This episode features our guest Chamali Kodikara from the University of Manitoba discussing her role in food science and on the IFTSA Board. We explore grocery boycotts, troubling developments around the bird flu outbreak in U.S. cows, McDonald's sales decline, Shake Shack's Canadian expansion, and Quebec's liquor board culling local spirits and the tyranny of choice.
This episode features Chamali Kodikara, a notable Graduate Research Scientist from the University of Manitoba. The discussion kicks off with Chamali's significant role in the food science community, including her position on the IFTSA Board of Directors.
We discuss the philosophy and effectiveness of boycotts in the context of solid results this week from Loblaw.
The episode takes a serious turn as we discuss the potential health implications for Canada and North America. We delve into the discovery of a dangerous bird flu virus strain, H5N1, found in the lung of a symptomless U.S. dairy cow. This virus, identified in processed, pasteurized milk, exhibits unique genetic changes, hinting at a wider spread among cattle than previously anticipated, raising food safety concerns.
In the realm of economic news, we discuss the recent downturn in McDonald's global sales growth, a clear indication of shifting consumer spending habits. However, amidst this, we bring a ray of excitement as we share the news of Shake Shack's plans to open its first Canadian outlet in Toronto's bustling Yonge-Dundas Square. This promises to be a game-changer, offering a fresh and significant dining option for the area.
Lastly, the Quebec liquor board's decision to cull up to 200 local spirits from its inventory highlights the challenges facing microdistilleries in Quebec due to intense competition and stringent regulations. This move has sparked a debate about the sustainability and variety of local products in a challenging economic climate.
Links for Chamali
https://www.producer.com/news/food-researcher-adds-more-to-her-resume/
Michael LeBlanc 00:05
Welcome to The Food Professor podcast, presented by Caddle. Season 4, episode 31. I'm Michael LeBlanc,
Sylvain Charlebois 00:11
And I'm The Food Professor, Sylvain Charlebois.
Michael LeBlanc 00:14
Our guest on this episode is Chamali Kodikara. She is a graduate research scientist student with the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences of the wonderful University of Manitoba. Paper’s published already and now an IFTSA board of directors member.
Sylvain, after talking to Chamali, I get why she's a big deal in her field. She's pretty amazing, but what's the big deal about being on the board of the IFTSA and what is that?
Sylvain Charlebois 00:44
Well, so I'm the editor of the-, of the trends and Food Science and Technology journal, which is the number one food science journal in the world and let me tell you, if you want to get good authors, if you want to get good research and your journal, you have to go to the IFT conference in July. Every year in Chicago. It's a massive organization. They're very influential politically and scientifically as well. When it comes to food science, that is the place you want to be. And Chamali was actually appointed to be on that student board and I was glad that you accepted, you accepted her to be our guest this week. It is The Food Professor podcast, so once in a while we’ve got to go academic.
Michael LeBlanc 01:29
We're a little bit academic. Anyway, it's a wonderful interview. We'll get to that later. I want to tell you a quick couple of things about my Texas barbecue. So last time we spoke I was in-, I was-
Sylvain Charlebois 01:40
For the listeners, Michael right now is wearing a cap, a beautiful cap, Interstellar Barbecue.
Michael LeBlanc 01:47
So we were in Dallas and-, and then Steve, Steve Dennis and I went from Dallas to Waco to Austin to Lockhart and I'll just say, you know, the barbecue there is a whole other level and we went to the, to number ranked by Texas Monthly, which is the Bible of these things, ranked number one and two in Texas, which obviously is a big deal. The first one was Interstellar, if you ever get to go to Austin, and the second one was Goldie's and I met one of the owners and we were hanging out and-, but you’ve got to be prepared to wait. So, you could get into an average, which is still quite a spectacular barbecue place and just walk right in, like in the afternoon, but these places are an hour and a half, two hours in line.
Sylvain Charlebois 02:31
Oh my god, wow.
Michael LeBlanc 02:33
I'm not I'm not typically a waiting guy. So now my wife says, that's great. We can go to all kinds of things and you'll wait in line.
Sylvain Charlebois 02:38
Oh, yeah, like a one-hour line for barbecue. That's a long time to wait.
Michael LeBlanc 02:46
Yeah, but it was-, it was spectacular. If anybody has any inclination, or love of barbecue, go to Austin and enjoy that city and enjoy the barbecue. So that's my-, my quick feedback.
Alright, let's get into the news. So, today's a-, kind of an interesting day. We're recording this May 1st; it'll be playing May 2nd. Let's talk about grocery, let's talk about Loblaws. Let's talk about what's going on. So Loblaws put out some numbers that were actually quite good today, in terms of, you know, their profit seems to be going up, people seem to be choosing them more often. Of course, Loblaws is a very broad-based business with Shoppers Drug Mart. So, there's a lot of moving parts to that, I haven't pulled it apart yet. Now, of course, there's this thing going on between, you know, what is it boycott Loblaws? You're involved, you wrote a great op-ed, why don't you-, why don't you start by talking about your thesis behind the op-ed that you wrote around the missed opportunity of what's happening today?
Sylvain Charlebois 03:45
Well, first of all, I want to comment briefly on results this morning and-, and frankly, I think they were solid results, income is up, profits are up, dividends are up as well, but I did notice one thing, baskets are smaller. So Loblaws was able to increase prices while volume is dropping, and frankly, I think this has a lot to do with the fact that the market is retreating a little bit and they're more careful with their dollars when they spend at the grocery store essentially. So Loblaws, despite what's happening with the market, being more frugal actually did fairly well, which really, I think surprised a few people but overall good results.
Now, of course, the boycott itself is certainly an issue. This particular group has been making a lot of noise since October of 2023. I actually thought that perhaps Q1 would have been impacted financially by-, by this particular group, for Loblaws in particular, and there was no evidence of that today at all. The one thing that I am concerned about with this particular boycott and frankly, I'm all for democracy and I think everyone who wants to boycott a company is, is allowed to, should be allowed to.
Michael LeBlanc 05:03
Make choices, right? Everyone can make choices and it's funny because one of the criticisms of grocery is there isn't enough choice. That may be true in some small towns, but by and large, there's lots of choice, there's-, you can name off some grocers.
Michael LeBlanc 05:16
You know, it may be the case that some of the folks listening don't even know that there's some kind of boycott going on, because it's kind of a Reddit thing and I'm not sure I'd call it a subculture, but, you know, it's-, it comes out I think you're getting a bunch of calls from reporters now that are kind of cluing in that there's-, there's this thing going on in the-, in the universe where some people are just mad Loblaws, some people are mad at grocers and some people say, you know, there's so back talking about that-
Sylvain Charlebois 05:16
There's lots of choice as well. So boycotting is fine, as long as you have a logical rationale and I do fail to see logic and coherence in what they're trying to achieve right now, to be honest, if you understand the history of food distribution in Canada last 30 years, you will understand that Loblaws current status is a product of an American invasion led by two companies, Walmart and Costco.
The last 30 years, Metro, Sobeys, and Loblaws, all of them readjusted their market positioning by acquiring to compete against these two American mammoths and so I do wonder why they're aiming at one particular grocer, which controls 29% of the market, which is not even a third, really and so if you really want to make a message, if you really want to make this boycott worthwhile, make sure it is coherent and logical and right now, I fail to see any logic.
Sylvain Charlebois 06:46
Yea but they're mad for what.
Michael LeBlanc 06:47
For what I mean, anyway, I think-
Sylvain Charlebois 06:50
Profiteering, well show me the evidence, if you actually look at-, if you are accusing Loblaws of profiteering show us the evidence, there's just no evidence of that, again, today, today, looking at financial results. Same store, food sales are up 3.4%, which is about where food inflation was during the first quarter and so that's one thing, gross margins, again, similar to what we've seen the last five years. So those are metrics you want to basically pay attention to, in order to see whether there is gouging going on, but there's none of it.
Sylvain Charlebois 07:28
In my view. I would say this. I mean, if you really believe in boycotts, which I don't, you would probably consider boycotting all big box stores and focus on independent grocers perhaps, but still, I think the boycott itself is a missed opportunity to really engage with Canadians and explaining to them, educating them in terms of what the real problem-, what the real problems are in the food industry because there are problems, you and I, we've been talking about these problems for years now and there are issues that need to be addressed.
Michael LeBlanc 08:02
This podcast is based on it basically.
Sylvain Charlebois 08:04
Yea exactly, there are issues that need to be addressed and is Loblaw part of the problem, of course, but right now, and this is what I said to one CBC reporter, which I'm very thankful for, because she took the time to really understand what was going on and what I said to her, the boycott, is simplifying what I consider to be a much more complicated, greater problem in the industry.
Michael LeBlanc 08:30
It's a great discussion, we'll see where it goes. I mean, it's the month of May, let's see how it resonates in the broader population. We'll talk about it soon.
Sylvain Charlebois 08:36
Do you think it's gonna make much of a difference?
Michael LeBlanc 08:37
I don't think so. I mean, you know, there's no question I think, in my mind that grocers, as an industry, are having a reputational moment, a reputation-, if not a reputational crisis; a reputational moment, and I think it articulates itself from in store theft from, hey I don't care about these guys. So, I think that is-, that, to me, is an issue. I'm not sure how they can come together and start as an industry to kind of start addressing it, you know, we hire people in your community, we put people through school, they, you know, they hire millions of Canadians, right, so, you know, so we'll, we'll see-, we'll see where, where it evolves and, you know, in some ways, and you've been saying this for many, many months, food prices are coming, well, at least the inflation rate is easing and doesn't mean necessarily food prices are coming down universally, but they are in some categories. So, these things are kind of starting so-
Sylvain Charlebois 09:33
Actually, we are seeing it in our data for the month of April. So, I did-, I did get the question today, a couple of times will the boycott work-, work? And my answer was pretty simple: the success of the boycott is irrelevant, because food prices are already dropping. For some categories prices are dropping.
Michael LeBlanc 09:54
Alright, well, let's-, let's talk about more things in the news. So we mentioned this a while ago, this bird flu virus discovered in the lungs of a US dairy cow, you were, I don't think you were too upset about it, but it does seem to be rapidly spreading and scientists are now warning. This form of avian influenza is more widespread than we thought, are we moving fast enough? Is this a situation where cows are going to have to start wearing masks and staying six feet apart, what, how, so how worried should we be about these news reports about-, about the dairy industry, which inevitably, you know, will come to Canada?
Sylvain Charlebois 10:33
Right, it's like COVID, right. If you're looking, you'll find, I mean, that's basically what's going on with veterinarians and the-, in the herd in the United States. The one thing that I thought was very interesting is that not only they-, that they believe now that it's spreading faster, and it's actually out there more, some scientists actually believe it's been around for a while already, like we're talking years, five years ago. Yeah, so this-, and frankly, I wasn't surprised by that. So again, we need to remind our listeners that no one, no cows have died. No humans have died. Just positives for humans, it is still not considered a food safety issue with pasteurization, so they're-, they're-, they're containing, they're trying to contain the problem, the contagion if you will, through science, so there's so and they're testing, they're doing the right things.
Sylvain Charlebois 11:27
And of course, we learned earlier this week that Colombia actually was closing its borders, on some-, on some products that are coming from the US. I'm actually a little bit-, to be honest with you, Michael, I'm a little bit surprised that Canada hasn't really reacted to what was going on in the US, given our position around dairy in Canada. I mean, Canada doesn't stand to lose anything by saying to Canadians, you know what, we're closing the border, we're taking care of America. We're taking care of you.
Michael LeBlanc 12:00
Let's-, let's have the phrase and abundance of caution used in this-
Sylvain Charlebois 12:03
That's right. Exactly. I, like weeks ago, weeks ago, and nothing has happened because from a trade perspective, you have nothing to lose. You're not going to penalize consumers. We're not importing barely anything from the US.
Michael LeBlanc 12:18
Small percentages. Yeah. All right. Well, let's keep a close eye on that.
Let's talk about McDonald's, we've-, we've talked about McDonald's every now and then they had a rare miss. Global comparable sales growth, this is from Bloomberg, slid for the fourth straight quarter to 1.9%, with-, I think the analysts were thinking it would be a 3.5% rise. So, what do you think's going on with McDonald's? They say that consumers are becoming more discriminated against with every dollar they spend and maybe this you know, it's not just California, but the price of the Big Mac, the price of beef. What do you make of what's going on at McDonald's?
Sylvain Charlebois 12:55
It's interesting, of course, it's a rare miss. So that means and you know this, Michael, someone is going to lose his job. So-
Michael LeBlanc 13:04
I think, Sylvain, I think they call that spending more time with the family, by the way.
Sylvain Charlebois 13:08
Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, early retirement, early retirement. Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, anyways, it is a rare miss, but I honestly, I mean, it's, would you bet against McDonald's, like really?
Michael LeBlanc 13:20
No, no, but you know, even the big can fall I mean, they're a very well-run organization. They're no subway for example, but it just-, I think it is-, it highlights the changing nature of the QSR business, and the pressure is on-, on affordability even at McDonald's which is considered a-
Sylvain Charlebois 13:38
We're expecting-, we're expecting-, I'm expecting them to adapt, and they'll actually make some changes and-, and we'll move on and of course, with what's going on with the market right now. The split between service and retail is still a work in progress, but I do believe that fast food stands to do very well over the next little while.
Michael LeBlanc 14:02
Just before we get to our interview with Chamali. Shake Shack, are you a fan of Shake Shack? I had one in Dallas; it was my first Shake Shack shake. It was really, really good.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:12
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 14:12
Shake Shack is coming to Canada finally, the fast-food company-
Sylvain Charlebois 14:15
And they actually found a spot for their first stores right, right for their first store in Toronto, right?
Michael LeBlanc 14:21
That's right, Yonge-Dundas Square in what used to be, if you're familiar with that area used to be the Adidas flagship store, which moved over.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:29
But it's-, it's really happening. That's-, that's-, that's Toronto's Time Square
Michael LeBlanc 14:33
5500 square feet. 5500 square feet. I mean, it's big, so it's gonna be a flagship, a real flag-. Yeah, a real flagship, a real experience store. So, if you’re a Shake Shack fan, I'm sure this will be the first-
Sylvain Charlebois 14:45
I like that corner. I mean, it's really-, it's like the closest thing you can get to New York in Toronto.
Michael LeBlanc 14:51
Yeah, yeah, it's very vibrant and lots of fun stuff going on there. This will add more vibrancy and it's very fun. So, congratulations to the folks at Shake Shack. All right now just before we get to our great interview Chamali, let's hear from our wonderful presenting sponsor, Caddle.
Michael LeBlanc 15:08
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Sylvain Charlebois 15:57
All right, today we are joined by Chamali Kodikara, a brilliant scholar from Manitoba. Welcome to the podcast and congratulations on your election to the Board of Directors of the Institute of Food Technologists, Student Association. It's a global organization, very well recognized. So, congratulations to you. Could you tell us more about yourself and why you got interested in the food industry?
Chamali Kodikara 16:29
Thank you so much. I am Chamali Kodikara, and I'm a graduate student at the University of Manitoba, Canada and I recently completed my master's and I'm starting my PhD on Wednesday, which is exciting. Yeah, I did my master’s in food trials with Agriculture and Agri Food Canada, and I'm starting my PhD with the Canadian Grain Commission.
So, it's going to be different fields, different research and again, within the same food industry, and why I like the food industry, simply because I found it really interesting because of-, I feel it's kind of an intersection of science. It has innovation, and it also affects the human wellbeing and in addition to that, I'm from Sri Lanka, originally from Sri Lanka. So I witnessed firsthand the importance of agriculture and food production in sustaining communities, and promoting health and when I came to Canada, I realized how it is important, especially when I started my academic journey with the Food Science at University of Manitoba and when I joined IFT, I realized how it is important and it makes me really curious to learn more about the interesting food industry and yeah, that's basically it and I'm still like, curious about the food industry. I have a lot to learn.
Sylvain Charlebois 18:13
Yeah. So, what do you expect in terms of your responsibilities on that-, on that particular board? I know you've been engaged with IFT, but so what-, what are you going to be doing, basically, as a board member?
Chamali Kodikara 18:25
Regarding the IFT, IFTSA, I'm really fortunate to be a board member at the IFTSA. So, I'm going to volunteer out the service, Vice President of Competitions, and there, I had to organize and work with differentiators because in the IFTSA, we have different competitions, research competitions, Leadership Awards competitions, and many more, I think more than seven or eight competitions, which are specifically for students.
Chamali Kodikara 19:03
So, what I'm planning to do is I'm going to work with differentials and going to act as the person who is-, who-, who is supposed to like work with students, and then get more connections worldwide because the IFT, it's not only for US or Canada, but it's a global organization. So, we are planning to get more international representation for the competitions and for sure. The competitions, they are going to give a lot of awards for the students and then of course, students will get an opportunity to come and join IFT First which is going to be held in July in Chicago this year, so yeah, a lot of things are going on. Yeah, that's-, that's going to be my duty as Vice President of competitions.
Sylvain Charlebois 20:04
I guess for those who don't know about or know anything about IFT, could you tell our audience what IFT is and how influential IFT actually is in food science?
Chamali Kodikara 20:18
Oh yeah, sure. So, this Institute of Food Technology, it's a global organization and it has a huge role in advancing the food industry by fostering collaboration and innovation and knowledge exchange among food scientists, technologies, professionals worldwide. So, if I talk about IFT, last year, I went to IFT First, it was my first time to go-,
Sylvain Charlebois 20:43
That was your first time in Chicago?
Chamali Kodikara 20:45
Yeah, yeah, it was my first time in Chicago. Yeah, it's really big, you can meet a lot of professionals like industry academia and as a student, I found it really interesting to see and talk with those professionals, because it's not just restricted to one particular country. I met people from India, like Asian countries, European countries, and North American, like, all the people are there. So, you know, what's going to happen or what is happening right now in the food industry. So, I think it's a great platform, if you're really passionate about food science and the food industry.
Sylvain Charlebois 21:25
That's great. Now, as a researcher, you're involved with bioactive compounds in Canadian prairie berries, like why did you focus on-, on-, on those specific berries in particular?
Chamali Kodikara 21:41
Actually, it was really interesting to do my master's project at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and at this moment, I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Nandika Bandara and Dr. Wijekoon. She's from-, Dr. Wijekoon, and she's from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, who gave me the opportunity to like work on this project and there I worked on different berry types, more than 14 different wild berry types grown in Manitoba. So even though I didn't know those berry types before, it was my first time to, like, just try those berries. They were really tasty and then we wanted to identify the potential of these berries as functional foods simply because in the commercial-, commercial markets, we have only a few different types of berries, like blueberries or raspberries and so on, but I'm not sure whether you have seen like Saskatoon berries, Chokecherries, strawberries and so on.
Chamali Kodikara 22:45
So, we wanted to identify the potential of these underutilized berries which are grown in the prairies, especially in Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. So, we want to identify the potential simply because they are underutilized. So, I-, we found different types of phenolic compounds, that is seeds terpenes, which are bioactive compounds, which have the ability to prevent diseases like cardiovascular diseases. So, we wanted to like-, identify the potential then, because I did this research in Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine, which is kind of-, I think it kind of intersection because food industry we cannot like separate it from the other industry because food is always connected to human health right.
Chamali Kodikara 23:38
So, we wanted to identify the compounds and then we wanted to do some tests on that, and future research should be done to see how these berries can be utilized for human health because they have a lot of different bioactive compounds, which are not known. So, we found a founder so we have the future for those and utilize berries and also for the commercial market, like if they can introduce those berries. That's going to be awesome. Especially the Saskatoon berries, we found like some orchards, they are growing Saskatoon berries, but they are not commercially available. They have a really good number of bioactive compounds; they have different health benefits. I mean, the compounds that can be used to treat different diseases in humans. So that's what we did. Yeah, all together we found 124 compounds.
Michael LeBlanc 24:42
124, wow.
Chamali Kodikara 24:44
Yes.
Michael LeBlanc 24:46
It's a real treat to have you on the podcast because you're a burgeoning scientist and well accomplished and you're so passionate about these prairie berries. I mean, they can do so many things. Now, let's step back a little bit and talk about the challenges that food scientists, you’re-, you're going to be a food scientist, what challenges do food scientists have today? I mean, funding is one thing and-, and from an educational perspective, there were some good news in the recent federal budget about funding for graduate students, that's-, that's helpful, but as you think about being a food scientist, what are the challenges and then talk about how your work at the Canadian Center for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine kind of addresses those, how do you-, how do you think of that and how do you tie those together?
Chamali Kodikara 25:33
As a student, what I felt was one of the biggest challenges facing food scientists today is, I think, addressing the complex interplay between food production, nutrition and health outcomes because when we talk about food science, sometimes it's only food science, but they don't think beyond that, how it's going to like effect the other, like health, or nutrition. I think that's the most challenging part, but since I've worked in a Canadian Center for Agriculture Research in Health and Medicine, most of my other surprises, they also encourage that even the students do think about the other aspects as well. So, we shouldn't stop with food science.
Chamali Kodikara 26:24
It's not enough to like identify the compounds, but we should do the future research, I mean, you should do animal trials, human trials, and we should see how these foods can be effectively used for the other, I mean, other segments, and I think my work, yeah, my work at the CCOM, or the Canadian Center, I think, tackles this challenge, because they have all this like interdisciplinary research, they find the compounds then they do the animal trials, clinical trials, and they have like research collaborations. I think collaboration is another important trial, if you're a food scientist, then it's good to collaborate with nutritionists.
Michael LeBlanc 27:12
Elaborate and publish, I guess the way you-, you do that is joining these kinds of boards and then-, and then publishing let's-, let's talk about the opposite side of that coin. Let's talk about the biggest opportunity. So, you're looking at Canadian prairie berries, and I've been hearing about nutraceuticals and-, and nutrition and nutritional food. It's a big trend. When you talk to grocers. What do you-, in the agricultural sector, from your science perspective and your-, what do you think are the biggest opportunities for innovation?
Chamali Kodikara 27:42
I think as there are innovations, I think they are particularly related to health and nutrition and because consumers, they increasingly prioritize the wellness and sustainability and also there is a growing demand for functional food and if you go to like IFT First, then you will be able to see different-, so many different types of plant based alternatives as protein, yeah. So that's, that's really a trending topic these days and-
Chamali Kodikara 27:43
Are we-, are we rediscovering something that people long ago learned, I mean, you come from a country that has tremendous innovation and wisdom. Are we rediscovering this wisdom in your work, do you think?
Chamali Kodikara 28:28
I think so, because, I mean, in the past, like they-, they ate like cereals, grains and all those, but then I moved to meat-based products, but now again, they are going back to plant based alternatives.
Michael LeBlanc 28:44
Yeah, yeah.
Chamali Kodikara 28:45
So, I think yeah, that's interesting, I think. Yeah, and also personal-, personalized nutritional solutions.
Michael LeBlanc 28:53
Interesting.
Chamali Kodikara 28:53
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 28:55
Sylvain, should we get into a debate about ultra processed food now or should we wait to do that later?
Sylvain Charlebois 29:03
That's a good point. I mean, it is an open debate, and lots of people question the processing behind some of the food that they eat, but maybe not for today. Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 29:14
Okay, one last one last question and then I'll pass the microphone back to Sylvain. You're an accomplished student about to start your PhD tomorrow. If someone- students are listening to this, what advice or what advice do you give to-, to students who are considering a career in-, in food science and technology?
Chamali Kodikara 29:33
I think it's the curiosity for the subject, I would say and also pursue diverse learning experiences and also please actively engage with industry professionals and mentors because I know like as a graduate student, we have our own project, but and also we have a limited time but within that limited time, if we can just like go beyond our research, and if we can explore more. I think that's-, that's where we can learn more.
Chamali Kodikara 30:04
As a student, I was always curious about finding new things, like reading about stuff and IFT for sure, like helped me a lot to improve my knowledge and to talk with other people's, I think that's another best way to like improve our knowledge and if you are in the field of Food Science, just talk with other people make collaborations, just networking, and don't just, like restrict it your own research, for sure, like you have to finish and get it done, otherwise you will be the problem, but-
Michael LeBlanc 30:41
It'll be a whole other problem, you still gotta publish, still gotta collaborate, right Sylvain.
Chamali Kodikara 30:46
Because like, I'm happy and proud to say I've published like, I have, like, altogether four papers for my master’s within two years, so I accomplished that, apart from my leadership and other things. So, if you have the passion, and if you're, if you really want to do something, I think that's possible.
Sylvain Charlebois 31:08
So, Chamali, what-, what are your expectations for your PhD? So, you're starting a PhD now and so and the doctoral journey is very different than-, than at the master’s level. So, what-, what are your expectations for the next few years as a-, as a junior researcher?
Chamali Kodikara 31:26
Yeah, so I know it's going to-, because compared to my master's project, it's going to be totally different for my PhD. I'm going to work on beet alkaloids under Dr. Cheryl Dicklameir in the Canadian Grain Commission. So, the field, even if it's in the same food science field, the research is going to be different. So, I have the same curiosity, to learn and to complete my project and also, I would like to engage with others things like IFTSA, for sure, I have new responsibilities coming up. So apart from those, I am planning to finish it, at least within three and a half years, publish, get it done and engage with other things as well at the same time.
Sylvain Charlebois 32:18
That's great. Chamali, listen, very inspiring, very few Canadians have actually reached that level at the IFT, and we want to congratulate you and thank you for joining us today on The Food Professor podcast.
Chamali Kodikara 32:32
Thank you so much for the opportunity and I'm really honored and lucky to be here. Thanks for the opportunity again.
Michael LeBlanc 32:41
Where are you? You sound different. You're in Saskatchewan or are you in Newfoundland, where are you today?
Sylvain Charlebois 32:46
I was in Newfoundland. Now I'm in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Michael LeBlanc 32:50
Yes, and you're, you're a big, you're a big, big fan of that province. What-, what brings you back, what brings-
Sylvain Charlebois 32:55
I am so basically, they invited me back as keynote for the Levine Dinner. It's an annual event. So they actually invite people from-, key business folks, I'm the first academic to be a keynote for that particular dinner and-, and of course, they raise money for good cause and they'd asked me what cause I would want to support and I did mention that the Regina Food Bank would be an appropriate cause to select and so we're raising money to to support the food bank right here and actually visited the food bank yesterday.
Sylvain Charlebois 33:32
And they're actually building a new food hub. I gotta tell you, Michael, that food hub looks very much like a regular grocery store. So, you walk in, as-, as a person who needs help and you basically roam around the food bank, but it's like a grocery store and you grab what you need. The first time of course, you're assisted by a volunteer, of course, but-
Michael LeBlanc 33:56
Here's how it works, kind of thing, yeah.
Sylvain Charlebois 33:58
Here's how it works and-, but it's well done and frankly, I mean, the way they've designed the store is just like you would-, you would walk-, they're trying to normalize food insecurity in a way. So, when people, once people get-, get to a different place, a job they get they feel that they've-, they've-, they've moved on, they can actually go to a regular grocery store and the change is not that different. It's a great model, so we're raising money for that.
Michael LeBlanc 34:24
Oh, fantastic, fantastic. Well, safe travels with that. Last thing I wanted to talk about in Quebec, are you a fan of a bespoke gins and micro distillery product from Quebec? So apparently, over the last a number of years, there's almost 200 homegrown products on the stores of the Quebec Liquor Board shelves and now they've culled them down to about 70, something like that. So-, so the industry is in a bit of turmoil. Now what they are saying, some are saying, well, it's a chicken or egg thing, you didn't promote it enough, because the-, the Quebec liquor board saying it's not selling enough, but it does feel a little bit like, you know, with the withdrawal of 150, 200 lower selling items. You know, the SAQ currently stocks 600 Quebec spirits, it's just-, it just feels like a crowded market, do we really need 300 different types of gins? I'm a big gin fan. What do you-, what do you make of this, is it-, is it a rebalancing of the market? How do you-, how do you feel about this kind of culling?
Sylvain Charlebois 35:32
Well, it's the paradox of choice, eh and so basically, if you offer too much choice, then all of a sudden, you can choose the market, and then they just walk away without anything in their hands. So, you're gonna, I think that that's kind of the calculation that they've actually done, looking at what people are buying and if you confuse the hell out of consumers, you're not accomplishing anything. So, I think that-, that's, there's a lot of that going on right now.
Michael LeBlanc 35:59
You know, you and I will be together actually, pretty soon.
Sylvain Charlebois 36:02
Two weeks.
Michael LeBlanc 36:02
May, oh, my God, it's May. So, in two weeks we'll be together. I just kind of wrote up my description for my panel, Canada's retail, and brand innovation opportunity, the challenge of being remarkable. So that's what I'm going to be talking about.
Sylvain Charlebois 36:17
A theme while you're traveling with Steve,
Michael LeBlanc 36:20
Well, I got a blockbuster panel I've got-, I've got folks from industry, I've got retailers and I've got the associations on the brand side of the retail side. So run, don't walk if you're gonna SIAL and who isn't going to SIAL in Montreal, and come see me and there's a whole segment, you'll be on stage and our friend Carl Boutet is going to be there as well. He just did a post, he talked about retail technology. So, it's going to be fantastic. So run, don't walk to SIAL in Montreal on the 15th, I think mid-month.
Sylvain Charlebois 36:52
Yeah. 15th to 17th of May.
Michael LeBlanc 36:55
All right. All right. Well, let's leave it there. You've got I can hear the laughing in the background. I think they keep-, they keep-, they keep bringing you rye.
Sylvain Charlebois 37:02
You can actually hear it?
Michael LeBlanc 37:03
I just then-, I you know, people are, you know, getting jovial. It's a little later in the evening.
Sylvain Charlebois 37:08
That's right, yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 37:09
The Saskatchewan Rye is flowing.
Sylvain Charlebois 37:10
The Maple Leafs are not playing tonight, so.
Michael LeBlanc 37:12
All right let's leave it there. I'm Michael LeBlanc, media entrepreneur, consumer growth advocate, podcaster and a bunch of other things and you are?
Sylvain Charlebois 37:20
I'm The Food Professor, Sylvain Charlebois.
Michael LeBlanc 37:23
Safe travels back home to Halifax and we'll talk to you next week.
Sylvain Charlebois 37:28
Take care.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
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