Calgary Herald Monday, July 19, 2004 Page: C1 / FRONT Section: Business Byline: Lisa Schmidt Source: Calgary Herald Few people would dare to mess with Grandma s recipes. But when a Calgary family tweaked tradition, the result was a bustling gourmet business. "We ve been very fortunate," says Fauzia Kanji, owner of Thumbs Up Foods Incorporated, a food processor specializing in Indian cuisine, with her husband Amin. "Through family support, and of course, Allah s grace, we ve come a long way." The venture started quite by accident eight years ago when Kanji s mother and grandmother started making a few samosas to sell from home. Kanji, who was working in accounting at the Delta Bow Valley, brought some into work and gave a sample to the hotel s chef. "They enjoyed it so much they said they had to put it on the menu," she said. After a couple of years of making products in their basement, the family decided the growing business could support itself in a commercial location. Amin researched and tracked down processing equipment, then adjusted it for the specialty foods. "Sometimes when you mass produce you have to compromise . . .We didn t want to change the product to match the equipment," says Kanji. "That is what made people come to us." The business continues to be a family affair for the Kanji s, whose roots are in East African country of Tanzania. Its line of products -- samosas, roti and curries -- is named for Kanji s sister Serenna Ramji, who is also the company s production manager. While the products were popular, the recipes were still refined somewhat to suit the Canadian palate (a little milder, says Kanji). But there s was no compromising on ingredients, which include fresh herbs and vegetables, lean meat and authentic Indian spice blends. The learning curve was steep at times, says Kanji, who like her husband had no experience in the food processing business. Besides fine-tuning equipment, the family had to design and develop packaging. Assistance from groups like the Alberta Food Processors Association helped a great deal, she says. But marketing of the products has mostly taken care of itself, with word of mouth bringing in clients all the time, Kanji says. Serenna s is starting to enjoy some brand recognition, and has distributors in four U.S. states where it sells the roti and vegetarian ready-made meals. Its meat products -- beef and chicken samosas -- are only available in Alberta, since the plant is not federally inspected. Initially, the company supplied some supermarket chains such as Safeway and Co-op, but decided to discontinue the deal because of listing fees were too high for their small company. Instead, the business has focused on serving several Calgary hotels and golf courses and exporting to U.S. retailers. In Calgary, the Serenna s brand is available in several East Indian grocery stores and Sunterra Market, but the majority of production heads south of the border to retailers in Washington, Oregon, California and Illinois. On Thursdays, the tiny storefront becomes a busy place when the fresh rotis are available for sale. Customers scoop up more than 10,000 of the whole-wheat flatbread in just a few hours.
Thumbs Up Foods Inc. is Calgary-based company (Alberta, Canada) with a phone number 4032509558. Our data show that the company is located at the address: 3132 26 St NE. The company has a web site: www.thumbsupfoods.com.
Unfortunately сompany staff has not yet provided of company's activities, mission and detailed description.