Subway Canada has announced a commitment to transitioning to paper straws in all of its 3,200 restaurants in 2019. In an official statement, Subway Canada says its committed to making its restaurants and operations as environmentally responsible as possible and that it continues to explore ways to minimize resources used, potential waste created and overall environmental impact.

Grocery shoppers show loyalty to brands that share product information, according to a new report from Label Insight and Food Marketing Institute (FMI). In fact, “The Transparency Imperative” discovered that 75% of shoppers are more likely to switch to a brand that provides more product information than what appears on the physical label. Asked the same question in 2016 in a similar Label Insight study, just 39% of shoppers said they would switch brands.

Canada Meat Group Inc. marked broke ground at its new processing facility in North Bay’s airport industrial park. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday September 14 and marks the beginning of construction for the new facility, slated to open in August 2019.  Canada Meat Group is a start-up company that also operates a meat processing plant with an abattoir and cattle operation in Kiev, Ukraine.

The CEOs of three of Canada’s major grocery chains doubled down on their expectation that food prices will soon rise at their stores. Recent cost pressures on the industry, including rising minimum wages in some provinces, increased fuel and transportation costs and an ongoing trade war with the U.S., will soon result in some price inflation, said the chief executives of Metro Inc., Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Empire Co. Tuesday at Scotiabank’s back-to-school conference in Toronto.

Ferrero Canada has promoted BJ Hamilton from senior sales director, national accounts to vice-president of sales to oversee “customer business teams, category management, shoppers marketing and the retail selling organization,” according to a press release. Hamilton brings more than two decades of retail sales experience to his new role, having held positions at both Ferrero Canada and Campbell Company of Canada.

Copper Branch — a plant-based restaurant chain with more than 30 locations in Canada — is expanding into the U.S. and will open the first location in New York City this November, according to Vegconomist. At a time when vegans, flexitarians and health-conscious consumers are clamouring for plant-based alternatives, the chain hopes to answer the call. The chain is targeting a total of 80 locations across the globe by 2019 and 150 locations by 2020.

The parent company of grocery chain Sobeys Inc. was “a little slow on the trigger” to pass on the higher cost of food to consumers due to tariff costs, but it will inevitably happen in the future, Empire Company Ltd. CEO Michael Medline said Thursday. “It’s clear with what’s going on in terms of transportation cost and tariff-related cost that our expectation—although we’re not economists—is that there will be some inflation,” he said during a conference call with analysts after the company...

The Coca-Cola Co. is in “serious talks” with Aurora Cannabis Inc. to develop cannabis-infused beverages, a groundbreaking move that would signal a significant foray into the marijuana sector by one of the world’s most iconic consumer brands, multiple sources familiar with the matter told BNN Bloomberg.

Canada’s ban on artificial trans fats comes into effect this week, one year after the federal government announced it would be ending the use of the artery-clogging fats.

Dollarama Inc. is hitting a slow patch. The Montreal-based dollar store, which has gotten investors used to a regular stream of good news, lowered its forecast for comparable store sales this year after a second-straight quarter of below-expectations growth. It now expects sales to rise about 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, down from a previous range of 4 per cent to 5 per cent. The sales forecast cut is “problematic,” according to Raymond James Financial Inc. analyst Kenric Tyghe.

Cargill has entered the Polish poultry market for the first time, as it has acquired Polish poultry producer Konspol for an undisclosed figure. As part of the deal, Cargill will purchase the Polish assets of Konspol’s food and fresh chicken business and will acquire Konspol’s portfolio of branded and private label products, as well as its customer and supplier relationships.

The parent company of Tim Hortons says it has reached an agreement with the head of an unsanctioned franchisee group who had his four restaurants seized after he allegedly leaked sensitive corporate news to the media.  "Both parties have agreed that Mr. (David) Hughes has left the Tim Hortons business and an agreement was reached that is satisfactory to both parties," said Restaurant Brands International Inc. spokeswoman Jane Almeida.