Through its website and daily newsletters, The Peak (a ZoomerMedia property) offers Canadians the news they need to understand business, tech, and other must-know stories.
In this dispatch, The Peak looks at how record-high home insurance claims from natural disasters and extreme weather events in 2024 are pushing rates even higher, and how a change in licensing might make for a very different Nestea in Canada. Plus, they sit down for a chat with Craig Pike – the visionary behind the Canadian cookie empire Craig’s Cookies – as he looks to expand his business.
Natural Disasters Spike Insurance Prices
As Los Angeles grapples with one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history, insurers in Canada are wrestling with their own severe weather dilemma.
Driving the news: The Insurance Bureau of Canada is warning that premiums will likely rise significantly in 2025 after natural disasters caused a record-high $8.5 billion worth of damages in Canada last year – triple the losses compared to 2023.
- The summer of 2024 alone was more destructive than any calendar year on record, with over $7 billion in insured losses and over a quarter of a million claims.
Catch-up: Even before last year, insurance claims from natural disasters in Canada had more than quadrupled since 2008. To account for the added risk, Canada’s largest property insurer, Intact Financial, upped home insurance premiums by 9 per cent last year.
Big picture: It’s not just wildfires in remote areas causing rates to spike. Two of the costliest disasters in Canada last year happened in major cities: a $3 billion hailstorm in Calgary and a Toronto flood that caused just under $1 billion in damage.
Why it matters: Higher insurance rates will only add to the cost-of-living challenges facing Canadians. As natural disasters become more common – and premiums skyrocket – insurance could become financially inaccessible for much of the country. —Lucas Arender
Will the Real Nestea Please Stand Up?
The classic “Ship of Theseus” thought experiment asks us whether or not an object can really be considered real if all of its original components have been replaced.
Today, we’re asking this question about an iced tea brand. Call it the Ship of Nestea-seus.
For 30 years, Nestlé Canada had a licensing agreement with Coca-Cola to manufacture and distribute Nestea brand products in Canada. That partnership ended at the start of 2025 when a new deal between Nestlé and Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) Canada came into effect.
What happened: To quash rumours that Nestea would be leaving Canada, KDP Canada fired out a press release earlier this week to assure fans that the beloved drink would be back on store shelves in the summer.
Yes, but: A spokesperson told The Peak that Coca-Cola owns the recipe Nestea used for decades. It’s now reusing that recipe to make Fuze, its global ice tea brand, which it just launched in Canada. Fuze is even made at the same plants. So, essentially, Fuze is Nestea.
- Meanwhile, the drink that will be sold as Nestea will have a new formula devised by KDP Canada in collaboration with Nestlé, another spokesperson told The Peak.
Bottom line: The complicated world of licensing and ownership rights sometimes causes grocery confusion, like how KitKat has different U.S. and international owners, or how some Kraft cheese isn’t actually made by Kraft. —Quinn Henderson
Craig Pike On the Business of Cookies
Craig Pike is the visionary behind the Canadian cookie empire Craig’s Cookies. As he prepares to grow the business beyond 16 locations – and potentially outside of Canada – he sat down with The Peak to talk about what’s worked so far, and what’s in store for 2025.
Are there any misconceptions about your work that you’d like to set straight?
That in order to be successful in any industry you need training or education in said industry. I formally studied theatre and music, and had no training in baking or business, but here I am, the owner of a cookie company.
How do you make the perfect cookie?
Love. Patience. Great butter.
What about building a great cookie business?
Celebrate what you’re good at while reflecting on what you’re not good at, and bring folks on board that are better than you to help execute your dreams. Keeping things simple is also important; it can be seductive to steer off course when times get hard.
What is your growth strategy for 2025?
One cookie at a time. I know that sounds banal, but it’s true. A successful expansion is dependent on the integrity of the teams we get to work with.
What should business owners consider before expanding?
Why are you growing? Ego? Just because you can? Or is there a true want… and true need for growth? Does the community you serve want more of what you’re offering?
What challenges do you expect to face in 2025?
I’d like to think about what opportunities there are. Which are endless, by the way.
Is there a book you’ve read recently that you’d recommend?
I loved A Little Life. It’s provocative. Most people I’ve recommended it to don’t like it, but they’ll spend hours talking about it. Impact is sometimes as valuable as loving something.
What is your bestselling cookie?
Right this second, it’s Mars. Deliciously gooey, full of caramel, chocolate, and butter!
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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