Perfectly Imperfect - LOOP Mission
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Julie Poitras-Saulnier, co-founder, and CEO of LOOP Mission, located in Boisbriand, QC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
LOOP Mission is a circular economy project that aims to reduce food waste by repurposing the outcasts of the food industry. In a nutshell, we save fruits and veggies that are rejected because they don't have the proper size, shape or have a shelf life that is too short to survive the full cycle of distribution. We transform them into awesome cold-pressed juices and so much more! We also craft sour beers with day-old bread, distill gin using potato cuttings from a potato chip company and make handcrafted soap from rejected cooking oil. Since the company was founded in 2016, it has continued to grow and receive both local and international recognition. LOOP Mission has saved more than 8,035 tons of fruits and veggies 482 million liters of water and avoided the emission of 6,411 tons of GHGs.
Tell us about yourself
It all started with a phone call from Frédéric Monette, Vice-President of Operations at Courchesne Larose, a century-old, family-run fruit and vegetable distributor in Eastern Canada. In 2016, Monette called us and said that they were throwing away 16 tons of fruits and vegetables every single day, 365 days a year. I was working as a Sustainability Specialist in the food industry. David Côté, my partner, was working full time in the two other businesses that he also cofounded a raw vegan fast-food chain and a kombucha company. When we heard about that food waste issue, we quickly left everything from our respective projects in order to start LOOP Mission.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Being recognized as a circular economy leader in the food industry both by industry leaders and our consumers! Also, the fact that we have become the call center for big food manufacturers from all over the world wanting us to save their discarded produce is a massive accomplishment for us. When David and I realized that suddenly we were the ones receiving phone calls from companies and not the other way around, we realized that we had disturbed the industry and that it was something that a lot of companies were looking for.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Managing people and making sure to build an environment where they want to grow, feel empowered, and motivated to work!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
First of all, believe in yourself. Secondly, partner up with people you love and that you see yourself having a beer with! Finally, don't start a business out of a desire of just success, but out of a desire to solve a problem. Often, the first motivation is to make money. That's the wrong path because you get exhausted and not really excited about what you're doing.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Over the years, LOOP Mission has become the emergency call center for members of the food industry stuck with surpluses that, without our help, would end up in a landfill. If you are a food processor and you want to incorporate perfectly imperfect food in your products or have an overstock of produce, give us a call or shoot us an email at info@loopmission.com.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://loopmission.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LOOPMission
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loopmission/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loopmission/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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