GSF 2024 KICKS-OFF LIVE! SPEAKERS, INNOVATIONS, TOP TEN IN GROCERY AWARDS AND RECORD-SETTING REGISTRATION! DAY ONE WRAP-UP.

April 22, 2024, VANCOUVER, B.C.— Today was Day 1 of Grocery & Specialty Food West 2024 (GSF 2024) and record registration has been set — Highest ever!

Day 1 began with the MORNING CONFERENCE at the Vancouver Convention Centre, East Building. Tom Shurrie delivered welcome remarks that set the stage for a panel discussion at 9:15AM by Amanda Lai, McMillanDoolittle; along with U.S. independent grocers Nancy Lebold, New Seasons Market and Lauren Redman, Rudy’s Markets to discuss the future of food innovation — an in-depth discussion about practical approaches to how they differentiated themselves from larger players in the grocery space to drive sales and build customer loyalty.

At 10:00AM attendees were treated to a live taping of the Chatter that Matters podcast, hosted by Tony Chapman with guest Jay DeMerit, former Captain of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Jay recounted his story of chasing his dreams, beating the odds and how he developed a culture of winning,

The LIVE trade show floor officially opened its doors at 11:00AM and attendees were eager to check out the wide range of products and booths in Halls A, B and C.

The Best Booths awards were announced and the winners were:

Single Booth:

Greenhouse Juice 

Booth #: 511

Double Booth:

Lucifer’s House of Heat

Booth #: 1600

Marketed Booth:

Sonray Sales Ltd.

Booth #: 620

Multi Booth:

McCain Foods

Booth #: 1121

Then came the highly anticipated “TOP TEN IN GROCERY AWARDS”! In the afternoon, Editors from leading trade publications along with a retail committee voted on their top picks for the “Top 10 in Grocery Awards” chosen amongst the New Product Showcase entries.

The winners of the Top TEN in Grocery are (in no particular order):

SINFIT Protein Chips

Pizza flavour

Booth #: 1615

Best Health and Wellness Product

Company: SINFIT

Distributor: True North Nutrition

Manufacturer: SINFIT

Zanzibar Spice Barbecue Marinade

Booth #: 304B

Best Sauce Product

Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Aki’s Fine Foods Ltd.

Cavendish Farms Quick Crisp

Onion Rings

Booth #: 720

Best Convenience Product

Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Cavendish Farms

Saputo Halloumi Style Cheese Fries

Original flavour

Booth #: 609

Best Snack Product

Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Saputo Dairy Products Canada GP

Mediterania Soft Creamy Feta

Soft Creamy Feta

Booth #: 1205

Best Dairy Product

Company/Manufacturer: Chaeban Artisan

Smoked Soy-Free Tofu

Firm

Booth #: 1501B

Best Vegan Product

Company/Manufacturer: Big Mountain Foods

Cake Jar

Eggless Red Velvet

Booth #: 1730

Best Dessert Product

Company: Just Cakes Bakeshop

Breaded Oysters

Smoked

Booth #: 302

Best Seafood Product

Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Sawmill Bay

Häagen-Dazs exträas Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

Booth #: 615

Best Frozen Product

Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Nestlé

Localcoin ATM

Bitcoin ATM

Booth #: 1201

Best Non-Food Product

Company/Distributor/Manufacturer: Localcoin ATM

The day concluded with a “mix and mingle” followed by a Gala Dinner co-hosted by Laura Collaton and Tony Chapman with entertainment by comedic magician, Wes Baker. The Canadian Foundation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) celebrated the following Life Members at the Gala Dinner: Larry Chmielewski, Dan Bregg, Ian Dickson and Scott Mitchell.

–30 –

Contact:

Nancy Kwon Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, T: 416.219.0952, nkwon@cfig.ca

For graphics or images and links:

Package shots of the Top Ten winners’ products: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AVlsjT7F5Bm-phoqIhGK-tc_TdnbdZSE?usp=sharing

Sophia Chan, Art Director

The Justin Poy Agency, E schan@justinpoy.com

Vanessa Huang, Account Manager

The Justin Poy Agency, E vhuang@justinpoy.com