Colleen Haussecker credits more than the products she sells for the success of her business, Splendor Garden, because she can see how her location in rural Saskatchewan also contributes.
Haussecker opened her business about ten years ago to sell organic spices, herbs and seasoning blends. She got the idea for the business a little more than a decade ago as she researched ways to eat healthier following a breast cancer diagnosis.
During her treatment, she learned about adding more organic spices and herbs to her diet to add antioxidants and extra nutrition to meals without relying on salt, sugar, or fat for flavour. She found there were very few options for her as a consumer.
Once she discovered this niche in the market, she decided she would fill it by creating quality organic products for others. Splendor Garden sources the spices from many different countries, such as Ceylon cinnamon and peppers from Sri Lanka and other spices from India, Egypt and Tunisia as well as the U.S. and imports them to Saskatchewan. She spent years building her connections to be able to purchase and import the spices.
By September 2013, she was ready to launch the business having developed a spice line that included 48 products that were shipped out to about 70 initial stores. More recently, Splendor Garden has been selling its organic gluten free oats and whole oat flour, organic fish n’ fry coating mixes as well as plant-based soup mixes.Today the Splendor Garden brand supplies its products to over 2000 stores.
Splendor Garden conceives its products, develops them in house, markets them and ships them to stores. It also sells to individuals online through its website and Amazon. Not only are people from the province purchasing her products, they help her find new customers. However, much of Splendor Garden’s business is with distributors and manufacturers.
Operating in the town of Watson, which is about 160 km east of Saskatoon, is important to Haussecker to be close to family. Being in Watson, the business is surrounded by other manufacturers within a 20-kilometre radius, which Haussecker says makes Splendor Garden more competitive. Watson is located at the junction of two major highways — Hwy. 5 and the CanAM International Highway, which is Hwy. 6. Because there are numerous manufacturers in the area, trucking companies are drawn to them, meaning those manufacturers can access cost-efficient freight rates.
Working with the other manufacturers in her area has also been beneficial to her business. For example, she needed to extend a stainless-steel hopper on one of her automated fillers. It was easy for her to visit another local manufacturer, Failure Prevention Services, to have one built. The company typically manufacturers stainless steel filters for the oil industry but was able to fulfill her order within four days for what she describes as a very economical price.
Another advantage Haussecker has found is when it comes to buying property and paying taxes in Watson compared to the cost in cities. Construction to expand Splendor Garden is nearly complete. The sounds of construction fill Haussecker’s office inside Splendor Garden’s 11,000-square-foot building on the main street of Watson. After purchasing the properties beside and behind that building, she is expanding with a new 9,600-square-foot warehouse. Finishing touches will ensure the two buildings match.
Inside, she has 17 people working for the business. Haussecker points out that for every family that moves to the area for one employment opportunity, there is typically a spouse also seeking a job, so finding the necessary labour for her business has been possible.
Some of the production staff work with two fully automated and two semi-automated packaging machines while others package products that require it by hand. There are four packaging lines going as other employees handle product development, shipping and receiving, logistics as well as marketing and sales.
After a few years of being in business, Haussecker identified more opportunities for the business. Health Canada allows for oats that do not contain more than 20 parts per million of gluten from wheat, rye, barley, or their hybridized strains to be labelled gluten-free. A line of organic gluten-free oats that are grown in Saskatchewan was added to Splendor Garden’s offering.
Around that same time, she recognized she could sell spices in larger packages as well as in the small retail packs she had developed. She began packaging them in volumes up to 1000 pounds, selling the large packages to various food manufacturers.
Then, another opportunity became clear in a few years. Haussecker and her team think about the traditional foods that people enjoy eating to provide them ingredients that make those recipes healthier. An example is fried chicken. Splendor Garden has developed a coating mix that is plant-based. It is made with oat flour, pea flour, pea meal and spices and herbs for flavouring. The product is high in fiber and protein. Splendor Garden also launched a line of three different plant-based soup mixes.
The opportunities keep Haussecker and Splendor Garden moving ahead. She encourages others to recognize the opportunities and advantages that come with operating a business in rural Saskatchewan, which includes having local people champion and support its success.
