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City of Richmond’s Business and Partner Appreciation event presenters (from left to right): Dane Chauel, Organic Ocean; Mellisa Mills, Millsie Fine Foods; Patrick Lo, Canaan Group and Trakking; Theresa Rawle, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority; Mayor Malcolm Brodie, City of Richmond; and Jean-François Perrault, Scotiabank’s senior vice president and chief economist.

Photo courtesy Richmond RCMP

Richmond celebrates innovative businesses building on local strengths

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 2:26 PDT, Wed October 1, 2025

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Richmond businesses are harnessing the city's inherent strengths, including geography, transportation linkages, and community, to navigate change and foster innovation. This theme was explored in depth at the City of Richmond’s 2025 Business and Partner Appreciation Event held on Monday, Sept. 29, at the River Rock Casino Resort Conference Centre in Richmond.

“In times of economic challenges and global trade uncertainties, Richmond businesses always excel by harnessing our unique natural, geographic and cultural strengths,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie, as he welcomed over 100 local companies and partners attending the event. “Through your hard work and forward-thinking, you are turning our local assets into global strengths, which in turn helps our community to thrive.

Keynote speaker Jean-François Perrault, Scotiabank’s senior vice president and chief economist, discussed the current economic climate. While noting the continued uncertainty related to the U.S. tariff situation, he also spoke to the unprecedented and positive collaboration among Canadians in supporting the Canadian economy. He urged businesses to be thoughtful about the current challenges, opportunities, and the way forward. “Now is a good moment to be thinking about change and to be thinking about transformation,” Perrault noted.

Panel moderator, Theresa Rawle, Member of the City of Richmond Economic Advisory Committee and Director, Planning and Development, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, opened the discussion on “Strengths-Based Innovation: Navigating Change” by asking the panel of three Richmond business leaders about how their businesses are leveraging Richmond's natural and geographic assets, and other collective strengths, to create innovative products or services.

Mellisa Mills, founder and chief executive officer, Millsie Fine Foods, explained how she has grown her company, which makes plant-based dips and cheeses, from a home kitchen to a large, state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Richmond that leverages AI throughout its operations. She spoke of challenges encountered along the way and how welcoming and supportive the Richmond business community has been. “All the things you dream of, happen to be right here in Richmond,” Mills noted, pointing to Port and YVR access, as well as the talented local workforce.

Fellow panelist Dane Chauvel, Co-founder and chief executive officer, Organic Ocean, remarked on Richmond’s strategic location, which plays an important role in reducing logistics costs for his sustainable seafood business. “Small things make a difference,” Chauvel noted, “In this economy, we are looking to reduce our costs while innovating to maintain competitiveness.” He also talked about how much his business relies on their employees, who have found that “working in Richmond works for them,” citing effective and efficient transportation and affordable housing options.

Patrick Lo, president and chief executive officer, Canaan Group, and founder and chief executive officer, Trakking, spoke about how his work with Canaan Group, a vertically integrated supply chain transportation company, led him to create a new software company and digital platform –Trakking—to manage empty shipping containers. Building on Richmond’s optimal location for transportation and logistics, he explained how he is working to move his industry forward when it comes to digitization and technology. Like his fellow panelists, he emphasized the importance of people to his companies’ success, pointing to the value of centering people in technology change and having dedicated team members exploring new solutions.

Brodie thanked businesses for their hard work and contributions to making Richmond’s economy strong. He encouraged the audience to take a few minutes in the coming weeks to share their top priorities with the city, as it develops a new economic development strategy. Discover more information and ways to engage at letstalkrichmond.ca/EconDevStrategy.