2 Ameriks—the Canadian importer and wholesaler behind the GoGo Quinoa brand—has announced the appointment of Marc Boivin as sales director. With over 20 years of sales experience in the dairy and cereal industry, Boivin brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to the company.

“We are glad to welcome Marc as part of the management of the company,” says Martin Bilodeau, president of 2 Ameriks. “His solid sales skills and natural affinity for our industry will be beneficial for the future growth of the company.”

The corporation has also made other additions to the sales and marketing team. This includes Tamar Telfeyan, who will now act as client account manager for natural and organic health food stores, Andrelle Caron, who is now the intern representative and marketing coordinator, and Clara Cohen, who is now in charge of Consumer service.

The Ecology Action Centre, a Halifax-based non-profit organization, has partnered with its home city to create a mobile grocery store service. The service, entitled the “Mobile Market Project,” will deliver fresh food into six “food deserts”—areas with little access to grocery stores—in the region.

The 21-week pilot program will provide residents in the communities of Spryfield, Fairview, North Preston, East Preston, Halifax north and Dartmouth north with access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Once a week, a Halifax Transit bus furnished by the city will visit each community, spending approximately 90 minutes at each destination to sell affordable food items.

Aimme Carson, community food coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre, notes that the mobile food bus approach has been set up in other Ontario cities, including Toronto and Ottawa. Key lessons from those markets, she says, include the importance of community engagement, establishing a viable business model, and procuring food.

For example, Toronto’s “Mobile Good Food Program” ran weekly at eight food deserts in the city. During the one-year pilot program, approximately 20 customers attended each site weekly, purchasing between $6-7 worth of food. Average monthly sales at the sites ranged from $188 to $888, causing the number of sites to become reduced partway through the project because of low participation and sales.

The Mobile Market Project is expected to debut in late October. Currently, representatives from the program are in discussion with both corporate grocery retailers and local food providers, discussing from where the food will be sourced. The project’s goal is to sell food at prices equal to those of discount grocery stores.

Potloc, a Montreal-based company, is changing the face of brick-and-mortar retail in an industry that is gradually shifting towards online shopping.

The startup lists vacant storefronts in various cities and lets residents vote for which retailers they would like to see fill the spaces. Rather than digitally tracking these storefronts, the company uses information from “people on the spot” around the city to identify vacancies.

Since its opening in 2013, the company has helped 15 companies select retail locations around Montreal. Now, they are taking their online operations to Vancouver.

“We work to fill empty stores in neighbourhoods with the best retail projects,” explains Samuel Schoukroun, Potloc’s spokesman. “We have already listed all the empty storefronts [in Vancouver] … on our website.”

The company, which was started by four business school grads—including one from Montreal, two Parisians and one from Lille, France—has currently listed 105 empty storefronts on its new Vancouver-based site.

Shoukroun continues, “Vancouver citizens can vote for their generic needs — maybe a bakery or a coffee house or a bar. And then entrepreneurs could be inspired by these vote results and launch retail projects accordingly. (jiriecaribbean.com) ”

According to Shoukroun, the venture—which charges for web marketing services—is doing well in Montreal. It has been self-financing from its opening, is profitable and has won several awards, including the National Bank’s Institute of Entrepreneurship’s $15,000 first prize.

At a time when brick-and-mortar retail is becoming less and less popular, Potluc may have found a way to increase in-store traffic and success; an area’s locals will have the greatest insight into which types of businesses are most likely to thrive there.

However, Charles Gauthier, president of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, suggests that the startup is no more than another tool that can aid businesses in deciding the feasibility of a given location.

“It gives an indication of demand,” he says, “but whether a specific store could be supported from a business perspective is a whole other issue.”

NBTY, Inc. has appointed Sonya Soutus as its senior vice-president of Public Affairs and Communications. In this position, she will provide strategic leadership in the creation and implementation of world-class communications, government relations and stakeholder initiatives for the global leader in vitamins, nutritional supplements and sports nutrition.

With more than 25 years of broad-based public affairs and communications experience, Sonya has held roles of increasing responsibility throughout Coca-Cola’s international business. Most recently, she acted as senior vice-president of Public Affairs and Communications for Coca-Cola in North America. (http://rxreviewz.com/)

Prior to her tenure at Coca-Cola, she worked as the account group director at Burson Marsteller in the Ukraine, where she lead the country’s projects for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She has also held a number of posts within various major media organizations, including KDKA-TV/Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation in Pittsburgh. Internationally, she has served as press secretary for the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Rome, Italy.

At NBTY, Sonya will be responsible for developing broad, integrated internal and external programs that will strengthen the brand’s interactions with key stakeholders. Moreover, she will promote, protect and enhance the brand’s reputation as the pre-eminent global leader in wellness products.

Additionally, Sonya will be instrumental in handling relevant industry issues and public policy, as well as guiding the company through its current and projected stages of significant growth.

“As we strive to establish NBTY as the unequivocal global leader in wellness products, we felt it was critical to implement an all-encompassing public affairs and communications strategy that impacts every company stakeholder—from media, government agencies and officials to our consumers,” says Steve Cahillane, the company’s president and CEO. “Sonya is a consummate professional and highly-capable leader who possesses enormous knowledge, insight and integrity. We welcome her to the NBTY team.”

Sonya will begin her new role immediately and will be based out of Ronkonkoma, NY.

Last week, Metro Inc. said improved sales of fresh food led to a 4.3 per cent increase in same-store sales during its third quarter. Overall sales for the Montreal-based grocery retailer climbed 6.1 per cent to around USD $2.9 billion during this time.

“Our constant striving to stay on top of consumers’ needs and our investments in our retail network allowed us to increase sales in a highly competitive market,” notes the company.

Additionally, its gross margin as a percent of sales increased to 19.8 per cent, up from 18.9 per cent in last year’s third quarter. This was primarily attributable to the acquisition of specialty bakery Première Moisson as well as higher sales of fresh products. Also, net earnings were USD $126.1 million, an improvement by 13.1 per cent in the quarter.

New research that reveals the extent and cost of iodine deficiency among pregnant women has been released out of the U.K. These findings underscore the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s (CRN’s) call to include this vital nutrient in prenatal vitamins.

Iodine deficiency is the number one cause of preventable brain damage and mental retardation in children. Even mild deficiency during pregnancy is associated with lower IQ, making this supplement imperative in achieving well-rounded prenatal health.

According to a study published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, pregnant women in the U.K. who take iodine supplements compared to those who do not can save the National Health Services about £200 in direct costs. Moreover, they can save the larger society £4,476 per child over their lifetime of earning and in public sector costs.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham suggest that the findings—which are based on clinical data from eight studies that compare the impact of iodine deficiency in pregnant women on their child’s IQ and income—are not restricted to the U.K. Their work shows that approximately 1.88 billion people live in 32 countries with iodine deficiency.

These findings also echo the CRN’s published guidelines that all manufacturers of prenatal supplements include at least 150 mcg of iodine in their daily products. Many CRN member companies already comply with this guidance, but approximately 50 per cent of prenatal vitamins still do not contain iodine.

Suzanne Norwitz, CEO and founder of Maya Chia Beauty, has built a skincare line and business that bridges the natural connection between commerce and philanthropy.

The all-natural, non-toxic beauty line is formulated with 100% natural, non-GMO Omega-3 Chia oil. The oil is extracted using the company’s unique supercritical extraction process, which ensures that the oil remains of the best, purest, most stable, effective, and potent quality.

Maya’s products are also free from harsh chemical sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, phthalates, and colorants. Additionally, due to their chia-based formula, they are packed with the highest concentration of omega fatty acids of any plant source.

However, the brand isn’t just focused on the holistic health benefits of the superfood; Maya Chia gives 10 per cent of its net sales to the Guatemalan Maya people, where chia has been a staple food for thousands of years.

“Having a brand that is authentic is critical to just feeling good about yourself and the product that you’re putting out, and consumers feel the same way,” says Norwitz. “Our brand is based on giving back to the Mayas, as well as turning out the best possible product there is that we can get a hold of.”