Why It Matters
Fostering respectful supplier partnerships where we work together to deliver value has always been part of our approach—and it is more important than ever during the transition required to tackle climate change.
Fiscal 2024 Performance Highlights
women entrepreneurs supported in fiscal 2024
new local products introduced in our stores nationally in 2024
Our Approach
We engage with suppliers to better understand how we can support and partner with them around the material risks to the grocery and retail sector. We believe strong collaboration across our supply chain can drive real change in how we tackle the world’s most pressing issues.
Collaborating as a Sector
Working in partnership with our suppliers is part of what sets our business apart. We believe everyone in our industry deserves to be treated fairly—which is why we have been a driving force behind advocating for a Grocery Code of Conduct in Canada. The code is designed to ensure fair dealings, enhance transparency and encourage collaboration, all while upholding healthy competition. We believe the code will safeguard stakeholders across the board—from our dedicated suppliers to the valued consumers we serve. Through our focus on bringing the code to fruition and participation in other industry advocacy networks, we are working to address sector-wide risks and supplier requests, including providing data on various ESG topics, such as greenhouse gas emissions, labour standards and climate targets.
Strong supplier partnerships are a critical component of our national, functionally led organization. Supplier engagement,
feedback and support ensure we successfully build growth plans for key categories, manage risks, find opportunities to create efficiencies and provide quality products and value to our customers. Working with our supplier partners, we find new ways to support our stores and inspire our customers, while never losing sight of the need to deliver compelling value and build cost and margin discipline. We are also working to enable suppliers to more easily access the policies and procedures they need to work with us. This process enables us to streamline our business to focus on investments and resources that add real value for us and our customers.
Managing Supplier Relationships
In fiscal 2022 we launched our Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing Policy (ESSP), which is the basis of our responsible sourcing approach with our supplier partners. Read more in Ethical & Sustainable Sourcing.
Operational responsibility for supplier partnerships sits under three streams:
National Sourcing
Local Sourcing
Strategic Sourcing
National Sourcing
Our national sourcing team is responsible for creating a national sourcing strategy on which all supplier negotiations, policies and procedures are based, including how we simplify and streamline supplier relationships, revenue generation and integration of sustainability commitments into merchandising activities.
This national approach means we collaborate more efficiently with suppliers while also securing greater investments from them and delivering value for customers.
Local Sourcing
We remain focused on supporting local supplier partners and growers in the communities and regions where we live and work, helping them serve local customers and scale their offerings to reach more customers across Canada. Supporting local “food-preneurs” and growers is one of Empire’s core strategic pillars. Local development managers work directly with non-produce suppliers, providing support on how to scale and work with our retail banners.
In fiscal 2024, we continued to implement a strategy to foster local products and local entrepreneurs, with goals including improving food security, reducing transportation-related impacts and empowering customers to buy sustainable, local products. We welcomed 184 new local suppliers and we also helped 10 Canadian supplier partners scale to national or regional levels so they could reach more customers within their provinces or jurisdictions.
We support local supplier partners through regular meetings, annual local roadshows and portals on our banner websites that make it easier for small companies to engage with us. Based on feedback from our local suppliers, we developed a monthly webinar series designed to encourage the entry of local small- and medium-sized businesses to the market.
Strategic Sourcing
Our strategic sourcing team focuses on growth and cost discipline so we can serve more customers in more places with even better value. Strategic sourcing partners (suppliers that provide goods not for sale) that are deemed of material importance to the business are required to report annually against a range of performance factors, including ESG-related performance metrics, as part of our Supplier Relationship Management program.
Learning Together Through Sustainably Connected
To help our national sourcing and merchandising teams better incorporate sustainability considerations in their supplier interactions, in fiscal 2024 we launched the Sustainability Connected program. This includes training sessions on topics such as supplier diversity, climate action and ethical sourcing. It also equips teammates with more information and distributes quarterly newsletters through a learning portal.
Growing Supplier Diversity
We are committed to fostering DE&I in our supplier partnerships. We recognize and take responsibility for the impact we have on suppliers and their communities, which is why it is imperative we practise inclusive sourcing. Our goal is to better support diversely owned businesses in our supply chain and reflect the communities we serve in our business practices. Diverse suppliers include businesses founded, owned and led by women, visible minorities, Indigenous people, 2SLGBTQI+, people with disabilities, veterans and refugees.
Our supplier diversity team is responsible for developing a supplier diversity strategy focused on equal opportunity sourcing, diverse supplier mentorship and community connectedness. Supporting diverse suppliers strengthens our supply chain by promoting innovation and addressing the needs of our customers today.
In fiscal 2024, we continued to make progress in pursuing our Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) certification through the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB). Activities included holding an Indigenous supplier roundtable, providing training for teammates on PAR and joining CCAB’s Supply Change™ program as a Procurement Champion organization.
Learn more about our approach to DE&I.
Fostering Innovation
Working with our supplier partners is also an important way we drive innovation and inspire our customers with new products and services.
We continue to focus on controlled environment agriculture (CEA). CEA optimizes indoor growing environments, such as greenhouses or vertical farms, creating availability for locally produced fruits and vegetables all year long. CEA enables us to diversify our sourcing and build resilience in our supply chains. Our CEA supplier partners include AquaVerti and La Boîte Maraîchère for salads and lettuce and Fraise d’hiver for fresh strawberries. In fiscal 2024, we launched a national partnership with Good Leaf, an innovator in vertical farming.
IGA’s Local Accelerator program supports Quebec-based producers that represent the best of Quebec’s ingenuity and illustrate our shared goal to promote quality, local products.
In the program’s second year, we supported nine Quebec companies:
- Paella Marisol: Authentic paella offering a flavour journey to Spain
- Planette produits écologiques: Eco-friendly cleaning products
- Sel Saint-Laurent: First sea salt made in Quebec
- Si petit soit-il: Fine pastries with big flavours
- Silknsoak: Vegan bath products
To foster support for diverse entrepreneurs, we also partner with a range of initiatives, including:
- Venture Park Food Accelerator: Non-profit supporting early-stage entrepreneurs in food and wine industries
- iLaunchHer: Program supporting Black women, racialized women and immigrant women
Highlights
Partnering With Local, Innovative Suppliers
Since 2018, we have hosted a series of cross-country roadshows to engage local growers, producers and manufacturers so they can understand how to bring their products to our stores. More recently, we launched a new virtual platform providing ongoing e-learning sessions for local suppliers. We continue to celebrate our existing local partnerships and look for opportunities to build new relationships. Some of our most recent suppliers with a focus of sustainability include:
Collaskins
Newfoundland and Labrador
Pet treats
Reinventing the use and application of undervalued materials within the farming, fishing and forestry sectors.
Tru Earth
New Brunswick
Cleaning products
Reducing plastic packaging—e.g., every 32-load eco-strip package replaces the need for one plastic jug. For every $25 of products purchased, Tru Earth donates laundry detergent to a person in need.
Hill's Jamaican
Nova Scotia
Sauces and spice mixes
Using sustainable packaging and buying produce from local farms.
Upstreet Craft Brewing
Prince Edward Island
Soda and beer
B-Corp certified, using renewable energy in their brewing process and donating used grain to local farmers.
Dutchman’s Gold
Ontario
Honey and related products
Sourcing honey and beeswax from local, Canadian beehives and using sustainable packaging.
Harmonic Arts
British Columbia
Plant medicinal/wellness
B-Corp certified, using sustainable packaging, practising ethical sourcing, publishing annual impact reports and donating 1% of profits to the planet. Ingredients are ethically sourced (global).
District Brewing
Saskatchewan
Beer
Working to become Climate Positive by 2040 by using carbon-capture equipment while donating used grains to farmers.
Ground Up
Alberta
Coffee flours/mixes and body care
Upcycling spent coffee beans and brewery grains to make super flours, baking mixes and sustainable oils.
Champions
We have a deep-rooted dedication to supporting local suppliers within the Canadian food and beverage industry. Every partnership we forge is not just about transactions, but about nurturing relationships that drive positive change. We view the products on our shelves, across every aisle, as a testament to our dedication to the artisans, farmers, growers and producers who infuse our stores with the flavours of authenticity and the spirit of locality.”
Sheri Evans, Local Development Specialist
Learn More
Our work to support innovative suppliers is helping us achieve our goals to reduce plastics and take climate action.
As a family nurturing families, we want to ensure Canadians are taken care of today, tomorrow and in the future. By doing OurPartR for the environment, we hope to inspire our customers to do theirs. Every step we take together—big or small—can make a difference.
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