5 local Vancouver food brands to have at your company Christmas party
Hoochy Booch
Mmmm kombucha. And kombucha that’s brewed right here in the heart of Vancouver. Hoochy Booch infuses a range of organic teas and herbs to their flavours, with no fruit juice, juice concentrates or sugar added or needed. All their natural flavours are vegan, dairy-free and contain mood-boosting profiles. They have a large range of flavours including the Bellini (peach, orange, apricot), Lady Grey (earl grey, lavender, vanilla), Turmeric Tonic (turmeric, ginger, black pepper), and Hawaiian (pineapple & other tropical fruits). Hoochy Booch makes both a delicious cocktail mixer option and a great non-alcoholic alternative to your holiday party. Bonus: they’re super easy to work with as they offer catering services as well as wholesale options.
Photo credits: Maxine Bulloch
Cartems
One of my favourite sweet treats in the city, and their growing number of locations indicate the many others who enjoy their delicious donuts! There’s just something about these donuts that hit the spot in a way that others don’t. Cartems’ ingredients are sourced from close to home and organic wherever possible. They also do baked vegan and gluten-friendly donuts and even incorporate coconut oil in the frying of their donuts, so there’s something for everyone. For special occasions they offer handmade letter donuts and also giant-sized donuts. Donut letters spelling out your company tagline? Giant smoked maple walnut donut? Yes Please! Bonus - Cartems are a Mealshare partner restaurant, which means that for each donut sold (flavour dependent), Cartems contributes $1 to Mealshare, who provides a healthy meal to a youth in need.
Donut rush at a Growth Hacking event at Stretch Yoga. Mmmm. Photo credit: Maxine Bulloch
Earnest Ice Cream
I hadn’t tried Earnest ice cream until this summer, and then I definitely made up for it. Zero regrets. This ice cream is definitely worth the hype. They work in small batches which means flexibility to experiment with foraged ingredients like fresh spruce bud and elderflower. Earnest features rotating, seasonal flavours alongside classics like salted caramel and mint chip. They’re a zero-waste ice cream shop, and pack their pints in returnable and reusable glass jars. They’re set up to cater Vancouver events and offer 4 options: Self-Scoop, Ice Cream Bar or Stand, a Sundae Bar, and a Scoop Truck. Toot toot.
Nada Grocery are one of the Vancouver stores who stock Earnest Ice Cream. Photo credit: Maxine Bulloch
Left Coast Naturals
These delicious gummy sweets are from Vancouver local company Left Coast Naturals, who are a Certified B Corporation. LCN have grown from a nut butter manufacturer to an organic and natural bulk foods distributor, looking after nearly 30 brands including 3 of their own brands (Hippie Snacks, Left Coast Bulk Foods, and Left Coast Organics). Bowls of gummy bears are always fun to add to parties (especially holiday ones as they’re so colourful). Bonus: 5% of all LCN products are donated to the community to support environmental and social causes.
Gummy bears. Also stocked at Vancouver based Nada, a zero waste grocery store. Photo credit: Maxine Bulloch
Tubify
Tubify is a one-of-a-kind freezie that’s made with 100% fruit ingredients and a base of coconut milk. Yum! Their products are gluten-free, vegan, all-organic, and naturally sourced. Just like Hoochy Booch, Tubify can be used as a non-alcoholic beverage alternative, and you can add sparkling water or juice to them, or use them as a base for some delicious blended cocktails. Flavours include Raspberry Raven Lemonade, Minty Moose Limeade, Coconut Koala Cafe Latte, and Mango Tiger.
Photo credit: Maxine Bulloch
Maxine is a photographer based in Vancouver, Canada, and works with small heart-centered businesses to create joyful, honest images so they can show up on-brand, and aligned with their values.