Jason Ofield’s favourite class when he attended Niagara College was his second-year marketing course.
The President and CEO of Bulk Barn Canada recalls having to use everything he learned in his studies up to that point for the final class project. Ofield, who graduated from the Business – Sales and Marketing program in 2005, tapped into his relationship-building skills and marketing know-how to work with a group of fellow students on a pub crawl that raised money to pay the tuition of someone who couldn’t afford it.
The project was a success, not only because his team achieved its goal. Having an objective beyond completing a course requirement provided Ofield with an a-ha moment that underscored advice he offered students, faculty and staff during Tuesday’s Speaker Series event in which the alumnus discussed everything from his college experience to navigating Canada’s largest bulk food retail chain through a pandemic.
“You hear quite often ‘Find your passion,’ ” Ofield told attendees of the virtual event hosted by the Division of Business, Tourism and Environment. “I don’t agree with that. I think you need to find your purpose.”
Since graduating in 2005, Ofield’s purpose has been to make the world a better place by making Bulk Barn’s operations more sustainable. That includes launching the chain’s reusable container program in 2015 to reduce plastic bag use.
“When I got involved in the business, I saw how we can shift and have more meaningful impact on society. When I graduated school and got involved with Bulk Barn, that was my mission,” Ofield said. “Find your purpose. That will help you when you come out of school to really dive into an industry or support a cause.”
It was never his dream to lead the family business, Ofield told attendees. But it became his passion, particularly while working in Bulk Barn stores when attended Niagara College
From then on, Ofield immersed himself in every facet of Bulk Barn operations. He was keen to prove that any position he held was because of the work he put in, not because of his last name.
Seven years in as Bulk Barn’s leader, Ofield has led the chain through a rebranding exercise, implemented marketing efforts that catered to different demographics, and established his raison d’être of encouraging customers to bring their own mason jars and Tupperware to hold their purchases.
Ofield recalled the reusable container program was a hard sell with his Baby Boomer father and the many franchise owners of the same generation.
Still, he made the case to Bulk Barn’s executive team, talking about the importance of corporate social responsibility as a brand and what it would mean for business growth.
He pointed to the downfall of movie rental behemoth Blockbuster Video, which turned down the opportunity to buy Netflix when the web-based entertainment company was in its infancy. Blockbuster didn’t see online movie streaming ever being a threat to its business model.
“Retail is a competitive landscape that’s shifting on a regular basis,” Ofield said. “If you don’t change, you’ll find yourself in a reactive position and you may find yourself out of business.”
In the end, implementing the reusable container program, which now accounts for 20 per cent of Bulk Barn’s business — and growing — has been one of his most rewarding time in business, Ofield noted.
“If you find that purpose and follow that purpose,” he said, “it can be quite a journey.”
