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By Jennifer Foden
Durham Region is home to a diverse group of food processing and manufacturing companies. We chatted with three founders—who make shortbread, sprinkles and hot sauce—to learn more.
Eat My Shortbread
Eat My Shortbread, a wholesale and retail bakery located on Boundary Road in Oshawa, started in a small century home in Markham almost 30 years ago. Trisha Bower, the business’ Chief Baking Officer, takes pride in that every shortbread treat (bites, cookies, butter tarts, etc.) and baked good (like the company’s brownies and scones) are made with real and preservative-free local ingredients. The business originally sold their products at their brick-and-mortar location and a spot in the Oshawa Centre, as well as online. However, in the past two years, the company has expanded to Sobeys and Loblaws stores and several boutique shops across the province. “My goal is to have a bite of shortbread in the mouth of every Canadian,” Trisha quips.
Trisha chose her south Durham location for many reasons, including affordability of the area’s commercial rent, proximity to businesses that she needed to run her company (like Creative Bag, Wholesale Club and Costco) and how accessible it is via main arteries like highways 401 and 115.
Trisha has plenty of thoughtful advice for someone considering opening up a similar business in Durham Region. “Business Advisory Centre Durham has been a part of my life since Eat My Shortbread opened,” says Trisha. The non-profit small business support service in Whitby offers everything from funding opportunities to workshops that cover topics like accounting, marketing and sales. “Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Trisha adds. “If you can find a mentor, do it.” She worked with local business coach Uchechi Eurike-Bosse on creating wholesale sheets, contacting retailers, costing, planning, building her confidence and more. As for the financial side of things, Trisha says to consider revolving credit for your business’ expansion dreams.
Above all else, Trisha says mindset is key. “While it might sound cliché,” she says. “It’s essential to keep focused on your goals and not worry about what other people are doing. Hard work, drive and balancing that with rest and play will help you achieve your audacious goals.”
Sweetapolita
Rosie Alyea has always loved baking. First came her successful baking blog that she launched in 2010. Then, a few years later she published a cookbook with Penguin Random House called The Sweetapolita Bakebook: 75 Fanciful Cakes, Cookies & More to Make & Decorate. “It was during the process of writing my book—with a full chapter on sprinkle-laden desserts—that I realized this industry hadn’t changed in decades,” Rosie says. “With a captive audience at hand, I set out on a mission to change the world of sprinkles.”
So, from her kitchen in Newcastle, she launched a small collection of edible premium sprinkles on Etsy in 2015. Since then, she has grown Sweetapolita to more than 150 sprinkle products, with 10 staff members and a 10,000-square-foot facility in Whitby. Rosie, the company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, also appeared on the current season of Dragon’s Den in September 2022.
All of the company’s sprinkles—which range in colour, shape and texture—are gold standard manufactured in Canada and Europe. “Unlike the sprinkles found in craft and grocery stores, our sprinkles are the highest quality you can find,” Rosie says with pride. Sweetapolita sells directly to consumers from their website as well as through large retailers like Bulk Barn, TJX (HomeSense, Marshalls, Winners) and more. Her future goals for the business are to distribute in grocery stores and ultimately manufacture the product in her own facility.
Rosie has a lot of love for Durham Region. Not only was it important to her to keep operations local, but she’s also found a real sense of loyalty among her customers and camaraderie among other small businesses in the region. “I have lived in other areas and there’s something special about the small business community here,” she says. “And there’s a genuine sense of industrial growth and opportunity—with the benefits of a small town. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Pepper North Artisan Foods
“We began our journey into the hot sauce world much like many others,” says Drew Stevens, the Co-founder and Operations Manager of Pepper North Artisan Foods. “By growing hot peppers in our home garden and turning them into hot sauce for friends and family,” he says. “As demand began to grow, so did our batch sizes. We added eye-catching labels and started attending local farmers markets and festivals to rave reviews.” Before long, Drew and Ana, his wife and Co-founder, created one of the fastest-growing hot sauce brands in Canada.
How fast you might ask? The family-run, Oshawa-based company which started in 2013, is now in more than 1,200 stores across Canada including Sobeys, Foodland, Whole Foods Market, Longo’s, Fortinos, Metro, Loblaws and more. “Our future goal is to have our hot sauces available in every grocery store in Canada,” Drew says. “Expansion into the U.S. market is also on our radar.”
But no matter how far the award-winning Pepper North brand travels, Drew and Ana are committed to keeping it local. “We believe in using the freshest locally sourced ingredients as possible,” says Drew. This includes Ontario-grown hot peppers, as well as honey, maple syrup, black cherries, etc., found close to home. These ingredients are then transformed into their all-natural, preservative-free hot sauces like Sweet Garlic & Habanero and Black Cherry & Reaper.
Why is their business in Durham Region? Even though Drew was born in a small town north of Toronto and Ana was born in Nicaragua, they now call Oshawa home. “Our business is located here because we’re a very family-oriented brand and this is where they live. The support of family has been very important to the growth of our business.”
Drew’s advice for other entrepreneurs building their company? “Look into free resources that are available in Durham for startups related to the specific industry you’re in,” he says. “Attend networking events where you can make key contacts and spread the word about your business.”
