“I braved the question, ‘what is my purpose in the world?’, as I witnessed seismic global events unfold. Epula is the realization of it.
My ‘why’ boils down to one word: justice.”
Do you see what I see? The scale and intensity of change in Mother Nature.
Her infinite genius, majestic ecosystems, and epic vistas – that we love. They are shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing at unparalleled rates.
Have you also noticed? I did too. Nature is unravelling on our watch.
The spark that ignited House of Epula: my radical awakening.
In 2016, I was introduced to the field of sustainability. I was struck by what I uncovered about the state of our natural world.
Nature’s impermanence was becoming the new normal and at a rate without historical precedence. Its threats to humanity were already rolling out in various world regions such as to food security and to nature-based defenses against climate change.
However, the truth that I found most appalling was the root cause of the biodiversity crisis: human acts.
We are – more than ever – rapidly eroding the health of ecosystems which all 8.2B of us critically depend on for our livelihoods, health, food security, and quality of life.
Equally alarming, the global response is insufficient. The more I learnt, the closer I reached a tipping point.
Discover Epula’s catalyst in BIODIVERSITY
I crossed the threshold from observer to participant.
Facts, stories, and data about the biodiversity crisis tugged at my values. Soon after, I no longer could simply be a spectator of the harmful acts against Mother Nature and by default, to humanity.
I had to act. I was moved by an extraordinary sense of responsibility to help solve this global threat.
When this unshakeable conviction paired with an unexpected inspiration, it led to the birth of House of Epula.
In 2017, I set out to create a Spice Boutique dedicated to advancing the protection and preservation of Native Spice plants.
Conviction intersected with a market need.
At the start, I knew nothing about the Spice industry nor about Spice plants. But I was undeterred. I poured myself into discovery.
I learnt industry dynamics, absorbed market intelligence from myriads of culinary experts across Canada, and tested a range of ideas. This immersive due-diligence unearthed three palpable truths about conventional Spices used by full service restaurants in Canada:
At the start, I knew nothing about the Spice industry nor about Spice plants. But I was undeterred. I poured myself into discovery.
I learnt industry dynamics, absorbed market intelligence from myriads of culinary experts across Canada, and tested a range of ideas.
This immersive due-diligence unearthed three palpable truths about conventional Spices used by full service restaurants in Canada:
‘Eureka!’ arrived in April 2017: my debut of Native Black Peppercorns to culinary Chefs of top-tier Italian restaurants in Vancouver.
The revolution that this single discovery spurred in the kitchens of distinguished local Chefs was astonishing for me. The resounding results of this debut set off a pilot phase (2017-2018) that had incredible momentum.
‘Eureka!’ arrived in April 2017: my debut of Native Black Peppercorns to culinary Chefs of top-tier Italian restaurants in Vancouver.
The revolution that this single discovery spurred in the kitchens of distinguished local Chefs was astonishing for me. The resounding results of this debut set off a pilot phase (2017-2018) that had incredible momentum.
Market response set in motion an unexpected trek and paved the way.
My objective for the pilot phase was to prove if the phenomena I realized with Native Black Peppercorns was an anomaly or in fact a compelling indicator of a market void waiting to be filled.
Directed by client requests, I launched explorations for Native Spices in Italy and Indonesia.
Each of these pursuits tested the viability of my value proposition’s ‘formula’ and pushed the boundaries of my knowledge and skills.
Learning, creating, and problem-solving became multi-dimensional, parallel processes flowing at a rapid pace.
Top-tier Chefs’ reactions and demand for these successive debuts – such as Wild Fennel Seeds from Italy – presented a decisive signal: Native Spices are a category of their own.
My objective for the pilot phase was to prove if the phenomena I realized with Native Black Peppercorns was an anomaly or in fact a compelling indicator of a market void waiting to be filled.
Directed by client requests, I launched explorations for Native Spices in Italy and Indonesia.
Each of these pursuits tested the viability of my value proposition’s ‘formula’ and pushed the boundaries of my knowledge and skills.
Learning, creating, and problem-solving became multi-dimensional, parallel processes flowing at a rapid pace.
Top-tier Chefs’ reactions and demand for these successive debuts – such as Wild Fennel Seeds from Italy – presented a decisive signal: Native Spices are a category of their own.
Value created by tackling a global threat head-on.
I had seized an opportunity created by the biodiversity crisis: the protection and preservation of Native Spice plants. The pilot phase proved its potential to fill a market void that has long been open to industry incumbents, in a new and novel way.
Results endorsed tenets of my business model.
The pilot’s extraordinary outcome established that the deeply-held convictions that anchored my business model had market resonance. That:
Our whole has become greater than the sum of our parts.
Today, House of Epula is a category of our own.
We are Canada’s first and only B2B Spice Boutique that exclusively offers Native Spices.
Biodiversity victories are emerging across the globe. For Epula, the great task ahead is to widen our contribution to these wins faster than the intensification of the crisis itself. We are working relentlessly to make this happen.
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If you would like to be informed of our new Spice discoveries or when annual harvests of our Spices are arriving, please provide us your name and email address here.
By clicking on “Sign Up”, I agree to receive email updates from House of Epula. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Your privacy matters to us. We take great care to protect your personal information. Please read our promise to you in our Privacy Policy.
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