BCBusiness

September/October - Entrepreneur of the Year

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1406705

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 24 of 91

Coho's kitchens are built for the entrepreneurs that operate within them. They are for aspiring and growing food businesses that want to launch new concepts, grow their businesses, reduce upfront costs, and work in a community of likeminded individuals. Member companies are each assigned a station in which they have access to large scale commercial equipment, and each kitchen is man- aged by a team of dedicated staff to ensure that all facilities are maintained, cleaned, and operated in an efficient manner. "We believe our role is to help remove many of the barriers of operating a food business, and to let our members excel," says Andrew Barnes, CEO of Coho Collective. "Our kitchens run 24-7, and we have a technology-enabled platform that allows for station booking, facility access, and security management." Throughout the pandemic, Coho's business model allowed companies to reduce risks by offering a suite of business services so those companies could focus on pivoting and growing their new customer base. "We supported a wedding cake designer that pivoted to offering birthday celebration cakes and a wider range of gourmet treats, a catering business that turned into a non-profit serving Vancouver's most impacted communities, and a restaurant that had to close its doors and move to a delivery only concept," Barnes says. "Now, even the smallest operation can service customers in Vancouver without the challenge of securing bricks and mortar businesses in an increasingly expensive city." Coho organized business seminars with financial leaders and tax professionals to clarify options that would allow them to survive, and it offered financial relief during the most difficult early period of the pandemic, so members had time to plan and grow. "We were so impressed by the resilience and flexibility of our members who all thought differently about their businesses and were largely successful during this period," Barnes says. The Coho Collective model also helps promote food security in Vancouver, maintaining a tight network of producers and suppliers, many of whom—such as local fisher or farms—drop off products each morning to be transformed into sustainable and "hyper-local" food items. "During the pandemic, when there were signifi- cant supply chain issues, we were able to receive, process, and feed thousands of people in Vancou- ver," Barnes. "Waste is significantly reduced in our facilities as we work with in-house not-for-profits that are able to use the members unused products to produce nutritious meal programs." Coho Collective operates three commissaries in Vancouver, one café, and an online market. This fall, it will open the doors at its Gibsons location and restaurant. It is one of BC's fastest growing commissaries, and has plans for provincial and nationwide expansion. ■ Please visit: www.cohocommissary.com/ investor-relations to learn how to get involved. FUELLING SMALL BUSINESSES C R E AT E D BY BCBusiness I N PA RT N E RS H I P W IT H COHO COLLECTIVE Coho Collective's unique business model is a shining light among small businesses offering sustainable, "hyper-local" food production in Greater Vancouver. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICH WON

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of BCBusiness - September/October - Entrepreneur of the Year