Ukraine One Year Later, Beer Taxes, RBI Double Double Trouble, and Michael Burgess, CEO of Nerpy's Hot Sauces & Marinades

This episode's guest is Michael Burgess, founder of Nerpy's hot sauces and marinades.  We talk about Nerpy's origin story, what inspired Michael to get into the food business, and all about the products and what makes them different.

But first, we cover Canada's food inflation numbers and if they are on track to match Sylvain's predictions from Canada's Food Price Report.

Ukraine: One year later  - Biden visits, Putin claps back opting out of the last nuclear treaty….after a year less disruption to the global food supply chain but many repercussions, including the government promising Canadian farmers they'd get their $35 million back

Next, the 6.3% escalator tax on beer coming into effect April 1 - one of the largest, if not the largest by percentage, and ask why.

Double double trouble cleanup in the drive-through: RBI cleaning house: Tim Hortons turfs key store owner amid a battle with franchisees over profitability and serves notice to the Board of Director members…and lastly, our good friends at Better Cart Analytics get funded

https://www.foodincanada.com/food-trends/cfin-awards-1-2m-to-five-foodtech-projects-154101/

About Michael

Meet Michael Burgess who hails from Kingston, Jamaica. Michael is an entrepreneur and foodie who was born in Kingston, where lived until his family moved to Canada in 1982. Michael Burgess’ story is one that goes from riding a donkey laden with fruits on his grandfather’s farm in Clarendon, Jamaica. To producing award winning hot sauces in Toronto, ON worthy of Toronto Life magazine’s Hall of Flame. Michael’s love of food is deeply rooted in his Jamaican heritage and culture which is what inspires his work. Michael is a Certified Sales Professional and believes in their philosophy of continual learning. His Post- Secondary education was completed at Seneca College in Toronto where he is a graduate from not one but three programs. He started with Accounting, followed by Business Administration-Entrepreneurship and lastly he finalized his studies with Business Administration-Management. In between his studies Michael worked as a manager for a few different companies. In 2008/2009 he looked at the Hot Sauce industry and began experimenting with sauces. By the fall of 2009 Nerpy’s Hot Sauces™, began. Nerpy’s is currently listed in grocery chains like Metro, Sobeys, Farm Boy as well as many other independent retailers and a few restaurants/caterers in Ontario.

Nerpy’s Inc. began in the fall of 2009 as a part time Hot Sauce venture. Nerpy’s Inc., now produces award winning sauces in Toronto, ON worthy of Toronto Life magazine’s Hall of Flame. The Scotch Bonnet peppers are a signature component of these products, many of which have won awards in and around the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area. This collection of sauces include a Mango Scotch bonnet Very Hot Sauce, a Pomegranate and Beet hot sauce, a Tamarind Jerk Seasoning, a Coconut Curry Seasoning, an All Purpose seasoning and a Tropical Pineapple &Appleton Rum infused BBQ Sauce. Nerpy’s Hot Sauces have won awards in competitions such as Jerk Warz (2016), The Heatwave Hot Sauce Expo (2019) and The Royal Winter Fair’s Hot Sauce Competition (2019). Michael’s Pomegranate Hot Sauce was recognized by Toronto Life Magazine as one of the Top twenty Hot Sauces in Toronto (2019).

Nerpy’s is now listed in over 150+ retail stores including major grocery chains like Metro, Sobeys, Farm Boy as well as many other smaller independent retailers and a few restaurants in caterers in Ontario.

Got to https://www.nerpys.ca to learn more about Nerpy’s amazing products or use the store locator for retailers across Ontario.

About Us

Dr. 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 Michael

Michael 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 2023 for the third year in a row. 

Michael is also the president of Maven Media, producing a network of leading trade podcasts, including Remarkable Retail , with best-selling author Steve Dennis, now ranked one of the top retail podcasts in the world. 

Based in San Francisco, Global eCommerce Leaders podcast explores global cross-border issues and opportunities for eCommerce brands and retailers. 

Last but not least, Michael is the producer and host of the "Last Request Barbeque" channel on YouTube, where he cooks meals to die for - and collaborates with top brands as a food and product influencer across North America.

About Us

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Visiting Professor in Food Policy and Distribution at McGill University and a Professor in Food Distribution and Policy in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University.

Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability with over 775 published peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Charlebois is also an editor for the prestigious Trends in Food Science Technology journal. 

He co-hosts The Food Professor podcast, discussing issues in the food, foodservice, grocery and restaurant industries and which is the most listened Canadian management podcast in Canada. 

Every year since 2012, he has published the now highly anticipated Canadian Food Price Report, which provides an overview of food price trends for the coming year. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, nationally as well as internationally. He has testified on several occasions before parliamentary committees on food policy-related issues as an expert witness. He has been asked to act as an advisor on food and agricultural policies in many Canadian provinces and other countries.

With extensive experience collaborating with businesses, governments, and NGOs, Dr. Charlebois combines academic rigor with practical expertise, making him one of the most influential voices in the global agri-food landscape. His work continues to advance the understanding of food systems, fostering innovation and resilience in a rapidly evolving industry. In 2025, he received the prestigious Charles III medal recognizing his tremendous work in informing Canadians about food issues.

 Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast.  He has been recognized by the National Retail Federation (NRF) as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025, and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.