In business, most decisions are based on the bottom line – supply and demand, customer projections and, of course, profit.
But for Annie Muljiani, a recent decision to radically alter her approach to the 70-plus-year family business came straight from her heart and her gut.
“Really, it’s your soul you put into your business in the first place, and you have to know you’re doing what you think is right,” she said. “I’m actually starting all over, in a sense – this is like a fresh business. It’s a big leap, it’s scary, but it’s so exciting, too.”
Over the last few months, Muljiani and her team at Galloway’s – which has a location in South Burnaby and another in Richmond – have been stripping shelves, poring over product specifications and calling suppliers with hard questions.
The end result: everything on the shelves is certified non-GMO, dye-free, MSG-free, preservative-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and soy-free.
“I want people who are coming in here to know that every single thing has been cleared – that we’ve done the homework on it, that they know exactly what they’re getting and what they’re not.”
Muljiani says the decision came after lots of reading, learning and – most of all – plenty of soul-searching.
“You know, we were talking about celiac disease and the effect of gluten years ago, we had customers who came for (specialty products) based on their specific diets, but for a long time I don’t think most of us thought as much about things like food dyes and colourings, and the impact that they have,” she said.
Over time, as more and more information became available, Muljiani realized she couldn’t, in good conscience, continue to stock products that she didn’t think were healthy or safe.
Sounds like a simple approach, but as a company that had built a reputation as the go-to specialty foods store with hard-to-find products, it meant risking the loss of some longtime clients.
For example, they used to stock arguably the largest selection of fruitcake supplies in the region – for some customers, it was a tradition to come in the autumn from as far away as Vancouver Island to stock up on the jewel-coloured fruits to make their traditional annual recipes.
But laced with additives, the fruit had to go – along with the stockpiles of cake-decorating supplies, sprinkles, sauces, chocolates, even many spices – to conform to her new guidelines.
“We had everything here – people knew you could get it here, and for a long time that was our goal: to give the customer that huge variety,” she said. “But you start to learn more and you just say ‘I can’t do this’ – there’s more than 40 names for MSG, you might be looking at a label thinking something sounds fine, but not realizing you’re looking at a preservative.”
And the GMO (genetically modified foods) question loomed large for Muljiani – as it has for many Canadians in recent years, due to health and environmental concerns.
“That’s a hard one for customers – you can’t know looking at most labels if your crackers are from GMO ingredients. They probably are,” she said.
Even many “natural foods” had to go, thanks to questionable ingredients that can fall under vaguely defined terms like “natural flavours.”
“It’s really huge, once you start digging, and it just goes and goes, like a rabbit hole – you realize how much marketing and advertising goes in to keeping people thinking certain things are good choices, when they’re not.”
The conviction of her decision helped carry Muljiani through one of the most exhausting, challenging periods in her ownership of the business, which she originally took over from her father in 2003.
“It’s been a whirlwind, a lot of work – but you know, I’m a parent, and I had to say ‘would I feed this to my kids?’ It’s hard to know that there may be customers that have been with us since I was a kid that may not like the change, but a lot of people who have come in and have seen it have said, ‘Wow, thank you. This is great.’”
Chances are good that Muljiani’s heartfelt decision will prove the right one from the business perspective, too: retail statistics show that more and more shoppers are looking for non-GMO products, gluten-free products or have other specific items – like dairy or soy – that they need or want to avoid. But with so many products in the average store, it can be hard to narrow down what to buy.
At Galloway’s, the product line went from 9,000 “skus” – the digital pricing and tracking code that is applied to a specific item – to about 3,600. Even the spice section reduced from about 350 items to about 280.
The store is more streamlined, simple and functional. That proved a double benefit: it makes it easier to find items, but it also opened up more room to increase the number and type of educational classes that are offered on location.
In March alone, the Burnaby location held cooking classes – with fully functional kitchen and learning area – based on making healthy dressings and marinades, another on spring soups and another on gluten-free baking.
Other classes included sessions with a naturopath, a class to learn about natural sweeteners and another looking at gluten-free shopping on a budget.
Muljiani hopes to see those classes expand and grow, and so far, the response has been 100 per cent positive, she says.
“People love it – they’re free, and they come and they learn something and then they have a chance to look around and see the changes,” she said. “It’s a win-win.”
With the bulk of the work behind her, including significant rebranding to freshen up the look of packaging and signage, the rest of the transformation involves teaching current customers why they’ve made the changes they have – and hopefully drawing in a whole new generation of customers.
The irony, she notes, is that the evolution is really more of a circle than a new stop along a straight route.
“Really, it’s sort of just going back to our roots – 50 years ago we didn’t have all the packaged, processed things: we had nuts, seeds, oils, spices, the basics. Whole foods. It’s really sort of a homecoming really.”
To find out more, see www.gallowaysfoods.com.
The Burnaby store is located at 110-8620 Glenlyon Pkwy.
