A Maritime based food and beverage distributor, we help growth-oriented brands expand efficiently across Atlantic Canada.

Hi! I'm Trina- a Toronto-based photographer with over 25 years of experience creating images that work hard for my clients to communicate their brand messaging, drive their online sales, and boost their marketing. I specialize in creating custom photographs that highlight all the best aspects of your product or service in the CPG space. I am passionate about contributing to my client's successes through product, food, and lifestyle photography. Based in Toronto's Leaside neighbourhood I host clients at my studio or can shoot remotely for companies who aren't local.

Are you a thriving CPG founder, a challenger brand pushing boundaries, or a start-up just finding your footing? If any of these sound like you—I’m here to help. I tailor my services to meet your unique needs by combining proven branding principles with fresh, innovative thinking. Based in Ontario, collaborating clients across Canada, the US and beyond. I’ll help you build a brand that doesn’t just look good — it’ll drive results. Whether you’re starting from the ground up, refining your strategy, or needing cohesive design systems that connect across every touchpoint, I’ve got you covered.

I provide a comprehensive consulting approach for food businesses navigating the complexities of international trade and large-scale manufacturing. My expertise lies in aligning high-level Global Regulatory Strategy with ground-level Process Excellence, ensuring that food safety protocols are both scientifically sound and financially sustainable. With extensive experience in North American and international food laws - including SFCR, FSMA, FSANZ, and EU standards - I help organizations secure global market access through rigorous label validation, export documentation, and supplier risk management. My core services include: - Multijurisdictional Compliance: Navigating CFIA and FDA requirements, including Foreign Supplier Verification (FSVP) and Preventive Control Plans (PCP). - Finance & Risk Management: Balancing quality requirements with budgetary constraints and implementing cost-effective testing and supply chain verification strategies. - Training & Auditing: Delivering technical workforce training in GMPs, HACCP, and Food Defense, while leading successful GFSI-level audit executions (BRCGS, CanadaGAP, SQF, FSSC22000). By integrating technical food safety with operational oversight, I help clients build resilient systems that reduce risk and protect brand integrity in a competitive global marketplace.

Laura Shepherd is a Marketing strategist & Leadership Coach with 30+ years of leadership experience building brands and leading teams across global organizations. She brings a unique blend of strategic insight and people development expertise, having led brand transformations and guided leaders through growth, change, and complexity. With a strong foundation in Consumer Packaged Goods, she brings a strategic approach to business growth. She helps companies—whether startups or established brands—gain clarity and alignment by developing tailored business strategies rooted in insights and analysis.

I work with early-stage food and CPG brands that are preparing to grow, but want clarity before committing more money to production, packaging, or retail expansion. As the co-founder of Whipdd, a flavoured butter brand now sold in 200+ retail stores across Canada, I’ve spent the last few years working through the realities of scaling a CPG business - manufacturing constraints, distributor margins, retail pricing, promotions, and cash-flow trade-offs. Most founders come in with one specific thing that feels stuck: pricing that works in one channel but not another, unit economics that look fine on paper but fall apart at scale, or retailer conversations that keep circling without moving forward. I focus on short, hands-on advisory projects that tackle one of those bottlenecks at a time. The goal is to reach clear, usable decisions quickly — usually within about 30 days — so founders can move forward with confidence instead of second-guessing. Typical outcomes include clearer pricing across channels, stronger numbers behind buyer and broker conversations, and a better understanding of what actually needs fixing now versus what can wait.

Michael is uniquely qualified to assist in helping you connect the dots from your initial product concept to finding the right ingredients and the best fit for a co-manufacturer to place your product on-shelf. Being one of the first food scientists to work for Marks & Spencer (M&S) in the late 70s, he gained detailed insight into the world of Private Label since everything M&S bore the St. Michael brand. In the 80s, Michael was at the forefront of the Canadian Private Label explosion working directly with Dave Nichol at Loblaws, as an outside respondent, as the No Name and President's Choice brands were being developed and rolled out. Employing his experience from M&S along with other industry experience, Michael created a Private Label Division at UFL Foods, now Newly Weds Foods, that catered to the growing demand for Private Label goods. Recognizing that simply emulating a brand was not the path to success, he assisted companies to express their own "personalities" to develop their own renditions of what they wanted their offerings to be. This continued with many start up companies looking to create their own space with their own signature profiles that Michael and his companies could develop for them, at the same time, assisting them to find the right ingredients and co-manufacturers, where necessary. Retired since December 2024 but still keeping current in the industry and available to help you realize your ideal product offerings!

I’ve been channelling my talents into sales and promotions of natural food products, freelancing with Harmless Harvest and other standout brands through XM agencies. I’m a natural communicator—whether connecting with people at trade shows, festivals, or intimate gatherings, I thrive in fast-paced, high-energy environments. Let’s say shyness isn’t in my vocabulary. I’m passionate about bringing brands to life, building genuine global connections, and creating memorable experiences. While I’m currently active in the XM space, I’m looking to land a solid, long-term role where I can bring my energy, creativity, event planning, and administrative skills to a team that values authentic engagement and strong brand presence. Oh, and I’m a proud foodie!

Amanda DeVries has spent 19 years mastering the art and science of food packaging design that actually sells. As the founder of Eye Candy Design, she partners with CPG brands to create visual identities, brand strategy and packaging systems that win shelf space and move product. Specializing in ethnic and heritage food brands, Amanda is passionate about rewriting the "exotic" narrative in food packaging, creating designs that help authentic products feel at home in any aisle. Her client portfolio spans condiments, beverages, dairy, snacks, and more, with products on shelves across North America. Her philosophy? Great packaging should feel like a guide for consumers, not a barrier. Amanda's work has been recognized with a 2025 Canadian Printing Award, and her designs have helped clients recoup their design investment in as little as three months of sales. When she's not in design mode, she's exploring flavour, her favourites include carnitas, kimchi, and tiramisu.

Founder Authority Advisory works with founder-led premium consumer product brands generating $300K–$2M in annual revenue, typically with 3–30 employees and 3–15 years in business, selling through e-commerce, wholesale, or both. Through Strategic Constraint Mapping™, we identify and prioritize the strategic, operational, positioning, and leadership constraints limiting growth—so founders know what to address next and in what order.

Billy Dietz is co-founder of BDH Consultants, where he leads tea and beverage sourcing and product development for brands and co-packers across teabag, loose leaf, powder, and RTD formats. He brings over twenty years in the industry, starting at seventeen when he became the youngest Certified Tea Specialist in North America through the Specialty Tea Institute, later becoming a certified STI instructor. He continued his education with McCormick FONA and the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe. Nine years leading R&D at DAVIDsTEA gave him the technical depth to take clients from concept to shelf-ready product, on budget and matched to format. He's since worked with tea and beverage brands to build supplier networks, develop new product lines, and bring blends to market, work he distills in his 2023 book Spill the Tea: Unveiling the Mysteries of Blended, Flavored, and Herbal Teas, and in his Substack newsletter, Steep Insights.

I'm a fractional leader and advisor helping CPG brands scale smarter by building foundational strategy, simplicity & connections in the natural products space. I help brands by simplifying planning complexity, strengthening partnerships, and connecting operations, finance, and sales into a unified, growth-ready strategy. Supporting brands in fractional, project-based, or advisory roles, improving supply chain, operations and procurement processes from strategy to tactical execution, helping founders reduce complexity, protect margin, and scale confidently. As a Supply Chain, Operations & Procurement leader with 25+ years in CPG, I help growing food and beverage brands turn challenges into opportunities—guiding them from strategic planning to tactical execution. Leveraging my network of supplier relationships and deep knowledge of systems, I help brands improve efficiency, flexibility, and visibility while protecting margin and enabling sustainable growth.

Ryan Hillock is the founder of Hillock Connections, a brokerage and consulting firm focused on the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. He works closely with brands, manufacturers, distributors, and retail buyers to help products become retail-ready and scale across Canada and beyond. Ryan is known for building strong industry relationships and opening doors through his network across multiple retail and distribution channels. Through Hillock Connections, he supports companies with sales strategy, business development, financial review, and market entry planning. He also helps companies raise capital through his investor and lending network, connecting the right partners to unlock growth opportunities.

I help food businesses turn ideas into commercially successful products, drawing on over 25 years of experience leading R&D and culinary teams within major organizations and delivering projects for global brands. My experience spans Europe, Asia and North America across foodservice, retail, HMR and travel catering, giving me a broad and commercially grounded perspective on how food performs in different markets and channels. I design scalable, high-impact menu items and food programs for national restaurant chains and grocers, ensuring creativity translates seamlessly into operational reality. Through culinary-led innovation, strategic product development and hands-on execution, I guide clients from concept through to launch — aligning flavour, functionality and financial performance to deliver products that win in market, on shelf and in service.

We are a market intelligence and innovation research company focused on the future of functional foods, beverages, ingredients, and wellness technologies. We help with: B2B Matchmaking New Markets Entry By-product Upcyling and Novel Applications Regulatory Support/Compliance

My name is Fernanda Ferreira and I am principal owner for Reflective Media Inc. since 1998, working with a team of designers to navigate client engagements alongside me​. As the team lead I bring a wealth of experience to every project. Throughout the years I have worked at other larger studios and directly handled companies like Ganong and Ferrero which included four Ferrero brands: Tic Tac, Pralines, Nutella Retail, and Nutella Food Services. Other notable entities include Kraft, Bush Brothers and Company, Hain Celestial, Mondelez, and Unilever. With these clients I had the unique opportunity to work on brands like: Dove, Pond’s, Dove Men+Care, Alba Botanica, Jason, Avalon Organics, Garden of Eatin’, Spectrum, Kraft, Heinz, Ore-Ida, Velveeta, Maxwell House, Halls, and Bush’s Beans. ​ Under my own banner here at RM, the range of design and print work has included national campaigns for Palm Canada for span of 7 years, producing all of the Highland Farms private label food products over a span of 5 years, Mattel, Cadbury Neilson, Dricore just to name a few. Our designers are not just creative - they are a uniquely skilled group of ​design strategists that know how to bring projects to life. Creativity in our studio is borne out by quietly listening to our clients and making sure their vision is what drives every project.

CPG Bridge Partners is a North American food industry commercial representation and business development firm specializing in private label, branded products, and market expansion. We connect food manufacturers, importers, and suppliers with retail opportunities across Canada and the United States, providing hands-on support from market strategy and customer targeting through retailer engagement and commercialization. With extensive experience across major North American grocery, mass, club, and discount retailers, CPG Bridge Partners helps suppliers navigate the market, build the right retail relationships, and turn opportunities into sustainable business.

I help small and growing food manufacturers strengthen their food safety and quality systems through practical HACCP, PCP, SQF, GMP, documentation, corrective action, and audit readiness support. Many food businesses reach a point where their operations are growing, but their food safety documentation, SOPs, records, traceability systems, allergen controls, sanitation programs, or corrective action processes are not yet fully organized or audit ready. I help companies identify these gaps, prioritize what needs to be fixed, and build practical systems that can be used by the team on the floor. My support includes: **HACCP and PCP documentation review **SQF and GMP readiness support **Audit readiness and gap assessments **SOP and record review **Corrective action and CAPA support **Traceability and mock recall support **Allergen control review **Sanitation program review **Food safety training support I bring 10 years of food safety and quality assurance experience across food manufacturing operations in Canada and the United States, with hands-on experience in HACCP systems, SQF programs, internal audits, regulatory and third-party audit preparation, sanitation, allergen control, traceability, supplier approval, corrective actions, and food safety training. My approach is practical, organized, and implementation-focused. I work best with small manufacturers, growing CPG brands, co-packers, and contract manufacturers that need structured FSQA support but may not yet have a fully developed internal quality team. If your company is preparing for an audit, strengthening HACCP or PCP documentation, organizing GMP/SQF systems, or trying to close food safety compliance gaps, I can support you with a focused review and a clear action plan.

I work with food and beverage businesses to solve complex commercial and operational challenges with a practical, operator-led approach. My background spans executive leadership, corporate strategy, banking, and entrepreneurship, giving me a unique perspective on how to build, scale, and strengthen businesses in competitive markets. As President of a rapidly growing commercial bakery, I helped scale operations across North America, supporting significant revenue growth, expanding retail partnerships, and leading a team of more than 100 employees. Through Parkway Food Group, I now advise manufacturers, distributors, and emerging brands on growth strategy, sales execution, retailer relationships, procurement optimization, operational improvement, and market expansion. I understand the realities business owners face because I have lived them: margin pressure, customer concentration, operational bottlenecks, staffing challenges, and the constant need to grow while managing risk. My focus is not theoretical consulting. It is building practical solutions that drive measurable outcomes. Whether supporting a founder navigating growth, a manufacturer entering new channels, or an ownership group evaluating acquisitions and strategy, I bring a hands-on approach rooted in accountability, execution, and long-term partnership. I believe the best advisors combine strategy with the ability to get things done.

I bring over 17 years of hands-on experience across retail, manufacturing, and product development to help food brands turn ideas into scalable, retail-ready products. My background spans bakery operations, private label product development and manufacturing R&D from early concept and formulation through scale-up, production, and launch. I’ve worked inside test kitchens, manufacturing plants, and national retail programs, which gives me a practical understanding of what it takes to move a product from bench to shelf without losing quality, integrity, or feasibility. I specialize in R&D and private label development, helping brands and manufacturers navigate formulation, ingredient sourcing, process development, cost optimization, and commercialization challenges. I bridge the gap between creativity and execution - ensuring products are not only innovative, but also manufacturable, compliant, and commercially viable. What drives my work is seeing great products succeed. I’m passionate about supporting teams through complex decisions, simplifying the path to market, and building products that are designed to scale. I’m particularly interested in projects involving early to mid-stage R&D, private label development, product optimization, scale-up support to product launch. While bakery and baked goods are my natural skill set, I am open to other opportunities in conventional and gluten free.