Speakers
JANICE BARTLEY - Founder, Foodpreneur Lab
Started as a Hospitality Trainer in 1991 and worked for a private company as a Consultant for 10 years delivering Food & Beverage, Culinary and Food Safety training. Partnered and operated a Culinary School in Ontario working with 3- & 4-star restaurants.
In 2015, started with Food Starter (shared Incubator & Kitchen facility) as an Office Manager and became Chief Operations Officer prior to closure in December 2018.
Launched Foodpreneur Lab in January 2019 and continue to provide Programs, Consulting services & Mentoring. Currently employed with District Ventures Kitchen as Operations and Program Manager.
Andrew Bartlett - Co-founder & CEO Neale's Sweet N Nice Ice Cream
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Neale's Sweet N Nice Ice Cream is a premium Caribbean ice cream brand that originated in the 1940s in Trinidad and Tobago. Through the passion of bringing their Granddad's ice cream flavours back to life, and creating a family legacy; Andrew and his partner worked for months to take the original home-made recipe through industrial trials and labs in the University of Guelph.
Sweet N Nice launched in the Toronto market with about 20 stores in the summer of 2015. Today, Sweet N Nice can be found in major supermarkets across Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and BC with national food chains such as Sobeys, Freshco, NoFills and Metro.
Andrew has over 2 decades of entrepreneurial experience in launching start-ups and has held senior director level roles implementing digital business strategies for several companies such as TD, Thomas Cook, AIMIA (Aeroplan), Porter Airlines and Points.com. He currently leads the overall business and distribution strategy for Neale's Sweet N Nice Ice Cream.
Fun Fact: Andrew and his partner appeared on CBC's Dragons' Den show on the 11th February 2015 on the Family Day episode, introducing to the Dragons and all of Canada the Sweet N Nice Ice Cream family story.
LOLA ADEYEMI Founder/CEO, It’s Souper
After working for over a decade in the corporate IT world, Lola decided to quit her job to focus on her businesses, one of which is 'It's Souper', an Afro-fusion soup line she launched in November 2018.
She felt that there was a need to fill a void that currently exists in the Canadian Retail space for "African inspired/ethnic recipes made by Us for All". 'It's Souper' is the first African & Black Owned Soup line in Canada. These recipes are shaking up the soup aisle with a burst of flavor and taste that keeps customers coming back.
Fun Fact: A notable accomplishment was being nominated for 'Best New Product of the Year' in 2019 by the Retail Council of Canada only months after hitting the stores. Her Chicken Peanut Soup recipe was in the Final 3, recognized by industry experts and leaders.