BCBusiness

March/April 2022 – The Business of Good

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.

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SOURCES: CREATIVE BC, WORKBC, WHISTLER FILM FESTIVAL, VANCOUVER ISLAND NORTH FILM COMMISSION, MPA CANADA, HOPE, CASCADES & CANYONS VISITOR CENTRE G O F I G U R E 12,575 Filming sites listed in Creative BC's digital library of potential set locations that are outside of the Lower Mainland/Southwest region 12 km Length of the Inland Island Highway shut down between Qualicum Beach and Courtenay to shoot a high-speed car chase during the September 2018 filming of Sonic the Hedgehog $15.5 million in local spending generated in Squamish, Nanaimo, Campbell River and Belcarra over the film's production $35.7 million total investment across the province The Okanagan is home to 200+ animation, film and digital media companies 32 FEATURE FILMS AND MOVIES OF THE WEEK WERE SHOT IN THE REGION LAST YEAR The Netflix series Maid used 160 locations across southern Vancouver Island during its filming from late 2020 to early 2021 6/10 feature film productions shot in the Kamloops area in 2021 were shot in full within the city TOTAL NUMBER OF FILMS SHOT IN THE CITY FROM 2000 TO 2020: 5 $50,000 Estimated value of firearms stolen— and never recovered— during the filming of First Blood, the original Rambo movie famously shot in Hope and released 40 years ago this fall HIP TO IT Launching a food business is all in the family for Ashley Paterson by Nathan Caddell YO U NG G U N S T here isn't a day in Ashley Paterson's life that she can remember not working in the food industry. Her mother, Kimberly Chamberlain, founded Vancouver- based Big Mountain Foods in 1987. Paterson, who was born a few years later, eventually lent her hand to just about every department in the vegan food operation, including marketing, sales, production and research and development. A few years ago, though, "it was time to branch off and do my own thing," she says. "It was as simple as sitting on the couch eating candy one night. I said, I would do this, this and this better," Paterson recalls of that snack. "And my husband looked at me and said, Why don't you?" Paterson ended up launching Healthy Hippo–a hippo-shaped, low- sugar, vegan and GMO-free candy–in late 2018. "It was so foreign to so many of these candy companies and food scientists who were like, What are you doing? Trying to build candy from fruit fibre and monk fruit?" Low-sugar candy in this province has long been the domain of Smart- Sweets, but Paterson believes (and her sales have shown) that there's room for more than one company in this niche market. "It's amazing what [SmartSweets founder Tara Bosch] innovated," she says. "But I wasn't feeling great after having some, not to bash it at all. We're lower in calories, lower in sodium, have a balance in fibre, are fully vegan and really rely on our core ingredient, monk fruit, which is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way." 6 a.m. Mornings start early for Paterson, who wakes up at 6 a.m. and puts on the coffee. "I'm not a drinker," she says. "Some people love alcohol; I love coffee." She gets in an early workout–usually the 7:30 a.m. class at downtown Vancouver Pilates outfit Jaybird Studio. "It's just a huge reset for the mind, body and soul for me–in the dark with loud music and amazing instructors." 8:30 a.m. Paterson gets back home just after her 16-month-old daughter wakes up. She has breakfast with her family (her husband is a former professional fighter who went by El Hippo–hence the company name) before her phone starts blowing up. "I like to hang out with my daugh- ter as much as possible before the day starts," she says. "Before things get crazy." 10 a.m. The meetings come fast and furious for Paterson, who oversees a team of 12 people, all of whom work from home. "We're all just constantly in contact," she says. "Emails, meetings–it's never-ending." Like her mother, Paterson has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Besides some entrepreneurship courses at Alberta's Athabasca University, she doesn't have a formal education. "I graduated school early in Grade 12 and just got right to working. I love education, but it's also just not me." 1 p.m. Much of Paterson's recent time has been taken up by logistics issues. Even though it launched years ago, Healthy Hippo has only had two production runs. But the word is spreading. "People aren't saying, Oh this is a good alternative," Paterson insists. "They're just saying, this is a really good gummy." The company just listed with Amazon in the U.S. and Canada, along with Nesters Market and Buy-Low Foods. Plus, a major deal with 7-Eleven has put Healthy Hippo on shelves across the country. "We just wanted to make sure that everyone felt really good after they ate it, but that they also enjoyed the taste and texture," Paterson says. "It takes a long time to get there." MARCH/APRIL 2022 BCBUSINESS 17 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: PARAMOUNT PICTURES; FIRST BLOOD: A.F. ARCHIVE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; ISTOCK 7 p.m. After having dinner with her family and putting her daughter to bed, Paterson combs through some emails and reports that need sending. "Some nights I can relax a bit, but usually I'm back to my computer doing things that need to be rushed for the morning," she says. Running a burgeoning startup while looking after a young daughter isn't the easiest act to pull off, but Paterson handles it convincingly. "I watched my mom do it, so it's no new news," she says with a laugh. • a day in the life

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