.
Michael LeBlanc 28:29
I did that once and once, never again, I did it once and it was terrible, but this is an amazing.
Sylvain Charlebois 28:33
I think it gives you cancer or something, so I need something like this something pure.
Eugenia Sanchez 28:37
Now you have it then exactly, but yeah, it was pretty much from where our inspiring came from and then what-, something important, just also to point it out, is that when we decide to move with this idea, of course you have to start looking at, okay, who can make this machinery that also fits perfectly into your concept of a real solution because we don't want to have more garbage, we don't have to make more pollution. So, and then we found a company in Japan. So, this product particularly implements a Japanese technology, meaning high tech technology and it incorporates a nutrition inside meaning that this is a product of long lasting until two years means that your coffee will be fresh, like the first day for two year, almost two years.
Eugenia Sanchez 29:32
So and-, and yes, it preserves the freshness because sometimes also in the retail market, it's-, you are requested as an exporter or as you know, as a seller that you have to give a certain period of time and sometimes yes you lose not just money but also the product and if you don't have like the product, like with certain sustainability, it would be more pollution in the earth and just to end it off their compost-, the filter is 100% compostable, and also the box is a recyclable. So those are some elements that we also incorporate to make it like the perfect solution.
Isabelle Marquis 30:21
And those also elements, if I can comment on this, that-, that-, that explains why they won. You just mentioned a few minutes ago, Sylvain, that the kitchen sink is the biggest largest coffee consumer. Yes, this kind of solution is also sustainable in a sense that you have the exact, the right dosage of coffee, so you don't grind too many, too much beans to make your own coffee, you don't make too much you have one cup period and the packaging itself, we know that after you've-, you've done your coffee, the coffee itself can-, is compostable, but never the packaging.
Isabelle Marquis 31:02
So, in this case, you don't need, you don't have to separate, there is no manipulations, you take the thing, you compost it. Coffee and packaging together. So, reduction of waste in two different ways. So, we thought it was not only interesting, but also well, in sync with the-, the-, the impression or the-, what we expect from a country like Costa Rica, that is we're very well positioned in terms of being more sustainable.
Sylvain Charlebois 31:32
So, what's unique about Costa Rican coffee, since you're an expert in that field, and of course, you're competing against coffee from all over the world. What's unique about Costa Rican coffee?
Eugenia Sanchez 31:42
Well, Costa Rica is very exotic. In terms of flavor, we have eight different areas in Costa Rica, where coffee is growing and I think probably you have heard about this French word that it is terroir, it's very unique, depending on, on the area where the coffee is coming from. So we have perfect climate conditions, perfect soils, the perfect nature, shaped ground and those areas are really like the perfect areas to grow the coffee with different features, versatile and also the agricultural or management has a lot to do, the varieties of the coffee that you select also has a lot to do and we try to keep it like very authentic, we do not use in Costa Rica, a lot of variety that have been genetic-, modified genetically.
Eugenia Sanchez 32:41
So, meaning that we really give like the, like the single origin coffee. So not just the flavor. Well, we are quite exotic, not just because of the flavors and all what I just explained to you, but also because-, because Costa Rican coffee is not that common. I mean, we just produced 1.2 million sacks, which is nothing because let's say that the big-, the biggest country produced 66 million sacks. So, 1.2 against 66 gives you an idea of how exclusive and how-, and how unique can be Costa Rican coffee and talking about sustainability and agricultural management. Of course, we also bet to decrease fertilizers use also in the process in the meal process where the coffee is going. We use almost no water with this-, with the new systems that we have, and we implement high technology to not just be competitive, but also to standardize the quality of the product worldwide.
Sylvain Charlebois 33:51
Right and so how so this is day three. We're almost done here at SIAL. So how was SIAL for you with your products? Did you actually, were you able to interact with a lot of people and what was your goal at SIAL and after three days?
Michael LeBlanc 34:08
To win.
Sylvain Charlebois 34:10
Well, that makes everything else easier.
Eugenia Sanchez 34:13
Definitely. Well, this is the first time that we participated in SIAL. So, yes, this is the first time indeed I think Costa Rica as a, as a-, as a delegation, it's the first time that we are here. So because there are some other, there are some other companies from Costa Rica as well.
Sylvain Charlebois 34:33
How many other companies are there from Costa Rica?
Eugenia Sanchez 34:34
Five, yeah. So-, so for all those who are really interested to-
Sylvain Charlebois 34:40
When you go back, they're gonna await you at the airport with flags and everything.
Michael LeBlanc 34:43
You'll get a parade through the rain forest. It's gonna be fantastic. It's gonna be fantastic. So, listen, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast. If people want to learn more about your product, whether that's people who want to retail it or consumers, where do they go to find out more?
Eugenia Sanchez 35:01
Well, just right now, well, as I was saying, we are pretty much here and we decide to participate because we want to increase our, our position in different markets because as I said, we just started four years ago, but doing the things that we have been doing, we export mainly out of America. So we are in 12 countries, mainly in Europe and the Arabic countries, but-
Michael LeBlanc 35:30
Do you have a website that folks can go to?
Eugenia Sanchez 35:35
Yes, elgustofoods.com, and also in social media, you can find us in
Michael LeBlanc 35:38
elgustofoods.com.
Eugenia Sanchez 35:39
And you can find us in the social media as El Gusto Foods. So-
Michael LeBlanc 35:43
And if they want to get in touch with you, are you on like a LinkedIn platform, what's the best way to get in touch with you.
Eugenia Sanchez 35:48
On LinkedIn it's, what my-, what my name is, Eugenia Sanchez, but definitely through their social media is better to Instagram. So, or Facebook with El Gusto because, yes, you can get connected directly with us. So, and hopefully very, very soon, we will have the whole rank of products of El Gusto in Canada, because it was our main propose, or our main objective. So and then now, as we were told all these days, what a great way to enter a new market with a Gold Award, it is a big exposure, and no, so it is not like the saying that when you just put this in and, and you just make all the, let's say trying to make marketing, his is a real nice market direct marketing, and everyone already knows who we are. So that's really great and that's why we are really grateful with that organization with Isabelle, the jury. So, because this is a big opportunities for small countries like ours, that are trying to also increase the presence in different-, in different markets. So, it is a wonderful exposition and yes, and we are really-, we really appreciate that.
Sylvain Charlebois 36:59
That's great. Listen, congratulations again and thank you for coming on our podcast. Isabelle Marquis, president of the jury, thank you for coming. Eugenia Sanchez from Tertulia Brugge. Thank you again for coming to Canada and-, and come again, come back anytime with more coffee.
Eugenia Sanchez 37:18
Sure, sure. It would be and it will be very soon available for all the Canadian market as well.
Sylvain Charlebois 37:24
All right. Safe travels.
Eugenia Sanchez 37:26
Thank you.
Michael LeBlanc 37:26
So, they're investing a lot in the country and in their stores and they say their market share, or as Susan does, I guess, is about 7.5 to 8% and they really do see putting the real focus on growing that because I think what we've seen in the US, in the US it's more like 25% and it's really been-
Michael LeBlanc 37:26
So, let's-, let's turn our mind to the-, kind of-, one last thing to talk about is a great article in The Globe & Mail this week, from one of our favorite writers, Susan Krantz who does great job covering the retail sector. Talking about Walmart and their ambitions in the grocery aisle. They did an interview with their CEO, Gonzalo Gerba, who I know and has been, I've had the great opportunity of interviewing him on a stage to talk about the grocery industry. So, he-, a couple of interesting things about the article. I mean, he talks about-, you know, they're in the midst of this big Canadian renovation plan three and a half billion dollars, they just renovated the store close to me as their flagship store and doing 30 more this year.
Sylvain Charlebois 38:28
Number 1 in the US
Michael LeBlanc 38:29
Number one in the US, which is a bit more of a fragmented market but it's-, it's really been fresh for Walmart in the US has been a huge competitive advantage online versus organizations like Amazon who just can't compete and fresh is a real differentiator. So they clearly have ambitions and and you know, so when people talk about it not being competitive enough market, I think, you know, consider Walmart's going to grow, share and that turns, turns the heat up on the competitive environment. What do you think, what-, do you agree or what do you-, what do you think of their ambitions and if you do shop any Walmart groceries, do you go there to shop?
Sylvain Charlebois 39:06
Oh. of course, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I wouldn't bet against Walmart. It's just, it's a massive organization. It's very successful with its, with its logistics.
Michael LeBlanc 39:18
Great leadership, great leadership.
Sylvain Charlebois 39:20
I know many, many years ago, they did have this ambition of becoming the number one grocer in Canada. I think their progression has been much slower than they expected, because penetrating the Canadian market as a grocer is very-, is extremely difficult because you're-, you're dealing with, in my view, three, well managed grocers Metro, Empire Sobeys, and Loblaws. They understand the market very well and-, and Canada's geography is pretty complicated and so-, so Walmart progression has been very interesting.
Sylvain Charlebois 40:00
I do think they still want to become the number one grocer in Canada, but it's going to be way more difficult. I actually think that I mean Loblaws acquisition of shoppers more than a decade ago. Sobeys acquisition of Safeway, I think it was in the same year in 2013. I mean, some of these acquisitions really allowed our domestic grocers to do very well, but I wouldn't bet against Walmart, I think they will continue to do very well and they will continue to invest in Canada, because they know that there's a lot of money to be made here as-, as a discount retailer.
Michael LeBlanc 40:38
Well, there's certainly the right, that's the right-, we hear from the other grocers that they're getting more business in their discount banner, so it does feel-
Sylvain Charlebois 40:46
I think the biggest hump they're gonna get, and I do expect Walmart to adopt a two-tier approach with their private label eventually, so they just launched better goods in the US to complement their great value brand in the US. It's only in the US for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if that strategy actually is expanded to Canada, I actually think that double tear approach will absolutely become a menace for Loblaw in particular, in my view, I don't know what your thought-, thoughts are, but better goods, they-, they-, they're really, they're. It's the President's choice for Walmart and I think that's really the one element that's missing at Walmart right now.
Michael LeBlanc 41:35
Good luck to everybody, really, because Canadian wins-, Canada wins when these big grocers compete. So, there you go. All right. Well, listen, once again, live from overlooking the wonderful city of Barcelona, not to make everybody envious, but I'm Michael LeBlanc, media entrepreneur, global Traveler, these days, podcaster, consultant, and keynote speaker and you are?
Sylvain Charlebois 41:58
And I'm The Food Professor, Sylvain Charlebois.
Michael LeBlanc 42:01
Well, all right, I'm back. Back home next week, we'll be back on the mic next week. We've gotta really, we're going to chill out. There's a little hint next week, we're going to chill out with our guests next week. So, stay tuned, stay tuned for another-, another interview and safe travels to everybody and Sylvain, you're always on the move as well, so safe travels to you and we'll talk again next week.
Sylvain Charlebois 42:24
Take care.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
coffee, Canada, product, year, Costa Rica, Eugenia, grocers, Isabelle, market, Costa Rican coffee, jury, Walmart, strawberries, consumer, great, Barcelona, big, el gusto, cocoa powder, country