In 1937, Sylvan Goldman, owner of the Humpty Dumpty supermarket in Oklahoma, unveiled to customers his latest idea; the shopping cart. Little did he know how much his clumsy looking invention would revolutionise retail. Self-shoppers now had the power to choose among an ever expanding array of competing products. Overnight, packaging and brand recognition became…

I was with Michele Ferrero, the visionary creator of billion dollar brands like Kinder and Nutella in a meeting several years ago. He had invited “il canadese” as he liked to call me to a review of brands and new products. I sat with him and the company directors at a table surrounded by dozens of…