Strategy

Routific, the route planning and delivery management platform for small businesses, is reporting growth of 2.4X in 2020, driven by changing consumer habits amid the pandemic.

2020 has been an extraordinary year for the convenience industry, which stepped up as an essential service to provide Canadians with the goods and services needed during the pandemic.

Rabba Kitchen by Paramount will feature the best of both brands, says Rabba Fine Foods president Rick Rabba Rabba Fine Foods and Middle Eastern restaurant chain Paramount Fine Foods are creating a bespoke prepared food offering for the grocery chain’s newest store in Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood, set to open next year.

The federal government has released a $15-billion plan to meet its climate change commitments that includes steady increases to its carbon tax in each of the next 10 years.

Quebec and federal officials announced an investment in a biofuel production facility that will use non-recyclable residual materials, diverting those items from landfills while reducing greenhouse gases in the province.The Varennes Carbon Recyling project using technology developed by Enerkem is valued at $875 million, including $687 million to construct the plant in Varennes, Que., southeast of Montreal.Premier Francois Legault joined several cabinet colleagues and federal Liberal government ministers as part of the announcement in Montreal.Enerkem said the plant will produce 125,000 litres of biofuel and renewable chemicals made from nearly 200,000 tonnes of non-recyclable residual materials and wood waste.“Basically, we're taking non-recyclable feedstock or things that you wouldn't put in your recycling bin that (end up) in the landfill,” said Dominque Boies, CEO of Enerkem.“The idea is to use this material, which would create methane emissions .

Retailers in Ontario will earn 30% sales commission for every pack of $5 Plinko tickets activated from January 4 to March 31, 2021. This is an increase of 22% over the regular commission of 8%.The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation says the move is a way to "thank all our retailers and support you for your hard work through this challenging time due to the pandemic."It's also a strategy to drive customer awareness and sales growth of this new lottery game, which launches in the new year.Retailers will earn $105 per pack activated vs $28 based on regular commission of 8%: The promotion is slated to last three months.This fall, the Ontario Convenience Stores Association petitioned the provincial government to recognize and reward the key role that c-store operators play in driving revenue for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation by increasing lottery commissions across the board by 2%.As the cost of doing business for c-stores continues to increase—not to mention the added financial and related challenges brought on by the pandemic—the OCSA argues that this is an ideal opportunity for the province to support the channel and small business owners.  C-stores account for 76% of Ontario lottery sales for OLG.

Since spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way most people live throughout the world and directly impacted retailers and the way they operate – especially those deemed essential, such as convenience stores.

Between the pandemic and evolving regulations on key categories, it’s been an extraordinary year of changes and challenges for the convenience industry.