Set Jason Ofield free in a bulk food section and he’ll likely make a beeline for something sweet.
Trail mixes, chocolate-covered nuts, protein bars — those are what Ofield will have his sights set on.
“I love candy,” Ofield said. “First of all, I love chocolate-covered almonds.”
He especially loves them in a reusable container. As President and CEO of Bulk Barn Canada, implementing a program that would enable customers to forgo single-use plastic bags in favour of mason jars, glass canisters and Tupperware tubs to hold their purchases has been a pinnacle of his leadership.
“When I shop in the store, I’m using the reusable container program. When I see customers in the store using the reusable container program, I thank them,” Ofield said. “They’re confused. They have no idea who I am.”
But there’s no confusion for Ofield about who he is or his raison d’être at the helm of the country’s largest bulk food retailer. He’s a businessman with a focus on corporate social responsibility. Ofield is also a father who cares about the fate of the planet for his children. And he’s a Niagara College alumnus — a 2005 graduate of the Business – Sales and Marketing program — who’s grateful for the education that helped him rise to top of the bulk food chain.
“I have my framed diploma in my office at home. I’m proud of it,” said Ofield, who will be part of NC’s Business Speakers Series on Tuesday, Nov. 16. “Based on how I did in high school, I wasn’t sure how I’d do in college but if you set your mind to it, you can do it.”
Turning back the clock to a high school-aged Ofield, you’d meet a guy who had ambitions of becoming a professional hockey player, not successor to the family business.
But in between visits to the arena, Ofield worked in Bulk Barn’s head office in Aurora; the company founded by his grandfather Carl in 1982.
At 12, Ofield was tasked with monitoring the fax machine for orders from Bulk Barn stores, which he’d diligently key in to keep them well-stocked — except when the formerly cutting-edge technology of sending a photocopy over the phone line failed him.
“I’d get calls from stores saying they were missing half the order and I’d look over and see a piece of paper (from the fax machine) that fell under the desk,” Ofield recalled with a laugh.
Still, he had the chops for the business. By 16, Ofield spent summers on the road opening new stores as the chain expanded to Eastern Canada.
It wasn’t long after, as a senior in high school, that Ofield realized his dream of being a hockey superstar was elusive at best. For a guy who thought he’d skate his way to success, he’d been on thin ice academically.
It was time to change that.
Ofield’s goal was to get the grades to go to college, but not to prepare him to run Bulk Barn.
Ofield wanted to be a bartender, drawing inspiration from the 1988 film, Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise and his ability to shake, stir and pour anything with all the theatrics that a 1980s romance drama could conjure.
His father, Craig, sat him down for a reality check.
“My dad said ‘That was a dream. You should work in a store on the retail side,’” Ofield recalled. “It taught me the retail side of the business that I didn’t have experience in prior.”
While studying at NC, Ofield worked after school in a local Bulk Barn, learning all about the store’s front-facing operations. It was another experience that would set him up to one day take the reins of the business, now 275 stores strong, even if he still didn’t know it.
He was starting to see the possibility, however, thanks to his time at NC, which ignited his passion for business.
“My progression through the business was that I’ve worked through all the different departments and had done all the different roles within the business,” Ofield said. “School really opened my eyes to marketing and business and what potential there is in the future. I felt I was part of something and that’s what carried me through my time at Niagara College, and that stage of my life. It’s something I cherish.”
Get Ofield talking about marketing at Bulk Barn today and it becomes a lesson in demographics. Older consumers love finding out about Bulk Barn deals through traditional media so the printed flyer is here to stay for them. Gen X parents want their shopping prompts from social media, like Facebook and Instagram.
For younger Gen Y and Z, it’s all things electronic, online and quick. Even better if the reminder to shop for chocolate-covered almonds is on Tik Tok.
“Marketing has changed dramatically,” Ofield said. “You look at communications today and the ability for brands to reach consumers, it’s truly remarkable how marketing has evolved over time.”
One campaign that breaks down every generational divide, however, is Ofield’s reusable container program.
That wasn’t always the case, especially when he first pitched it to his father.
Those conversations with his dad about wanting to be like Tom Cruise shifted to “having thoughtful conversations about what I saw in the store and where we could make changes,” Ofield recalled. “I’m a millennial and I’m extremely passionate about the environment.”
So that meant creating a brand doing things for the planet “in an honest way, not a greenwashing way.”
He explained in earnest to his family his concerns about climate change and how Bulk Barn could have a positive impact. It started with the uncomfortable job of acknowledging the problems within the business, namely all those single-use plastic bags going out the door, filled with everything chocolate-covered almonds to specialty flours, dried fruit, spices and breakfast cereal.
His parents, he recalled, thought he was nuts. Ofield saw that as a direct challenge.
“I saw it as a massive opportunity to do our part for the environment, to allow customers doing their shopping to do their part for the environment, and show my dad, who didn’t believe in this journey, that this was a worthwhile project,” he said.
All the while, Ofield was fighting another battle as the up-and-comer bearing the family name.
“My biggest insecurity when I was younger was that my last name was Ofield and I was put in this position because of who I was,” he said. “I wanted people to say ‘He’s a hard worker and learned the business inside and out.’ That’s what I’ve dedicated myself to. But that will always be my biggest insecurity and that’s life.”
Still, in 2015, after much co-ordination with local health units, Bulk Barn launched the reusable container program in its first store in Toronto’s Liberty Village, home to a large millennial population. It was a success.
Eighteen more stores followed. The program continued to flourish. Next, Ofield took his reusable container initiative national and continued to evolve it.
Then came a setback greater than having to convince anyone of his idea’s merits.
In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global health pandemic and every touchpoint, including reusable containers brought from home to store, was seen as a possible vector for the respiratory illness. The program was suspended in the name of public health.
It was a blow as much for a guy who cares about the planet as it was for customers who subscribed to shopping that way.
Ofield was determined that wouldn’t be the end of the program. In between visiting stores to thank his employees for being on the frontlines, he’s spent the past year working with health units to relaunch the reusable container program while tapping into his NC education to re-market it effectively.
This time it’s not to prove to his elders he can do it. It’s to prove something to another generation and the chocolate-covered almond lovers among them.
“My biggest concern is I have three young kids and I don’t know what their future looks like,” Ofield said. “My biggest struggle as a human being is I’m not doing enough. As I look at the business and how we grow and evolve, I look at the sustainable aspect of this and that has to be a focal point.”
