This Commerce Life
Our Story
The idea for This Commerce Life – The Podcast was born over coffee in East Vancouver in November 2017. Two retail/CPG guys reconnecting over industry talk, reminiscing about retail days gone by, and speculating on the future of retail for Natural Health and Grocery channels in Canada and America. We love Canadian retail – a competitive market that nurtures the best brands and iconic retailers.
We created This Commerce Life to bring together stories from Canadian Business, small and medium businesses, entrepreneurs, founders, and the ever-evolving retail and CPG world. We absolutely love this stuff. Whether you're in the industry or just love hearing how businesses grow, we dive into the real stories behind success.
Now 8 years in, growing with over 400 episodes and 10,000+ monthly downloads, we’re more excited than ever about retail, CPG, and the incredible entrepreneurs & founders shaping the industry.
We’re focused on stories – your personal journey, your business evolution, and the lessons learned along the way. From the challenges of launching a brand to the realities of scaling in a competitive market, we explore what it really takes to succeed in retail and CPG, both online and in-store.
With decades of experience in Canadian retail, we’ve seen the industry from every angle—brand, buyer, and beyond. We’ve built businesses, navigated market shifts, and worked alongside some of the best in the game. Now, we’re using that knowledge to help entrepreneurs and founders like you.
Tune in and join us – your next favourite business podcast might just be This Commerce Life!
Kenny Vannucci
Retailer | Buyer | Outspoken Knucklehead
I’ve spent my life in retail. I worked front line retail in customer service and retail management, in the warehouses picking and packing orders, and I have worked in corporate office as a merchandise manager buying for numerous and varied categories within grocery and drug. I know how a buyer thinks and what the triggers are. I know how to spot emerging and how to maintain/grow existing categories.
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I’ve spent 40+ years in retail, 26 years at London Drugs before striking out on my own to now to help small CPG companies and retailers with sales and operating fundamentals.
Helping you get and understand the mechanics of business right so you can turn a profit and scale up your business. I love retail, love CPG and love working with and helping entrepreneurs and founders grow by using This Commerce Life – The Podcast as a platform to reach as many as I can.
Phil Chang
Packaged Goods | Startup | Jack of all Knuckleheads
I come from consumer-packaged goods (CPG) - Unilever, Revlon, Kimberly-Clark, Danone, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson…doing everything from analytics, sales, sales strategy, trade marketing. I’ve spent time as a buyer at Target before jumping to retail startup to work on strategy and marketing.
Now I love to geek out on the latest trends to help companies right size their marketing fundamentals, navigate the digital landscape, and help directors and managers be better at empowering their teams.
I know how to get you, your share of voice in a very complex and noisy world. This Commerce Life – The Podcast allows me into your homes weekly to share with you our guest’s marketing wins and challenges so as to better prepare you for your marketing journey.
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Ask me about: E-commerce, Omnichannel retail, shopper marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Content Creation