The Great GORP Project (TGGP) of Niverville is one of three Canadian businesses recently recognized for their innovation and contributions to the Canadian workforce. The funding is being distributed through the Western Innovation Initiative (WINN), a program of the federal government whose mandate it is to provide stimulus loans to western Canadian companies.
The WINN program promotes the development and diversification of the western Canadian economy by assisting qualifying businesses with financial support to help them accelerate the commercialization of innovative products, processes, and services. This, in turn, supports the creation of jobs and growth. According to Western Economic Diversification Canada’s (WEDC) website, attracting early-stage capital for technology commercialization has been identified as a key challenge for small- to medium-sized businesses in western Canada.
“I was extremely humbled and honoured to have been chosen to receive this investment from the WEDC program,” says Colleen Dyck of TGGP. “The interest-free, repayable loan will help me manage my cashflow at this critical time of innovation and development for my energy bar business.”
Dyck says the $77,500 she received will be used to launch a brand-new product line she calls the GORP Clean Energy Bar Ready-Mix.
“The energy bar ready-mix is a completely new concept and product… and we are really excited about the splash this is going to make in our retail presence,” says Dyck. “This idea came about approximately one year after GORP bars were on the market. I kept hearing from parents that they were buying the bars and hiding them from their kids because, let’s face it, at three dollars per bar [in the retail stores] it can add up fast when you have an army of little munchers raiding the pantry.”
The new ready-mix product will come in packaging similar to a cake mix and allow GORP bar lovers to make their very own bars at home with the addition of just a few wet ingredients. The mixes will be available in all of the same flavours people have come to love and will even include pre-made bags with re-sealable stickers like the traditional bars.
“This is a great way for families to experience [making their own] high-quality, functional bars at a fraction of the price,” Dyck says. “The ready-mix is designed to be pressed into a traditional cookie pan and will produce 25 to 35 bars for under a dollar per bar.”
Due to the volume of ingredients they purchase, TGGP is able to provide the ready-mix at a much lower cost than if people were to source healthy, local ingredients on their own.
“Our customers have told us that the barrier to them making their own bars is the sheer expense and time needed to do it,” Dyck adds. “I felt terrible because the bars people most often can afford to give their kids are filled with the cheapest ingredients out there. We provide all the high-quality—and sometimes hard-to-find—ingredients that already go into our GORP bars. The ready-mix is an easy way to provide value and economy of time and money all at once and our customers are excited about it!”
