How a first-generation food founder is building a CPG brand the right way in Canada
On our latest episode of This Commerce Life, we sat down with Arda, the founder of Hummzies - a hummus-based chickpea snack that's growing across Western Canadian retail.
Arda's story is one that resonates across Canada's food innovation ecosystem. He immigrated from Turkey at 16, studied political science at U of T, and found his way into the food industry through mentorship - learning the ropes under Eyub at Red Crown Pomegranate Juice before developing his own product.
What makes this conversation valuable for the CFIN community is the ground-level look at how an emerging brand navigates the Canadian food landscape:
→ Product development: Arda spent 7-8 months in R&D iterating on forms, shapes, and spice profiles before landing on his final recipe - then validated it through months of weekend demos at independent retailers like Parthenon and Famous Foods before committing to scale.
→ Distribution strategy: Rather than chasing the biggest distributor, Arda took advice from across the industry - including a competing distributor who told him to partner with someone better suited to his stage. He landed with Star Marketing and treats the relationship as a true collaboration, not a transaction.
→ Retail-ready thinking: Arda redesigned his packaging with store staff in mind - moving to punch-out display boxes that eliminate shelf-stocking friction. That kind of thinking about the full value chain, not just the end consumer, is what helps emerging brands earn shelf space and keep it.
→ Founder-led sales: He runs his own in-store demos almost every weekend, gathering direct consumer feedback, building relationships with the celiac and naturopath communities, and creating organic demand store by store.
Arda is targeting 150 stores in BC by summer and his first major chain listing. His approach - patient, partnership-driven, feedback-obsessed - is a great case study for any food innovator navigating their path to market in Canada.
Full episode available on YouTube and all podcast platforms.