The vines are so close to the driveway I could pick grapes out the car window. A rooster runs by and I wonder if I’ve made a wrong turn. Then, a short distance ahead, I see other cars parked between a farmhouse and a small rustic wooden barn. This is the Clos du Soleil winery, […]

[Read more →]

See how supply-chain-conscious branding brings the coffee farmer right on to the package with a product name that stands alone.

[Read more →]

This year I attended the EPIC Vancouver Sustainable Living Show as an exhibitor (with two clients) as well as a blogger, shopper and beer sampler. There were brand and product concepts aplenty, offering a creative marketing boost as well as a feeling of genuine entrepreneurial optimism. Sure, the usual flock of ‘green’ graphics were on […]

[Read more →]

OK, it wasn’t called that. But as my second green business shmooze in 12 hours, (see Power Plant event blog, below) I was bleary stumbling into this 7:30am Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfast on food certification. Balancing a cup of BCIT coffee, 2 preservative-laced danishes and a Happy Planet juice, I took notes as best I […]

[Read more →]

When I reported on this product last year, my main comment was ‘great beer, shame about the packaging’. Well, this year, the beer is just as good, and the packaging… better. Brian Hansford, Territory Manager for Pacific Western Brewing, told me the packaging had definitely helped sales, pointing out that the new box now actually […]

[Read more →]

I had seen this product before, as its packaging had appeared in the prestigious Communication Arts Design Annual 2008. So I eagerly stepped up to the sampling table. I’m no vodka connoisseur, but the corn-based beverage seemed adequate to do the job, and set me up well for my day at Epic 2009. From a […]

[Read more →]

I had seen the sign for Lotusland Winery around Abbotsford on Highway 1, and in the land of mushroom farms and rural sprawl, hadn’t given it much thought. But their label design has a much more urban flair, using west coast Vancouver B&W imagery that definitely made their product appealing to try. I sampled their […]

[Read more →]

The Sustainable Brands 2008 show was, like the industry it represents, sometimes a contradiction. Here, in no particular order, are my Top-10 observations on both ends of the green scale: 1. Coffee with all the right adjectives. It was nice to see a departure from the ubiquitous generic hotel swill. This selection by Thanksgiving Coffee […]

[Read more →]

As usual, free food samples called to me, leading to the New World Natural Foods booth. Impressed with the flavour, I ended up purchasing a bag of Tropical Fruit Nut blend. Then I asked myself, why aren’t these local products more available? Speaking with Rajinder Bagga, I learned that the company’s roots go much deeper […]

[Read more →]

EPIC Sustainable Living Show, Vancouver 2008 – Ironic that the styrofoam box that protects your restaurant leftovers for two days will be in the landfill until the year 3000. So who’s responsibility is it to deal with? According to Green Century, business should be doing a lot more. “We took it upon ourselves to educate […]

[Read more →]