We can’t believe it’s been almost a year since we launched Bruized! What an amazing first year of operations we’ve had, with tonnes of ups and downs, new opportunities and learning experiences. Here are some of the highlights we’ve been blessed with in this journey of fighting food waste…
2019
JUNE 2019
Our launch started with our first farmer’s market at the Leslieville Farmers Market. We gained lots of interested and loyal customers at this market and overcame huge learning curves in terms of how to sell our products. Peep Monique and Eva at the booth running on adrenaline and three hours of sleep...
JULY 2019
We partnered with the Spent Goods Company by incorporating their sourdough beer bread into our menu. We also sold their bread and other products at our farmers market stand. This was the perfect collaboration because the Spend Goods Company shares a similar vision with Bruized, in reducing food waste, by using spent barley grains from the beer making process to incorporate into their bread products.
AUGUST 2019
Bruized participated in various different pop up markets and even appeared on the Youtube channel Calling All Vegans. Watch the interview with our founder Monique Chan here.
SEPTEMBER 2019
Bruized launches a new Pulp Crunch flavour - Smoked Tamari Maple! This flavour proved as popular as our original version and will definitely be making a comeback.
NOVEMBER 2019
This was a super busy time for the Bruized team, as we participated in multiple holiday markets, including the Veg Holiday market, hosted by the Toronto Vegetarian Association.
We also participated in the Activate! Vaughan Pitch Contest for a $5k grant which we did not receive but were a top 10 runner up. Participating in this challenge made us eligible for another $5k grant by the same program, which we applied for... and we ended up winning!
2020
JANUARY 2020
The Bruized team takes a well deserved break and finds some time to relax.
FEBRUARY 2020
Bruized partners with Sorry I’ve Got Plants in Toronto and starts selling products in the storefront. We've also saved more than 1800 lbs of produce from going to waste by the end of February!
MARCH 2020
We find out we've won the subsequent $5k grant from Activate! Vaughan. This is the best news we’ve received in awhile, in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada and the world. We are feeling incredibly grateful and motivated for what’s to come. This grant could not have come at a better time and will be used to get our nutrition facts tested for our Pulp Crunch and get new labels printed for the packaging!
APRIL 2020
Normally, April is when farmers markets start, however the COVID situation has forced many businesses like ours to get creative in terms of sales avenues. In the next few months, we will be working on getting our more shelf stable products on the e-commerce platform. For our shorter shelf life products we expect to be partnering with meal delivery services such as Sorry I've Got Plants and other services to be able to deliver our fresh products straight to your door.
Launching our business, we really did not have any idea what we were getting ourselves into but amid the ups and downs, it has been truly rewarding. We are only growing with every new thing we try... we can't wait to see what the future holds!
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