BCBusiness

62 BCBusiness June 2015 ILLuSTRATIOn BY GARY CLeMenT CHARLES CHANG'S FAVOURITES 1. "When people come from out of town, I always take them to Heirloom (1509 West 12th Ave., Vancouver), a vegetarian restaurant with great décor and sense of style." 2. "I go to independents like JJ Bean (various loca- tions) for coffee meetings. Americano with room for heavy cream for taste and milk to cool it down." 3. "We love staying close to home, so salmon House on the Hill (2229 Folkestone Way, West Vancouver) with its spec- tacular view and the clean food we like at home." T he temptation of scarng down an oversized 1,000-calorie cheese sand- wich is the last thing I expected to chat about with the founder of a natu- ral health brand. Not that Charles Chang, president of Sequel Naturals Ltd.—best known for its plant-based natural health and sport performance products under the name Vega—doesn't eat vegan dur- ing the day. (Today we're feasting on mushroom soup and salad created daily by the in-house chef at its Burnaby HQ.) Nor does he shy away from the archetypal West Coast lifestyle—biking, skiing, adventure ‰y-shing, paddleboarding—that re‰ects Vega and its range of nutritional shakes formulated by Brendan Brazier, the Vancouver-born former Ironman tri-athlete. But mention dining out, on hockey night for ex- ample, and he suddenly ‰ings open his arms. "I'm a celebrator. I'm the guy who says yes to every- thing," admits the 44-year-old SFU marketing grad. His occa- sional dietary downfalls hap- pen even though his wife, Eve, who is a teacher, and their three children always stick to their West Vancouver household's dairy-and-gluten-free menu. "I can't restrain myself," adds the self-described hedonist. "I want it all." That goes, too, for the business he started in 2001. Vega's growth is as punchy as its power bars: the brand has not only crossed over from specialty health food stores and grocers to main- stream outlets like London Drugs and Costco, it has also seen signicant traction in the U.S. Vega is "on a tear," says Chang, from generating $140,000 in its rst year of operation to now rak- ing in some $100 million annually, split equally between the two countries. "Most companies don't make the same sales in the U.S. as they've made in Canada, so we're really proud," adds Chang, who has 100 sta˜ south of the border and 160 here. "Our vision has always been Vega up and down the street, in every store, on every shelf—we want to be a ubiquitous house- hold brand." Of course, such bullish ambitions are often stoked by a previous ‰op—and Chang is no excep- tion. In 1995, with two friends, he launched Imajin Marketing Group, a reseller of custom notebook computers. But Chang says he "messed up" with the wrong priorities—a ‰ashy o¡ce, expensive cellphones—and Imajin folded 18 months later. "I was young, foolish and cocky. I thought that because we had a 'business' that we were successful," Chang says, adding that his priorities now include checking sales g- ures daily. "I have a strong desire to make up for past failures." Besides, he'd clearly like to keep his Toyota Tundra this time. Chang was forced to sell his car twice before—in early Sequel days "to keep the lights on" and when Imajin collapsed. ("I was in my prime for dating and had to borrow my Dad's K-car," he says with a sigh.)¥ After the Imajin debacle, Chang worked for six years at Great Little Box Company as VP of sales and marketing. But he knew that he wanted to return to the entrepre- neurial life eventually for a sense of freedom, con- trol of time and more money. "Often you can only pick one," he says, adding that running his own company allows him, for example, to work from his second home in Whistler ("my number-one favourite place") every summer. As we wrap up, Chang excitedly points out the landscape painted by his mother that dominates his o¡ce wall. "They were the rst entrepreneurs of the family," he says, referring to his parents who moved here, with limited English and no relatives, from Taiwan when he was a toddler. "I don't want to waste the opportunity given to me by the sacrice made by them." n Green Giant Vega has a cult following in natural health circles. Now Charles Chang wants to turn it into a "ubiquitous household brand" by Lucy Hyslop NEXT MONTH Lucy talks trains with Lisa Tuningley, president of T-Rail Products L u n c h w i t h L u c y

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