Food Basics SVP on inspiration behind ‘More Flavours of Home’ cookbook
Food Basics is cooking up a new project that puts its customers—and the dishes that define them—in the spotlight.
Coming this November, More Flavours of Home is a community-sourced cookbook and content series that celebrates the recipes and traditions most meaningful to Ontario’s diverse communities. The initiative builds on Food Basics’ “More Flavours of the World” platform, which highlights the thousands of international products the retailer carries across its stores.
“We’ve learned over time that assortment alone doesn't build loyalty; the people who cook with and share those ingredients are what bring the flavours to life,” said Hardeep Kharaud, SVP of Metro-owned Food Basics, in an email interview with Canadian Grocer.
“Great prices bring people in, but stocking the ingredients customers actually cook with, and recognizing the culture behind them, is what earns the weekly shop.”
With More Flavours of Home, the retailer is taking that mindset one step further—into customers’ kitchens. Food Basics is sourcing content for the cookbook and series through shopper nominations (the submission window closes Sept. 9 at 11:59 p.m). Selected home cooks will be featured alongside the dishes and traditions they’re known for.
The first edition launches in celebration of Diwali, with future editions timed to coincide with Lunar New Year and Ramadan. Kharaud said those cultural moments were selected because of their food traditions, as well as their significance to hundreds of thousands of Ontarians across different cultural and faith backgrounds.
READ: Food Basics supports Diwali celebrations in two Ontario communities
“More than a collection of recipes, the series shares the stories, traditions and memories that make these dishes meaningful, told through the home cooks’ own words and photos,” Kharaud said.
Each edition of More Flavours of Home will be available on the Food Basics website, with a limited number of print copies available.
The grocer is promoting More Flavours of Home through a mix of PR, social content and paid media, with the home cooks’ stories at the heart of the campaign. With each cookbook, Food Basics will bring together featured recipes and their ingredients across customer touchpoints, including in-store signage, flyer channels and owned platforms.
“Customers can discover a dish and pick up everything they need to make it in the same trip,” said Kharaud. “As each edition celebrates another mix of communities, we’ll tailor that experience to the moment being featured.”
While the series looks beyond the shelf, Food Basics’ international product assortment remains a central focus. Kharaud said the series is a culmination of years of behind-the-scenes effort.
“We’ve been on a real journey to sharpen our merchandising, pricing and assortment in cultural goods so it’s consistent and dependable across our stores from Windsor to Ottawa,” he said. That work extends to the fresh department, including the specialty ingredients, halal meat and ethnic produce items that anchor many cultural dishes.
“More Flavours of Home is a reflection of that work and the relationships we’ve built with the communities we serve across the province,” said Kharaud. “As we keep strengthening that foundation, we’ll keep evolving the series alongside those communities.”
