Local P.E.I. food companies booming
From the CBC
Local food has been the talk of the food media for years, and now some P.E.I. companies are finding consumers are ready to put their money where their mouths are. P.E.I.’s locally sourced and produced food market is in a boom, and much of it is coming from independent business.
Chris Van Ouwerkerk, creating of a beef jerky product called Jercules, understands what it is that local food consumers are looking for.
“I’ve processed about 1,000 pounds [450 kg] of just Island beef,” said Van Ouwerkerk. “What really makes a difference though is the ingredients themselves, making sure you don’t have anything in it that shouldn’t be there. Things you can pronounce, things that people recognize.” The business model is working, he said.
It’s the same at Lucky Fox Snack Company, which opened in the spring, making artisan potato chips and popcorn.
“There’s so many people looking for local and for some reason there’s no chips,” said co-owner Stephen Ramsay. “There’s lots of chips and popcorn being consumed out there and we thought it would be a great idea to use the products that are so well known in P.E.I.”