CraftPath

Mr. Nathan Flim is the Co-Founder and Owner of The Fort Distillery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Originally from Ontario, Nathan founded The Fort Distillery in 2018 with their values of Fun, Relationships, Integrity and Growth. 

With a background in chemistry, and business, and in a previous role as crop advisor in Alberta, Nathan and his team set out to build their distillery through a combination of creativity, determination and grit. Currently, they have a range of spirits, from a rum, to a gin, and their Mountain Pass Whisky, but they are gaining a significant degree of positive reception for their ready-to-drink, spirit-forward prepared and portable cocktails, under their brand, Tumbler & Rocks. 

Nathan detains the intricate challenges of selling spirits outside of the province of Alberta, particularly in western Canada, and Ontario, as well as the opportunities and momentum for their sales in the United States. 

Our conversation looks at the positive developments for craft distillers with the growth of the Alberta Craft Distillers Association, the Canadian Craft Distillers Association, the Canadian Craft Spirits Association, and Craft Spirits Ontario.

We round out our conversation discussing the distinction that Nathan sees with their brand, trends in the world of spirits, what the future holds for the Fort, how they established a name for themselves growing out of the Edmonton area, and their big win of developing a partnership with the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club, and their venue at Rogers Place.  

Mr. Eric Wood is General Manager of Venturepark Labs, originally from Alberta, Eric has an extensive career in food and hospitality, having helped found restaurants, a brewery, and a golf course in BC. He has travelled extensively, worked with Disney in Florida, and been creative director and advisor to several food and hospitality properties.

We start with a discussion about finding product-market fit in the continually evolving world of food and beverage CPGs. We discuss Eric’s work at a Newfoundland brewery, and the strong restaurant brand of St. John’s-based Mallard Cottage. 

Eric expands on the work of Venturepark Labs, working with emerging food brands, where they help entrepreneurs validate and further advance their businesses, such as their Concept to Market Sprint program, an incubator and accelerator. Since 2015, and founded by Arlene Dickinson, of Dragon’s Den fame, Venturepark’s focus on food & beverage CPG provides a well-rounded support system to understand all elements for food brands, as an advisor and enabler. 

We discuss trends, fads, and what makes for lasting value in good quality food products. Eric gives the example of Gochujang, a spicy condiment from Korea, or the eternal classic pizza, and how modifications develop in different ways in different locations. We cover what might be considered the market for hot sauces, and examples beyond Tabasco, Frank’s, to consider Huy Fong’s Famous Sriracha, and development of Canadian Heartbeat Sauce Co. from Thunder Bay, Firecracker Pepper sauce, or the Hot Ones hot sauce show on Youtube. 

We wrap up talking about craft production vs. larger scale production and where both large and small can provide high (or low) quality offerings. Whichever product, needs to make efficiencies, and the application of food science to maintain food quality at different scales of production. The example of innovation is highlighted with the example of growing brand, Crafty Ramen, what Eric sees as an upcoming trend, which is increasing regional food expressions, and plans for Venturepark Labs moving forward.

Ms. Donna Sikora is founder and proprietor of Toronto-based My Tea Brew, a tea company offering a range of teas from herbal/tisanes, to organic, wellness, black, white, green teas, and even tea-infused homemade marshmallows.

Donna is a graduate of the George Brown College Tea Sommelier program in Toronto. Our discussion ranges from; her inspiration to founding her brand, to travels with fellow graduates of the GBC program to China; trying Oolong tea; tea and health; tea and cultural traditions around the world; tea occasions and proper preparation; tea diversity and varieties, and where tea consumption and innovation may be coming in the years ahead. We mention the Amsterdam Tearoom & Bar in the Exchange District of Winnipeg, Manitoba who are using infused flavourings of lapsang souchong for cocktails, and Donna’s custom blended tea creation for Montgomery’s Inn, one of the oldest buildings in Toronto, that contains lapsang souchong, dried apple, and maple syrup flakes

We discuss the various trends influencing tea consumption with the example of Japanese green matcha tea. 

Mr. Timothy Fowler is a writer-journalist, chef, consultant, and host of Elevate Your Game, a podcast about wild game culinary techniques and hunting-fishing skills. Tim has also partnered with Tate Island Lodge in Reindeer Lake, Saskatchewan for their world class fishing opportunities. In this episode we chat about the uniqueness of wild game in Alberta, the distinct geography of the province, the Taber Pheasant Festival hosted by the Alberta Conservation Association, and honing one's instincts to know the land, the change of seasons, and tracking animals. 

With the Fowler's we discuss perspectives on the essentials of improving chances in the field, hunting gear, tools, and camouflage. We discuss Tim's writing for different publications such as Alberta Outdoorsmen, and North American Outdoorsman. Josh describes some of the parallels between skills in the field pursuing game, and craft brewing, including the significant developments in Alberta's craft brewing scene. Josh operates Fowler Studio, a full service building design and drafting practice in Alberta.  

We conclude the show with thoughts on the future of Canadian cuisine and what wild game can mean for the next generation of hunters and non-hunters alike. 

Mr. Andreas Duss is Co-Founder of Auralis Botanicals Brewing Company, a beverage company that offers a unique drinking experience with emphasis on non-alcoholic, lightly carbonated beverages that are infused with boreal plants (like elderberry, blueberry, sumac, juniper, spruce, and birch), and mushrooms (like chaga, lion’s mane, and reishi). 

Before starting Auralis, Andreas was co-Founder of Nourish Food Marketing, focused on food and beverage marketing. Product development, super foods, kombucha. Boreal forest plant benefits; Healthy drinking, non-alcoholic beverages/sober curious; Natural ingredients; product design; the power of mushroom infusions; adaptogens in functional beverages; clean and distilled flavours; the insights of product design from Raymond Loewy, ‘If you want to sell something unusual make it look ordinary – if you want to sell something ordinary, make it look unusual’; cost per unit; quality and premium products; product visioning; ‘you can’t create something innovative, with yesterday’s tools’; (craft) brand loyalty; occasions for beverage consumption; health awareness; figure out what you are really selling (e.g. Volvo, FedEx, etc.), consistent messaging.

Andreas Duss is also founder of Audacious.Marketing, a Toronto-based food entrepreneur marketing agency. 

Introduction to concept of CraftPath; the economics of craft production and SMEs (small-and-medium enterprises) in Canada and globally; what the COVID pandemic meant for craft production, how some adjusted and others didn’t, how products and services adapt.

The craft of beer, wine, spirits; Beau’s Beer; Steam Whistle; wine production; spirits production in Canada and globally; Dillon’s; tequila in Mexico, the agave ‘boom’; mezcal in Oaxaca, El Rey in Toronto; sake production, IZUMI distillery; Cognac; Armagnac; aquavit; whisky; gin; rum; craft and business-economic opportunity; Charcuterie; SIAL Trade Show; Iberico Ham; Parma Ham; PDO; Parma Cheese; Roquefort Cheese; Stilton cheese; Mangalica ham; Sylvania Farms; 

Heritage and innovation, demand for new jobs, entrepreneurship, price, inflation, consumer caution with purchases, choice at grocery, decision factors related to craft vs. commercial scale produced products; new tools for craft economics, Shopify, Etsy, and others at scale; One of A Kind Show

Clothing and Fashion; Patagonia; branding; Lululemon; Kit & Ace; Arcteryx; MEC; Canada Goose; Moose Knuckles; mo851; Made in Italy branding; the tools and interface between technology and tradition

Stradivarius violins; skills development; Sports, soccer; Malcolm Gladwell; 10,000 hours; The Beatles honing their craft in Hamburg Germany; Gretzky and his early hockey; Visual Arts and craft; Bob Marley; Picasso; Abstract Expressionism; Mark Rothko; Jackson Pollack; Barrett Newman and the Voice of Fire at the National Gallery of Canada; the skills of one’s signature craft; Andy Warhol; Keith Haring; Basquiat; Da Vinci; Rembrandt; what is value; art and artisans; pottery; reproduction of art and products; culinary arts; brewing arts; the vernacular; heritage and the use of new innovations; architecture and the uniqueness of place in comparison with modern international styles