Flashfood readies for growth with new direction, leadership

Flashfood, the Toronto-based app marketplace that seeks to both reduce food waste and increase consumers’ access to affordable food by connecting shoppers with fresh produce, meat and other groceries nearing sell-by dates at up to 50% off, recently revealed a new brand identity and leadership changes it says will better position the company for growth.

The company has appointed current President and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Bertram as CEO, while founder Josh Domingues moves into the executive chairman role. In addition, Chief Brand Officer Jordan Schenck takes on the newly created role of chief customer officer.

As the company ushers in a new era, The Packer recently interviewed Bertram, the former president of The Giant Co., to ask about his goals for Flashfood heading into 2024.

“My No. 1 goal is to help us achieve our mission. It’s not just about me taking on a new role but really about unveiling to everyone what our team has been up to and, more than anything else, sharing our purpose for every family to eat well without compromise,” he told The Packer. 

Bertram joined Flashfood a year ago, bringing over two decades of experience leading retail transformation. Since his arrival, he has focused on developing Flashfood’s internal infrastructure and technology to prepare the company for a period of hypergrowth.

“Last year we spent a lot of time making sure that our platforms were strong enough to handle demand and also made a number of upgrades in our capacity and technology to do that,” Bertram said.

Simultaneously, the company sought to create relationships with different regional partners throughout North America.

“We're still growing in Canada, and we have loads of room to grow in the U.S.,” said Bertram, who adds that Flashfood has not grown as fast as it thinks it can and will in the year ahead.

“We can have a lot more impact and I think [our pace of growth] will change in the coming year, and I’m excited about that. That's my first order of business as CEO — to tell the story of our shoppers, so it compels continued retail partnership.”

Westward bound

Flashfood’s U.S. presence is currently focused in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic, but Bertram says the company has some “exciting partnerships in motion” that will take the company westward.

Growing its partnerships with more than 2,000 North American grocery stores is another focus for the company.

“There's also a number of independent grocers that have the same need state [as larger chains], they just don't always get the same attention from solution providers,” he said. “Our team is making it easier for independent grocers to be part of our ecosystem. At the same time, we’re also going after relationships with larger organizations.”

In his new role, Domingues will lead Flashfood’s strategic expansion initiatives, corporate development and continue to serve as an active voice for the company, according to a news release.

“I founded Flashfood eight years ago to address an ambitious, urgent problem in our food system. Then and today, I believe this problem is solvable and I am immensely optimistic about the future,” Domingues said in the release. “I could not be more excited to hand the reins over to someone I have full confidence in — someone who I have worked alongside for almost a year and who has earned my trust.”  

A bold new brand 

While Flashfood started out on a mission to solve food waste, it unknowingly embarked on a broader mission to solve food insecurity.

“That wasn't the original idea, but it's what customers really think about and it’s where we’re putting our energy,” Bertram said. “We still want to end food waste, but shoppers are really looking for more opportunities to save.”

Flashfood’s new brand identity, and bright blueberry color palette for its logo, was created in partnership with New York-based design and branding agency Porto Rocha. With a new icon, logo, type and color, Flashfood seeks to explore the expression of joy that happens when its shoppers save money on groceries.

“[The rebrand] is definitely more than just new paint colors. It gets into the ethos of what it is that we're building — what our products do. It's holistic,” Bertram said.

He says shoppers reach out to Flashfood every week to share gratitude for what the app allows them to do in terms of feeding their families affordably.

“And it's the same with retailers,” Bertram said. “People want to do the right thing. And it's just really cool to find those unique solutions that allow companies to do something that makes sense from a business standpoint, but also makes you feel good for the impact you're having on humanity and the planet.”