Food & Beverage

Grocery Innovations Canada 2026

Grocery Innovations Canada 2026 is the premier stage where top brands, innovators, and thought leaders come together to shape the future of grocery and retail. Featuring exhibitions, conference sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities, the event brings together key decision-makers, buyers, and industry leaders. Discover the latest products, innovati…

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31Speakers
2Sponsors
70On the bill · sessions
29Companies · in total
§I

Speakers

Programmed at Grocery, in alphabetical order.
Aaron Goertzen
Sr. Economist & Director · BMO
Adam Halim
SVP, Product & Marketing · Flipp
Adam Zimmerman
Co-Founder · Ideal
Aeron Lawrence
Flipp
Amanda Lai
Associate Partner · McMillanDoolittle
Brian Bradley
President · Stong’s Markets Ltd.
Brian Wong
General Partner, Ascii Ventures | Author · Ascii Ventures
Carman Allison
VP of Business Development · Canada
Cole Jones
Local Line
Cyndi Loza
Senior Editor · Path to Purchase Institute
David Burnett
St. Culinary Development Manager · McCormick & Company
David Haaf
Vice President, Fresh Foods · FMI
Dino Bianco
Spirit of the Independent · Spirit of the Independent
Edward Son
Korea Food Trading
Ella Zhuang
Operations Manager · Brother Fixtures
Francois Bouchard
Co-President · GS1 Canada
François Bouchard
GS1 Canada
Gary Sands
SVP · Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers
Giancarlo Trimarchi
President · Vince’s Market
Henry Chambers
SVP Canada & Americas · Sentinel
Jay Highland
EVP, Creative · WD Partners
Jeffrey Min
Life Member · Independent Grocer
§II

Sponsors

The houses behind the program. Tiers as disclosed.
Canadian GrocerLead Media Sponsor
MAXX CHARGEOfficial Charge Partner
§III

Agenda

Selected from 70 sessions on the bill.
  • 1:00pm–1:30pm

    Session To Be Confirmed

    TBC

    Insights & Innovations Stage
  • 10:10am–10:20am

    Coffee Break

  • 10:10am–10:50am

    Economic Outlook: Navigating the Forces Shaping Grocery

    Hear from Michael Gregory, BMO Deputy Chief Economist, on the outlook for the sector and what these trends mean for grocery retailers, manufacturers and the supply chain.

  • 10:25am–10:55am

    Beyond the Flyer: How Canadian Retailers and Brands Are Winning Back the Value-Driven Shoppers

    Canadian shoppers have changed with tighter budgets, higher expectations, and less patience for brands that don't show up where and how they actually shop. We'll walk through real …

    Concurrent Workshops
  • 10:25am–10:55am

    One Scan, Infinite Possibilities: Why 2D Barcodes Powered by GS1 are Reshaping Grocery

    The barcode is undergoing its biggest transformation in more than 50 years. Discover how 2D barcodes are enabling richer product information, greater transparency, enhanced traceab…

    Concurrent Workshops
  • 10:25am–10:55am

    Small Enough to Move Fast: What Independent Grocers Can Do While the Big Chains Are Still Deciding

    Grocery is being reshaped by forces that favour agility over scale - slow ecommerce adoption across the sector, the rise of Instacart and DoorDash as ready-made delivery infrastruc…

    Concurrent Workshops
  • 10:25am–10:55am

    State of Fresh

    Hear the key differentiation strategies in FMI’s 2026 State of Fresh report. Learn to position fresh foods as a sales driver by spurring customer engagement and shopping appeal.

    Concurrent Workshops
  • 10:50am

    Ribbon Cutting

  • 11:00am–4:00pm

    Trade Show

    Wednesday Trade Show
Intermission
Part the Second · For the Buyer

An audience of 29 companies, parsed from the program.

29 companies in attendance.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room
0All threespeak · spons · exh
2Sponsoringsponsor only
27Companies Speakingspeaker only
Speakers by seniority

48% of the speakers carry senior titles: C-suite, Founder, VP, or Director-level.

  • C-suite413%
  • Founder / Owner310%
  • VP-level619%
  • Director / Head of26%
  • Manager / Lead26%
  • Other roles1445%

Of 31 on the bill · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies
  1. 01Canadian GrocerSp·L
  2. 02MAXX CHARGESp·O
  3. 03BMO2V
  4. 04Flipp2V
  5. 05GS1 Canada2V
  6. 06Industry Builder2V
  7. 07Ascii Ventures1V
  8. 08Brother Fixtures1V
  9. 09Canada1V
  10. 10Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers1V
  11. 11CFIG1V
  12. 12FMI1V
  13. 13Ideal1V
  14. 14Independent Grocer1V
Sponsors by tier
lead media sponsor1
50% of 2
official charge partner1
50% of 2