From the small town of Amherst, Wisconsin, the powerhouse of H.O. Wolding provides safe and reliable trucking options across the continental United States. With a strong emphasis on driver amenities and retention, the company is enjoying regular growth to help drive economic recovery – literally.

We first spoke with H.O. Wolding representatives back in 2019, in a very different world. Since the company’s founding in 1935, H.O. Wolding has continually championed better and more efficient shipping methods, ever since founder and namesake Herbert Wolding developed new ways by which trucks could ship freight faster than trains.

Over nearly 90 years, H.O. Wolding has expanded from one truck to over 320, with over 1,000 trailers.

An example of H.O. Wolding’s continual emphasis on new technologies is its 2004 enrollment in the SmartWay program. H.O. Wolding is the first transport company to seek such enrollment for its day cab tractors.

The brainchild of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the SmartWay program was created to counter the rising greenhouse gas emissions from a higher number of trucks on the road. (The EPA estimates emissions from global freight operations will surpass those from passenger vehicles in 2050, with the possibility that pandemic-related buying trends may accelerate this.)

Today, SmartWay brings together over 3,700 North American businesses with cutting-edge equipment to reduce idling time and increase fuel efficiency. By providing advanced equipment such as Auxiliary Power Units (APUs), which allow trucks to run electrical systems via batteries rather than gasoline, SmartWay helps both carriers and suppliers in land, sea, and air freight reduce their carbon footprint.

Advanced emissions tracking devices help businesses to measure their emissions output with unprecedented accuracy, enabling proactive measures to improve efficiency and reduce CO2. To date, the EPA estimates it has helped private industries save over 300 million barrels of oil, and reduce air pollution by 150 million tons.

While SmartWay demonstrates H.O. Wolding’s commitment to a reduced carbon footprint and more efficient business model, the company’s investment in future equipment is also evidenced by its continually upgrade fleet of tractors.

“Our fleet is incredibly modern, compared to 2019,” says Social Media & Marketing Specialist Joseph Lieggi, who estimates that 70 percent of the company’s tractor fleet consists of newer models with additions or replacements of three to five trucks and trailers monthly.

Indeed, Lieggi remarks that one of H.O. Wolding’s most notable features is the incongruity of the company operation – a relatively small company with barely five hundred employees in an equally small town, but with a fleet of over 300 imposing trucks. “It’s really nice to be able to see that!”

Newer models may be a significant investment, Lieggi says, but the advances more than justify the cost. H.O. Wolding boasts some of the latest models from Freightliner, embodying many of the latest advances in trucking technology.

Freightliner’s new Cascadia 2021 model, for instance, boasts an Optimized Idle (or Opti-Idle) system to regulate temperatures and, as the name implies, idles the vehicle less often to save fuel. The majority of company trucks now also have automatic transmissions, a real upgrade over the traditional manual transmission.

Other additions such as lane departure sensors, automatic brake detectors, crash detection and anti-roll systems have helped H.O. Wolding maintain a safety rating of 1.25 from the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration, the highest such rating the TSA can bestow. “Think how it was fifteen years ago,” Lieggi remarks. “Nowadays, everything is monitored for you. It’s just incredible.”

But while H.O. Wolding rightfully takes pride in its infrastructure, the greatest benefit to its recruitment efforts remains its focus on retaining drivers through providing outstanding amenities.

Lieggi lays out the company’s philosophy succinctly: “Our number one focus is safety; our number two focus is driver happiness.” With a traditionally high turnover rate among truck drivers, H.O. Wolding is necessarily invested in the drive to provide drivers with the best possible working conditions.

And when the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) modified its regulations to allow drivers to drive longer hours and more miles, the company’s ranks swelled. Lieggi remarks how, unlike many other sectors in 2020, trucking actually expanded as growing gaps in the supply chain needed to be filled. “No matter who you are, the freight you need is likely delivered by a truck.”

This industry growth initiated growth not only of the driver corps, but of H.O. Wolding’s office staff as well, leading to greater logistical and maintenance support. Hiring in the midst of a pandemic might have been a risk, but a necessary one to accommodate the consequences of expansion of capabilities.

“The needs of the company are growing,” Lieggi says, and the company’s rebound is still ongoing. “It’s a silver lining within the gray cloud of COVID.”

The largest single factor affecting driver retention, predictably, is a higher salary. “We do like to increase our pay package to continue to be the most competitive, or among the most competitive pay packages,” Lieggi says, noting that this package has increased for at least the past two years annually.

As he explains, it’s a simple numbers game. “We want our drivers to stay. We want them to feel like they’re being treated well and compensated appropriately. If they’re not feeling that way, they’re going to leave.”

In addition to higher salary packages, H.O. Wolding has revamped its referral system to compensate drivers who bring in new hires. Through a wealth of online applications, the company not only increases total referrals but can also easily track who made the referral in the first place.

“It’s a lot easier way to track and trace exactly who is being referred, and who they’re being referred by, to make sure that the person who referred them gets their awesome referral bonus,” Lieggi says, adding that drivers receive between $50 and $2,000 per referral.

In addition to high salaries and bonuses, H.O. Wolding tries its best to accommodate each driver’s needs. Hourly and regional hourly positions are offered alongside traditional long-haul positions, providing degrees of flexibility to offer more long-distance runs or multiple shorter runs to keep drivers closer to hearth and home.

“If you’re in the Northeast region, and you know you’ll be sitting in a lot of traffic,” Lieggi explains, “we’re going to give you an hourly-paid position, so you can get a livable wage that’s still competitive with everyone else.”

By paying drivers hourly and not just per delivery, H.O. Wolding can ensure drivers are suitably compensated even if they are delayed by traffic or weather.

This focus on safety and driver retention, as well as H.O. Wolding’s deceptively small size, considering its output, has helped the company cultivate its family atmosphere.

“We have that family value, but we’re nationally recognized,” Lieggi says, “which means you’re not going to be pulled over on the side of the road waiting for your next load from your dispatcher for hours or days.”

This is in stark contrast to other trucking companies which can have long wait times. But with over 320 trucks and more than double that in trailers, there’s always somewhere to go and something to deliver. “You’re constantly moving, and you’re constantly making money.”

Now H.O. Wolding is moving beyond its traditional recruitment strategies to bring in outside drivers on a more casual basis.

The company’s Power Only Program intends to hire independent drivers on a freelance basis. While the company still provides all infrastructure – trucks, insurance and all relevant documentation and maintenance – drivers would be able to haul H.O. Wolding loads, anytime, and receive 80 percent of the load’s value as compensation upon delivery.

With no non-compete clauses and right of first refusal, Power Only offers independent drivers the flexibility to work with H.O. Wolding on a casual basis. “It really boils down to personal preference,” Lieggi remarks, and the program provides additional flexibility for H.O. Wolding to offer more work when its driver corps is stretched thin.

As our world continues to adapt to COVID, and our economy continues to transition away from traditional shopping to a delivery model, transport companies like H.O. Wolding will continue to grow.

Lieggi and his colleagues know that, to sustain this growth, the company must bring additional resources to bear. “We’re realizing that technology is changing and developing, and the old-school ways aren’t necessarily working anymore,” he says, referring to traditional job ads on hiring websites.

New ideas and innovations like an enhanced social media presence are now required, if only for advertisement and referral. “What better place to try than Facebook?” Lieggi asks. He notes that 81 percent of truck owner-operators and 79 percent of company truck drivers use the platform every day.

Despite increasing calls for regulation, social media giants such as Facebook still represent the new frontier in recruitment, Lieggi says, and H.O. Wolding intends to be at its forefront. “We’re really going to be integrating ourselves into the future instead of just sticking to where we are right now.”

This forward-thinking attitude continues to reflect H.O. Wolding’s philosophy of having the latest technology, an attitude Lieggi shares.

“When we see new tech come out that we think might benefit us – on the recruiting side, or drivers’ side, or safety side – we’re looking at it, we’re taking it seriously, and we’re trying to incorporate it if it can work with us,” he says.

With H.O. Wolding’s long history of driver retention through amenities and flexibility, the company will continue to provide a strong example of success and innovation in the transport industry.

The post The Engines of Recovery<p class="company">H.O. Wolding</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The independently owned, small batch, craft cannabis brand leading East Coast legalization brought BKA Architects, a team with specialized cannabis experience, in on the project to work with Dacon Corporation to construct a 23,500 square foot facility. The new facility has allowed for the innovation of new cannabis products for enthusiasts in Massachusetts. “Starting out in medical prior to embarking on recreational we didn’t predict the trajectory, so we’ve been very fortunate in terms of our growth,” says Thomas Winstanley, Vice President, Marketing for Theory. “When we first moved into the cannabis industry, there was no road map around where the industry would take us. What we experienced was not only a lot of enthusiasm, but significant increases in demand as we transitioned into recreational sales.”

Because Theory Wellness controls its supply chain from cultivation to final product, the company is able to develop products in-house, with Theory branded products in its retail stores across Massachusetts. Offerings entail approximately 60 products spanning flower, edibles, concentrates, extracts, tinctures and topicals.

“Being able to control manufacturing has expanded brand development from both a retail and manufacturing perspective,” Winstanley says. “We’re small batch. We embrace a startup mentality and look to craft beer breweries for inspiration. At the heart of our products’ quality is select availability and unique genetics.”

Flower – the plants/buds that are rolled or consumed in a pipe – remains the core product line, says Winstanley. “Flower constitutes the largest part of sales. We invest a lot of time evaluating their genetics and nuances.” The properties of this flower may aid sleep, enhance energy or increase focus. “In the same way that farm-to-table restaurants look at heirloom tomatoes, we look at cannabis genetics. We are addressing a discerning user who doesn’t want a mass-produced product.”

Theory Wellness focuses on investing in technology that creates ideal environments for plants to reach their full potential. “Part of what differentiates us in the market is that we’re not very large. As a private company, we are able to be nimble and reactive to market trends,” says Winstanley. Theory pivots its operations to address different needs and challenges. Starting out in the medical realm, the company never anticipated the scale the recreational sector would create.

“As we got into the recreational market, we considered what scaling our operations looked like. It’s a continuously evolving process, but that’s where we started working with Dacon in terms of creating a new facility.”

Dacon Corporation is a fully integrated design build firm providing comprehensive facility development services for unique projects, including architectural design, engineering and construction management. With massive growth looming, Theory Wellness realized they needed to invest capital in facility design.

“We wanted to design a new facility that was the culmination of a breadth of learnings around manufacturing and cultivation, product demand, consumer preferences and emerging technology.”

Architecture, space functionality and goods produced were all vital to consider, along with a solid partner. Winstanley knew the company wanted to build an unparalleled facility, so finding a partner who could handle rigorous requests was challenging.

“We went through a pretty heavy RFP process and Dacon Corporation stood out as a key partner,” says Winstanley. “They align with our vision and asked meaningful questions. They understood what we aspired to achieve even though it was something that had never been seen.”

Indoor cultivation requires implicit knowledge of lighting cycles, humidity, in-room temperatures, airflow and decontamination. The level of sophistication required to control variables that give plants optimal growth conditions is a symphony of technology. Leveraging organic growth to advance plant health and optimal flowers is the basis of Theory’s entire operation. Dacon fit the bill.

“They understood the technological needs as we explained them,” says Winstanley. Dacon also constructed enough square footage within the facility for a beverage canning line – one of the first in Massachusetts in the cannabis industry. Theory Wellness now produces Hi5, a rapid onset, cannabis infused seltzer, with plans for millions of cans in 2021, along with a state-of-the-art chocolate manufacturing line.

“This facility allows us to move into different categories that fulfill consumer interest. We listen very closely to what their needs are. At the end of the day, the product has to speak for itself,” says Winstanley. “You can’t be a small batch craft cannabis company with sub-par products; we can’t rush these things into the market. The quality thread from flower rooms to final product – everything has to be right.”

Theory’s mission includes setting a precedent around creating a legal and safe industry. “We always said we want to help define what the future of cannabis can be. For us it’s an independent, free market.”

As with any other industry, the cannabis sector is challenging. “I think there are always going to be hurdles in this new landscape, but being nimble and very hungry, we’ve adapted to the new policies. Each time we come back stronger having learned from navigating the legislative process,” shares Winstanley. An offshoot of this is Theory’s social equity program for fledgling cannabis start-ups comprising $100,000 debt-free, zero-interest loans that provide entry capital as well as $150,000 worth of product on wholesale consignment. The recipients of their inaugural program Legal Greens opened recently in Brockton, MA following years of regulatory applications with the city and state. “There are many challenges we face so we realized that we were in a rare position with a lot of knowledge and support to share,” says Winstanley.

Recognizing a massive change in the market also led Theory to use its influence as a conscious brand to partner with a local farmer to grow outdoor cannabis. Ted Dobson is a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement who has been growing different types of table greens for the last 35 years. “He knows the soil better than anyone,” says Winstanley. “We’re really excited as partnering with a farmer is a model that we think can be of use in this industry. Ted knows the land and the plants, plus he’s helped us cultivate in an entirely new climate. We’re heading into our third season of outdoor cultivation.”

As for technology and operations, Winstanley has nothing but high praise. “Versus other facilities I’ve been through, the facility Dacon created is like the International Space Station – both futuristic and state-of-the-art. They were accustomed to performing under fast-paced deadlines and understood what was needed.” Winstanley says the mastery of engineering will hopefully help produce best-in-market results. “There’s no way we could have gone there without the support and the partnership that we had with Dacon to recognize that vision and help us get there,” he says.

Theory’s latest project is Hi5, a zero calorie, all natural, gluten free, cannabis infused seltzer. The line of beverages are designed to produce a controlled but rapid effect when consumed, which is a different type of consumption when compared to standard edibles.

“It’s a controllable way to consume cannabis,” Winstanley says. “One of the first of its kind on the East Coast, it opens the market to a much broader audience. This is for those who tried edibles or are less familiar with cannabis or feel like the control isn’t there for them.”

This opportunity will help further differentiate the Theory brand with a new category of products with the end goal of making cannabis available for all. “We hope people try cannabis. We hope to reverse the stigma that cannabis is something that’s a counterculture product. Cannabis access should be available for all. We’re fortunate to have this team. We’re all incredibly passionate about this industry. We believe it shows in our products and service.”

The post Flower to the People – Theory Wellness On the Grow with Dacon<p class="company">Theory Wellness/Dacon Corporation</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

230 Fifth Rooftop Bar comprises 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. In a way, its generous outdoor endowment has been the venue’s saving grace, enabling it to survive during the pandemic. As Director Sal Rozenberg notes of the space, “Who would have thought that the outdoors would be for people’s safety and not for people’s pleasure?”

Even during the winter months, it was possible to settle down in comfort and enjoy the outdoor space thanks to 140 heaters – 80 of which were added this year – to ensure the warmth and comfort of every guest. According to Rozenberg, “It means higher electric bills, but with people feeling safer outdoors and this winter being horrible, it’s helped.”

It must have, seeing the numbers that still come to enjoy what the venue has to offer, especially the novelty of the unique clear plastic igloos. In two sizes, a larger one for groups and a smaller one that provides an intimate setting for couples, the structures offer a unique experience without having to leave the city.

The igloos have always been popular with guests, especially prior to the pandemic when 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar offered igloos with private hot tubs, but, as Rozenberg says, “All of that is in the past. The last twelve months with COVID, things have changed a lot.”

The igloos were originally a platform for guests to meet and interact with each other. They created smaller spaces that allowed people to interact more closely, but given social distancing protocols, this is no longer the case. Instead, 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar has adapted their use in a pandemic-friendly way.

“One of the things we have done, because the movie theaters remain closed, we show fourteen different genre movies in our igloos. All ages are welcome with their parents, so we have a lot of families, couples coming to watch movies in our igloos,” Rozenberg says as he explains the decision to provide family-friendly programming at a venue that has historically been for adults only.

Beyond food and drink
“We don’t want to just promote another way to drink,” says Rozenberg. “People want a reason to go out besides just eating and drinking. They want something that feels like an activity because museums and movie theaters are closed.”

Families aren’t the only new demographic frequenting 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar.

Traditionally it’s been a gathering place for corporate events and a popular destination for international travelers, but with people working from home and international travel halted, guest demographics have shifted to reflect a greater number of locals and domestic visitors from across the United States.

From Rozenberg’s standpoint, “This year has been an interesting year. We’re constantly adjusting to the new local laws that keep popping up with very little notice. It is very difficult to come up with creative events right now.”

Regulations have made it difficult to program events and entertainments at the venue, but that hasn’t stifled the creative spirit. Rozenberg says, of some of the ideas that were in the pipeline prior to the emergence of COVID-19, “We were working on after-work events, mingling parties, messaging parties, weekly events for people between 40 and 60 – that seems to be an age where people are having challenges meeting people.”

The slowdown has been a hard pill to swallow, especially since 2019 was one of the venue’s most successful years on record, in both events and attendance, but also in terms of philanthropy, which is an important part of what it does – a tradition of giving that originated with the venue’s founder, the late Steven Greenberg.

Running leaner and better
Not everything has changed, however. 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar still goes above and beyond to provide guests with the sensations of luxury and celebrity that they have come to expect and enjoy. Guests are still welcomed by the same red velvet ropes; the staff just takes greater effort to disinfect them between uses.

The team at 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar is running at a quarter of its usual capacity but continues to provide an exceptional guest experience, living up to its long-standing reputation. Essentially, 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar is doing more with less, but, thanks to technology, it remains a place where social interactions are still encouraged, while guest safety remains paramount.

While other restaurants and social venues were left scrambling, 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar had the technology and infrastructure to quickly adapt and remain operational, while continuing to deliver optimized social experiences.

A couple of years ago, 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar launched the Approach Now app, which serves as a platform for guests to interact and get to know one another. Each night, a new venue code is released and using this unique code, guests can log into the app and speak to other guests in attendance via public and private chat functions to get to know each other on their own terms.

Bringing the best of digital to this social experience, the Approach Now app serves as a digital platform on which guests can order from the safety of their phones, so complying with New York’s mandate of no walkup bar service.

Despite the changing regulations, the uncertain times, and the persisting pandemic conditions, 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar continues to be a place where moments are celebrated, relationships are formed, and memories are made. It is still a great place to meet new friends, to gather with old friends and it will remain so long after the pandemic protocols are lifted.

“The tough part is behind us. We’re seeing small improvements,” says Rozenberg, who remains full of certainty that with the vaccine the world will return to a normalcy where the venue can again open its doors to local guests, as well as visitors from around the world. In the meantime, it will continue to meet every challenge to assure its place as a premiere destination in New York City.

The post Elevated Service in the Face of a Pandemic<p class="company">230 Fifth Rooftop Bar</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The city made a name for itself in the auto industry with manufacturing, and bounced back from the economic downturn in 2008 with new development in food processing and advanced manufacturing. Forestry has also opened up job creation, with an investment of almost $50 million in the new Elelment5 cross-laminated timber plant. And the first full-service hotel in the city limits, the Holiday Inn Express, will start construction soon.

The people of St. Thomas don’t shy away from making lemonade out of lemons, or beer out of hops, for that matter (they have some great craft breweries), so COVID-19 hasn’t slowed housing and business growth, or dampened community pride. Just check out the hashtag #stthomasproud on social for all the positive vibes. The award-winning city campaign was launched six years ago and is still going strong.

“As far as building and construction goes in the community, 2019 was our best year ever,” says Sean Dyke, CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation (EDC) that drives business and tourism initiatives. “When the pandemic hit, I think we all just assumed it was going to be a bit of an off year. We were wrong. There was actually about $35 million more construction in 2020 than there was in 2019, in combined industrial, commercial and residential.”

What’s so appealing? Plenty. St. Thomas offers a relaxed lifestyle that’s safe, quiet and culturally interesting with arts-based businesses, boutique shops, and craft food producers setting up shop. There’s a lower cost of living, plenty of ways to stay active and there’s nature right at your doorstop.

The city’s got “so much more life” than urban centers, Dyke explains. Indeed, this phrase is the tagline for some new marketing billboards and communications.

“Living and working in St. Thomas means no waiting in traffic – it means you can be home in time for dinner, without worrying about bigger City traffic,” he says. He’s been a resident for 16 years, raising three children and seeing them take full advantage of community sports and activities. “This community offers many of the same cultural and recreational opportunities found in larger centres, but without the higher costs.”

And Dyke and his team are determined to make life in St. Thomas enjoyable and prosperous, even in the darkest of days.

In fact, efforts by the St. Thomas EDC to mitigate the impact of the pandemic shutdowns have earned them a provincial award of excellence. The team took a grassroots approach to helping small and medium-sized businesses with financial assistance, retail website enhancements, and innovation to change up what some businesses were offering to help them stay afloat during COVID.

Wildflowers Farm, for example, which grows botanicals and hosts wellness workshops in a picturesque country setting, created a farmers’ market for goods and edibles with the EDC’s support at a time when most farmers’ markets in the area had curtailed activities.

Saint T Fashion and Hair Design is another success story. The downtown store was mainly a clothing shop offering popular streetwear like hoodies, T-shirts and ball caps with variations of the Saint T logo that is all about promoting hometown St. Thomas pride. Hip hop artists Choclair and Maestro Fresh Wes are fans of the line.

The space also has a barbershop known for artistic razor designs. The EDC helped with funding and mentorship to reconfigure the store so hair services could continue and people could also shop for clothing. In even better news, Saint T has opened another downtown location and additional stores in the surrounding area.

“For a store that started off pretty small, they’ve really expanded significantly. Even in other communities, they’re marketing the Saint T brand, which helps to spread the local community pride we’ve been pushing for the better part of the last decade,” says Dyke. “We have a very passionate team here at the EDC who are truly driven to make change in the community. And when you can see it happen, it makes it so much more fun.”

The EDC Team also launched an online portal during the pandemic for area artists to sell their work – a substantial boost for those who didn’t have an online store – and purchased over $20,000 in products from local producers, to be sold in specialty duffel bags and backpacks, which included honey, coffee, snacks and small-batch brews, among other items – all good things to have on hand when stuck at home.

Another initiative was the expanded Track to the Future mural program. Artists created about a dozen murals through the downtown over the past year as a way to bring life and colour to St. Thomas, especially important at a time when people were limited to outdoor attractions.

There’s a landscape of brilliant poppies that covers the entire back of a building that looks right over the city’s memorial gardens. The graphic artist is internationally recognized Andrew Lewis from nearby London, Ontario, who is regularly commissioned by Canada Post to create illustrative stamps. This brings the total number of murals in the City to over 25, with more on the way!

And who doesn’t smile at floppy-eared elephants? Drawing on the local history with Jumbo the circus elephant, there are murals in the works that feature baby elephants for a family-friendly theme that will serve as part of a fun scavenger hunt for kids and adults alike as we come out of the pandemic into the new normal.

Also quickly becoming a key feature in the community is the St. Thomas Elevated Park. Much like the High Line in New York City, a private community group has turned a railway bridge into a park trail and event location for all to use, which ties in nicely with city’s railway heritage.

“There are a lot of impressive things going on with arts and culture in this community, and it’s something we want to keep pushing,” shares Dyke. “The city is also investing significantly in public art on roundabouts, which has been exceptionally popular. Most stunning so far is one of the largest outdoor pieces of public art in Canada, which was locally produced and installed in one of our roundabouts.” The installation is a dramatic steel locomotive that rises out of the center, called “Perseverance”. Last year, the city installed a giant soccer ball art piece in front of the newly developed 1Password Park.

These moves to be bold and courageous have all worked to deliver a huge boost to community morale and momentum. And that’s a silver lining.

“I’m expecting a good bounce back from the small business sector,” says Dyke. “Something that’s been really exciting to see through COVID is that our local community has been buying local. The traffic that we’re seeing at small businesses in town is excellent and I’m hoping that traction carries forward when things fully open up again.”

The post How a Small Canadian City Kept Business and Growth Alive During the Pandemic<p class="company">City of St. Thomas, ON</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

They needn’t have worried. It turns out that local tour operators have planned for this, as staged re-openings occur across the world. Only about twenty people ended up on the boat. Each family was asked to wear masks as they wandered around the boat deck for pictures of the sea life, though, while sitting in their assigned seats, they could remove their masks.

It is these kinds of changes that businesses around the world have had to undergo to get travellers moving again. Restaurants have to section off parts of their dining areas. Tour operators have to make sure everyone is wearing masks. Rental car companies and hotels have had to adapt to a level of cleaning unheard of a year ago.

This is all a mess, but there is hope. Destination Canada’s Executive Director of Industry Partnerships Sebastien Dubois says his organization’s research shows that people still want to travel, and he is certain that when it is safe to do so, the travel numbers will rise. In fact, he said, it is already getting better.

“We’ve been seeing improvements, and it’s showing the value of tourism,” Dubois said. “We want Canadians to realize the value of travelling in their own country.”

He said if Canadians spend two-thirds of the money they were planning to spend on international travel in domestic travel instead, they would bring nineteen billion dollars into the economy and would help save 150,000 jobs across the country. It is paramount, he said, to get people to realize the value of travel, get them to discover the benefits of what is in their backyard.

“We need to get Canadians ready to welcome visitors, either from their own province or the province next door or internationally,” he added, “and then we need to make sure the airline routes are all back up and running.”

As with any industry, the unknown is a big problem, he said, as things change every day at both the provincial and municipal levels. It is certainly harder for anyone to make plans. Promoting tourism locally seems to be one way past the slowdown, as is getting through the vaccination programs.

“Everyone is making plans in terms of getting ready for people to start travelling. We know we want to have Canadians to travel in Canada,” said Dubois. “We’re lucky to be in this country, and we’re doing all we can to get Canadians to start dreaming about travelling within their own country again.”

Atlantic Canada has had fewer COVID-19 cases than most of Canada, which puts it in the position to hopefully return to some semblance of normalcy a little faster than other provinces and U.S. states. Tourism Nova Scotia Chief Executive Officer Michelle Saran says although the pandemic has made the job more challenging, there is hope on the horizon for the East Coast.

“We’ve earned the reputation of being a safe destination because we’ve been so effective at following public health protocols,” she said. “We’ve had some positive press from the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, and Bloomberg. They’ve all lauded us as a safe destination that has managed everything well, so we do believe that this bodes well for when the borders are lifted and the quarantine measures are lifted because research shows that safety is going to be important for visitors going forward.”

The Province of Nova Scotia began its outreach to remote workers at the beginning of this year with a website and campaign to entice people who were working from home in other provinces to move to Nova Scotia. Saran said the lower cost of living compared to more populous areas like Toronto or Vancouver, combined with its natural beauty makes it very attractive to those who may have roots in Nova Scotia or may want to move to a more stable environment.

Saran said everything is still uncertain but added that there is cause for optimism.

“We have operational experience under our belt. We know how to open and close safely, and we have the vaccine rollout happening in our target markets,” she said. “In the short term, we expect a mainly local market for tourism. We don’t expect any cruise ships or international markets, but there is strong potential for the Atlantic bubble reopening, so we’ll continue to follow public health advice.”

She added that the province is preparing to expand marketing efforts, so when one market opens, it will be ready to go with campaigns.

“We also know that from what we’re hearing from analytics and from Destination Canada that there’s pent-up demand,” she continued. “People are doing a lot of searches, and they’re trying to book Nova Scotia. They’re seeking out what public health looks like here. We know there’s pent-up demand, and I know there will be quite a travel search when the fourteen-day isolation goes away.”

Dubois agreed. He pointed out that Destination Canada’s studies show people are still dreaming of travel, showing that eighty percent of surveyed Canadians are getting ready to travel when the restrictions are up.

“We also know that people don’t book a trip for tomorrow – not yet anyway – a dream plan means months in planning,” Dubois said. “We want to stay top of mind in our key markets, so we are starting to work with those key accounts in international markets, and we need to be ready when international travellers are ready to book a trip to Canada, whenever that may be, fall, winter, whatever.”

South of the border, restrictions seem to be easing, even though the infection numbers are still quite high. In the middle of the pandemic, state officials said the tourism industry had lost nearly $2 billion. However, with the vaccine rollout being a little faster in the United States than it has been in Canada, traditional tourism hotspot Florida is starting to reopen.

News reports show some towns in that state and others in places like Alaska and Texas, have been offering vaccines to non-residents in an attempt to attract visitors. Traditional theme park destinations, like Walt Disney World, have social distancing rules and new hygiene processes in place according to the staff at Visit Florida, one of the state’s tourism boards, but it will be interesting to what will happen in the coming months as restrictions ease.

In the meantime, residents in eastern Canada are being asked, through advertising campaigns, to get out and explore as the first step in opening to outsiders. The pandemic also offers tour operators the chance to improve their businesses with some new educational offerings.

“In Atlantic Canada, we fall behind with digital acumen compared to the rest of the country, and COVID has driven us online more than ever, so a complete business needs a strong online presence,” said Saran. “So, we’ve been offering training to help people [improve] their digital profile to support digital technologies. We’ve been offering website boot camps so that people who never had a website before can get online.”

Another thing Saran mentioned is that there is a need for places like Nova Scotia to become four-season destinations. This has been talked about for years, but she noted that the pandemic has shown that tourist areas have to start creating offerings for fall and winter to drive year-round visitation.

For business to get back to normal, public health and safety measures are paramount. “We need our public health leaders to stand up and say when it is safe to travel,” she said. “We’ve done a great job of scaring people into staying home to be safe, but when it’s safe to do so, they need to help the economy and say when it’s okay to take a trip again.”

Dubois said Destination Canada will continue marketing to traditional markets, like Germany and the United Kingdom. He hopes to work with those key accounts internationally and to be ready when those international travellers want to book trips to Canada.

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Are you thinking, where did that food come from and who has handled it along the way? Is it safe? Does it actually contain the nutrition we need?

The effort to browse and buy your meals and snacks for the week is a sobering task – even if you grab a Kit Kat bar at the checkout for a treat.

The pandemic has prompted a massive consumer rethink around food. People are scared and are no longer just looking at food labels for sugar and sodium amounts; they are concerned about food production, handling and storage.

“The risks, no matter where you buy your food, are low, because food and food packaging no matter where it is from is unlikely to result in you being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19,” says Betsy Bihn, Director of the Produce Safety Alliance and Executive Director at the Institute for Food Safety at Cornell University. “The most likely way you would get infected is by person-to-person contact. The virus is transmitted by respiratory droplets.”

But what if a sick person coughs right on the food or the food packaging? “The virus is unstable outside of the body and rapidly inactivated on surfaces,” Bihn says.

That’s the top line from Cornell’s COVID-19 FAQ series on YouTube.

But no matter what the experts say, there’s no question that this pandemic is changing the way people eat, and shaping innovation and safety in the food industry.

People are monitoring how their food gets to them and, at the same time, thinking more about the food choices they make to boost their immunity and reduce their risk. Consumers want food with minimal human touch points, according to Yelp’s Coronavirus Impact Report. A recent survey by Technomic found that 32 percent of adults plan to eat at restaurants less often because of contagion concerns.

And with this heightened public fear over dining out and food safety, home cooking is making a comeback.

The Food Network ratings jumped 25 percent shortly after the stay-at-home orders came into place last spring, likely because people wanted to up their culinary know-how. And there’s been an uptick in demand for cooking and baking staples (flour is still a treasured commodity) and meal kits, including the home-delivered ones you assemble and serve yourself. There has also been more focus on food quality, local production, and vegan, vegetarian and organic choices as a result of the pandemic.

Certainly, people have spent a lot of time over the past year thinking about their health and trying to eat better to combat all the stress and uncertainty and fight off contagion. And we do know that the coronavirus is a more serious threat to people with pre-existing health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The fact that diet plays a huge role in the management of these conditions is well documented by scientific study.

“COVID-19 reminded people that they are in charge of their own health care and food choices. Organic remains a silver lining and growth segment in the food industry, proving that good food is pandemic-proof,” Forbes says.

Another rising trend is the pursuit of immunity-boosting ingredients added to foods to increase value and attract consumers. Elderberries, probiotics, turmeric and moringa, the “miracle tree” with antiviral properties that is native to India, are among those poised for growth. “A lot of companies will be jumping on this immunity bandwagon,” Kara Nielsen, Director of Food & Drink at trend forecaster WGSN, told FoodDive.com.

Food brands are adding benefits and claims to their products that prioritize health, like yogurt companies that highlight probiotics and sugar reduction, Nielsen says.

Chobani has developed a line of yogurt with increased amounts of probiotics, for example, and Uncle Matt’s has launched an Ultimate Immune Orange Juice Beverage billed as “an immune support powerhouse made with organic orange juice, elderberry, 300 percent of your daily dose of vitamin C, 50 percent vitamin D and 25 percent zinc for immune and wellness support.”

Food and worker safety has also come to the forefront this past year, so there’s a critical demand for transparency in food security.

Innova Market Insights, a food trends specialist firm for more than 25 years, says that transparency throughout the supply chain will dominate as the top trend of 2021, with six in 10 consumers interested in knowing more about their food’s origin.

New packaging technologies are coming to market to inform and protect shoppers, like invisible barcodes and digital expiration date labels that offer real-time monitoring of food.

As well as smart packaging, food producers are turning to blockchain to track products from farm to table. For example, the new Thank My Farmer app allows consumers to trace their coffee beans with an interactive map. Blockchain can also help if there is a product recall.

The IBM Food Trust has hundreds of companies on its blockchain-enabled platform, from growers and food manufacturers like Dole to retailers like Walmart, to trace foods and manage the supply chain. There’s also a push to incorporate more automation and robotics to elevate food safety in meat packing and processing plants. Engineers at the Tyson Manufacturing Automation Center are working to develop technology like robotic cameras to detect product defects.

New developments in technology are also helping to give people confidence in their food. Tech, like CRISPR that allows geneticists to edit DNA sequences and modify gene function, is being used in crops to improve nutrition, yield and drought tolerance, and in food innovation to engineer probiotic cultures for those super-healthy yogurts.

But as much as people recognize all the changes of the new normal, we are creatures of habit.

While the pandemic has hit the restaurant industry hard, fast food chains have the advantage of efficient drive-thrus and mobile apps that have made buying meals convenient and safe. Chains like Taco Bell have seen success. McDonald’s same-store sales increased by 4.6 percent in the third quarter of 2020, CNBC reported.

On that note, digital innovation is everywhere, Technomic reports: “From facial recognition ordering systems and app-enabled beverage machines to Wi-Fi available in the parking lot, technology is presenting restaurant chains with unique solutions and fresh points of differentiation.”

Leading chains are developing drive-thrus that make use of artificial intelligence, with digital voice assistants for ordering and payment, and license plate recognition software. And get ready for fast food for your health, with menu items that cleanse the body, such as leafy greens and immune-boosting salads and smoothies, and those that are considered better for the environment, like non-dairy milks and plant-based proteins.

“The kitchen’s a laboratory, and everything that happens there has to do with science,” Food Network celebrity chef Alton Brown says about food preparation and cooking. “It’s biology, chemistry, physics.”

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