Empire’s Olympic dream delayed, but not denied

Empire Company Limited—the parent company of Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Farm Boy, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Longo's and Rachelle Béry—introduced a marketing campaign this week, less than three months ahead of the Tokyo Summer Games, Empire’s first Olympics as official grocer of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

"Our store teams are thrilled to cheer on Team Canada as we ramp up to the Games in Tokyo," said Sandra Sanderson, senior vice-president, marketing, Empire.

Empire signed on as a Team Canada sponsor in October 2019, but what was to be its first Olympics as sponsor, Tokyo 2020, was delayed because of the pandemic.

Now, though COVID remains a global health emergency, the games are expected to take place in July, and Empire is one of the first big Canadian marketers in market with a campaign tied to its sponsorship.

The Feed the Dream campaign—which Empire is calling a “movement”—is intended to both show support for Canada’s Olympians and emphasize the grocer’s focus on bringing families together through food. “At Empire, we believe there is a powerful connection between family, food and sport that unites Canadians,” said Sanderson. “Our partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee helps us bring that connection to life.”

The campaign includes advertising, in-store activations, and direct support through the donation of grocery cards to athletes. “To further extend our partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee, we will also do our part to feed the dream, donating 'athlete grocery cards' to support Olympic qualified athletes,” said Sanderson. “Many athletes rely on a community of support to nurture their success and we are proud to be a part of this community for Team Canada!"