Data is a topic that nobody in retail can ignore. But do you truly understand the concept? Are retailers going in the right direction? And what about the human factor?  In this episode, I chat with Edouard Beaucourt from Snowflake. Together we discuss the challenges and opportunities linked to data management.

Could retail and the food industry function without any packaging? Often, and for various reasons, packagings are seen as a necessity. On top of that, they are a strong marketing tool as well. So, a world without packaging sounds hard to believe.  But in the recent years we have seen the rise of packaging free supermarkets and they prove that a packaging-free grocery chain is possible.  An example of such concept is Pieter Pot. The young Dutch start-up started in 2019 and is active in both Netherlands and Belgium. Recently it reached a serious symbolic threshold: in two years, with their methods, their clients avoided to use 2 Million of packagings. So, what are the secrets to a packaging-free chain? You will hear them in this episode with Puck Schaaphok, Head of Belgium at Pieter Pot. 

The last mile is today a challenge for any retailer when it comes to home deliveries. Many parameters come to play in the equation and we see different solutions proposed by retailers or startup companies.  In this episode, my guest comes from YPER, a dynamic French startup founded in 2016. Alexandre Meynadier, Commercial Director took time to chat with me and explain how the collaborative approach to home deliveries can be beneficial to the last mile challenge. 

Pricing is an important element in your strategy. Instinctively, you might think that the lowest price is the one you have to apply and aim for. But is it so? Maybe price sensitivity is something you should measure? It is quite an interesting topic and to talk about it, my guest is Jérôme Laurent from Pricinghub. Together we chat about how retailers can study, measure and optimize their strategy when it comes to pricing. 

In this episode, I chat about field marketing with my guest Jari Anttonen from Znapio, a company specialised in mobile solutions.  When it comes to field marketing, I have quite some experiences. In previous lives, I have been on the road and have had the joy of alternating miles with visits to sales outlets. And I also know what it’s like to have to manage a team of field sales representatives. Those were fun experiences with also some challenges, and one of them was reporting.  So, when I learned about the existence of Znapio, I thought it was interesting to chat with Jari. Together we discuss about the challenges paired with the different ways of collecting and organising data from store visits. And you will also hear that having a solution for such challenges can surprisingly help with your field team's morale. 

My guest in this episode is Mathieu France, Founding and Managing Partner of Mediafield.  Together we discuss openly about a few of the trends animating outdoor advertising today. Mathieu also shares his advices and explains what your main purpose should be when planning an outdoor campaign.  It was great to record with him as one can hear how passionate he is about his field. 

The wine industry is close to the land. Winegrowers listen to, and cherish their soils. In recent years, some have even embraced biodynamics. To talk about this topic, my guest today is Gérard Bertrand, President of Gérard Bertrand Wines. He is a major producer in the southwest of France and above all a fervent defender of the earth and the values of biodynamic farming.

It’s time for another chat with a start-up. Diane Noyes founded Cool BeansFoods and created a range of meat alternatives based on…you guessed it: beans. As it is the purpose of this kind of episode, I let Diane present her concept and also we discuss the struggle and challenges that a young start-up can encounter when starting from scratch. 

The relationship between a brand and its customers has evolved considerably in recent years. And as you all know; the digital era has further accentuated the need for a brand to participate in an active discussion rather than a passive one. As a company specialized in customer relations, Eloquant decided for its 20th anniversary to do a study and look at the customer-brand interactions. To talk about the results of this survey, my guest is Alain Bouveret, General Manager of Eloquant. Together, we discuss among other things about :  What are actual consumers' expectations when it comes to customer relationship,  how brands should converse with clients,  which channels are the best ones?  and many other points...

The FMCG professionals obviously know about the existence of GS1, the organisation whose mission is to make the supply chain more efficient by offering global standards for the identifying, capturing and sharing of data.  But did you know that the organisation recently launched a program designed to help you optimise your brand’s presence in all different channels online and offline?  To discuss about this, in this episode, my guest is Luc Demeulenaere, an expert in category management and one of the lecturers in this GS1 College. He explains why as a brand or manufacturer, you should attend and which benefits you will get out of it.      https://www.gs1belu.org/en/program-2-category-management-store-brand-presence?utm_campaign=GS1-college&utm_medium=link&utm_source=referral