Canadian Retailer - Store 2013 - 61

The winners of the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix Awards.

R&D that goes into the products,” says Von
Albrecht, president and COO of Mava Foods.
“These aren’t small improvements, but big
changes in everything from ﬂavour proﬁles
to sustainable practices.”
New products always reﬂect evolving consumer needs and desires. What sort of trends
did this year’s entries show? Von Albrecht
noted that a high number of products had a
more natural feel, whether in their composition, volume of packaging or imagery.
For instance, Happy Planet® Fresh Soup,
which won in the Frozen or Refrigerated Prepared Food & Entrees category, are made in
small batches and kettle cooked, so they’re
just like homemade—no ingredients that you
can’t pronounce.
In the Baby Care category, the winner was
Squoosh™ from Baby Gourmet Foods Inc.,
made from 100 per cent fruit and vegetables,
with no added sugar or salt. These are the ﬁrst
ever organic fruit and veggie snacks to be
widely available on the grocery shelf.
Traditional snack foods, too, were part of the
healthy and natural trend. Old Dutch Foods
Ltd. won for their Northern Choice Chickpea
Tortilla Chips. The judges praised not only
the healthy alternative in the snack category,
but the compostable packaging.
Along with their health beneﬁts to consumers, several winning products marketed the
responsible practices used in production. In
the Prepared Food & Entrees category, Safeway
Tuna made clear that the skipjack tuna were

caught using sustainable methods, and promoted marine stewardship. Safeway collaborated with the non-proﬁt Earth Island
Institute.
For private labels, Loblaw earned a Grand Prix in the Dairy,
Eggs, Meat & Seafood category for the PC “Free From” Angus
Beef Burgers. The beef were raised without using antibiotics
and hormones, and the front panel featured a shot of one of the
dedicated “Free From” producers.
To Von Albrecht, an overriding theme—whether products
are seen as better for health or the environment – was a greater
feeling of authenticity. That resonates with Canadian shoppers. Beyond their own well-being, “consumers want to help
the world,” says Von Albrecht.
At the awards gala, RCC also honoured John F.T. Scott, who
has served as the president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) since 1991. Brisebois
praised his unwavering commitment to the growth and wellbeing of the sector.
Among the award presenters were David Wilkes, senior vice
president of RCC’s Grocery Division; Jason Adlam, vice president
of sales and customer service at CHEP Canada; Peter Ma, VP of
retail sales & client services from CROSSMARK Canada; Sabrina
Paquette, project manager, market development, and Gilles
Deschenes, assistant director, market development-retail from
the Dairy Farmers of Canada; Terry Dean, director of Health
Check; and Isabel Lee, client director at Interac Association.
This year’s Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards was
open to manufacturers and distributors for products introduced during 2012. The winners and ﬁnalists in the competition can use the Grand Prix Awards logo on their packaging
for the next two years.
For more information about the Canadian Grand Prix Awards,
visit www.storeconference.ca/grand-prix-awards-gala.

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Canadian Retailer - Store 2013

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