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Brenda Seto, Products of Change | “Diversity is better for business, but there’s a long way to go”

Headshot image of Brenda Seto, ambassador for Canada and North America

Brenda Seto, Products of Change | “Diversity is better for business, but there’s a long way to go”

In our continued celebration of International Women’s Day and our spotlight on inspiring women in sustainability in brands, licensing, and retail we sit down with another one of our own… this time, it’s the turn of our Products of Change Ambassador for Canada and North America, Brenda Seto.

Brenda, we are very fortunate to have you as part of the Products of Change fold not least because your resumé is a who’s who of brands and licensing. Can you give us the whistle-stop tour of your career in brands and licensing?

I’ve been very fortunate to have been working in a variety of industries with brands and licensing. It wasn’t planned but became pivotal to my career journey… 

I started in product marketing for a regional, family-owned restaurant chain in Ontario who wanted to develop a product line from one of its meat pies. This gave the me introduction to the world of CPG and from here I went onto Maple leaf Consumer Products where I quickly became PM. 

I soon found myself working as PM at Specialty Brands (Allen’s Vinegar and Blue Ribbon Spices being two big brands there…) where I began to cut my teeth on the eco elements of business, way before ‘sustainability’ came into our vocabulary.

As a marketer, I wanted to exercise my muscle in other categories so headed to Mattel Canada as PM Disney Entertainment and Infant & Preschool, then Boys Toys & Activity Toys. This was my first taste of Licensed Brands and the power to influence. As the Mattel toy lead, I worked hand in hand with Disney executives to present to retailers to garner their support with key account programs to leverage film launches.

I enjoyed a stint at Revlon, 12 formative years at Sandylion, and then onto Trends. The rest of my career, I have spent mostly as a consultant…

Wow, and we know that this is the whistle-stop version! So, having played such an influential role with so many major brands, when did your focus and energy start to turn towards sustainability?

Sustainability has always been important to me and my upbringing. It just wasn’t called that growing up. We had no waste in our food, grew our vegetables, repurposed everything, partly to save money but also because they were the principles my parents carried over, coming from China.  

Early in my career, I did develop programs for my brands with sustainability in mind which at the time was innovative and creative, creating additional opportunities for in-store promos and sales increases.  

While at Mattel, I loved the toy industry where my daughter benefitted from more toys than you could imagine, yet in the pit of my stomach I was concerned about the amount of plastic going into landfills. I felt, with the clout of big brands and licenses, we could do something about this. At the time the industry wasn’t so ready, nor were retailers.  

Being on the board of WFIM (Women in Food Industry Management) and brand ambassador for Products of Change for Canada & N. America during the pandemic, I got to focus my energy more on sustainability for brands, licensing across food first and then other categories.

What have been some of your biggest milestone moments in driving sustainable change across the global industry?

One of the biggest milestones was creating a Virtual Sustainability Summit for WFIM during the pandemic, featuring upcoming trailblazers across various disciplines and industries and an interactive panel session with thought leaders and industry leaders. 

There was demand to do more, not just in Canada but in N. America. That brought me to connect with Helena, seeing the amazing work with Products of Change. We worked together when she was licensor and I was licensee in a previous life. I joined POC as Brand Ambassador for Canada & then N. America. It provided a way to further drive sustainability across brands, licenses, retail, not just locally but tap into other markets like the UK and EU where there were advanced developments on sustainability that could be shared to accelerate efforts here and vice versa.  

Last year, POC and WFIM held a joint Virtual Sustainability Summit where I presented a day of sessions with our POC Ambassadors sitting in on key topics with experts on Packaging, Regenerative Agriculture (curated and moderated by McCain and featuring McDonald’s to show a real life example of regenerative agriculture in action – which was a major coup for us), Consumer Research, Apparel, as well as thought leaders from Walmart, Unilever, and Canada Plastics Pact, as well as a high calibre roster of ‘ones to watch’. I am looking to do more with WFIM and POC so stay tuned.

I was also fortunate to join greenre to participate in the UN Global Compact Climate Ambition Accelerator Program and receive my certification, while working with them. This was a lovely moment for me.

Where do you draw inspiration from to keep flying the flag for sustainability?

The inspiration actually came from my parents when I look back. They came to Canada wanting a better life and they brought over their ‘sustainable ways’. I didn’t understand it all while growing up, but looking back, I get it now.  

While we’ve done well as a family, frankly I want to do more sooner than later to ensure a better life for generations to come. That was always my parents’ goal too. The world is in dire straits as far as climate change is concerned. We don’t have time to get it right. We just have to get started, so I want to do my part and utilize my experience, my connections, find collaborative ways to create community and help others on their sustainable journey.  

There is a lot of great work being done in Canada as well and I want to share that with the world.

What’s exciting you the most about sustainability in business right now?

What’s most exciting is also most challenging. It’s all encompassing and there are 17 SDG’s!  There won’t be a perfect solution. We need to do our part sooner than later for climate’s sake. Yes, the big companies can do the heavy lifting and impact with size and scale; however, the upcoming companies can move more quickly without being encumbered by incumbent ways. There is so much opportunity to work together and learn from each other for the greater good.

The official theme for International Women’s Day this year is Inspiring Inclusion. First, what does International Women’s Day mean to you?

International Women’s Day has always been dear to me. At WFIM, we’ve been honouring the day to bring women together to celebrate. While our mantra has been to connect, support, and develop to be the best at the table everyday, it is good to bring us together. Together we thrive. I am honoured to be included in your IWD Month acknowledgment of women, because what many people don’t realize is that DEI goals are aligned to the SDGs!

What does ‘Inspiring Inclusion’ mean to you?

Being able to be heard, speak without judgment, and participate openly regardless of gender, age, race, disability, etc. Research has shown that an inclusive, diverse management is better for business and the planet. Yet we are not there yet. There is work to be done and we need more diverse representation.

So, Brenda – thank you so much for sharing with us. Before we let you go back to your work across all those areas of industry, what do you think the brand and licensing industry of tomorrow looks like and how do we get there? 

Good question. We have a responsibility to work together better. The brand and licensing industry have an opportunity to include their consumers in the conversation and to listen and act for the greater good.  

I see a restructuring / re-imagining of ways of doing business where we can share in the responsibility for a better planet for generations to come. It would be great to have a group of thought leaders across our various associations to come together to drive that because it’s a great time to take action now. Let’s get together.

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