RADIUS Ventures is proud to introduce the third cohort of Slingshot Accelerator Ventures!
From insect-based protein powder and healthy snack boxes to First Nations teas and waste-free groceries, this cohort of radical doers is revolutionizing the food and beverage sector. From December to May, these seven ventures will meet each week, learning from Entrepreneurs-In-Residence Donovan Woollard and Mike Rowlands, mentors and experts, and each other as they build their ventures to new heights.
We thank our partners at the Business Development Bank of Canada, Vancity, Fasken Martineau LLP, and Miller Titerle + Co for all the ways they make the Slingshot Accelerator possible.
And now, without further ado, we give you the next fantastic cohort of RADIUS Ventures!
Amoda Tea
Amoda is a wellness brand with a collection of fun and natural teas, organic matcha and superfood matcha mixes. Our philosophy is to create and curate products that contribute meaningfully to your ideal way of life. Our tea and wellness products promote health and happiness in day-to-day life.
Amoda offers premium organic matcha and formulates superfood matcha blends to help you feel your best, even in the most fast-paced environments. No trends or fads, just the best ingredients for a healthy life and personal wellbeing.
Our collection of loose leaf teas are delivered through a monthly subscription box and curated online shop. Our selections are fun, unique and all-natural. We scour the shelves of small, independent tea blenders from all around the world and choose their best teas to introduce to you.
Tegan Woo
Before launching Amoda, an online tea and wellness company, Tegan worked in the non-profit industry, having her last hurrah directing the Walk For Reconciliation, a cultural event that drew 50,000+ people. Aside from calmly managing chaos, her greatest expertise is in the world of tea and using her tastebuds to curate the very best on earth. Her mission is to share, everyday, the health and happiness that’s found in a cup of tea.
The Capilano Tea House and Botanical Soda Company
The Capilano Tea House and Botanical Soda Company is Indigenous-owned and plant-inspired. We infuse the traditional local with the traditional global for a very Vancouver flavour offering.
Simultaneously fresh and ancient, our teas pair local foods like Juniper Berries and Nettles with global favourites including Rooibos and Green teas. Our delicious small-batch sodas mix florals with fruits: imagine lavender with ginger and rose petals with lemon for starters.
The Capilano is owned and operated by Michelle and Paisley Nahanee, a mother-daughter family from the Squamish Nation. We walk in two worlds, infusing the traditional teachings of our family throughout our contemporary business practices.
Michelle & Paisley Nahanee
Michelle Nahanee and Paisley Nahanee are creative professionals who have turned a passion for healthy, plant-inspired beverages into a business they love. Michelle has 18 years of business management experience with a specialization in Aboriginal marketing, communications and design. Paisley has 4 years brand management experience that includes building brand loyalty and training staff for impeccable customer service. From their social justice work to their beautiful teas and sodas, they are melding traditional and contemporary influences that reflect their urban Aboriginal context in ways that change dominant perspectives.
Coast Protein
Coast Protein is a disruptive product positioning itself as a premium brand for cricket protein powders, supplements, meal replacements, protein bars and cookies. Coast Protein is leveraging its geographical location to help market itself as completely organic, sustainable and socially friendly product.
By following the principles of the circular economy and the triple bottom-line Coast Protein will offer top quality products to consumers who desire protein supplements and adhere to a contemporary healthier lifestyle. We are disruptive not only because we are bringing a non-traditional insect protein to market but also because we are approaching the supplement industry like a tech start-up to attract different customer bases than would traditionally purchase high protein products.
Dylan Jones
Dylan is a MBA graduate who focused his education on improving the social and environmental impact of business. His love for the outdoors keeps one foot out the door searching for new challenges. Food sovereignty and disruptive thinking are two topics Dylan is very interested in.
Chris Baird
Chris received his BCOMM from the Sauder School of business at UBC and is strongly passionate about growth stage businesses and sustainability. With 3+ years’ experience in online and startup marketing Chris has the understanding of marketing to a whole new generation of consumers.
Dan Evans
During his education he focused his studies on renewable energy systems and has always had a passion for sustainable systems. Dan is excited to use his expertise and experience to help improve the food sovereignty of Vancouver and improve the sustainable food systems of North America.
John Larigakis
John, named top 30 under 30 2015 by marketingmag.ca is an art director for DDB Canada. John likes to push the boundaries of design and help make people think differently about advertising.
Heilu
We believe it should be possible to eat healthily without harming the planet or our wallets. That’s why we made Heilu. An appetizing and nutritious whole food powder that can be used in anything from shakes to cakes and soups to sausages, Heilu is a solution to the dilemma faced by conscious consumers must choose among protein products that are unsustainable, unnatural, unethical, and/or unaffordable. Heilu removes the “un-“s. By virtue of using inputs that until now have been considered as waste and generating no waste of its own, Heilu is truly an exceptional alternative. Heilu allows us to eat nutritiously, ethically, and sustainably without breaking the bank.
One last thing: Heilu is made from insects. Black soldier fly larvae to be precise. You may not have heard of the insect yet, but our mission is to ensure the whole world does soon. The time is now for the future of sustainable protein.
Jorge Hoyos
Jorge Hoyos is a Mechanical Engineer currently doing his MBA at SFU. He is constantly perusing entrepreneurial opportunities. He has worked for Procter & Gamble and owns a manufacturing company (MIFISA). Health and fitness are part of his lifestyle.
Chris Blachut
After earning a business degree at the University of Toronto, Chris Blachut worked as a Finance Manager for Procter and Gamble in Panama and Switzerland. Never one to adhere to the status quo, he “retired” to travel the world then founded a successful fruit export company and is part owner of Squamish, BC’s best and only hostel.
Naked Snacks
Neil Thomson
Naked Snacks is an online food company delivering healthy and delicious custom snack mixes throughout Canada. Naked Snacks is at the forefront of two key trends in the food and tech industries. In food, with more and more Canadians being diagnosed with diet related illnesses such as obesity and diabetes every day, people are becoming acutely aware of the benefits of healthier eating. And in tech, Canada still lags most developed nations with only 3% of total retail spending happening online.
All Naked Snacks products must meet the company’s nutritional specifications: 80% whole grown goodness straight from the source, 20% earned indulgence as a reward for making smart decisions. Customers design their delivery by selecting from the 25+ products using the easy online interface. Each Naked Snacks box contains 5 large 130-gram bags, or 20 portions of delicious goodness. By using the subscription service, busy customers can feel confident knowing that they’ll always have trusted snacks on hand, without needing to deal with the hassle of restocking their supplies. A portion of all proceeds go to support feeding Canadian children in need.
Naked Snacks is a UBC spinoff food-tech company. The founder, Neil Thomson, completed his MBA at UBC and worked in the Sauder School of Business for 4-years before embarking on this venture.
Thirsty Whale Elixirs
Looking for a great way to bring a lot of fruit flavour to your sodas or cocktails, but not a lot of sugar and no preservatives? Well look no further. Shrub is the elixir for you!
What is a Shrub you ask? It’s essentially a Fruit-Vinegar-Sugar Syrup. It has a long history of fruit preservation and thirst quenching that became popular in Colonial Times; however, it actually originated in England in the 17th century.
Our shrubs are hand-crafted in small batches in the heart of Vancouver’s east-side using local BC fruits, Canadian organic apple cider vinegar, cane sugar and an assortment of herbs and spices. By processing fruit at its peak of ripeness and using a cold-steeped process, we create elixirs that preserve the freshness of summer for your enjoyment all-year-round.
Lia Padgett
Growing up I loved helping my grandmother and mother in the kitchen, but what I loved the most (other than baking) was canning and preserving our bountiful garden harvest. I was introduced to the world of shrubs by a friend, they piqued my interest and so I began my journey of discovery into this new-again process for an amazing healthy alternative to high-sugar fruit syrups. Shrub brings my love for preserving, cocktails, and a healthy lifestyle together.
Zero Waste Market
Zero Waste Market is saving the planet one reusable container at a time! We are Canada’s first grocery store to offer 100% package-free whole foods and fresh produce, specializing in local, organic, and ethically sourced items. We enable customers to bring their own containers and reusable bags from home to refill with food, thereby empowering them to reduce their impact on the environment by saying no to unnecessary packaging.
By working with our suppliers and educating our customers, Zero Waste Market is also on a mission to reduce food waste at all levels of the supply chain. We make it easy for our customers to support a local and sustainable food system and envision a world in which people know where their food comes from and are educated about how their food choices impact both their health and the environment.
Brianne Miller
Brianne is a marine biologist turned entrepreneur who is determined to lessen the impacts of our current food system on the oceans. She is an expert in zero waste living and has worked across sectors to facilitate the sustainable management of marine ecosystems. When she’s not in the mountains or underwater, she can be found scouting the local farmers markets, baking up a storm, and convincing everyone to take their leftovers home in reusable containers.
Paula Amiama
Paula has a Bachelor of Commerce and marketing experience in start-ups, non-profits, and large international ventures. After a beach clean-up in Hawaii, she became highly motivated to work towards eliminating plastics from our oceans and landfills. In her spare time, you can find Paula doing pottery or running around the city parks.
And there you have it! We look forward to telling you more about these bold ventures over the months ahead.