Meatless Gourmet to serve the south.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: NEWS

Eight years after founding Meatless Gourmet Inc. to process her own line of meatless alternative foods, Eveline Kasner is realizing her dream of seeing her products on store shelves.

In late March, the Kirkland Lake-based company saw seven of its 14 products moved into two retail grocery chains in southern Ontario, with shelf space in multiple stores.

"We're very encouraged and quite excited," says Kasner.

"This has been a long journey, but every step along the way has opened more doors, and we're finally here."

With such vegetarian fare as cabbage rolls, pot pies and samosas as well as "faux-chicken" items such as nuggets and patties, Meatless Gourmet will deliver what Kasner describes as a "full line of products" into the retail environment. Other items from its catalog may later be added if the current line is well received, she says.

Despite having to share retail space with similar products from major food manufacturers, Kasner says her company's offerings are not in direct competition as they do not contain nuts, animal protein, mushrooms or eggs. This characteristic makes them unique, she says, and opens the product line to a variety of clients.

"We've tried to open it up so that people who have sensitivities about certain things can eat our product, as well as vegetarians as well as people who eat meat but are interested in healthy alternatives," she says. "It's just about introducing choice into the marketplace. It's not about our company being against meat, it's about offering something that's not necessarily out there."

While retail availability has long been a goal, the company has only recently arrived at a financial position where it would be possible, Kasner says. As a result, she has dedicated much of the last year to creating a brand, hiring a food sales representative to pitch the product, and attending various retail grocery trade shows.

After securing a deal, packaging was created, test panels were hosted, and market research was conducted to determine how much product a retail environment could support. A major marketing campaign was also...