BC food company brings healthy okra snack to Canada
Bioenterprise supports growth of Oh My Okra
David Spadafora and Lori Carnale first came across dried okra snacks on a road trip to the United States a few years ago. It was a chance introduction that changed the course of their careers and has brought a made in Canada version onto store shelves north of the border under the Oh My Okra brand.
“We were foodies, but we knew nothing about the food and beverage industry – Lori was a police officer, and I was a construction project manager,” recalls David. “The okra snacks were so delicious that we bought a few more bags for our family to try but the bags didn’t make it home. It was at this point that inspiration ignited about bringing this healthy snack to Canada.”
A little research revealed that the original product from the U.S. wasn’t as healthy as first thought – it contained a lot of sugar – so David and Lori launched themselves into figuring out how they could improve the okra snack for the Canadian health food market.
They eventually found a co-packer willing to help them with product development and manufacturing, and by summer of 2019, they’d secured a couple of distributors. Their dehydrated okra snacks were in 80 stores across Canada within the first four months of launching.
“Initially, the ingredients were canola oil, whole pieces of okra and sea salt with each bag containing 10 grams of fibre,” he explains. “We found a niche market that we could tap into. During our research, we determined that okra had many health benefits including lowering blood sugar levels for diabetics, and reducing high blood pressure, so we were thrilled to provide some healthier snack options”.
Just when the brand was gaining steady momentum, the pandemic hit and brought Oh My Okra’s growth to a halt. At this point, David and Lori began looking for mentors who could help them with ideas on how to re-ignite their progression, such as making their manufacturing processes more efficient without impacting product quality.
Bioenterprise Canada board chair Colin Farnum was one of those mentors, who ended up connecting Oh My Okra with the Bioenterprise team. They were able to provide advice and support that helped David and Lori make product improvements, such as switching from canola to sunflower oil, changing the design and size of the product bag, adding new flavours and achieving non-GMO product certification.
“Organizations (like Bioenterprise) are so crucial to small companies like ours because when you’re small, there are only a few people running things and all wearing multiple hats. We don’t know everything, we’re learning as we go and those lessons get more expensive as you get bigger,” he says. “Working with Bioenterprise, you have this board of directors at your fingertips that extends your resources, and the annual membership fee is not that much considering the amount of expertise and knowledge you have access to.”
And the hard work is paying off. Oh My Okra is listed in Canadian health food stores and premium retailers, as well as Save-on-Foods, London Drugs and Sobeys in Western Canada, and will start being available in Bulk Barn stores as of February 2023. According to Spadafora, the company’s distribution lists more than doubled last year.
Looking ahead, the short term focus is on growing brand awareness and sales to prepare for more mainstream markets in Canada before expanding into the United States in the next three years and selling internationally within five years.
Bioenterprise is Canada’s Food & Agri-Tech Engine, a national agri-technology focused commercialization accelerator. Bioenterprise uses its 20 years of industry experience and a global network of experts, mentors, funders, researchers, and industry partners to help small and medium-sized agri-food businesses connect, innovate and grow.
To learn more about Bioenterprise or to become a member or partner, visit Bioenterprise.ca or contact Carla Berquó at carla.berquo@bioenterprise.ca or 1-866-464-4524/519-821-2960, ext 205.
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