https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-best-6b179a362/” rel=“noopener nofollow ugc” target=“_blank”>Joanna Best and <a rpl=“” class="relative pointer-events-auto a cursor-pointer
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" href=“https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-gaudette-4144b947/” rel=“noopener nofollow ugc” target=“_blank”>Stephanie Gaudette are the co-founders of <a rpl=“” class="relative pointer-events-auto a cursor-pointer
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" href=“https://www.umamicravethefifth.com/” rel=“noopener nofollow ugc” target=“_blank”>Umami Crave the Fifth, a Kelowna-based food brand that started with a single beet quinoa salad dressing at a restaurant called BNA Brewing. Now they’ve grown into a full line of vegan, gluten-free dressings, Power Bowl mixes, and a brand new lineup of high-protein soup mixes.
They joked about scheming to be rich and retired, and we laughed that they chose retail to make this happen. (we laughed at us too - we've never left retail) We really love these two and what they're doing.
So many real moments in this one:
-The 50,000 pouches they ordered before they realized the name wasn't working.
-The reality that getting a listing is the easy part - getting product OFF the shelf is harder
-Turns is everything
-Building their own production facility during a pandemic
-Sourcing Canadian pea protein (spoiler: harder than it sounds).
-Somehow, accidentally creating one of the best vegan Worcestershire sauces on the market (it's really good - I can attest. I buy some every time I go out to BC)
Such a great story.
Spotify link is here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/23eCxgxX6x3cUm7ExgZSNw?si=Yp2HMdZjTkeLSj9lNQLQtg” rel=“noopener nofollow ugc” target=“_blank”>https://open.spotify.com/episode/23eCxgxX6x3cUm7ExgZSNw?si=Yp2HMdZjTkeLSj9lNQLQtg
Youtube link is here: https://youtu.be/P0vcHrsrXok?si=4nOSJRtK9nsugG3c” rel=“noopener nofollow ugc” target=“_blank”>https://youtu.be/P0vcHrsrXok?si=4nOSJRtK9nsugG3c