We love being able to provide access to truly delicious, top quality foods for those of you who are on specialised diets—foods that are so good everyone wants to eat them no matter what kind of diet they are following. Wendel’s True Foods is another West Coast classic, another homegrown trailblazer in this area. Their gluten-free baked goods have been a godsend for celiacs and a beloved treat for all since 2005, and we’ve always felt like they are extra important at this time of year when everyone is indulging and sharing goodies, because they help make sure no one has to feel left out or stuck with second rate treats! Wendel’s True Foods founder Diane Morrison answered our Meet The Maker questions for December, sharing the touching inspiration for the business, and a little slice of her life in Fort Langley.

We’re really thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Clinical Herbalist Angela Willard, co-visionary of the much beloved local botanical dispensary, Harmonic Arts. Founded in Cumberland, BC in 2008 by Angela and husband Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard, Harmonic Arts brought a super high quality selection of expertly-blended herbs and medicinal mushrooms to the small island community. Word spread fast, and so did their fledgling business! Today Harmonic Arts’ premium tinctures, elixirs, teas and blends, many of which feature wild, locally foraged ingredients, are available throughout Canada and we feel so lucky to have them right in our beautiful forested back yard.

This Meet The Maker Mini Interview is for the moms—and everyone else who loves having a super nourishing, simple and really delicious snack on hand! Lilian Umurungi-Jung was inspired to create her line of top quality, wonderfully flavour blended nut butters when she found herself struggling to find quick, nutritious snacks during her pregnancy. Now loved by her son, her mom, and legions of loyal fans, Mumgry can be spread on breads, fruits, used in breakfast bowls and smoothies, or just eaten by the very tasty spoonful! It’s so nice to have the opportunity to introduce you to Lilian so you can learn a little about who she is, and the values she puts into her independent business.

This month for our Meet The Maker Mini Interview we’re talking to Lyndsay Scott, founder of Kindred Cultures. Lindsay developed her amazing probiotic-packed, delicious, and wonderfully, naturally colourful water kefirs to help her young son’s skin successfully recover from eczema. We’re thrilled to have these delicious and beautiful beverages in our coolers at Pomme so you can benefit from their refreshing, health-boosting properties too, and we’re really happy to be able to give you a chance to learn a little more about Lindsay!

There's been such amazing innovation in plant-based foods over recent years, and we're so lucky to have tons of it happening in our own backyard. Vancouver-based TMRW Foods makes awesome, grill-ready, plant-based burgers as well as a super versatile mince that can be used for anything from lasagne to tacos to meatballs! And they are sooo tasty. TMRW Foods’ approach to plant-based meats is focussed on crafting "satisfying and nutritionally optimal products that are made from as many whole foods as possible", while centring the well-being of their employees, communities, and the environment. Sustainability is a big part of their business model. As we move into summer—otherwise known as ‘barbeque season!’—we’re excited to have company founder and Dean Blignaut answer our latest Meet The Maker Mini Interview questions!

It’s been amazing to see so many incredibly healthy, delicious products for specialized diets come to market over recent years, and Okanagan Rawsome has been some of the pack leaders. Crisp creator and company founder Afke Zonderland started developing her raw, sprouted, gluten-free crisps in 2008 and over the past decade, working with her daughter Ana, Afke has maintained her commitment to sourcing the organic produce used in her crisps from her own and local farms, to help support her community socially, economically, and environmentally.

This month our Meet The Maker Interview is with Lovena Harvey, the CEO of Gathering Place Trading, an incredible direct fair trade, BC-based, family run importer who sources products grown with sustainable earth-friendly practices. Lovena works primarily from home on Cortes Island, where her home office overlooks the garden. Their warehouse and packaging facilities are located in downtown Campbell River on Vancouver Island, and they have an incredible team of intentional staff who hand package each and every product they produce.