Finding a Cure for Emerging Brands in the COVID Era

How brands are adapting to survive and thrive in the new normal

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown forced many emerging brands to adjust their plans. Those who already had strong e-commerce and/or were already on-shelf faced minor changes. However, the many brands relying on foodservice or those who planned to get on shelf in the spring, now have to get creative to keep the lights on. Some retailers similarly froze onboarding new brands, but have been paying attention to what emerging brands have been doing. We had a chance to talk with Sheri Evans, Local Development Manager at Sobeys about how emerging brands have pivoted to survive.

Read more at The Think Tank. 

Published by Jared Kligerman

I was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1984. The oldest of 4, I grew up in Thornhill with my family and was home schooled for the majority of my elementary years. I credit my parents with instilling my love of reading, ability to write, and passion for learning. They also put me into the International Baccalaureate Program at Vaughan Road Academy, which contributed to my acceptance at Bishop’s University. There I completed a BSc in Biology and followed that with an Honours BSc Neuropsychology. I attempted to get into clinical psychology for two years, but didn’t make it. I turned to my father and asked if I could join the family business. To his credit, he asked what I would bring to the company and told me to get some business knowledge. I was accepted to the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business and completed it in 2011 with a specialization in strategy, OB, and marketing. In 2012 I became an MBTI Practitioner (I’m an INTJ). Book smarts are great, but I was still lacking experience. I have always been involved in leadership and training. I started my working life volunteering as a swimming instructor for children with special needs with the (at the time) Town of Markham. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, I took every employment opportunity I could and always strove to advance within any organization I worked for. This lead to some amazing experiences, including: tree planting in Wawa, Ontario being an assistant teacher with the Peel District School Board for a summer program that runs on Vancouver Island managing the Student Security team at Bishop’s University being a house parent and coach at Bishop’s College School Through an introduction, I met Greg Witz and joined Witz Education in the spring of 2010 part-time cleaning up their database. This turned into a full-time position over the summer and has been ever since. Witz Education is an amazing organization to be part of: transparent leadership, young hip culture, great team and a diverse client base. One day I am meeting with a group of DJ’s or IT technicians while the next I’m in a full suit meeting with the c-suite. Over my time here I have picked up a number of roles, including writing white papers, running the technology side of the company, aiding in course research and development, and maintaining the online marketing. It lets me draw on all my education and challenges me every day. In case it wasn’t clear, I love my job! Several of the posts on this site are excerpts of papers I have written for Witz Education. However, please note that the opinions and thoughts of this blog are mine and do not reflect those of Witz Education. A more detailed account of my employment history can be found on LinkedIn and I share articles I find interesting on Twitter.

Author, business, Contributor

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