The Multicultural Marketing Podcast with Sharifa Khan

Generating Authentic Engagement Through Food with Sophia Rouleau

• Sharifa Khan - Balmoral Multicultural Marketing • Season 1 • Episode 4

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Venture into the vibrant world of Canadian food retail, with our special guest, Sophia Rouleau, Director of Marketing, Banner Planning and Strategic Priorities, Sobeys. In this episode, Sophia pulls back the curtain on how Sobey’s visionary insights have harnessed immense growth opportunities across the country, utilizing multicultural marketing. Sobeys’ FreshCo and Chalo! FreshCo brands are not just selling groceries, they are committed to authentically engaging with Canada's diverse communities, using the universal power of food as a connector.

Uncover the challenges and triumphs of crafting campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences, illustrated by Freshco's insights like “grocery shopping just like home,” and its "valuelicious" campaign, a masterclass in linguistic and cultural adaptation.

Hear Sophia's reflections on the importance of respecting cultural nuances, conducting thorough research, and fostering collaboration across various functions to ensure that marketing initiatives are both meaningful and effective. Drawing upon her 16 years of grocery and food marketing experience, Sophia cites specific examples of brands that have thrived by taking calculated risks, while maintaining consistent brand activity.

This episode is a rich source of inspiration for marketers eager to generate organic, authentic engagement with diverse audiences. You don’ want to miss this!

Biographies

Guest: Sophia Rouleau is a strategic, action-oriented marketer who passionately challenges the status quo, to create meaningful connections between brands and their customers. She is a veteran marketer with 16 years of experience, having worked with brands such as ACE Bakery, Weston Foods and GreenSpace Brands to name a few.  Today, Sophia serves as the Director of Marketing, Banner Planning and Strategic Priorities at Sobeys and one of her important responsibilities is leading the charge in multicultural marketing for the FreshCo and Chalo FreshCo brands at Sobeys.

Host: Sharifa Khan is the visionary founder of Canada’s multicultural marketing discipline. She is also the founder and CEO of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. Her firm, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, continues to innovate at the top of its field. In 2021, Sharifa received the industry’s highest honour, as an inductee in the prestigious Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends.


Subscribe now and never miss an episode, featuring top industry experts and thought leaders on their multicultural marketing journeys (and don’t forget to rate and review this podcast).

Social Media: (Follow: #Balmoral and #MulticulturalMarketingPodcast)


LinkedIn:

Sharifa Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharifa-khan/

Balmoral Multicultural Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/company/balmoral-multicultural-marketing/

IG:

@sharifa7147
@balmoralmulticultural
@kekadasgupta


Resources:
www.balmoralmkt.com | 416.364.0046 | inquiries@balmoralmkt.com


Credits and Acknowledgements:

· Keka DasGupta – executive producer

· Daniel Ho, ReMarketing Company Inc. - video and editing services

· Rima Maamari - podcast advisory services

Sharifa:

Welcome to Canada's first ever multicultural marketing podcast. I'm Sharifa Khan, founder and president of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. In each episode, join me as I interview high-profile marketing executives, where they will be sharing their experiences in reaching Canada's diverse community. Gain valuable insights and lessons and grow your multicultural affluence. Let's get started. Hello everyone, welcome to the Multicultural Marketing Podcast again. It is such a great pleasure for me today to welcome a very special guest on our podcast is Sophia Rouleau, director of Marketing, banner Planning and Strategic Priorities at Sobeys. Welcome.

Sophia:

Thank you. Thank you, well done. It was a mouthful.

Sharifa:

Oh yeah, that's a long title for you. You know, of course, among all the great things you're doing at Sobeys, Sophia is a strategic and action oriented marketer who passionately challenged a status quote and creating meaningful connection between the brand and also the consumers. She's a veteran of 16 years of work in many CPG, including like A's Bakery, Western Foods and Green Space brands. Today, one of Sophia's most important responsibilities is really to be the lead and in charge of multicultural marketing for Sophie Banners and previously for Freshco and Chalo Freshco brands.

Sophia:

Welcome. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Sharifa.

Sharifa:

You're such an accomplished marketer and business builder, especially with CPT retail and food space. I would like to dive into your experience and for you to share some of the journey that you have done, the learnings that you had, so that we can know what you have done over the course of these years with multicultural marketing.

Sophia:

Amazing. Well, thank you so much for having me on today. Honestly, I'm very grateful because I've really had such a very fun, rewarding and continuously learning trajectory in my career so far and what I love about it is there's just been such this connection and intertwining with food the entire way through. And what I love about it is there's just been such this connection and intertwining with food the entire way through and, as we know, through multicultural marketing and just with you know, cultures in general, food is just such a central hub of experience. So it's really allowed me to hone in on food but also have that great connector back to marketing to a diverse range of people. I would say one of my most notable experiences.

Sophia:

So, while I have a lot of experiences in the CPG company, I would say my time currently at Sobeys on the Freshco and Chalo Freshco side and even currently focused on our full service banner.

Sophia:

So Sobeys and Safeway just a lot of learning and growth on the multicultural marketing experience. So I'll rely specifically a little bit on Freshco and Chalo Freshco, just because it's the most recent. We've done a lot of work as a business unit where all of our cross-functional partners, we really held hands and knew that this was a path that we wanted to take our business and take our brands forward. So between all of our cross-functional leaders, we worked in harmony to make sure that we curate all of our stores, to make sure we have all the assortment and the products for customers, location by location, and then going so far to invite customers into our store to be able to experience that. So I've been doing that now for five years and it's been excellent to the point where now I've taken on this greater role to bring the same learning over to our full-serve banner. So I'm very excited.

Sharifa:

So it is a commitment with Empire. It is that it is going to be an initiative that is across the board. Because you have so many banners, you know from coast to coast that it is a commitment that is across the board. Because you have so many banners, you know from coast to coast that it is a commitment, that is an initiative that has to cross all verticals. Yes, so, and when was that commitment? Was it like two years ago, three years ago?

Sophia:

It's definitely been something top of mind for a long time years ago. It's definitely been something top of mind for a long time. The good news it's with everything we've been doing on the Freshco side and the Chalo Freshco side, you really see the potential and the power that comes from reaching to these, to our customers and our diverse customers, in an authentic way.

Sharifa:

Yeah, so it's actually, I think, a lot of successful business is when there is top down you know, initiative where is the senior management or that and also be bottom up so that it will meet at the middle with collaboration and transcend into the whole establishment before it can be a big business, right? So, Sophia, what gets you excited about this opportunity, especially in this niche discipline of multicultural marketing? There are a lot of marketers and brands that are still sitting on a fence and they haven't dived into it because they don't know what to do and they're afraid of doing it. And then can you also tell me what they're missing, or rather that they are not doing?

Sophia:

Amazing. Well, thank you so much for asking that question. I'm so excited, Um just to talk about the potential that I see, because I do believe there's so much potential, um and such, I would say, untapped potential, but also so much runway in terms of what we could do, what we could say Um, even if you look back and reflect on our own country, here in Canada, immigration is driving our population growth and right now I was looking at a stat on StatsCan, actually and newcomers today represent the largest share of population in over 150 years.

Sharifa:

That's right, and there are approximately 11 million Canadians right now that identify themselves as multicultural or visible minority, and that is already 26% of the total Canadian population.

Sophia:

Yeah, it's powerful, it's so powerful and it really you think about how that is going to shape us as who we are, as Canadians. It'll shape what our country stands for. And when you think about all of this, and if you marry this into the cyclical process of immigration, you have newcomers who land they, you know, a bit of disorientation where do I need to go? What grocery store do I need to? I have to buy food, I need a home, I need a bank. So there's a newcomer element and as years progress, they fall into this more assimilating stage where they're connecting with the country they now call home, but still connected back to the country that they called home prior and, let's add on, a decade after that and now they're fully assimilated into the Canadian roots.

Sophia:

So you think about all this immigration that's coming and the cycle that keeps happening, happening. There's so much opportunity to be able to reach all of these different customers, multicultural audiences, in their moment in life, depending on the region, where they're at. I think there's and it's a cycle, so it goes on. It's not something that's one and done, where we're going to market and then we peel back. It's. The potential is honestly limitless and I think there's so much power in that that I don't think a lot of marketers today recognize Absolutely.

Sharifa:

And of course, I've shopped at Fresco, ocello, fresco and Sobeys and I love the fact that it's as if you have stocked your products according to the journey of these new immigrants too, because when they first come here they would go to the mom and pop store of their local ethnic convenience store to find the food, the foodstuff, the product they're acquainted with. But what I love about it that many of my friends they're new immigrants. They can walk into a fresh goal and they know that they could find things that are from India, from Pakistan, from actually from China and from Hong Kong that are acquainted with and also, at the same time, that they don't have to go around looking for other, especially the ones that have been here a little bit like in our year or two.

Sophia:

they're buying mainstream products and they have such convenience yes so I love the part that you are actually be able to track the journey of consumers as to what stage they're at and be able to provide the appropriate products absolutely, and that's a huge focus for us, and at empire I think we have the benefit of having different types of grocery store formats to be welcoming and provide that offering to all of the customers. So, whether you're just looking for your brands, nothing else, we have Fresh Go, we have Chalo Fresh Go, and then you can come into Sobeys and you can still find those brands, but an opportunity to discover maybe some local brands or other brands and products that you, you know they may not have been comfortable finding earlier on. So it all comes back to this whole cycle with respect to the immigration process and we're very fortunate that we have the ability to provide to those customers.

Sharifa:

Some of the brands that I know, for example, that they would be doing research as to what are some of the product that these newcomers acquainted with. Back home. They might not have exactly the same product, but what they have is something very similar. So in a sense, that's the product equity that they have, the value that these people feel. So some of the smart from what I feel, so some of the smart from what I know, some of the smart marketers are also looking into brands. They're very similar so they really don't have to start from scratch, like even like a cleaning product. You know, yeah, that they said, wow, they're so similar. It's great opportunity. But of course, these have to be done with research, you know, knowing what is the consumption behavior before they come to Canada. And is there an opportunity for these brands to be marketing their products that are similar and these newcomers will right away get?

Sophia:

it.

Sharifa:

And I find so many of them have been successful in doing that, but of course you do have to. It's not like anecdotal at all. Right, it's got to be really based on insights in order to do a business plan for it a few you know, with the campaigns we've worked on. What are you most proud of? Can you tell me a few of them?

Sophia:

without even without giving out secret sauce. No, honestly, I also love this question and I could probably go on for days and days about all of the initiatives, and not personally that I've done, but what we were able to to lead as an organization, as a team. Um, I'll talk in depth about one of them and I'll touch a little bit on on a few others. Like I said, I could ramble about this all day, but I won't. I would say the biggest piece initiative-wise is I'll start with Chalo Fresco. So, for those who aren't aware, chalo Fresco is a grocery store, so a low, a discount grocery store that is also catered to the South Asian community. And so Chalo Fresh Go opened up in Ontario in 2015 with the intention of bringing value, bringing all of these great products with a vast assortment of South Asian products available for the South Asian community to find, so essentially like a one-stop shop with the value proposition of a Fresh Go.

Sophia:

There was a great adoption in Ontario when we launched, we were able to open up and scale up to five six now stores within the Ontario market, and when we launched out west, it was a bit of a different story and what we realized is the adoption wasn't as immediate as it was in Ontario, and so we knew we had some work to do to try to educate exactly what a chalo fresco was, and we did a lot of research, we did a lot of insights and what we uncovered is the first generation South Asian community tends to shop at multiple locations in order to complete their full grocery shop, and, amongst all other research and data that we were pulling, we thought there was an amazing opportunity to tell our Chalo Fresh Go story to the South Asian community in Western Canada, to invite them in our store and have them experience a full grocery shop just under one roof, and so, in partnership with Bell Moral Multicultural Marketing, we launched a campaign for Chalo Fresh Go under the name was Grocery Shopping Just Like Home, and it was adapted in two languages in Hindi and in Punjabi.

Sharifa:

I remember it's the one that we have it in the marketplace.

Sophia:

Yes, exactly, and we had TV spots, we had radio, we had print digital, we also wrapped some transit buses. We even partnered with PTC Punjabi Canada to be the lead sponsor on a competition cooking show called Canada to Super Chef, and we were able to make connections with celebrities that were recognized within the South Asian community. And so we did all this and in just 10 weeks we had such incredible metrics. We reached so many, you know, south Asians across our stores, trade areas, across Western Canada, so in BC and in Alberta, and the results are fantastic. So it elevated our awareness, it elevated our familiarity, it elevated traffic into the stores, of course, sales and business growth, and it's allowed us to actually be able to sustain that momentum. So it was an amazing initiative that we were able to tell that story in a meaningful way, thanks, obviously, to our partnership and also thanks to the research that we conducted.

Sharifa:

What you're saying is also that what have worked in Ontario and it has been very successful. There's so many stores that is really a bit different regionally. Yes, in that you really have to make that effort and you can't take it for granted that one size fit all right. You're absolutely right. So you have to know the region, the habits and also who are the immigrants that are coming into BC, because at times it could be a difference. You know a lot of them from our research. We know there are a lot of professionals that are coming to South Asia or otherwise, but then there are a lot of family, big family oriented. You know families that are over settling in BC too. So regionally, at times the immigrants are different, you know, and some of them even to the point of shopping behavior are different. So I totally agree, research is so important and then regional marketing initiative should really be customized.

Sophia:

Absolutely. There's so many nuances within each of the regions and the lifestyles of everybody.

Sharifa:

So what are some of the greatest takeaways that you've learned on all the projects and the campaigns that you've done?

Sophia:

takeaway that you've learned on all the projects and the campaigns that you've done. A few things Before I jump on that one, though, I'm just going to add two more thoughts.

Sophia:

to your other question on initiatives, I'm going to build very quickly the other one. That's super relevant and it goes back to your comment around painting everything with the same brush. I would say that's a huge lesson because, as an example, on the Fresh go side, we, one of our most recent campaigns, we wanted to tell us a story about value. And how do we tell a story about value without having to bore the customer and say all these things that we're doing? And so you know, again with our partners, we invented a word in english called valuelicious, and so the challenge was how do we take the spirit of? Because it's not even a word in english, so of course it's not going to be a word in all the other languages. So how do we take the spirit of what it is we're trying to communicate and bring it into a language or a word or some sort of communication that has meaning to our cultural audiences? And again, with an amazing partnership with Balmoral, we were able to look at the lens of our customers and actually recreate and adapt that word and the spirit in which it was intended into five different languages, and so we were able to come out with a huge campaign, not just in English, but in Hindi, in Tagalog, in Arabic, in simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese. It was probably the biggest, most multicultural campaign that we've done so far at Freshco and in such an authentic way and different from everything.

Sophia:

It's not like we just said the word valuelicious. We took the time to make sure that we were authentic to the customer. So I'd say one of the lessons definitely is around just not painting everything with the same brush. You need to be authentic. It has. It's not about your personal gain. How do we make sure we're taking the time to be able to connect with each and every different person, customer? Secondly, another lesson I would say is really understanding and respecting the significance of what it is we're trying to say. There are so many cultural nuances among different cultures and you just really need to make sure that you spend the time to do research, to ask around, to ask friends, ask for somebody, to poke holes in what you're presenting, because if you want to be authentic, you really need to do your research and understand and respect the cultures at hand.

Sharifa:

Definitely there's no such thing, and the biggest mistake a lot of marketers make is that they translate or do verbatim you know, and most of the time it doesn't mean anything to these individual groups because you don't even understand the value. You know all the nuances and I think a lot of brands, when they haven't really done their homework, is that they take it for granted that they, these consumers, will understand you. You know and they don't, and you got to be really talking to them, because you can't treat these groups like they'll just absorb everything. No, they don't. And you got to be really authentic and it has to be the key word I always say it has to be relevant to them absolutely. Under what context is that you're using the similar word in their own language as value, licious, right, but if you don't even understand them, they would say well, you mixed up.

Sharifa:

Every different culture has a way of saying things, especially within the context of buying food. Yes, you know. Yes, what it means to them. What it means is that the pricing, is it it the offering? Is it the product? So you have to have an all around 360 degree, look into each and every ethnicity in order to be successful, and I really applaud. You know Fresh Gold be able to take that time to be able. You know you just have one kick in the can If you're going to launch it. You know you've got to take the time and do it. Either don't do it or you do it well, exactly, and I've got to applaud Freshco for doing that.

Sophia:

Thank you.

Sharifa:

So what are some of also the lessons business lessons that you learn overall in your multicultural work.

Sophia:

Absolutely, and what I love about the learnings from Freshco that you just talked about is the fact that we can. We're now bringing this into all of our banners under Empire. So how do we take the learnings business learnings, marketing learnings over to Safeway, over to Sobeys, and there's a lot of great work and great collaboration that's happening with our cross-functional partners. I would say it really taught me the value of making sure that we're collaborative with each and I say cross-functional. It takes a village, it takes a team, to really be able to bring this to life.

Sophia:

As we think about our job in marketing is to invite customers to store.

Sophia:

But if we invite customers to store and we don't carry the products that is relevant to them, we don't have the price point that is relevant or that makes sense, we don't have the store experience or the store conditions that makes a customer feel like they're welcome.

Sophia:

All of that is to waste. So it really is such a like I like to use the word like nucleus of teams and people to be able to understand what our goal is and be able to make that happen for the customer. So the collaboration, the cross-functional collaboration, is a huge key takeaway, and applying diverse voices, like I mentioned earlier, it's you kind of want a bit of challenge, you want a bit of healthy debate like I'm not the smartest person in the room, I don't know in everything and this is where it's so important to do research, to have feedback, to understand truly is what we're doing and saying to the customer the most relevant and will it be the most memorable at the end of the day? And then leveraging our insights and you know, seeing what is working, what's not working, how do we adapt?

Sharifa:

And also I have found that from working with your organization, inclusivity is a really important word for internal collaboration with all departments you know, based on the merchandising part, the internal, the marketing operations. So how would you have talked about inclusivity of the Empire Group or your company?

Sophia:

It's a huge I don't even want to say it's a huge focus, because it's not about it being a focus. It's part of our culture and I think where Empire and Sobeys has done a great job is actually bringing it and embedding diversity, equity and inclusion within the mix. It's not something that's like oh, we're operating day to day and now we need to think about DE&I. It's just so rooted in the way that we operate and we go to business and it's just such a natural part, and I'm so proud of the fact that it is something that is so embedded within our organization that I don't think happens in a lot of.

Sharifa:

But it's so very, very organic in the way it's being done. It's not as if it's forced down the pipeline, you know. So you know your business model obviously have worked very well with you and with all organization. The commitment to inclusivity really position your organization as leaders in multicultural internally because you have so many diverse staff in it and all externally and it's driving both business success and also positive social impact because you would be known that this is something that is in your DNA exactly, as opposed to force down the pipeline right, yeah so in the various roles that you have held in your career and been responsible for brand expressions for many companies.

Sharifa:

How do you guide an overlay cultural lens, you know into a product or company's brand expression? Brand expression is really how you project your brand out there. What do you want your customer to look at you? What kind of story you're gonna tell them about your brand, and can you share some of your viewpoint how you do that?

Sophia:

Absolutely, and it's such a that's. Another key piece in marketing is you can celebrate all of the significant holidays and memorable and significant moments within our customers' lives, but what's also important is being able to your point around, taking that brand expression and how do we show up in a way that is meaningful to a customer but also maintaining what it is that we want to stand for as a brand, and so it really is. Again, going back to research and having a really deep understanding of our customers. You know, I emphasize very much about partnering with cultural experts and agencies such as yourself, about moral marketing, just to make sure that we're really set up for success, Because I think what the power lies is all in the subtleties and the nuances.

Sophia:

At the end of the day, anybody could Google you know Google Translate Anybody could Google what Lunar, New Year or Diwali stands for, but where the impact really lies is in the partnerships and that rooted understanding and customer insight to know what the subtleties are and the nuances that then are projected into the language used, the expression that we use, the way that we go to market, the channels that we leverage. Do we communicate in language or is English okay, and when? Generational? So there's so many functions that you know from getting rooted in insights and research and in partnership, I think is the key to be able to deliver on those subtleties.

Sharifa:

That's very powerful takeaway because, like how you do, the narrative and the context is so important. You know and it's not just you know this is niche marketing, right? Multicultural marketing. It's no different from when mainstream is saying I'm targeting mothers, right, you call that. Have children, so you really have to custom make the narrative and the messaging to them. So I think a lot of brands have to start thinking like that.

Sharifa:

You know that, okay, we have 25% of the population that are of multicultural origin, and then even within them there are some of the really big population. How are we going to have a conversation with them? That is not going to be just that. We're talking to the 75%, right? So, because most of the time it doesn't work, it'll just be like phew over their head and because it's not relevant to them. And it's so easy for people that are on the computer or on the television and said I don't think they are talking to me, right? You know at all. And there's two things. First of all, they'll switch you off. Secondly, they feel that you would be also disrespectful, exactly Because you really don't understand them and they're not relevant.

Sharifa:

So you have walked the walk and talk the talk and you're integrating with all your experience, whether you're CPG brand and now with your present, and by integrating in-store merchandising and operation and with marketing strategy. How do you come overcome challenges? There must be a lot of challenges out there because this internally, you have so many banners already and they have their own objective. They have their own locations. They have their own objective. They have their own locations. They have their own product offering. How do you overcome some of these challenges?

Sophia:

It's an excellent question. I think it goes back to if you think about how quickly our landscape and our country is changing. We talk about a quarter of the population currently multicultural and you think about in 10 years' time it's going to be a third of the population. So this is our landscape is changing so quickly and sometimes it's changing faster than our systems or our technologies can actually allow, especially in a bigger organization. I think, at the end of the day, it's important that we're all clear on what our objective is, what our plan is, and making sure there's alignment within the organization. We talked about the top and how does that cascade down? Making sure that you know the teams all over, not just in our offices but even in our stores, are brought up to speed on the why it really goes back to. Why are we doing this? Why is it important? Building those authentic connections and when you in an organization as big as ours, it does require a lot of cross-functional conversation.

Sophia:

We actually have prioritized this. So thinking about like keeping a focused lens, we have prioritized this and we do meet with our merchandising, operations, finance, hr, marketing, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. We come together regularly to meet to discuss what it is that we want to achieve. What does success look like, what is the timeline? And we also address realities. So maybe there's is something that we can't achieve because there's, our technology doesn't allow, but what is a way in? And we are really solutions oriented in that way. So, even though there's a lot of challenges that come to us, we try to find ways to be able to pivot and figure out what is meaningful and relevant to the customer.

Sophia:

And what we have been doing also is we've been prioritizing the education to our store teams. So you think about, like I'll give an example. So you know, during festivals or very significant moments such as Diwali or Vaisakhi, we try to educate our store teams as to the stories behind why this has come to be, what are the foods that are eaten and why, and it gives people a really exciting sense of like they just kind of learn something new, and everybody loves to learn something new. So you kind of learn a little bit of a tidbit and then you understand if a customer comes to you in your store during Lunar New Year and they're looking for noodles, you know, at least somebody could say, oh, I actually understand why noodles are so significant over this holiday. So it's, it's providing that education and, in turn, the feedback we've been receiving from our store teams is that they really love the ability to have that understanding which they didn't before.

Sharifa:

I think that's a really great strategy within the company, because you don't want to disconnect, because these are the people that are frontline and they do have to understand why is the company implementing, implementing these measures and also, what are the products that are coming through? Yeah, and if they're facing customer, how are they going to answer? You know the questions they're looking for and you know it cannot be better when you have you have strategy, of course, you have strategies, you have planning, you have operation planning and very importantly is the training of employees, because these are all critical components to successful business building and definitely in the long run and I'm sure you've seen it is exponential growth, particularly with the way how you operate and particularly how you implement multicultural marketing and particularly how we implement multicultural marketing.

Sharifa:

I know that at Western Food which is one of your past CPG experience is with Ace Bakery and Artisan Brands you play a really key role in growing that business and can you share some of the insights that this brand to various customers, particularly the newcomers, who might not be familiar with the artisan brands of bread or whatever the products that they have? How do you handle that? Because there's so many newcomers that at times they're also eager to adopt the Canadian culture, but they don't understand it also. But they sort of like look around what everybody's eating, what are some of the things that they should offer to their children? So can you share some of the experience that you had?

Sophia:

Absolutely, I would say. Marketing at Ace Bakery was probably my very first gateway into the world of being very precise and targeted with your messaging to customers. I would say Most of the time, most of the time, experiencing is believing. So an opportunity here is like marketing artisan or Canadian brands to a multicultural segment. There's an opportunity to dive into the storytelling. How does this product add value and why is it important to the customer?

Sophia:

If it is a product, definitely encourage sampling, you know, and talk about what the value that this product brings to the customer. Is it maybe a healthier version of something that your kids have seen on TV or is it you know you're actually supporting the local business or local economy? You know, I reflect back and I cannot imagine that the immigration process is an easy one, and so I feel like all the steps that it takes in order to come into a country like Canada. Once you're able to call Canada home, there is that emotional connection. So how do we like that's one of the thinking is how do we make sure that we're bringing our customers along for the journey and the ability to taste that, what Canada has to offer, or the craftsmanship that artisan products have to offer? So it's always keeping that storytelling in the back of your mind and being able to tell that story to customers.

Sharifa:

And also understanding their story and understand their journey is so important. You know, I'm an immigrant myself. I have many friends that are immigrants, been here some a few years, some quite a few years. But also one reason why we all come here? Because really to have a better life, particularly the ones that have children. They feel that Canada is safer. There's no wars as far as we know so far, and then the environment is better.

Sharifa:

And one of the aspiration we have found from many of our research is that they want their children to grow up as big and strong as Canadian children, and they sacrifice a lot when they give up their homeland, they give up their wealth, they give up their position, but they come here for their children. So it's very important that what you have done is the narrative saying to that we offer healthy products and that's what they're constantly looking for. What can make my children grow up healthier and also are stronger, you know? And what food should they eat? And also, at the same time, what are some of the foods in Canada they should really start eating so that they will feel that they're culturally more Canadian. Exactly, and I think Ace Bakery Artisan has been doing the right thing totally.

Sophia:

And then the other thing too is my experience on the retail side is having strong collaborations with influencers, with community groups that resonate with our multicultural audiences. It really helps elevate and build that trust and awareness.

Sharifa:

It's so important that I've always tell a lot of my clients that you know be working with community leaders. Part of the that they should and and, of course, influencers and we call also KOL, key opinion leaders and a lot of them miss it is that community outreach is such an integral part of the marketing mix because they are so focused on just talking about the product itself, talking about a company, but a lot of them sit on an ivory tower while they are marketing. So, but if you're not out there, you see who are the community leaders, because they can be your ambassadors. If they're convinced that you are very authentic, they're really, of course you're coming in, hopefully they would do business with you, but you're truly convinced that you're interested in their community. So it makes a lot of difference and I think that a lot of brands downplay the part of community outreach.

Sophia:

I love that you said that, because that's also another key focus area. It was on the fresh, go and shallow side, and what we're trying to bring now to Sobeys and Safeway is humanizing the brand Because, to your point about like you could sit at a desk and create plans and create strategies, but what's so important is actually the ability to interact with our customers and connect our brand and have that face time, because it goes back to the experience. The experience could be tasting a product, but could also be the experience you are having in the store, but also out of the store, and so there have been a lot of community events and community partnerships, our franchise network. You know we definitely encourage them to be out in the community to create those, those one-on-one conversations with with the community, which is incredibly powerful yeah, and and it's so, so important.

Sharifa:

I couldn't you know in in my career I couldn't have stress, know the important part of when you're actually trying to implement multicultural marketing discipline. It's so important. So, beyond marketing, I know that also you're passionate and also your company is passionate about people development in terms of coaching and professional growth. Can you share with some of our listeners the benefits of surrounding yourself with a diverse workforce and what is the outcome of doing that?

Sophia:

Absolutely Honestly, people leadership, I would say, is probably my most favorite thing, my most favorite part of my job, and it's not just about building great, effective teams, it's really about building diverse teams, and sometimes that requires you to take a step back and try to understand, like, do I have all of the possible opinions I can have around my team to help elevate the brand or business even greater? You know, it could also have reputation protection at the end of the day. I'm not going to take credit for this term, but I have leaned into this whole concept around intent versus impact for a number of years. And that just goes back to sometimes and you know, nobody wakes up in the morning and is like I want to do something, have a bad day at work. No one, no one thinks that way.

Sophia:

But sometimes what? The impact that we have based on the communication or what we put out there in the market doesn't actually have the same impact as we were intending and can actually be detrimental. To just validate that what it is we want to communicate will deliver on the impact, will deliver the impact in which we are seeking to have. So there's the reputation side of it and then it's just building the trust and credibility with customers, because the more and more you deliver on the message and deliver the impact in which you intend, then more and more you're building that foundational trust.

Sharifa:

Creating trust is so important with your end consumers, but also it lies with having a good leadership right so that it would drive innovation internally and drive business growth. But when you show outside that you are cultivating a positive workplace, then it would also create a great social impact. People would see that you are a great company. So now we're almost at the end, sophia, but is there anything else you would like to share with us listeners today? You know you know for the past 30 minutes you've given so much value in especially some of our listeners or viewers today as to what have been your experience Most of the key things that you have to remember when you are doing multicultural marketing, so maybe you can share, as a party note, what are some of your experience and what do you would like to share.

Sophia:

Absolutely. I can't believe it's over already. I would really like to emphasize the importance of just continuous learning. You know I didn't. I jumped into this opportunity in this role five years ago and to this day I am learning every so much, every single day. So I definitely encourage everyone to continue harnessing this continuous learning.

Sophia:

Don't assume you have all the answers, because you don't, and that's okay, and it's about staying open and curious to understanding the stories of why and trying to take that into what you could do in the future as a marketer. You think about just as how our Canadian landscape is changing. Marketing is changing a lot. You know the way that we approach customers, the opportunity for personalization. There's a great opportunity to like adapt based on the needs of all of our customers. And it goes back to this continuous, this continuous learning.

Sophia:

The other piece, too, is just basically what we were talking about earlier, about having a diverse team and being open to diverse perspectives and different points of view. I think our brains are so hardwired to operate so fast that sometimes, an altering point of view, we can get a little bit defensive because we're so close to whatever we're working on. But it's one of those things that I would encourage everyone listening that if you find yourself in that way, catch yourself, because that one thought and that one comment can actually be the thing that either elevates your brand in business or even saves it in a way. So I would say, embracing diversity and inclusivity in all aspects drives success and drives reputation and, honestly, just builds a higher performing team in general.

Sharifa:

I found that from my experience at Balmoral for 35 years. It's just that of course, you have to look at the market situation what's out there, what are potentials but also, at the same time, I think that people should take risk If it's a calculated risk, that you have all the data there, all the insights, all the proof points and you could see, wow, I'm going to capture a great market share. That I think some of my competitors haven't done. You know, if you do all the homework and improve points, I think people should jump off the fence and be able to dive in it, because you won't regret it If you've done all your homework. You would be in such a better position in a couple of years because you've taken that calculated risk.

Sophia:

I think that's huge, because it's also sometimes it's the white space or the magic is. It's not. All this research is telling me I need to do something. It's OK, this is all the information I know, and it is calculated. It's based on the research, but it's also based a little bit on wisdom and a little bit on taking a little risk and testing and learning at the end of the day, because that's where the magic would happen is in this area, and keep on going. It's another piece I think is also important is it's not just a one and done, it's how do you have a rhythm of activity? So you are that brand that is top of mind to your audience.

Sharifa:

I totally agree, because I think there are brands that are okay. So they oh, we did it, we just did a shotgun approach and, of course, maybe the way they executed was not even in the right direction. And then they give up. Right, and then they would say I don't think it would work, but I think that I think they should take example. There's so many great brands like yourself, you know, and the listeners here have learned so much about the insights and experience that they have to know that there's nothing that is easy.

Sophia:

And then what I want to build on is just have fun At the end of the day, whether you're in marketing or any aspect of the business. Yes, it's a niche world that we market in and work on, but there's so much fun involved. You can test and learn, you could try new things, you adapt and learn as you grow, and I think that is one of the biggest takeaways for me is it has been truly a fun, rewarding experience to work on.

Sharifa:

I totally agree and I tell you the last 35 years I had lots of fun, you know, especially as a niche market, right, but it can be done. And look at the brands, like yourself, empire, sobeys, fresh Gold, other brands of my clients that have put in the work, put in the homework, put in the research and are are doing very, very well and they're seeing the results, how they're capturing additional market share that they never dreamed of that they would be doing but today. Thank you so much, sophia, what a powerful conversation we had and thank you for sharing so much value to our listeners and they have so much to learn today from you.

Sharifa:

Thank you so much for having me and congratulations on 35 years, thank you, thank you, it's a milestone and we're very proud of this, and thank you everyone for watching today again and I'll see you next time. Thank you for joining us today. If you have enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our podcast and rate and review the show. Join us next time for another journey into the exciting world of multicultural marketing. Thank you.

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Sharifa Khan

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