This is one in a series of interviews with CFIN member companies that have successfully applied for and received funding.
Douglas, NB-based Saltwinds Coffee Company’s aim is to offer a carbon neutral cup of coffee, something the company began by re-inventing coffee roasting itself to turn it into a zero-emission process. Saltwinds is rooted in a strong sense of place and history, and all of its coffees have a unique Maritime flavour. Co-founders Brad Rideout (CEO) and Laura Richard (COO) are Maritimers with family ties to the ocean industries of Canada's East Coast, and grew up in New Brunswick hearing tales on how coffee used to “taste better” when it arrived in wooden sailing ships. The company rediscovered this lost taste by infusing coffee beans with sea air, leading to its best-selling Ocean Fresh line of coffee beans. This unique Atlantic taste and the compelling environmental benefits of Saltwinds Coffee have created an irresistible brand, and although it only launched in early 2022, Saltwinds has already attracted an enormous amount of interest. The company received $57,681 in funding from CFIN to complete a process to reduce carbon emissions in coffee roasting.
We talked to Rideout and Richard to learn more about the company and its plans.
Q: What is your company’s mission?
A: We’re on a mission to make people feel better every day, by producing great coffee, elevated to provide unique flavours and positive environmental impacts.
Q: Why did you apply for this funding and how will you use it?
A: To bring Saltwinds’ carbon reduced coffee to even more consumers, we needed help to scale up our reduced emissions roasting technology and demonstrate it on large industrial machinery. We applied for this funding so that we can show the industry that it is possible to change behaviours and processes for the better, and help more people convert their daily cup of coffee into one that is better for the planet.
Q: What excites you most about working in this area of the food industry?
A: It is a privilege to be producing a product that brings so much pleasure into people’s lives. We are making coffee that is better for the planet, and which tastes better, too – the happy smile on our customers’ faces as they walk away with a bag tells us that they get that, and are excited to get home and experience it as they savour a cup of coffee.
Q: Why is collaboration so important for accelerating innovation in the food industry? Is it difficult to find good collaborating partners, and what would make the process easier?
A: Innovation, by definition, suggests that we are doing something new, different, unfamiliar. Collaborating with partners outside of our niche domain of coffee roasting allows us to tap into different expertise and experiences that can inform our own innovation pathway. That’s why we applied to join Foresight, Canada’s cleantech accelerator. While no-one else in Foresight is doing anything related to coffee, there are lots of companies exploring how technology can reduce emissions, which is aiding us tremendously.
Q: Please comment on the importance of public funding to help companies clear innovation hurdles and access leveraged funds.
A: The kind of revolution we are trying to engender in coffee roasting takes a lot of time and money. Without the support of government funding, it’s difficult for a small company to allocate enough resources for that revolution to succeed. Thanks to CFIN’s support, we are optimistic that we can create a substantive change in the carbon footprint associated with coffee drinking here in Canada and around the world.
Q: Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for your company?
A: In 2023 and 2024 we will be focused on bringing Saltwinds to even more consumers. Key to doing this is increasing our manufacturing capabilities and growing our distribution channels. There are lots of logistical and operational hurdles involved in this, but we are confident that you’ll be seeing Saltwinds on a store shelf near you soon!
Q: What are your passions or hobbies outside of work?
A: We are both keen triathletes and have competed in numerous half Ironmans and Ironmans. As triathlon races take place all over the world, this dovetails nicely with a passion for travel. Fortunately, coffee is grown in very interesting places, too!
Q: If you had to pick one person to make you a meal, who would you choose?
A: (Laura) Ferran Adrià, the chef at the former el Bulli restaurant, and one of the first to pioneer cuisine focused on chemical transformations, i.e., molecular gastronomy.
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