Top 3 reasons to attend GIC

INNOVATIONS. With over 110,000-sq.-ft. dedicated to innovations from 10+ countries, 850+ companies, 320+ exhibitors, find all your grocery needs front-end to back-end. Right when you walk in, there is the New Product Showcase, a curated offering of the top innovations from the trade exhibition. Later the same evening, the Top 10 in Grocery contest winners will be unveiled at the FREE networking event Merchandising Excellence Awards lobby stage area. Attendees can plan their treasure hunting by checking out the companies offering exclusive show discounts/offers. 

There are also numerous pavilions featuring global and local companies all under one roof! Country pavilions this year include: Spain, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Korea. Along with these, stop by pavilions from Canada Beef, Choose Ontario, Ontario Craft Brewers, First Timers, and Small Business Exchange sponsored by Canadian Grocer. GIC will have a host of companies representing products from several other parts of the world including the U.K., USA, Italy, Jamaica, Guyana, China, Japan, Turkey, Singapore and Egypt to name a few.

CONNECTIONS. Join over 5,600 attendees and grow your business, your network and your sales. Key programs connecting suppliers and retailers include: Top 10 in Grocery New Product Showcase, Retailer Connect meeting program, Small Business Exchange sponsored by Canadian Grocer.

Many of the events are FREE to those with a trade show pass to the two-day event. On Monday, Oct. 21, join all of grocery at the Opening Reception at 5:30pm in Room 1020. On Tuesday, Oct. 22, the first day of the conference is open to anyone with a trade show ticket. Starting at 9:00 am on the A. Lassonde main stage in the entrance to the exhibition, all can come hear the keynote address from Joe Jackman of Jackman Reinvents, a leading expert on rapid reinvention and corporate transformation. As well, your ticket opens the opportunities to meet key connections at the Merchandising Excellence Awards taking place after the trade show ends at 4:30pm. Come mix and mingle with thought leaders and the main category and retail contacts from across Canada. The Tuesday event will celebrate manufacturers in the grocery industry with the winners in the Top 10 in Grocery and Best Booth award winners announced, as well as the winners in the Master Merchandising in-store display program. See schedule.

HR/STAFFING is a major concern for all sectors. Join Harold Lloyd, retail expert onTuesday at the Interac Insights & Innovations Stage for a hands on session focused on your people. On Wednesday during the concurrent workshops, Andrea Wynter, head of people at ADP Canada, will look at the most prominent HR and labour issues facing today’s grocer. Harold will do another Wednesday afternoon stage session, where attendees can take the “Employee Loyalty Test” to find out retention probability score.

TRENDS Staying on top of trends is key for retailers. Hear about the latest data from NPD Group’s Robert Carter on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and how grocers can win the meal time moment with creativity, innovation, and a deep understanding of when and where you have the most influence. On the Interac Insights & Innovations Stage, McCormick chef David Burnett will offer fresh flavour insights and inspiration from around the globe impacting restaurants, retail shelves, home kitchens and beyond.

OPERATIONS  Front end and back end education is key component of the GIC experience. Find out how to do debit right in an omni-channel world, with Interac’s Shenela Tavarayan, Interac Corp., on the trade stage. Don’t miss the workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 23, by BDO’s Eric Matusiak and Jeremy Scott on the 5 Component of a Successful Customer Experience. With plastics and sustainability hot topics for retailers, VJ Bala of HeyJute will offer up some solutions with his session on Wednesday on the trade stage.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES  Hear from Cannabis Compliance’s Aparna Gulavane on the emerging opportunities for the food industry in the edibles cannabis sector. Retail expert Harold Lloyd shows how to remain relevant on Wednesday during the workshop sessions, while Kerry Liu of Rubikloud will showcase AI and machine learning and how it’s being used to minimize stock-outs and reduce the manual effort required to build promotions.