UNFI Canada Innovation Showcase 2025 took place on January 29 in Vaughan, Ontario, bringing together industry leaders and innovators. Ryan Benn, CEO of Alive Publishing Group, kicked off the morning session with a keynote address.

In my previous article, I began to talk about the two ways to grow a business:

• create new customers

• sell more to your current customer base

 To grow further, I recommend you first establish an emotional connection among the people who work in the business.

 The emotional tone of your business—the sales floor ‘vibe’—is determined by the connection the owner, management, and team share. 

For any reader with aspirations of someday owning their own health food store, or for those of you who are starting to think about a succession plan, you might be interested in learning about this Quebec store that planned and then executed a perfect transition.

By supporting a local school garden, you can directly support a healthier generation of young students and contribute to your own community. Your donation of either treasure, time, or talent will not only nurture learners who’ll become leaders, but also deepen your connection to the community.

Alive Publishing Group (APG) is thrilled to announce the addition of Adam Rahiman as the new senior account executive, advertising sales. Adam joined the team in December 2024, bringing a wealth of experience and a dynamic approach to sales strategy.

Natural retailers are facing new challenges and opportunities when it comes to educating their customers. In this final part of the retailer roundtable series from 2024, we will share insights on consumer education and its impact on natural health retailers.

 At the 2024 CHFA NOW, held in Vancouver, retailers were encouraged to participate and share their experiences in an idea exchange during a retailer roundtable. Attending retailers were split into five groups and each group was asked a question about a pressing issue impacting the natural health retail industry—rent inflation, vendor relations, supply chain, ethical initiatives and sustainability practices, and consumer education. This issue’s summary is the last of those five discussions.

 In the March-April 2025 issue of CNHR, we discussed the topic of “ethical practices and sustainability initiatives” in detail. In this final part of the retailer roundtable series, we will share insights on consumer education and its impact on natural health retailers.

Despite the cold, CHFA’s Calgary Industry Night Out brought together over 100 industry professionals including retailers, health practitioners, manufacturers, and businesses operating in the natural, organic, and wellness (NOW) space. The event was held at the Sub Rosa in downtown Calgary in February.

The National Summit on Health, Movement, and Community will be held on June 7 at Zoomer Media Studios in Liberty Village, Toronto, Ontario. The Summit will build on the Canadian Health and Fitness Institute’s (CHFI) groundbreaking 2024 Forum in West Vancouver, BC, which featured 21 distinguished experts including Canada’s first Minister of Physical Activity, Carla Qualtrough.

In this column, Ellen introduces you to Tracy Creighton, national sales director at Bioforce Canada (A.Vogel). She has over 30 years of experience in the health and wellness industry as a sales executive and business leader. Tracy has successfully managed high-performing sales teams, developed effective sales strategies, and fostered strong collaboration with retail partners.

As we go to press, the US-imposed tariffs are ever evolving, causing confusion and concern in Canada, Mexico, and other US trading partners worldwide.

 CNHR reached out to some leading industry members to get their thoughts on what type of impact tariffs could have on the Canadian natural health industry.

Let’s face it—life is more complicated than ever. Many of us feel pressed for time, overstimulated by digital media, and undernourished both physically and emotionally. We seem to have lost our buffer against stress, and, at the same time, our sense of connection has slipped away. When that happens, our well-being—mental, physical, and even environmental—suffers.

Cristina Guglielmi, CanPrev’s national director of sales, health food, shared, “We all gathered for a Customer Appreciation Day event at Good Health Mart in Hanover in November 2024. It was a wonderful event with lots of great customers and reps coming together to support the store.”

We’re thrilled to celebrate a major milestone—10 years of providing natural health products to our valued members! Since 2014, Calgary Co-op’s Natural Choice has been dedicated to offering healthy, high-quality, and pioneering natural health products that support the well-being of our community.

In 1992, Elite Nutrition began its journey of promoting health and wellness as Golden Health Food Centre in Golden, BC, before eventually evolving into one of the community’s most trusted destinations for their health needs.

In 2004, under the leadership of Mike and Linda Pecora, the store was rebranded as Elite Nutrition with a refined focus of providing supplements and natural body care. In 2024, Elite Nutrition celebrated its 20th anniversary.

There are only two ways to increase sales:

• Attract more customers.

• Sell more to your current customer base.

Simple to say! Harder to remember.