DCI Digital Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 1 |
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We would like to thank all of our frontline heroes as we go into 2021. |
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From the East coast to the West coast, our CIGBA Board of Directors: |
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Top Photo: CIGBA Board of Directors 2020-2020 (Absent: Rocco Commisso)
Individual Portraits From Left To Right:
Top Row: Chairman David La Mantia (J&B La Mantia Ltd.), Vice-Chairman Robert Galati (Galati Market Fresh Inc.), Treasurer Nigel Oliver (Vince's Market)
Middle Row: Past-Chair Dave Powell (Atlantic Grocery Distributors Ltd.), Director Rocco Commisso (Commisso's Fresh Foods), Director Gordon Dean (Mike Dean's Super Food Stores)
Bottom Row: Director Tony Cataldi (Cataldi Fresh Market Inc.), Director Rick Rabba (The J. Rabba Company), Director Craig Cavin (Island Independent Buying Group Ltd.)
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The CIGBA/DCI Board of Directors would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and lots of success for 2021. |
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MESSAGE FROM BARRY LANTEIGNE, DCI PRESIDENT |
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Happy New Year!
The Board of Directors and I would like to thank our CIGBA/DCI members, supplier partners, and industry partners for your ongoing and continued support. 2020 was definitely an interesting and challenging year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which I'm sure will continue well into 2021. I must say it has been truly amazing to see our members interacting with one another, sharing ideas, and supporting each other through this unprecedented time! I would like to say thank you to all of our members and partners working the front-lines who have continued to be resilient throughout this pandemic. We appreciate all that you do!
In 2020, we completed the restructuring of the organization by creating CIGBA (Canadian Independent Grocery Buyers Alliance). CIGBA has been set up as a Not-For-Profit Organization and is now the single shareholder of DCI. CIGBA/DCI will continue to provide its members the same benefits as it has in the past. We also focused on creating our 'Partner of the Month' Program which started in September and has yielded great results. As well, we hosted our first online 'Virtual DBX' event in October which connected our industry while most of us were still working from home.
DCI also had six new members onboarded in 2020, Pusateri’ s, IC Foodworld, Drayton Food Market, Schell’s Market, The Geddes Street Market, and The Garden Market, and in 2021, we onboarded Chen's Enterprises Corp. Communication tools and quality of content to our members was significantly enhanced throughout the past 2 years, improving the engagement and participation from both members and participating supplier partners. DCI will continue to build on financial returns for our members through the development of increased supplier partner program advantages and increased variety of supplier partners available to support our members’ respective businesses.
The Annual Business Summit for 2021 has been tentatively scheduled for June 15, 2021, however, as you are aware with the current COVID-19 restrictions in place, we are looking at shifting to an online virtual event! More details to follow in the upcoming weeks.
The Annual Charity Golf Classic is tentatively set to be held at Crosswinds Golf and Country Club in Burlington, on Wednesday, September 22, 2021. Please mark this in your calendar as we prepare for a tournament that adheres to strict COVID-19 protocol, and we look forward to hopefully hosting the tournament later this year!
On a final note, DCI is celebrating 40 years in business this year! Looking back and reflecting on our history, we have a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward too!
As always, I am here to support our members and supplier partners so please reach out to me as required and I will be more than happy to help you in any way possible! I can be reached at 905-681-3933 or barry@distributioncanada.ca.
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DCI was established way back in 1981 as a buying group for independent grocers. Since then, our organization has seen many changes in technology, trends, supply and demand, and consumer behaviours!
In 2021, we celebrate 40 years in the industry, being #YourPartnerInSelling, and growing our membership to include independent grocers, small grocery chains, wholesalers/distributors, and C-store chains from British Columbia to Newfoundland. With 72 retailers and 149 supplier partners and growing, we would like to thank you for helping us, help you. Here's to our retailers, partners, industry and media colleagues - a virtual 'cheers' to all.
In honour of the anniversary, DCI would like to unveil its official 40th anniversary commemorative logo:
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NEW MEMBERSHIPS AND SUPPLIER PARTNERS |
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We would like to welcome The Garden Market (Smiths Falls, Ontario), Schell's Market (Bath, Ontario), The Geddes Street Market (Elora, Ontario) & Chens Enterprises Corp. (Mississauga, ON) to our growing Membership. If you are a Supplier Partner, and require an updated membership list, please contact the CIGBA/DCI office.
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DCI has been continuing to on-board and create fresh opportunities with new Supplier Partners to better serve our retailer membership!
The new Supplier Partners are:
Enviroclear hand sanitizer
Live indoor tropical plants
Hand Sanitizers, Dispenser Stand and Wall Mount with Drip Tray, Slick Lighters, Vaping Products, Tobacco & Cannabis Accessories, Energy Shots, Coffee and more!
Gluten Free, Kosher – Gourmet Pepper Jellies and Drizzlers, No Salt Seasoning and Crazy Mooskies No Sugar BBQ Sauces
Gourmet confections, Jelly Belly jelly beans and gummies
Profit Improvement Programs, Purchasing Support including Online Bidding, Cash Flow Management, Process Optimization, Business Planning.
3:1 Instant Coffee, Cappuccino, Ready to Drink Coffee
Digital Marketing, (social media, email, website, etc) strategy, posting, and engagement.
Natural Health and Lifestyle products which are socially conscious, use natural ingredients and are environmentally friendly.
Grocery Focused-User Friendly, Cloud Based LMS (Learning Management System), with Expert Support.
Staffing and logistics services
Stay tuned for more Supplier Partner agreements currently in negotiations! All information will be posted onto the DCI Intranet Portal.
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DBX VIRTUAL NETWORKING WEEK RECAP |
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Over 50 companies business networked with over 200 meetings!
Over the past 4 years, the DCI office has developed a program called "DBX (DCI Business eXchange)" that facilitates a series of fast and focused speed networking meetings among Canadian retailers and supplier partners. Previously, they were held during the Business Summit and in person, however due to COVID-19, the format had been extended to accommodate meetings over a period of a week (October 19th-23rd, 2020), and was conducted virtually with our DBX partner, Advanced Business Match. The week allowed for discussion on new products and promotions, individual business reviews, overview of DCI programs, and next steps to strengthen business relationships.
New for the 2020 virtual format was a leaderboard with the most engaged profile winning points for business matching. We would like to congratulate Carlie Morrison, Director of Business Development for Econolease Financial Services for winning the top spot on the leaderboard and walking away with a cool $250.00 CAD cash prize.
For more information, and to reserve your company's spot for the 2021 DBX, please email the DCI office.
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RETAILERS, STAY CONNECTED WITH DCI! |
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We encourage all of our retailers to have a dedicated person to receive all CIGBA/DCI related content especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. We ask that you take this time to review:
- that our emails are going to the correct person at your company
- that our emails aren't getting sorted into your Junk/Spam folder. If that is the case, be sure to whitelist our domain (@distributioncanada.ca) to ensure you are receiving all of our information
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that someone from your company is registered to order products on OrderEase (the DCI Power Buy ordering software)
- that someone from your company is registered and has access and login to the Member's Portal
- that you send in your reports when asked to allocate proper rebates with certain vendors
- that you check your mailboxes every month on the 1st for the Partner of the Month deals and promotions. Make this routine and know that you only have until the 15th to order products with aggressive deals.
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Breaking news, industry announcements, new agreements, Partners of the Month, and other opportunity buys are always sent out through email. This allows us to target our communication by location, type of store, and relevancy as well as give us detailed reporting on who is opening the announcements, which links they have clicked on and where to allocate our efforts for outreach if members haven't opened up these communications.
By ignoring emails or allowing them to go to your spam/junk folders, you could be missing incredible buying opportunities, programs, or helpful industry tips to better the success of your company.
Please email Matthew Brown to see which members of your company currently receive our communications (we segment by multiple lists, so be sure touch base with Matthew if you aren't aware as to who is receiving which communications).
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Only have a couple of minutes? Check out the DCI Social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Major public announcements are always posted on our social media and you can often find other industry bits of information shared on our pages.
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By logging into the portal, you will get access to your company's rebate reports. As well, any important announcements regarding changes in agreements will also be posted internally on the portal.
What else does the portal provide?
- new supplier partner agreements
- new programs and promotions
- revised supplier partner agreements and rebate scales
- your member reports
- the DCI by-laws
- the CIGBA by-laws
- summary of volume rebates
- AGM information
Once you've checked the portal for information and still don't see what you are looking for, please email or call the DCI office with your inquiry.
Please note: the DCI Member Portal is for Retailers only.
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Tentative Date:
June 15, 2021
If in-person is permitted:
If virtual:
Details coming soon!
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In light of the recent developments surrounding COVID-19, the CIGBA/DCI board, the Events Committee and Management will be monitoring any and all upcoming social distancing regulations. We are working on the most optimal logistics to ensure that we can adapt to a new format for the Summit, if necessary, and to integrate a virtual element for 2021. |
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THE CIGBA/DCI STAR AWARDS NOMINATIONS WILL BE OPEN TO THE INDUSTRY IN THE COMING WEEKS.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the email! All nominations that were received during the 2020 year will be added to the nominations for 2021.
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CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC 2021 |
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Date: September 22, 2021
Location
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Independents and Supplier Partners are encouraged to come out and network, engage in new business leads, enjoy on-course and take-home product samples, and compete in several hole contests sponsored by various Supplier Partners and grocery industry media companies. |
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*NEW* PARTNERS OF THE MONTH PROGRAM WITH DCI |
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Let DCI help you with any seasonal programs, new item or product launches, and quick sells. Introducing our new "Partners of the Month" program, highlighting up to 10 different Supplier Partners each month, will provide DCI members with monthly deals and incentives. This program is great for an increase in exposure (as a Partner) and to capitalize on great product deals (as a Member).
Email matthew@distributioncanada.ca to get started and become our next DCI "Partner of the Month" and start promoting your company and or Power Buy deals to our Members! Learn more about the program here.
Power Buys: Have a staple product that you know members would love to purchase in volumes or want to get your product in the doors of members? Consider running a Power Buy or a similar opportunity buy.
What are Power Buys?
Power Buys are Exclusive dci Deals negotiated with our Supplier Partners to provide Members with significantly reduced costs on key products. Power Buys include aggressive pricing and/or rebates on specific products to incentivize volume of purchases through our Members.
Power Buys allow for members to stock up before important peak season periods, as well as giving members a chance to feature promotions in their flyers and build better brand loyalty.
*New*: Power Buys have been migrated onto an online platform using Order Ease. Now review pricing, product details, images, and request shipping dates all at once! Look out in your emails for upcoming Power Buys using the new online platform!
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Did you know the CIGBA/DCI office put together COVID-19 resources just for our members? Log into the membership portal to get access to:
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COVID-19 related infromation, including government resources, HR practices, insurance and grants
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Sanitation Supplies and PPE: sanitation stations, face shields, disposable masks, N95 masks, washable masks, disposable vinyl gloves, thermoplastic elastomer hand gloves, sanitizer sprays and gels, forehead thermometers, no touch solutions, PPE safety prep stations, social distancing floor markers, name tags, standing signs, social distancing mats, rolls & labels
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Services: in-store announcements for COVID-19 and store practices, pandemic coverage information, Mighty Oaks DCI online grocery delivery software, sanitation services for deep store cleaning pre-and-post outbreak, short term labour solutions for absent/sick employees
If you need assistance on specific PPE or sanitation services, please contact the DCI office and we can help connect you to whomever can assist the fastest.
Supplier Partners with warehouses and larger teams: in some cases DCI is given warehouse and distribution pricing. Please inquire with us to see if we can offer deals for your company as well.
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2021 FAST START PROGRAM!
SELLING INCENTIVE & DISPLAY PROMO WITH
MAPLE LEAF FOODS AND WESTON FOODS!
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From January 4 - February 27, 2021, CIGBA/DCI in partnership with Maple Leaf Foods and Weston Foods has announced the "2021 Fast Start" program to encourage selling incentives and display promos!
The draw for prizes will be held during the week of March 8th, 2021. Keep an eye out in your mailboxes and our social media for updates!
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SUPPLIER PARTNER? If you are interested in running a promo or contest with DCI and the independent retailers, please email matthew@distributioncanada.ca
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FROM OUR SUPPLIER PARTNERS |
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Stop the Stigma: How to Reduce Stigma Associated with COVID-19 |
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The COVID-19 pandemic has created widespread fear, stress, and anxiety among the population, which has resulted in high levels of stigma. Stigma is a negative association between a person or a group of people who have certain characteristics associated with a perceived risk, in this case COVID-19. As an example, you may have an employee who follows all public health recommendations and feels negative emotions towards those who don’t (or vice versa). So how do you stop the stigma from infecting your workplace?
Stigma is fuelled by misinformation and fear, both of which have been prevalent during this pandemic. Various groups have been the target of this stigma, including people who test positive for COVID-19; have health conditions with symptoms similar to COVID-19; have come in contact with someone who has or had COVID-19; have recently travelled; come from or live in areas where outbreaks have occurred; work in industries with a high risk of exposure; or do not follow recommended public health measures.
The World Health Organization reminds us that changing negative language can make a difference in how people perceive others in their video, “A guide to preventing and addressing social stigma associated with COVID-19.” But there is still more work to do! There are a few steps you can take to help reinforce tolerance, understanding, and a more positive culture overall. Download our FREE guide, Putting a STOP to COVID-19 Stigma, which discusses the impacts of stigma and changes you can make to help make a difference in your workplace.
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GET INVOLVED WITH FREEBRUARY! |
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Freebruary is a special time of year. With holidays over, and a renewed sense of value-seeking and budget consciousness, Freebruary aims to deliver great offers to Canadians to try new products and services, as well as experience renewed loyalty in the businesses and brands they love.
A volunteer-organized platform, with the support of private and public entities, this 28-day consumer promotion is being fueled by the businesses participating. Many businesses, hit hard by the pandemic, haven’t been able to completely pivot their business model, and so supporting retailers of all sizes, and the Canadian brands that sell in these retailers and directly, is critical to rejuvenating our economy.
The base premise of this promotion is the aggregating of offers of all kinds in one place to further promote discovery and trial.
It’s about:
- Trying new products, services, businesses, brands, and restaurants.
- Buying Local when they can, and supporting the economy in their local community
- Managing through the pandemic restrictions by supporting retailers that are trying new methods of service they don’t normally do.
- Giving brands and businesses a way to reach people for awareness and trial, since consumer shows, trade shows, big events and festivals, and other methods of reaching new customers have gone away due to health and safety. Even in-store sampling for food businesses is drastically different, and doesn’t always make sense.
- Doing more than shipping a free sample to someone, although that’s a great solution for those that can do it.
- More than a “10% OFF at Checkout” although that may be all some brands can afford.
It’s not about:
- Just giving things away. Free stuff is awesome, but Freebruary is a platform for discovery too. It’s for consumers to take a look at businesses and brands that interest them, and then support them how they can. The freebie is more of the incentive to try, and even to discover brands, businesses, or services providers in your area.
- Being anti-big box or anti-Amazon. Many businesses sell their products through national grocers, big box retailers, and the Amazon marketplace—However, on the Freebruary platform, brands and businesses can explain how to get their deals directly, that put more margin in their business, or reduce costs.
- Another example is food delivery platforms vs picking up, so that more money goes into the restaurant instead of the delivery app.
How did it start?
Freebruary (as a word) has been used in marketing for years. We found examples online from 2013 and before. It was even trademarked in the Plumbing and HVAC installation category by a US company. (So we unfortunately can’t have any plumbing or HVAC companies involved without potentially confusing customers, per trademark law).
In 2020, some Canadian CPG founders, as well as some others in media, marketing, design, packaged goods, government, and other areas got together as volunteers to launch the platform. It’s very simple, made to be easy to search or discover, but also in depth enough for brands to get backlinks to their own sites, provide content about the business (to promote discovery) beyond just the products or the deal itself.
Canadians want to know where their food comes from, where their goods are made, and that their service providers are locals. This is part of that movement towards insourcing, #buyinglocal #supportingCanadian and other initiatives.
2021 is the first year of this platform and we anticipate some bugs to work out, but also some excitement for new opportunities to reach customers.
How does it work?
Brands and businesses that submit their deals and offers to the site appear on a page. It’s essentially a blog post, tagged with keywords, and categorized as much as possible. This post is how Freebruary users will discover the offer, the products or services, and the company behind them.
No money changes hands on Freebruary.ca. It’s about links to landing pages, codes to use in shopping carts, or timing to be aware of (like a restaurant sharing that for the month of Freebruary, they are giving away a free drink with every takeout purchase when you use the code word FREEDRINK or a granola bar brand saying FREEBRUARY is the checkout code to get a bonus sample of a new granola bar added to your order). Obviously, this only works for certain kinds of businesses, so we’re trying to be flexible. Some stores may say “On this specific day, at this specific time, we’re giving the first 100 people a free gift with purchase, valued at $25!”.
Creativity and budget are the limiting factors.
The bottom line is that we want brands to drive customers to Freebruary for Discovery--- then for consumers to explore brands they’re interested in and sign up for those brands email lists or make purchases or visit stores (depending on restrictions in place) or make a take out order.
There are no commissions or kickbacks. There’re no hidden fees. It is crazy, right? Just a bunch of offers, for the month of February, and businesses trying to get customers, with customers trying to get value.
Does it cost money (for the businesses and brands)?
No. This is a not-for-profit project at this time. No sponsorship dollars are changing hands. Only in-kind support by partners in the space like #OntarioMade, Caddle, Sampler, Reebee, CIGBA/DCI, and local government and BIA groups supporting their small business community.
Volunteers have contributed the necessary funds to build websites, buy domain names, and other administrative requirements.
How do Brands Participate?
Businesses, Brands, Restaurants, Service Providers all participate in the same way:
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Submit a deal with a profile of your business on http://freebruary.ca
- Share the Freebruary™ platform the best way you can (Email newsletter, Instagram post, etc)
How do sponsors or supporters support the initiative? (Those without something to sell)
Put Freebruary™ in your newsletter. Frame it as value for consumers and an opportunity for brands and businesses.
Local government or BIA or other support service? Share it on your website, put a link, use our logo, talk about it on your local radio station. Take this and own it in your part of the province. Let us know how we can amplify your small business and local community efforts.
Share things you see on Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Follow us on Linkedin, & Instagram
Do you have an APP? Is there space for a banner or special announcement? We’d love for you to mention us. If you need specific artwork or assets, please ask.
We can put profiles up for supporters as well, which will have backlinks to your site, links to download your app, or whatever else you think would be valuable. This is about supporting each other with things that don’t have hard costs.
MEDIA
Happy to provide access for interviews, answer a Q&A or provide assets
Please share your deadlines in your initial request if possible
Consumer-centric Stories should be timed for February Weeks 1-2
B2B, Small Business, Industry info should be ASAP to attract additional businesses to participate.
How can we get more information?
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SUPPLIER PARTNER SPOTLIGHT:
A LITTLE SAUCY, A LITTLE SPICY
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See below for some opportunities for you to consider for your businesses.
Retailers, you can view their CTAs & volume incentives by clicking on their logos and signing into the Members Portal!
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Hot Mamas Foods Inc.
Products: Gluten Free, Kosher – Gourmet Pepper Jellies and Drizzlers, No Salt Seasoning and Crazy Mooskies No Sugar BBQ Sauces
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La Dee Da Gourmet Sauces
Products: Twelve Veggie Tomato Sauce, Savoury Mushroom Basil Sauce, Butternut Squash Beet Sauce,
Cauliflower Alfredo.
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Marc's Heart and Fire Inc. (Cluck & Squeal)
Products: Specialty top quality seasonings and BBQ rubs
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McCormick Canada Inc.
Products: Retail Spice / Extract / Dry Sauce Mixes, Food Service Products, and Hy's Seasonings and Sauces.
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Sayers Foods - #IndependentStrong |
On December 5th, 2020, Sayers Foods suffered a devastating fire that engulfed their entire store. Housing not only their holiday supply of products, but also their family's Christmas gifts and their local food bank's turkeys and other supplies, it was truly devastating to hear about such tragic news affecting one of our independent's stores.
The CIGBA/DCI office along with other independent grocers, supplier partners, and anonymous individuals came together to raise over $48,000 in support of Sayers Foods and their staff!
Together, we proved that we are #IndependentStrong! We would like to thank Canadian Grocer Magazine, Grocery Business Magazine and Global News for their coverage of the campaign.
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Mike Dean's Local Grocer stores has recently been featured in Nation Valley News about the importance of independents reinventing themselves to survive a constantly changing industry. What sets Mike Dean's apart from big box competition is a specialized focus on the "local".
Acutely aware of each change in his home village’s commercial landscape and knowing the impact on the number of customers through his own door, Gordon says the enterprise has “reinvented itself” by eschewing the traditional focus on large volumes sold cheaply. They have shifted toward more specialized, local products and “a ton” of food prepared or cooked in store.
“That’s what will keep us alive as a retailer is that specializing in local and a lot of local, and people know it’s local,” he says. “Volume has become irrelevant. Today, I don’t care what my sales are … It’s a matter of what products are we selling? Are we selling products that make sense?”
Local customers are today more likely to be attracted into the store on their way home from work to buy a hot meal or a fresh, prepared dish — a niche in which proximity still matters. “Everyday there’s something that you can get and take home for supper, ready to go,” he says, rhyming off such fare as barbecued whole chickens, wings, ribs, meatloaf, tourtiere and more — “and tons of pizza.”
We would also like to take the time to acknowledge the wonderful work Gord and Pamela Dean (Owners of Mike Dean Local Grocers) do for their community as referenced:
"For years, Mike Dean’s has contributed to a variety of charitable causes in Chesterville, such as supplying food to various Rotary Club of Chesterville events and selling calendars to support the Chesterville Lions’ Christmas hamper distribution. Also receiving support are the Dundas Junior Farmers, Chesterville Agricultural Society, both elementary schools in the village, North Dundas District High School, Timothy Christian School, Morewood Recreation, and Art on the Waterfront — to name but a few."
Well done Mike Dean Local Grocer team!
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Vince's Market Launches Instacart! |
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Wont You Be My ... Grocery Neighbour? |
“It was a direct result of the pandemic,” said Sinopoli of the idea for Grocery Neighbour. He believed massive change was coming to grocery shopping because of the COVID crisis and started working on the idea of a mobile grocery store in late March. “But if I’m being dead honest, I had no idea if it was even possible,” he said.
Now, 10 months later, the first truck is being completed, Sinopoli is fielding a steady stream of calls from interested franchisees (“In the last 24 hours alone, I’ve had seven franchise requests,” he said) and people are visiting the GroceryNeighbour.com site to vote to bring one of the new trucks to their neighbourhood."
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Pandemic Expanding E-Commerce
"We're seeing growth rates today that we expected to see three to four years from now," said Sarah Joyce, senior vice-president of e-commerce at Sobeys.
In its most recent quarterly report, the Canada-wide grocery giant said e-commerce sales rose by 241 per cent compared to 2019.
"We are still seeing strong growth today," Joyce said. "As the lockdown announcements continue, more and more people turn to online grocery."
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Retailers, if you aren't utilizing e-commerce, what are you waiting for? Let DCI help you connect with our Partners offering e-commerce solutions. |
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If you would like to submit news from your company (Retailers & Supplier Partners) or would like to feature an ad (Supplier Partners) please email matthew@distributioncanada.ca
Click below to stay connected with CIGBA/DCI!
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On behalf of the DCI Management Team, Happy Winter and Happy New Year to you and your company! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us!
Barry Lanteigne - President:
Michele Vermeltfoort - Administration & Accounting:
Matthew Brown - Events, Communications & Technologies:
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