We help companies grow their brands with clear strategic direction.
Our solutions include:
Portfolio Strategy
Brand Strategy
Consumer Profiles
Brand Positioning
Consumer Journey
Marketing Plan Priorities
Contact: Susan Weaver, Managing Director at susanweaver@pearl-strategy.ca or call 416.908.2446
Our Client Projects

TIM HORTONS
- Created a category strategy, brand positioning, new product pipeline and marketing plan priorities for lunch.
Business Challenge
- Tim Hortons wanted to grow its lunch business by driving reappraisal among two priority consumer targets. Goal was to find a way to change consumers perception of Tim Hortons from a lunch default to a lunch destination.
Solution
- We explored the lunch landscape and identified opportunity areas for the Tim Hortons brand. We refined and optimized the priority positioning territory and created innovation platforms that supported the positioning territory. We developed strategic recommendations that enhanced the customer journey.
Results
- Changed guest perceptions of Tim Hortons as a lunch destination. Helped Tim Hortons grow revenue at lunch, with lunch category sales the biggest contributor to growth in 2015 and 2016.

CAMPBELL’S
- Created a portfolio strategy to address a growth opportunity in one of Campbell’s priority categories.
Business Challenge
- Campbell’s was interested in driving growth by addressing a growing consumer trend. Previous attempts to grow in this opportunity area were only partially successful.
Solution
- We explored consumer attitudes and behaviours related to the opportunity area and defined need states. We assessed the performance of Campbell’s and competitive brands in each need state. We developed a portfolio strategy by prioritizing need states for growth, setting priority brands for each need state, creating the brand positioning and innovation opportunities.
Results
- We developed a portfolio strategy and marketing priorities that will deliver future growth.

MOM BRANDS
- Created a company strategy to accelerate growth in the Canadian market.
Business Challenge
- Moms Brands distribution in Canada was limited, however they were gaining some consumer traction. The company’s cross functional leadership team wanted to understand the growth opportunities and actions required to scale their business in Canada.
Solution
- In a workshop with cross functional team members we identified priority opportunity areas and strategic priorities for Mom Brands.
Results
- Pearl delivered a Strategy Roadmap for growth in Canada that identified the key strategic pillars and enablers for the business to successfully grow in Canada.
TESTIMONIALS
At Club Coffee, in my role as Chief Innovation Officer, Pearl supported the launch of the award winning PurPod100, the world’s first compostable coffee pod. Pearl led our product testing and brand positioning research with consumers. I would highly recommend Pearl Strategy for innovation strategy and pipeline development projects where deep consumer understanding and insights are critical.
I have had the pleasure of working with Pearl Innovation & Strategy Design Inc. on several projects while working at both Tim Hortons and Bacardi. During my tenure at Tim Hortons, Pearl was our lead Innovation research and consultancy firm managing many strategic innovation projects including our Lunch Re-positioning, Food & Beverage Concept validation, Innovation Consumer Sensory Validation, Competitive Validations and Consumer Ethnography studies. Pearl’s work was invaluable in helping Tim Hortons re-establish itself as a Lunch destination for Canadians, surpassing McDonalds as #1 for Lunch.
We engaged John and Susan to work with us on a project that we had identified as an opportunity over the last few months. The Pearl group have consistently exceeded expectations by always being prepared, organized and providing thought leadership at each intersection of the project. would recommend working with Pearl Group for any projects that are in consideration.
Pearl Strategy has been an excellent partner in helping MOM Brands define the Canadian cereal space from a consumer perspective. Their marketing, consumer insights, frameworks and processes enable sound insight gathering, absorption and application back to the business. Among other projects we’ve conducted an online community to understand our consumer better and create/refine our brand strategy in Canada. Pearl’s leadership through the process was outstanding and our insights deliverable established our foundational brand positioning. I would recommend them as a solid strategic partner.
We engaged John and Susan to work with us on a project that we had identified as an opportunity over the last few months. The Pearl group have consistently exceeded expectations by always being prepared, organized and providing thought leadership at each intersection of the project. The work they have completed for us was not only tailored specifically to our needs and hence required minimal if any re-work to share internally but it became a reference tool that will be leveraged across the organization. I would recommend working with Pearl Group for any projects that are in consideration.
Pearl Strategy worked with Pulse Canada over a 2 year period to focus its messaging to food industry and consumers. Pearl Strategy conducted pulse industry workshops, consumer focus groups and interviews with R&D and marketing professionals with major food manufacturers. The process identified strategic strengths on which to focus future programming as well as shortcomings for the industry to address.
Pearl Strategy’s food sector acumen, facilitation, interview skills, industry connections as well as their genuine interest in our industry’s potential made this project a tremendous success. The pulse industry is now moving forward to meet the opportunities identified with a clear sense of where to focus resources for the best return. Pulse Canada would recommend Pearl Strategy for any work that requires consumer and food industry insight.
John and Susan are consumer experts. They know how to mine critical data and are able to extract and discern actionable insights that leads to communication that resonates with consumers. They led our team in creating the right brand positioning strategy and were integral in helping to create the right communication taglines and packaging design options.
It is refreshing to know that there are some companies, whose integrity and desire to help others succeed, is interwoven into its company fabric – Pearl Strategy and Innovation Design is one of those companies.
Pearl Strategy was a great choice for the Mina Halal brand given their solid experience with ethnic consumers, combined with their strong marketing and innovation acumen. Pearl’s strategic and consumer-centric approach enabled us to uncover key insights and identify business building opportunities throughout the consumer journey. As a result, we were able to move quickly from insights to strategy to execution, where we optimized Mina’s communications plan and launch new items to drive growth. I enjoyed working with the Pearl team and look forward to working with them again in the future.
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