Riding the wave of buying local, this N.L. snack business looks to sprout up across Canada
The Oat Company received $58K from provincial government for expansion
Riding a surge in public support for buying local goods, a Newfoundland and Labrador snack business is looking to reach more consumers across Canada — and it just got a financial boost.
The Oat Company founder Patrick Griffin said the $58,000 he is getting from the provincial government is going to help him reach his eventual goal of becoming a North American-recognized brand.
"We know we can make it. We know we can ship it. We just got to work on that demand," Griffin told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. "So people are, you know, tripping over themselves to get an Oat Company bar."
The current focus is to boost sales at the retail level, said Griffin, adding that in 2024 the company had "some success" getting onto more store shelves.
When selling to a store, he said, he only needs to convince one or two people to carry the product.
"The real hard part is getting off store shelves quickly into customer baskets," he said.
"Now you need to convince thousands of people to buy your product."
Griffin says that's a skill set his company has to learn, especially since he's venturing further out of the Newfoundland and Labrador market.
"This funding will help us work with real experts — people, agencies, what have you — to get better at that and to just sell more quickly, sell more volume and grow the business," he said.
Buy local boost
In the wake of tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, and an increased focus on getting Canadians to buy local, Griffin said The Oat Company has seen a boost in both online sales and in retail spaces.
"We can see where people visit our website. We can see where the input's coming," he said. "That part has been good so far, and [there's] some good indicators that it'll continue to be good for us."
The occasional order has been coming from the U.S., Griffin said, but growing the brand down south hasn't been a focus given the current "disagreements" between the two countries.
"We're not going to waste five minutes trying to grow into the U.S. There's so much opportunity in Canada, even in Newfoundland still, after a few years of doing this," he said.
Griffin says he and his family started making healthy snacks at home almost eight years ago to fill a gap for health snacks with no additives or added sugar or sweeteners.
It evolved into a table at a farmers' market, and now their product can be bought online as well as through retailers.
Griffin says 100 per cent of his business was in Newfoundland and Labrador to start, but that has shifted as the business began to focus on building the brand and reaching customers and stores.
"Almost three quarters of our business is going outside the province, made here, shipped elsewhere — which is super exciting," he said.
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With files from The St. John’s Morning Show