January 2021 Newsletter
Happy New Year | New at iLevel | CHFA Next | Article: Buying habits & community | Featured Brand
Happy New Year
The iLevel team wishes you a healthy and prosperous 2021 and we are grateful for all the lessons learned, fruitful partnerships and, above all, great relationships that made 2020 less challenging and more positive that it could have been otherwise!
The team met in December for a virtual staff party featuring a wine tasting session guided by wine experts from Megalomaniac Winery, and this was also an opportunity for all of us to wrap up 2020 and get excited for the new year.
New at iLevel – National Accounts Manager – Christine Gammal
We at iLevel Management Inc. are excited to let you know that we are growing and have added a National Accounts Manager to our team. Christine Gammal has joined iLevel Management and will help lead our brands with exceptional customer service with the Canadian national accounts. Christine brings over 20 years’ experience in the Natural Food industry managing Key Independent and National Accounts. Her love for food kicked off her sales career and eventual rise to National Account Manager of Toronto’s most beloved manufacturer of Natural and Premium desserts and packaged confections. She honed her communications skills through her early work in Tokyo, Japan training and coaching within multinational corporations. Christine thrives on building relationships, and she holds firm that the true value of the initial sale comes within the ongoing collaboration between customer and vendor. Through the finessing of connections and creative strategies Christine builds loyalty and retention, and ultimately growth in sales. Please join us in welcoming Christine to our team. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Christine can be contacted at:
cgammal@ilevelmanagement.ca
(647) 613-7217
CHFA Next
In 2020 we saw our business change in multiple ways due to Covid-19 and government-imposed lockdowns across our country and the world. One of the changes we saw was CHFA being held entirely online as a virtual show called CHFA Connect in October. CHFA is our industry’s most important event in Canada and it is normally held in Vancouver (February) and Toronto (September) with biannual Quebec editions. As the world continues to fight the spread of the coronavirus, CHFA will be hosting a series of standalone virtual events in 2021.
One of these events is NEXT by CHFA, which will be happening on February 19th, 2021 (Friday). The show will be limited to 50 exhibitors showcasing a product that is new in-market in 2020 or that is ready to launch in 2021.
Exhibitors will also have access to several marketing and analytics tools to enhance engagement and the show features engaging speakers, like special keynote Dr. Morgaine Gaye, Food Futurologist.
Please see https://chfa.ca/en/Events/next-by-chfa for more details
Buying habits & community
Last year introduced many – hopefully – temporary changes in the way we live our lives in the form of government-imposed lockdowns, reduced capacity at stores and public spaces, no concerts, plays and other events, business closures, unemployment…The list goes on. However, not everything that felt different in 2020 was new: the coronavirus pandemic surely was a catalyst for change, but it was also an event that hit fast forward on many trends that impact our industry and were already being observed by few, from e-commerce to consumer habits.
One obvious trend that was accelerated by COVID-19 was consumers shifting from brick and mortar (and mom and pop) to e-commerce platforms when shopping. Obviously, e-commerce has been an important part of most people’s shopping avenues for some years now, but last year we saw many consumers ordering, for example, groceries online for the first time, aiming at reducing the likelihood of being exposed to COVID-19 by going to an actual store, walking the streets, using public transportation etc.
Although it does make sense to follow government guidelines by staying home and trying to order online as much as possible rather than going to a store, there are small adjustments that could be beneficial to us and our community. Perhaps not everyone has thought about this, but where we decide to spend our money can have major consequences on the overall economy make-up: local stores employ people in your neighborhood, who in turn spend their money on other stores in your area, thus stimulating the economy. Has your local store created their e-commerce platform or started to offer curbside pick-up? Check with them! It might not be as easy as a one-click order but it could pay dividends to your community down the road.
Another 2020 buzzword was social isolation. Millions of people are suffering from a range of psychological issues due to being forced to stay home and not interact with others in the way the are accustomed to. Working with colleagues, seeing your buddies at the gym or club, most of these things have simply gone away temporarily and we are starting to interact more with screens and electronic devices than real people. Is your local store allowed to open at reduced capacity or do they take orders via phone? You might be surprised at how much value our local retailers might be able to generate for you: more likely than not, the person helping you with a product at the store, on the phone or via their online chat feature has tried the product you’re interested in or has suggestions for a recipe you might like to try, a solution to a problem you might be having in your diet or physical performance. Companies invest a lot of resources in training retailers’ staff so they can understand their products better and match customers’ needs and desires to product options on the retailer’s shelves. Customer reviews online are useful, but they only go so far and, depending on your situation, they might even mean more work sifting through a few dozen of them and trying to determine if it applies to you or not.
At the end of the day, we all need to buy things such as groceries and supplements anyway and our local stores need to sell to remain open for business. If possible to do so in a safe way, buying local has the potential to be a way of supporting our community and get better service, education and connection while we’re at it.
Featured Brand: Jyoti
JYOTI Natural Foods was founded in the USA in 1979 as a pioneering venture to produce, package and supply high quality, nutritious Indian Foods to all who were familiar with Indian Cuisine; and to introduce the wonderful tastes, aromas, and virtues of Indian home-style cooking to the unfamiliar. There were a handful of Indian Restaurants in the larger cities, but no prepared Indian foods or even ingredients were to be found in supermarkets. We chose ‘shelf stable foods in cans’ to present the exotic foods of India to the customers through specialty foods shops and supermarkets. Whole Foods Market started carrying JYOTI line in 1980 when they were a single store in Austin, TX.
Our Mission
- Produce and package high-quality, nutritious foods for all to enjoy.
- Make safe, healthy foods that offer pantry storage convenience without preservatives.
- Increase the portion of vegetables and legumes in every diet with delicious dishes.
- Introduce the wonderful flavors and virtues of Indian home cooking and spread the aroma of spices from India to every kitchen and every dinner plate.
- Offer travelers (air, sea, ground) with food options that make them want to travel more!
Our Products
We offer a range of Indian foods in a shelf-stable form and easy to serve packaging.
From left to right:
Heat & Serve Pouches: Masala Chhole, Saag Paneer, Mung Dal, Channa Dal).
Cans: Dal Makhani, Madras Sambar, Jaipur Karhi, Kala Channa (Baby Dark Chickpeas), Delhi Saag, Matar-Paneer, Punjabi Chhole, Classic Masala Sauce, Rogan Josh Sauce and Saffron Cream Sauce.
Organic Bean Pouches: Black Beans, Garbanzo Beans, Kidney Beans and Pinto Beans.
To learn more about our products and availability in Canada and in the U.S., please visit our website https://www.jyotifoods.com/ and contact iLevel Management.
