Design Thinking, simply put, is a “human centered” methodology or approach to innovation. At its very core it is about developing empathy for the end user of a product or service so you understand them and designing a solution that will solve a problem. Anyone can do Design Thinking. Here are some of the tools and techniques to help get you started. Photo Elicitation Select your target group. A [...]
There are many ways technology is bringing innovation to the cannabis market, ranging from the extraction and measurement of active ingredients, to recipe development of new food and beverage products. We explored some of the innovative technology applications taking place in cannabis and summarized them below: Customisation In the future, cannabis product ratios could be altered to meet partic [...]
Pearl reviewed the vendors in attendance at the Canadian Health Food Association Eastern Tradeshow held on Sept 12-15 in Toronto. Below are our top picks from this years show: Sproos Sproos promotes collagen as being a key component for the maintenance of healthy skin, gut and joints. They offer a variety of supplements and snacks targeted in these areas. For example, their Sproos Up Your Gut c [...]
We reviewed Euromonitor’s “How to become a sustainable brand” and pulled out the key points in bite-sized infographics outlining important trends and formulas you can integrate into building your organization’s sustainability strategy. Below are statistics provided by Euromonitor that show the importance of building a sustainable brand not only to consumers, but especially among industry profes [...]
Alternative proteins are hot as a summer BBQ grill! Consumer adoption of alternative protein continues to grow for a variety of reasons - health, environment and animal welfare. In Pearl’s 2019 Health & Wellness Study three-quarters (75%) of Canadians had either consumed or were interested in trying plant-based meat alternatives! Just under half of Canadians (43%) had consumed plant-based m [...]
We tried Tim Hortons Innovation Café – here’s what we. thought Pearl visited the new Tim Hortons Innovation Café in Toronto this week with a group of 5 taste testers to try some of their new and innovative offerings. Store Environment & Experience Our overall restaurant experience was pleasant. While it was busy non-stop throughout the afternoon, the Tim Hortons staff kept the lines moving [...]
Deloitte estimates the Canadian market for edibles and alternative cannabis products to be worth C$2.7 billion annually. With the coming legalization of alternative cannabis products in Canada, it’s important for licensed producers and retailers to understand what consumers are interested in and their motivations. In this blog, we’ll explore the findings from Deloitte’s report Nurturing new gro [...]
Pearl went to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto and tried some of the fun and innovative food trends. Here’s what our group of 4 taste testers thought: Pickles The use of pickles was an unexpected trend we could get on board with! We tried the two most unique menu items featuring pickles: pickled pizza and pickle lemonade. The pickled pizza was a homerun for 3 out of 4 of our ta [...]
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