If your customers are changing, your business has to change too.

In this episode of Mission Critical, Lance sits down with Adam Minster, co-founder of Food Dudes and partner behind Toronto restaurants RASA and SARA, to unpack what happens when an entire market shifts (and how smart business owners adapt before it's too late.)

As rising costs reshape the restaurant industry and consumers become more intentional about where they spend, Adam explains why the traditional "middle" of the market is disappearing, what prompted SARA's bold pivot to a tasting-menu-only concept, and how customer behaviour should guide your biggest business decisions.

Whether you own a restaurant, retail store, agency, or service business, this conversation is packed with practical lessons on recognizing market shifts, creating experiences customers are willing to pay for, leading teams through change, and building a business that's designed to evolve.

Key Takeaways

Pay attention to changing customer behaviour, not just your sales: The biggest opportunities often come from recognizing shifts in how customers think and spend before they become obvious. SARA's transformation wasn't driven by instinct, it was driven by listening to customers and following the data.

A great experience is becoming more valuable than simply offering a good product: As consumers become more selective with discretionary spending, businesses need to create memorable experiences that justify the purchase. People are increasingly willing to pay for something they'll remember.

Your employees are often your best source of business intelligence: Adam explains how regularly gathering feedback from his team helped shape major strategic decisions, including SARA's evolution. The people closest to your customers often have the clearest view of what's changing.

Hospitality is about people, not just service: Customers may talk about the food, but they remember how they were treated. Building loyalty often comes down to small, thoughtful moments that make people feel welcomed and valued.

Great businesses evolve without abandoning what makes them special: Innovation doesn't always mean starting over. The strongest businesses stay rooted in their core values while adapting how they deliver value as markets and customer expectations change.

About the Guest

Adam Minster is the co-founder of Food Dudes, one of Canada's leading hospitality companies, and a partner behind acclaimed Toronto restaurants RASA and SARA.

Over the past two decades, Adam has helped grow Food Dudes from a catering business into a multifaceted hospitality group spanning restaurants, large-scale events, and culinary experiences. Under his leadership, RASA has earned two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand recognitions, while SARA has been recognized by the Michelin Guide for its flavour-driven cuisine and guest-first approach to hospitality.

What does it take to create an entirely new product category—and convince customers to change habits they've had for decades?

In this episode of Mission Critical, Lance sits down with Jayme Jenkins, co-founder of Everist, the Canadian beauty brand behind the world's first shampoo, conditioner, and body wash concentrates. What started as a mission to reduce waste in the beauty industry evolved into a masterclass in innovation, customer education, brand storytelling, and sustainable growth.

In their discussion, Jayme shares the realities of building a category-defining company, from developing a product that manufacturers said couldn't be made to learning how to simplify messaging, earn customer trust, and scale without sacrificing the brand's purpose. She also offers practical insights on customer feedback, retail expansion, founder wellness, team building, and why today's most successful brands win by solving real problems—not just telling compelling stories.

Whether you're launching a startup, growing a consumer brand, or navigating the challenges of scaling a business in a rapidly changing market, this conversation is packed with actionable lessons on building a company designed to last.

Key Takeaways

Lead with the customer problem, not your mission: One of Everist's biggest breakthroughs came when they stopped leading with sustainability and started leading with performance. Customers care about the problem you're solving first; your mission becomes a powerful differentiator once you've earned their attention.

Innovation only matters if people understand it: Creating a breakthrough product was difficult—but explaining it was even harder. Jayme shares how simplifying Everist's messaging and making the unfamiliar feel familiar became critical to scaling the business.

Customer feedback is a competitive advantage: Every review, comment, and customer email is analyzed by the team. Everist's growth has been fueled by an obsessive commitment to listening, iterating, and improving based on real customer experiences.

Sustainable growth beats growth at all costs: The era of chasing unicorn valuations has given way to a more durable approach. Jayme discusses why building intentionally, profitably, and for the long term creates stronger companies and healthier founders.

Differentiation is worth the pain: Many of Everist's biggest challenges stemmed from doing something completely new. But that same uniqueness is what made the brand memorable, defensible, and capable of creating an entirely new category in beauty.

About the Guest

Jayme Jenkins is the co-founder of Everist, an award-winning Canadian beauty brand reinventing the hair, skin, and scalp care industry through concentrated, waterless products. Alongside co-founder Jessica Stevenson, Jayme launched Everist in 2021 after spending years in the beauty industry with global companies including Procter & Gamble and L'Oréal.

Driven by a desire to reduce waste in personal care without compromising performance, Jayme helped create the world's first shampoo, conditioner, and body wash concentrates—an innovation that has positioned Everist as one of Canada's most exciting emerging beauty brands.

Today, Everist is recognized for its category-defining products, sustainability-first approach, and growing community of loyal customers. Jayme is passionate about innovation, conscious consumption, customer-centric brand building, and helping the next generation of founders navigate the realities of entrepreneurship.

What does it actually take to build a modern consumer brand in today’s economy?

In this episode of Mission Critical, Lance sits down with Bathorium founder Greg MacDonald to unpack the real mechanics behind scaling a premium wellness business — from handmade bath bombs in a Toronto condo to becoming one of Oprah’s Favorite Things.

Greg shares tactical lessons on brand positioning, customer loyalty, inventory forecasting, pricing strategy, storytelling, and scaling through uncertainty — including how Bathorium survived and exploded during the pandemic.

If you’re building a product-based business, navigating growth, or trying to create a brand people genuinely care about, this episode is packed with hard-earned lessons from a founder who built one of Canada’s most recognizable wellness brands from the ground up.

Key Takeaways

Your Brand Story Is One of Your Most Valuable Assets: Greg explains how Bathorium’s growth accelerated once the company learned how to clearly communicate its “why” — not just what the product was, but the problem it solved. From Oprah’s Favorite Things to retail expansion, storytelling became a competitive advantage.

Product Passion Matters More Than Trends: One of Greg biggest lessons for entrepreneurs? Build something you genuinely believe in. Passion for the product is what sustains founders through difficult seasons, especially when growth slows, inventory gets messy, or the business becomes emotionally exhausting.

Scaling Too Fast Without Understanding Margins Can Hurt Your Business: Bathorium initially underpriced its products in order to get them into more customers’ hands. Greg breaks down why understanding margins early is critical if you want enough room for marketing, staffing, shipping, and long-term scalability.

Customer Feedback Should Shape Your Roadmap: Many of Bathorium’s biggest product innovations came directly from customer conversations. Greg shares how obsessively listening to customers helped build loyalty and transform buyers into long-term brand advocates.

Brand Positioning Can Make or Break Consumer Perception: A major early mistake (placing Bathorium products in discount retail environments) taught Greg that where your brand appears matters just as much as the product itself. Premium brands need premium storytelling and premium placement.

About the Guest

Greg MacDonald is the founder and CEO of Bathorium, a Canadian wellness brand redefining the modern bath ritual through clean, luxury bath soaks focused on health, recovery, and self-care.

Founded in 2014, Bathorium has grown from a small side hustle into an internationally recognized brand carried by luxury hotels, spas, and retailers across North America, including Nordstrom, Goop, Four Seasons, and more. The company was also named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things, making Bathorium one of the few Canadian brands to ever receive the distinction.

Before going all-in on Bathorium, Gregory worked at Shopify, where he helped support some of the fastest-growing consumer brands in the world — experience that later shaped Bathorium’s own approach to scaling, storytelling, and customer experience.

Today, Gregory is recognized as one of Canada’s leading voices in wellness entrepreneurship, premium consumer branding, and modern self-care innovation.