Saskatchewan’s Sweet Nutrition quadruples sales and strikes deal with 7-Eleven
Two guys from Saskatchewan grew up playing hockey against each other before deciding to start a healthy and alternative snack business.
Saskatoon resident and co-founder and vice president of Sweet Nutrition, Austin Calladine and Regina-born co-founder and CEO Casey Parker decided to start their own company after noticing the demand for healthy snacks.
Sweet Nutrition was a hit when it first launched in Saskatoon in 2018 with a healthy, handmade alternative to donuts.
Making it a family affair, Austin’s grandmother ended up being their first head baker. Austin and Casey then admit to having little cooking skills.
“We had him in the kitchen with a couple of his friends who were also bakers. We would drive to her house, about half an hour out of town, and cook all of our produce there, bring it back, and deliver it to all of our local stores,” Calladine said.
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The pair tried to create a healthier donut decorated in their own way and met with a very positive response.
However, they hand-delivered all of their products in Saskatoon, as well as Regina, and didn’t make much of a profit.
Then, after much discussion, Casey decided to make a healthy version of a homemade cookie.
“He baked these cookies and he couldn’t stop eating them,” he said. So I was like let me in on this, let me try,” Calladine said.
To make ends meet, Austin and Casey even lived in their office for three months while trying to get their business off the ground. Everything paid off.
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From the flavors to the packaging, everything was created personally by the entrepreneurs.
They personally make the cookies by hand. They have learned to get by in the kitchen since their first year of activity.
They now have four flavors which include double chocolate, snickerdoodle, peanut butter, and their most popular chocolate chip.
The cookies fit into many different diets: keto, dairy-free, gluten-free, plant-based, and they contain less than a gram of sugar.
“We like to call them the best snacks in the world for your taste,” Parker said.
Their first year in business brought in around $35,000 in sales. Their products quickly gained traction in the province.
Tanis Roberts was the first sales rep to introduce Sweet Nutrition to stores outside of Saskatoon. She now has a very close and cherished relationship with the co-founders of Sweet.
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“I know their hard work and dedication to this line, to this brand, to this testing, to this marketing, to all of it…but pride is not enough,” Roberts said.
In 2019, 330 companies were selling their products. By 2022, more than 2,000 stores will carry Sweet Nutrition on the shelves around the world, while sales have quadrupled.
“We made a lot of mistakes along the way and I honestly feel like that’s what got us to where we are now. We failed, but we tried to fail forward” , Parker said.
The duo just signed their biggest deal yet, offering their products to just over 700 7-Eleven stores across Canada.
“I think our product fits very well with convenience, so I think it will be a great choice,” Parker said.
Austin and Casey are looking to continue to grow their business and expand their product into different markets while providing cookie lovers with something sweet to snack on.
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