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/1471305
J U S T I N K O P E T Z K I AGE: 25 Co-founder + CEO, Justo's Plant-Based Dips LIFE STORY: In 2019, tired of what he calls the "bland, watery hummus and other dips" at the grocery store, Salt Spring Island native Justin Kopetzki made his own at home in 45 flavours, using a food processor. "I started bringing them around to potlucks and parties, and people seriously loved them," he recalls. "I realized that, OK, I can make some pretty darn good food products, and I think there's a gap in the market here in terms of a brand that really cares about the commu- nity and the environment, as well as has a little bit more bold and unique flavours." To find out, Kopetzki launched an Instagram page and started doing weekly deliveries. The business gained momentum, so he moved into a commercial kitchen and made the rounds at farmers markets, where his products consistently sold out. Kopetzki launched Justo's Plant- Based Dips in 2020 with his two best friends, CTO Eric Taccogna and CMO Adam Conlon. A fourth co-founder, general manager Tyler Hosie, joined later that year. The company recently expanded to Vancouver after landing retailers on Vancouver Island. Justo's 100-percent-plant-based flavours include chipotle and truffle and repurposed aquafaba, the water left from cooking chickpeas. After adding it to hummus to provide more flavour and texture, the company started using the liquid to make ranch, tzatziki and queso dips. "We're focused on creating a line of new dips and other products that give people an alternative to animal products," says Kopetzki, noting that Justo's is working on plant-based cream cheese and ice cream. The B Corporation offers retailers what it calls closed-loop packaging, giving them the option to return its glass jars. Through its 1% for the People program, the company donates a serving of hummus for every jar sold to charities on Vancou- ver Island and in the Lower Mainland. BOTTOM LINE : Justo's, which last year donated almost two tonnes of food—the equivalent of about 8 percent of its revenue—has five staff. The company plans to go national this year by finding a co-manufacturing partner that meets the regulatory stan- dards for major grocery chains. –N.R. Anjali Dhaliwal 40 BCBUSINESS JULY/AUGUST 2022 Justin Kopetzki students discover what they want to do with their futures. Dhaliwal was heavily influenced by her parents to make giving back a priority in life. She's been donating food and clothes since she was a child, and has also volunteered for various nonprofit organizations. Her ambitions brought her to the Cansbridge Fellowship today, and also got her a full ride at SFU to study business with a minor in innovation and entrepreneurship. BOTTOM LINE : With 200 volun- teers on board and $70,000 in govern- ment grants, Youth Helping Youth has seven chapters across North America. Each one is responsible for connecting youth with opportuni- ties through social media, in-person events, websites, newsletters and podcasts. Dhaliwal particularly wanted to make sure that privilege didn't stop young people from access- ing essential workshops, conferences and programs: "I think the best people to give advice to young people are other young people."–R.R. A N J A L I D H A L I W A L AGE: 20 Founder + executive director, Youth Helping Youth LIFE STORY: The Cansbridge Fellowship offers $6,000 and a sum- mer internship in Asia to undergrad students from all over Canada. Only 0.5 percent of applicants get in, rep- resenting the brightest young leaders in the country. Anjali Dhaliwal is currently one of them. Born and raised in Surrey, Dhaliwal claims to have always been obsessed with the brain. For as long as she can remember, she wanted to be a neurosurgeon. But while being a doctor is a great career, one night school class completely upended Dhaliwal's plans: "It made me realize that I want to go into business and not neurosciences," she says. "I real- ized how many high school students there are in the world that don't know what they want to do and don't know what's out there for them." The entrepreneur launched her first business at 16 years old, four months before founding her nonprofit. It was an organic lip balm with recyclable packaging that made it into salons and garnered a few hundred in sales, but it also made Dhaliwal realize that the space she wanted to make the most impact in was youth and education. So, she launched the nonprofit Youth Helping Youth in 2019 to help high school