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Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG), a non-proÞ t trade association founded in 1962 has been working collaboratively with the community by equipping and enabling independent, franchised and specialty grocers to achieve sustainable success in their business.
Recently, CFIG organized a special event dubbed as “Gro­cery Showcase West (GSW)”. The event showcased sections that highlighted newer trends in bringing to home meals enjoyed at high-end restaurants. The event provided an opportunity for Western grocery retailers to meet with food producers and suppli­ers from across Canada. GSW is the largest show of its kind in Western Canada, it is dedicated to serving the growing multi-bil­lion dollar grocery industry by facilitating business partnerships between retailers, major and lo­cal manufacturers, private pro­cessors, and importers. The show featured 350 exhibitors and educational sessions that cater to various interest of discipline of the business.

Featured retailers are selected for their unique, innovative of­ferings; locally and organically grown produce; exotic and eth­nic fare sourced from around the world. This event is in response to the recent economic climate and exposure to new tastes and cultures, consumers’ palate that are becoming more adventurous in addition to being selective in food pur­chases.

John F.T Scott, President and CEO of CFIG, explained that today’s consumers are well in­formed of nutrition and healthy food options. In addition, there is an increasing demand for high quality food products that offer unique flavor and convenience. Mr. Scott stressed that CFIG role is to advise retailers of the chang­ing consumer buying trends. To able to cope up with the demand, retailers should react to these changes by having the products available at the store shelves.

As an example, Thai Away Food Services Ltd., one of the in the showcase, featured delicious Thai meals from the freezer to your table. Delicious concoctions of authentic Thai recipes like Spicy Noodles, Curry Entrée with Chicken or Mixed Veggies. These products are available at Whole Foods Market, Capers Commu­nity Market and Choices Market.

Eat Well Ethnic Foods featured Indian Cuisine preparations. They create a truly enjoyable din­ing experience at home. Appe­tizers and entrees use all natural ingredients with the idea of family style dishes. Products are avail­able in two forms: Ready to Eat ; Spice It Up are seasoned prepara­tions that requires minimum mix­ing and heating to bring out the flavor of dishes. These products are found at the frozen sections of Stong’s Market and IGA Stores.

Mava Foods brings good food to all types of tables. Owned and operated by Chef Markus Von Albrecht and Jerry Basas, the company is committed to con­coct a wide range of affordable, nutritious meals with unique fla­vor in products that are readily available in your favorite stores. Mava Foods are available at IGA Stores.

Our trip to Manila was packed with exciting parties and trip to the island of Boracay. We enjoyed the hospitality of people plus helpful and polite escorts from Kalibo Airport to the Bamboo Resort. Surpris­ingly, we did not miss Manila or Makati at all because Boracay has everything we enjoy like comfort; food including Starbucks cof­fee and Shakey’s Pizza; BPI ATM machines just in case we ran-out of cash; fresh fruits and veggies. The concept of buying your favor­ite fresh seafood and having them cooked at the nearby restaurant is simply awesome! “Ituro mo at Iluluto ko” simplify the resto busi­ness of having their main ingredi­ents displayed outside the store while customers just point out what they like with specify cook­ing method or ingredients to go with it. Boracay is an island so one can expect to be pampered only with the freshest seafood in the world!

Boracay has a long stretch walk of white sand about more than 4 kilometers. Swimming at the any spot of sea was simply enjoy­able. On our first night, we were shocked of ‘All you can Eat buffet offerings! Japanese, Mongolian, Italian, Filipino-Spanish in addition to Grilled (Ihaw-Ihaw) cost P250 (approx$4.00) per head, a real treat !

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