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PUR Gum receives a million-dollar investment after appearing on Dragon’s Den

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PUR Gum receives a million-dollar investment after appearing on Dragon’s Den

PUR Gum, the makers of the number one selling aspartame-free chewing gum in the world, celebrated its appearance on CBC’s Dragon’s Den on Wednesday night. It was revealed in the episode that the company received a $1 million investment, the largest deal ever made on the show, from Dragon Arlene Dickinson, one of the most renowned communications entrepreneurs in Canada.

The company celebrated by throwing a viewing party for the episode, which also featured themed snacks in honour of the episode, such as Dragon Popcorn, Dragon Pretzels, and Dragon Donuts.

“We were very honoured to have four offers for $1 million each, the largest offers ever made by the team. It was a tremendous compliment for our business and the health food industry,” says PUR CEO Jay Klein. “We’re very excited to be moving forward with Arlene.”

Congratulations on such a successful appearance on the show, PUR!

Saks Fifth Avenue enlists Pusateri’s to operate its food halls

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Saks Fifth Avenue enlists Pusateri’s to operate its food halls

Luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue has enlisted high-end grocer Pusateri’s to run the food halls in its two Toronto locations, which are slated to open in Spring 2016. The two Saks stores will open at Toronto Eaton Centre and Sherway Gardens, and will be the retailer’s first Canadian stores. The Pusateri’s food halls will feature a variety of specialized sit-down food options and gourmet food products, according to a report from the Toronto Star. “With their high standards of quality and exceptional selection of fine foods, Pusateri’s will help to deliver an elevated customer experience synonymous with the Saks Fifth Avenue brand,” Richard Baker, CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company, told the Toronto Star. HBC has owned the upscale retailer since 2013, and plans to open a total of seven Saks Fifth Avenue Stores, in addition to several Saks Off Fifth stores, in Canada.

Online exclusive: Magnesium is of vital importance to the body

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Online exclusive: Magnesium is of vital importance to the body

According to an online webinar from Natural Products Insider featuring Dr. Robert Rountree, magnesium is extremely important to many of the body’s functions, as it is a cofactor in over 300 enzyme systems while regulating over 80 per cent of biochemical reactions in the body.

Dr. Rountree states that magnesium is necessary for DNA and RNA synthesis. A typical adult has about 25 grams of magnesium in the body, where about half can be found in bones, about half can be found in tissues and organs and about one per cent is in the bloodstream. Adults should have a dietary intake of the mineral at 310 to 420 mg/day, yet Dr. Rountree hypothesizes that 60 to 70 per cent of people in the U.S. may have an inadequate intake.

Magnesium deficiency can be caused by various reasons, but mostly diet, diseases and disorders, lifestyle, chronic stress, aging and medications. Signs and symptoms of subclinical (requires a more invasive test) magnesium deficiency include numbness and tingling, fatigue and low energy, insomnia, muscle cramps, weakness, headaches, irregular heart rhythm and stress and anxiety.

While Dr. Rountree states that magnesium is primarily used in a clinical setting to provide relief for constipation, overusing it could cause diarrhea and other such digestion problems, leading to a net loss of magnesium. Subclinical magnesium deficiency has been linked with chronic inflammatory stress conditions. These conditions may contribute to obesity, atherosclerosis, hypertension, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

Magnesium can be found in three main mineral forms: ionic minerals, which allow the element to bond with water; mineral complex, which coordinate covalent bonds; and mineral chelates, which Dr. Rountree regards as the most potent form of magnesium. Mineral chelates are complex structures that better survive passage through the stomach and into the small intestine, where absorption in the bloodstream can take place without affecting the absorption of other minerals.

“It can be difficult to correct chronic magnesium deficiency with dietary measures alone,” says Dr. Rountree. “Chelated magnesium is a true scientific innovation that improves absorption and tolerability, allowing for efficient correction of deficiency.”

Report says Toronto region expected to create over half a million jobs

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Report says Toronto region expected to create over half a million jobs

A new report by the Toronto Region Board of Trade and United Way Toronto expects 500,000 more job positions to open up in the next five years, although not all of them with a contract or benefits. Some of these jobs will be low paying, temporary or contract jobs, the report says. The report forecasts that there will be 271,721 new jobs opening up as well as 248,160 retirements on the horizon.

“There are downward pressures on the labour market, which are effectively displacing youth and newcomers from those positions, which they have traditionally held,” says the Toronto Star report. “The large number of applicants for low-paying and entry-level positions is remarkable. As the number of middle income jobs has continued to decline, a bifurcated labour market of high-income jobs and low-income service jobs is becoming the norm.”

Top in-demand jobs in the Greater Toronto Area were predicted to be retail salespersons, followed by financial auditors and accountants, administrative assistants, retail and wholesale trade managers. The sector that will lose the most jobs is predicted to be the manufacturing sector.

Report predicts Americans to avoid stores affected by data breach

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Retailer fees for credit card purchases will be reduced

A CreditCards.com report predicts that almost half of Americans will not be shopping at stores that were affected by a data breach recently, such as Target, Neiman Marcus and Home Depot, for the upcoming holiday season.

However, the report showed that households with the highest incomes of $75,000 or above were the least likely to avoid these stores; with a mere 31 per cent stating they wouldn’t shop at these retailers. The report also showed that women are more likely to forgive the data breaches than men.

The use of credit cards for the upcoming holiday season proved to be the most popular option, while 48 per cent of credit and debit card owners state they will pay with cash.

Online exclusive: Study shows sweetener trends and consumer demand for sweeteners over sugar

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Preliminary tests suggest artificial sweeteners harmful to blood sugar

According to a new study by Gallup, the average American consumes approximately nine sweetened prepared food or beverages on a regular basis. While 83 per cent of consumers are looking to lose weight or maintain their weight, eliminating the calories that come from sugar is a big part of any potential weight loss. 61 per cent of Americans said they consume low or no-calorie sweeteners as part of their weight loss plan. This is why the industry has focused on the state of sweeteners, and how to provide sweeteners that have the taste but lack the calories.

Back in July, Tate & Lyle partnered up with Food Product Design to get some information about consumers and their habits for consuming sweeteners. 55 per cent of the participants worked in the food industry and 16 per cent were from the beverage industry.

Results showed that taste is the most important factor when it comes to sweetener selection by consumers, with 87 per cent citing taste as their number one consideration over health, cost targets, product positioning, and more.

Innova Market Insights says that food and beverage items containing high-intensity sweeteners are doubling in comparison to items containing sugar.  The survey showed that the most-used sweeteners are Ace-K and Aspartame, both with a 39 per cent, followed by Erythritol and Sucralose. However, replacing sugar with sweeteners has its own challenges, such as maintaining the product’s texture and mouth feel as well as maintaining a balanced, sweet taste. Rebaudioside, a form of stevia, has a bitter aftertaste. (https://7ziphelp.com/) Suppliers using this ingredient need to be informed of what other ingredients to combine it with in order to hide the bitterness.

62 per cent of participants stated that whether the sweetener in a product is coming from a natural source, as opposed to artificial, is important. 64 per cent predicted that their use of stevia would increase over the next three years, while 50 per cent foresaw a decrease in their use of aspartame.

In the future, sweetener production will depend largely on health concerns as well as technical capabilities of the suppliers involved, as ingredient technology continues to develop.

Luke Bucci is Novel Ingredient Services’ new Vice President of Product Innovation

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Luke Bucci is Novel Ingredient Services’ new Vice President of Product Innovation

Dr. Luke Bucci, one of the individuals who first brought glucosamine-chondroitin combination products to market in 1991, has joined Novel Ingredient Services as its new Vice President of Product Innovation, reporting to Novel President Peter Bradley.

Dr. Bucci received his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He also holds designations as a Certified Clinical Nutritionist (CCN) and Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS). Dr. Bucci’s expertise includes new ingredient/product assessment and development and designing research that meets manufacturers’ quality, safety and efficacy standards.

Dr. Bucci brings 30 years of experience to his new role, including his most recent position as Vice President, Research & Scientific Affairs at Renew Life Formulas. Prior to that, he spent 17 years at Reckitt Benckiser, formerly Schiff Nutrition International, as its Vice President, Research, and its Research & Scientific Affairs Specialist.

In his new role, Dr. Bucci will be responsible for identifying, developing and refining novel ingredients while taking charge of the company’s scientific clinical research efforts.

“Luke Bucci is one of our industry’s luminaries,” said Bob Green, Chairman of Novel Ingredient Services, in a press release. “With his leadership and expertise, Novel will be able to bring to market even more ingredients that offer innovation, efficacy and cost-efficiency; develop new technologies; and provide our customers with greater insight into ingredient research.”

Online exclusive: Company Look Back – Herbasanté

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Online exclusive: Company Look Back – Herbasanté

Herbasanté is an established Canadian homeopathic and herbal product manufacturer with over 30 years of experience providing natural, non-toxic remedies for common health issues.

Despite the fact that the company has been around for decades, Herbasanté President Patrick Toledano says the company’s vision has changed even in the span of the past five years.

“The landscape has changed dramatically due to mergers and the reality of the new regulations setting in,” he says, referring to the fact that every product must be approved with a Natural Product Number in order to continue being sold in Canada. “For a company like us that has many products made in small batches, it has become very difficult to continue selling certain products due to the high costs now involved in manufacturing them.”

Herbasanté made the decision to trim down its product roster to accommodate the changing economy.  They went about it by discontinuing several products that experienced high customer demand but were not cost-effective for the company to continue to manufacture.

“We try to protect ourselves by diversifying into different segments to offset any potential downfalls,” says Toledano. “We must now focus more on exporting products as well as expanding our private label business.”

Toledano believes Herbasanté products speak for themselves, so the company chooses to invest in training employees and sourcing quality ingredients, rather than partaking in traditional marketing methods.

“We’ve had to change our approach,” says Toledano. “Instead of trying to create the best formula possible from all the ingredients available to us around the world, we have to create one using only the ingredients acceptable to Health Canada.”

With that approach in mind, Herbasanté prefers to focus on its own goals, rather than on its competition. “We only pay attention to what we are doing. Trying to get the best formula with the best ingredients to our customers. If we do that, the rest will fall into place.”

Wal-Mart plans to upgrade all its U.S. workers from minimum wage

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Walmart Canada raises grocery prices at its Supercentres

According to Wal-Mart CEO Douglas McMillon, the company is working towards upgrading all its workers who earn minimum wage, which amounts to approximately six thousand employees out of the estimated 1.3 million in the U.S. On average, the company pays its employees an hourly rate of $12.92 in the United States, compared to the federal minimum wage, which sits at $7.25.

Wal-Mart is the United States’ largest private employer and often deals with labour activists who argue that it does not pay its employees enough for them to live comfortably.

“…It is our intention over time that we will be in a situation where we don’t pay minimum wage at all,” McMillion said to reporters following an investor conference.

McMillon implied the company may also use promotions and bonus payments to give workers more opportunities, but did not give further details.

Drug companies are spending less on research and development

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The FDA recommends amending testosterone drug labels

According to a new study by Canada’s Patented Medicine Price Review Board (PMPRB), brand-name drug companies are spending a record low on research and development.

The PMPRB’s most recent annual reports show that Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical companies spent only 5.4 per cent of total Canadian revenues on research and development in 2013, the lowest it has been since 1988 when the PMPRB began tracking spending.

“In Canada, market monopolies for brand-name drug companies have increased no fewer than eight times since 1987, yet investments have declined to record lows,” said Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, in a press release. “This new data provides further proof that no link exists between longer marketing monopolies for brand-name drug companies and increased domestic investments.”

The study can be found in a report called The Real Story: R&D Spending by Brand Name Drug Companies in Canada: 1988 – 2013, which is available at www.canadiangenerics.ca.

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