Joe Mimran: (00:02) Hi, I’m Joe Mimran and welcome back to the Export Impact Podcast. Food is one of the few things that binds all of us together across every region and culture and food also represents a huge opportunity for Canadian businesses to make a positive difference in the world. On this podcast, we’ll be speaking with some of Canada’s most successful exporters of agri-food products, about how they’re reaching new markets and customers all over the world. We’re also going to hear from industry experts who can give us the benefit of their insight and experience.
Today, we have a special guest with us, Ashley Kanary, director of Global Agri-food at EDC. Ashley’s expertise lies in guiding Canadian companies to identify and embrace international growth opportunities through calculated and astute decision-making. Get ready to uncover the secrets behind his remarkable approach. Get ready also to expand your horizons as we embark on a journey to discover the endless possibilities that lie at the intersection of food, business, and global impact.
I'd like to begin today’s episode by acknowledging that we’re recording from my office in Toronto, which is on the traditional unceded territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Metis people. We value taking this moment to deepen the appreciation of our Indigenous communities wherever we are, and to remind ourselves of our shared debt to Canada's First Peoples.
Welcome, Ashley. So glad you could join us on the show today.
Ashley Kanary: (01:52) Thanks, Joe. Happy to be here.
Joe Mimran: (01:54) Just before we get really into it, perhaps you can just give us a little bit of background into how long you’ve been involved in the agri-food sector and perhaps provide some details about your experience and roles within the industry.
Ashley Kanary: (02:08) Sure. I’ve been in the food business for more than 40 years. I climbed the ladder and worked my way up from the bottom and I started off working in grocery stores and then I branched into sales and then from there, sales management. Then I went into executive roles in running food companies in Canada and now I’m here at EDC. It’s really been an amazing journey so far, to be honest. I’ve seen and learned so much over the years and now, I’m in a position where I can share the knowledge with other people.
Joe Mimran: (02:35) Wonderful. And agri-food is such a vast and diverse field. What specifically drives your passion for this industry and are there any personal experiences or values that have shaped your dedication to agri-food?
Ashley Kanary: (02:50) To me, food has always been something that unites us all. We all need to eat, but for me, it's much more than that. For me, food is the glue that binds everything from relationships and unites families together and makes peace, satisfies our curiosity for great cuisine. It’s the source of great entertainment and it’s the foundation of our culture overall.
Joe Mimran: (03:11) That’s pretty all-encompassing. I think when you say makes peace as well, that’s something the world could use a little of these days. The agri-food sector is known for its continuous evolution. Can you give us a preview of some of the emerging trends and innovations that you believe are shaping the future of the sector?
Ashley Kanary: (03:30) There are a few trends that are dominating agri-food these days. Our team set our core pillars on three main areas.
- The first one is plant-based protein. Right now, it’s dramatically gaining momentum, but why? Well, there are a few reasons. There are people adopting a healthy lifestyle. There are cultural reasons. There are a lot of cultures in this world that don’t eat meat, carbon footprint reduction, and then there are ethical reasons surrounding animal welfare. There’s a lot going on with that.
- The next one for us is private-label products. Private-label products continue to outpace all branded product sales growth and it’s not a new trend, but COVID-19 put immense financial pressure on people around the world and as they look to save on their shopping bills, they discovered private label and the great items; they’re as good, or sometimes even better than, the national brands, to be honest.
- And then for us, it’s innovation. Consumers have a natural thirst for what’s new and they want to understand everything that’s in their food these days. They just simply won’t buy products loaded with chemicals or chemical ingredients that they can’t pronounce anymore. Times have changed, products need to change with them, and those that do change, win. So, those are the top areas that we're focused on in the top trends.
Joe Mimran: (04:34) That’s quite a few areas. It’s interesting you started with plant-based protein and the knock-on effect of plant-based protein in that it’s animal welfare; it’s a healthier lifestyle. What would make Canada a leader in that regard?
Ashley Kanary: (04:52) It’s the plant-based pea protein that we grow today in Western Canada. Canada has vast resources and natural abilities to grow plant-based products. We have huge crops, great pulses, great greens, and great tech and innovation driving plant-based protein innovation globally. Plus, Canada’s a great reputation, as well in that category. Both those things alone make us leaders.
Joe Mimran: (05:14) In today’s landscape, there are so many challenges that we’re all grappling with. What are some of the significant obstacles that some of these companies currently face and how do these challenges affect competitiveness, growth, and sustainability?
Ashley Kanary: (05:30) There’s definitely a few challenges that people have these days in Canada.
- The first one is, of course, access to working capital. As Canadian companies grow and expand, their working capital needs need to keep pace with that type of growth. COVID-19 was really good to the food industry and it accelerated growth far beyond the norm. In some cases, Canadian companies struggled to keep up with the growth and they couldn’t afford to grow at the same pace as the needs of their business were growing, so EDC had to step in and we’re there to help support that growth.
- The second one for us is connections abroad and market knowledge. The further away you go from North America, there’s a significant knowledge gap. There are language barriers or differing import rules. There are restrictions, all depending on the country. Our goal is to demystify the process of exporting to places, like the Indo-Pacific and then gaining access to the four billion people who live there with Canadian products. We’re expanding our reach into this area this year. We’re opening two new offices, one in Jakarta, one in South Korea. This is in addition to all the other offices we already have in place. In places, like Singapore or Australia, China and India, we’ll also focus on the countries where existing free trade agreements are in place. There's an Indo-Pacific free trade agreement called the CPTPP. That’s a lot of letters. It's the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. It’s great for us to focus on that narrow in on free trade. The Indo-Pacific countries are, like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan, as examples. They’re all part of that free trade agreement and we can leverage that to grow.
- Another one for us is supply chain. It’s no secret that in the news is constantly covering stories on excessive freight costs overseas all throughout COVID-19. The reality is as COVID subsided, so did the freight surcharges. We’re now seeing rates creeping back to historical levels. And what does that mean for the exporter? It means we’re more competitive again and we can export more competitively.
Joe Mimran: (07:24) On that, it’s an interesting point. I mean we went through this obviously with supply chain and the cost of containers, like quadrupling, if not more during COVID. But there were a lot of containers that were going back to Asia empty. Did our exporters take advantage of that opportunity?
Ashley Kanary: (07:42) They didn’t because... in a lot of instances, the price that they were charging, even though they were sending them back empty, if they wanted to send them full during COVID, the prices of those were excessive, as well. It even scared people away at the time. A lot of times, during COVID, people used their capacity to go more towards exporting to the United States.
Joe Mimran: (08:01) You mentioned access to working capital. Obviously, as these companies grow, that’s such a huge issue is working capital. I was wondering whether in the landscape of Canadian exporters over a myriad of different industries, does agri-food have an advantage in that we have such an abundance of resources here in Canada that they’re in the best position to be exporters?
Ashley Kanary: (08:27) In Canada, I think we do have a unique position, but we don’t grow more than we have. It all depends on Mother Nature. The crops were impacted last year. We had lower yields than expected. But there are circumstances around the world that do drive consumption. Like the war in the Ukraine, it put an immense pressure on Canada’s food supply chain. So, there’s always going to be something happening, another natural disaster or another insurgence somewhere, where it does put pressure on Canada’s supply chain. I think the quality of the product in which we produce and the uniqueness of some of the items that we have to export is what sets us apart. Plus, Canada has an amazing reputation for quality in the market and that’s something that we shouldn’t take for granted. We should focus on making our reputation stronger.
When products come from Canada, they stand out on the shelf. Consumers are willing to pay a premium most of the time. And I think the No. 1 thing for Canadian exporters to do is know the market and know what they’re looking for and then present it. We think, in order to be wanted, you first need to have something that the companies abroad want and that’s where we come in. We’ll help companies understand the markets that they’re entering into, just through availability of sale and marketing intelligence and to understand the sector through things, like connections and then ultimately, introductions, in many cases. We feel like a warm intro goes a long way.
Joe Mimran: (09:40) And you mentioned quality and reputation for Canadian products, which I’ve heard over and over again that for example, in a country, like China, they trust our food and food ingredients almost over their own production in that country and that’s why certain things, like baby food and things of that nature, do so well in that country.
Ashley Kanary: (10:01) That’s true. Canada has an amazing reputation for great quality and quality manufacturing, quality ingredients, and great products. It’s a halo that Canada wears proudly and it’s something that I believe we need to boast a lot more about.
Joe Mimran: (10:15) On that note, what can Canadian businesses do to set themselves apart even more so?
Ashley Kanary: (10:21) I actually believe that it’s about great packaging. It’s identifying the fact that you’re made in Canada on your packaging. I think boasting that it’s engaging with companies, like ours at EDC, and it’s understanding the market that you go into. I think that’s very important. It’s understanding the pitfalls. It can be a financial nightmare for companies to go abroad and not understand the market that they’re entering. It can be very expensive, but there are resources out there. We’d like Canadian companies to take advantage of them.
Joe Mimran: (10:48) And how can Canadian companies use advances in automation innovation to their advantage?
Ashley Kanary: (10:54) Oh, thank God, you asked that question because it’s actually one of the most important ones you’ve asked. I think automation's really important and we need to do far more with what we have and that comes through automation. Canada’s had a labour shortage for years and automation helps mitigate the lack of labour. We can materialize a million acres more to grow crops on, meaning we have to do a lot more with the land that we have. And the same goes for processing plants. In order to compete on a global scale, we need to automate. There are a lot of countries globally that are amazing at processing food. So, automation allows us to produce better and faster versus our competition. Competition has grown significantly over the last few years and processing and manufacturing capabilities have also grown significantly, too. It’s critical for getting the companies to invest in that automation and get state-of-the-art equipment. We have to increase our output and capture the lost opportunities. If we dramatically increase the products in which these products are produced, it’ll bring down the cost of production and that’s what makes us competitive.
Joe Mimran: (11:49) Many Canadian businesses start by exporting into the U.S., but then many of them don’t grow beyond the U.S. What are your thoughts on that?
