In this episode we welcome Colleen Martin, Chief Revenue Officer for Caddle, as a new regular contributor. Colleen brings a wealth of business acumen and insight, offering listeners custom research and industry perspectives. She will return as a regular feature guest with customers, never seen before research debuted on the pod in the coming weeks and months!The episode dives into the contentious issue of dynamic pricing, spotlighting a controversial (but misunderstood?) statement from Wendy's president. Sylvain unravels the complexities of dynamic pricing strategies, questioning why such a standard business practice stirs significant public uproar.Further stirring debate, the president of Kellogg's off-the-cuff suggestion for economic relief through cereal dinners sparks criticism. The hosts dissect the implications of such statements on consumer perceptions and brand image.The conversation shifts to accolades and industry developments, highlighting H-E-B's triumph in Dunnhumby's Annual Retailer Preference Index report, asserting its dominance in the U.S. grocery sector with a unique blend of price, quality, and convenience.In more sombre news, the episode covers the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit to block the Kroger and Albertsons merger, emphasizing potential consumer and employee impacts. Additionally, the hosts tackle a concerning New York Times article on lead contamination in applesauce, exposing gaps in the food safety system.Finally, big congrats to a friend of the pod, Aeryon Ashlie, on her nomination for the RBC Women of Influence Awards! 
About UsDr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.Dr. Charlebois sits on a few company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre’s Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa.About MichaelMichael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery.Michael has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels. ReThink Retail has added Michael to their prestigious Top Global Retail Influencers list for 2024 for the fourth year in a row.Michael is also the presiden