With the Canada–U.S. trade war pushing brands to rethink where their product goes, Mexico has quietly become one of the biggest openings in Canadian CPG. Former Bed Bath & Beyond Mexico CEO Steve Sotto joins Phil and Kenny to break down how Canadian brands actually get in — and where most of them get stuck.

Fresh off touring Mexico City retail together in June, the crew digs into the channel Canadians keep overlooking: thriving department stores like Liverpool and El Palacio de Hierro, in a market where Canada's own department stores (The Bay, Sears, Eatons) have all but vanished. If you've got a premium product and you're only thinking Walmart and Chedraui, you're missing a huge slice of Mexican consumerism.

Then it gets practical. Steve walks through the two halves of exporting — the commercial side (getting on shelf) and the logistics side (getting into the country legally) — and why the second one is where brands blow it. Cofepris registration, NOM numbers, product classification, custom brokers, bonded warehouses: miss a step and your shipment sits at port racking up penalties, no matter how perfect your labels are.

The throughline: Mexico is a sign-off market, not a complaints-based one like Canada. Someone authorized has to clear your product before it moves. Get the process right and, as Steve puts it, whatever's hot in Canada tends to be hot in Mexico within three months.

Find Steve and his logistics group at www.prelex.mx.

Exploring an export move? Reach Phil and Kenny at podcast@thiscommercelife.com.

In this episode:

• Why Mexico's department stores (Liverpool, El Palacio de Hierro) are the channel Canadian brands keep missing
• Commercial vs. logistics: why landing product in-country is the easy part
• Cofepris, NOM numbers, and the classification wall that strands shipments at port
• Why Mexico requires a sign-off, and Canada only reacts to complaints
• Reading the Mexican consumer — and the trade-war window that's open right now