Walmart has announced that it is one of nine corporations joining in a collaborative effort to source from women-owned businesses (WOBs). Over the course of the next five years, the company will track and report sourcing from self-identified and certified WOBs.

This marks the first time the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled, and operated by women in the U.S., will launch a formal initiative to publicly report aggregated spending on WOBs. Walmart helped form this unified front of major corporations, including Campbell Soup Company, The Coca-Cola Company, ExxonMobil, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Mondelēz International, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble, in order to create a more visible movement and raise awareness for the importance of sourcing from WOBs.

“We are proud to be part of this important initiative, and together we can make an even bigger impact in elevating these successful women-owned businesses,” says Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Our customers care where products are sourced, and we believe supporting women-owned businesses helps us put innovative products on our shelves while helping these businesses thrive and grow.”

The initiative comes at a critical time when female entrepreneurs report having smaller and less diverse networks, leaving them at a disadvantage for growth, innovation and global relevance.

“By participating in this initiative, these companies will help fuel innovation and growth for women-owned businesses across the U.S.,” says Pamela Prince-Eason, president and CEO of WBENC. “With women-owned businesses currently supporting the creation or maintenance of 23 million American jobs, investing in their growth means investing in more opportunities for the workforce overall.”

This announcement comes on the heels of the culmination of Walmart’s five-year Global WEE Initiative, which included a set of goals to help empower women around the world through sourcing, training and supporting diversity and inclusion. As part of the WEE Initiative, Walmart sourced $20 billion from women-owned businesses in the U.S. and increased sourcing from women-owned businesses internationally. Additionally, in 2014, working with WBENC and WEConnect International, Walmart helped fund the creation of the “Women-Owned” logo. This can be used by any woman-owned supplier certified by those organizations at any retailer to highlight their products to consumers. Today, Walmart has more than 1,500 suppliers who identify as women-owned businesses, producing everything from apparel to produce.

For additional details on Walmart’s Global WEE Initiative, visit http://corporate.walmart.com/womensempowerment.

Health Canada is initiating a second set of public consultations about the regulation of self-care products, including natural health remedies, over-the-counter medications, and cosmetics. Public meetings to discuss these issues began this week, starting in Saskatoon and continuing across the country for the next three months.

Last fall, the agency conducted a web-based gathering of opinion. Health Canada received a lot of negative feedback from health providers, industry representatives, consumers, and public groups, who expressed concerns over the suggested overhaul.

With the new regulations, self-care products labelled as moderate- or high-risk would necessitate a science-based government review, while lower-risk products would not be reviewed by Health Canada. In addition, lower-risk products would no longer be able to make claims about efficacy for certain health issues.

“Health Canada is of the view that self-care products in general are lower risk and therefore will not be treated [like] prescription drugs,” says Manon Bombardier, director-general of Health Canada’s Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate.

The Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) opposed last fall’s proposal, and is waiting to see what this round of consultations has in store.

“The initial proposal back in the fall lacked clarity and details, and we were concerned it could have negative implications for the 79 per cent of Canadians that are using natural health products,” says Long. “Once the next round of consultations actually begins, I expect that we we’ll get a bit more of a glimpse into where they’re proposing to go next.”

The remaining consultations will take place as follows:

April 20, 2017      1:00 pm – 4:30 pm           Yellowknife, NWT                    Register Now
April 24, 2017      1:00 pm – 4:30 pm           Montreal, QC                          Register Now
April 28, 2017      1:00 pm – 4:30 pm           Halifax, NS                              Register Now
May 2, 2017        1:00 pm – 4:30 pm           Toronto, ON – Downtown        Register Now
May 3, 2017        1:00 pm – 4:30 pm           Toronto, ON – Airport              Register Now
May 5, 2017         9:00 am – 12:20 pm         Web Consultation (English)    Register Now
May 5, 2017         1:00 pm – 4:30 pm           Web Consultation (French)    Register Now
If you are interested in making your voice heard, please attend one of these sessions.

Amazon has revealed the details of its grocery click-and-collect sites, AmazonFresh Pickup. The service, which will be debuted in Seattle, will provide a full array of grocery and household items, and will be free to Prime members.

The sites are currently located in Seattle’s Sodo and Ballard neighborhoods. However, industry experts expect the e-commerce giant to open as many as 30 outlets this year.

Amazon Pickup allows shoppers to make their purchases online and select a delivery time, which could be ready in as little as 15 minutes. Then, they may pull in to any of the store’s several drive-up spaces, where employees will load groceries into their cars within minutes.

This new service is Amazon’s second foray into physical food stores. Previously, it launched its Amazon Go convenience store, which allows shoppers carry out their purchases without stopping for checkout. However, that store has postponed its public opening, as the company must address remaining technical issues.

As this offering expands across the U.S. and into the Canadian market, independent grocers and retailers will have to up the ante. In order to compete with fast, automated services like this one, they will need to provide consumers with options that are otherwise unavailable. Offering in-store experiences, demos, and promotions will help to draw buyers back into the traditional shopping experience. One thing’s for sure: in order to compete, you’ll need to get creative.

Flash Beauté, the company behind cosmetics brand Kariderm, has announced the appointment of Nicolas Dupont as its new Export and Marketing Manager.

Prior to his work with Kariderm, Dupont worked with Chinese exporting trading houses in Shanghai.

“I am relatively new in the biocosmetic industry,” says Dupont. “Being new has some drawbacks, but also brings a lot of advantages. My previous experience gives me a unique perspective of the exporting business. Being able to see from both sides of the looking glass is definitely an advantage when you want to develop your brand at the international level.”

At Flash Beauté, Dupont is working to build new distribution channels both in Canada and internationally. Additionally, he manages the promotional activities of the company, including developing product offerings, visiting and exhibiting at national Expos, creating local and national marketing campaigns, and managing the social media/online presence of Kariderm.

“Flash Beauté is a great entrepreneurial story. It was born out of a simple idea and became a pioneer of the fair-trade biocosmetic industry,” says Dupont. “The company helps to change the way the average person sees its beauty and skin care routine. Obviously, it is of the upmost personal relationship between people and their skincare. We have the privilege to have a direct and positive impact on people’s daily life.”

Nutiva, an Organic Superfoods company, has decided to expand its initial voluntary product recall of the Organic Plant Based Protein Superfood 30 Shake – Vanilla to include all lots of both Vanilla and Chocolate flavored products after identifying that this product may contain trace amounts peanuts. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to peanuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. “We are choosing to voluntarily recall all of our Organic Plant Based Protein Superfood 30 Shakes as a precautionary measure to provide the safest products for our customers,” states John W. Roulac, Nutiva’s CEO.

These items were sold on the internet and through distributors in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Consumers who have purchased these items and have an allergy or severe sensitivity to peanuts are urged to not eat the product, and to dispose of it or return it for refund to where it was originally purchased. Nutiva has taken these steps strictly as a precautionary measure to assure our customers of our commitment to quality. No other Nutiva items are impacted by this recall.

Customers with questions may contact (800) 993-4367 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Monday – Friday, or email help@nutiva.com.

ABOUT NUTIVA:
Nutiva was founded in 1999 with a single purpose in mind—to revolutionize the way the world eats. Today Nutiva nurtures vitality by conscious curating of the world’s finest plant-based organic foods including coconut, hemp, chia and red palm. We contribute one percent of sales ($4M to date) to projects supporting healthy communities and sustainable agriculture. For more information, please visit nutiva.com

Walmart.com is hiring hundreds of workers at its tech operations to boost its free two-day shipping offer for online orders. This move comes as part of its continuing competition with Amazon Prime. (xanax)

Recently, the retailer also launched free two-day shipping on orders of US$35 or more, with no subscription required. This challenges Amazon’s offering of free two-day shipping for Prime customers, which costs $99 per year. Walmart is also pushing free grocery pickup for products bought online.

This reflects the plight of retailers everywhere, who are now trying to create new omnichannel sales strategies.

“Our integrated offering means customers are shopping with us through multiple channels,” says executive vice-president and CFO Brett Biggs.

Walmart is now the second-largest U.S. online retailer by revenue, one of the top three online retailers by traffic, and its Walmart app is among the top three apps in retail.

With these two online giants battling it out, smaller e-tailers and independents with online stores will have to up their game. Ensuring that you have great product selection, as well as expedited shipping options, will further your success. If possible, consider offering free shipping—or other rewards, such as free product—when customers spend over a certain amount of money. Moreover, amp up your in-store game with various promotions—while e-commerce is booming, many consumers still prefer a bricks-and-mortar experience to online shopping.