Terroir Symposium: How Two Years of Sponsorship Helped Shape Branding & Buzzing

Why Terroir Symposium Mattered to Our Agency

For Branding & Buzzing, the Terroir Symposium was never “just another conference.” It was one of the most important gathering points in the Canadian food and hospitality calendar—where chefs, farmers, producers, writers, marketers, and industry veterans came together to talk about where food was going next.

We sponsored Terroir Symposium for two consecutive years, in 2013 and 2014, and those two years played a meaningful role in shaping our agency’s approach to food, storytelling, and community building—lessons that still influence our work today.

Sponsoring Terroir: Access, Inclusion, and Opportunity (2013–2014)

Sponsorship gave us more than logo placement—it gave us access. And we used that access intentionally.

Because we had tickets, we were able to bring up-and-coming chefs to Terroir who otherwise might not have been invited or able to attend. Many of those chefs were early in their careers at the time. Some are now leaders in kitchens, restaurants, media, and food organizations across Canada.

Terroir became a place where:

  • veterans and newcomers met as equals

  • ideas were exchanged openly

  • relationships formed naturally

Those connections mattered—for them and for us.

Elevating Clients: Canola Eat Well and Will the Farmer

One of the most impactful things we did during those years was bringing Canola Eat Well to the symposium alongside Will the Farmer.

At the time, agriculture wasn’t always front-and-centre in culinary conversations. Terroir gave us the opportunity to place farmers and food producers directly into the room with chefs and storytellers. Those introductions helped shape how we—and our clients—thought about food systems, land, and the people behind ingredients.

Many of those relationships continue to influence our understanding of food and farming today.

A Defining Moment: Trevor Lui’s First “Food Stories” Talk

Terroir was also where we witnessed one of the most powerful storytelling moments in Canadian food culture.

It was the first time Trevor Lui delivered his “Food Stories” talk—a TED-style presentation that was raw, emotional, and deeply personal. There truly wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

That moment reinforced something we already believed but hadn’t yet articulated:
food storytelling matters as much as food itself.

It shaped how we thought about content, chefs, and the role of narrative in hospitality marketing.

Convincing Mark McEwan to Attend

At the time, we were working closely with Mark McEwan, who wasn’t known for attending industry conferences like Terroir. Convincing him to come felt significant.

“It’s the first time I ever saw Mark in jeans,”
— Sean Beckingham

That moment captured the spirit of Terroir perfectly—hierarchies dropped, conversations opened up, and people connected as peers.

Where We First Learned About Feast On

Terroir was also where we were first introduced to Feast On, which at the time was just beginning to take shape. Today, Feast On has grown into one of the premier food tourism programs in Canada, connecting diners to local food through curated trails, events, and experiences across the country.

Feast On Retreats: Seeing Food at Its Source

The Feast On retreats were especially impactful. They were thoughtfully designed experiences that allowed chefs, creators, and industry leaders to:

  • see the land food comes from

  • meet the farmers growing it

  • understand how ingredients are produced

  • experience how food could be cooked in context

Those retreats changed how we thought about storytelling—moving it beyond the plate and into place, people, and provenance.

Parallel Work: Samuel Adams and “The Food Beer” in Canada

Around the same time, we were also working with Samuel Adams as they entered the Canadian market. Their goal was clear:
to be known as “the food beer”, much like Molson was known as the hockey beer at the time.

To support that positioning, we sponsored and produced a Samuel Adams dinner series, pairing beer with chef-driven menus. These events brought together chefs, media, and early food influencers—before influencer marketing was even a formal category.

We documented the dinners with what was then cutting-edge content:

  • 2-minute videos

  • shot landscape

  • designed for YouTube

  • focused on chefs, pairings, and food culture

Those early videos became a foundation for how we later approached branded food content and experiential storytelling.

What We Learned From Those Years

Our two years sponsoring Terroir Symposium taught us lessons we still carry forward:

  • Food is community, not just cuisine

  • Storytelling creates emotional connection

  • Agriculture belongs in culinary conversations

  • Emerging chefs need access, not just attention

  • Events are where real relationships begin

  • Seeing the land deepens respect for food

Why Terroir Symposium Still Matters

Looking back, sponsoring Terroir Symposium in 2013 and 2014 helped shape Branding & Buzzing into the agency we are today. The people we met, the ideas we absorbed, and the conversations we were part of continue to influence how we build campaigns, tell stories, and support clients across food, beverage, and hospitality.

Terroir wasn’t just an event for us—it was a reminder that showing up, listening, and connecting is how meaningful work begins.

, , , , , , , , ,