OFF THE COVER
MARCH 2015
TREE ISLAND GOURMET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
creamy – it had a different texture than what we are used to here in Canada – and a different flavour. We had always known that we wanted to do a natural food business and we had investigated different business ideas, but when we found this yogurt, we thought, this is something that no one is doing on an artisan level.” She noted that Tree Island’s process is different from large batch producers. The company does a long, slow cook of its fresh milk in a Turkish kettle, and the milk is not homogenized, meaning that the cream naturally rises to the top in its cream-top yogurt. “We take care in all the ingredients that we source,” Myles said, noting that they use local honey to sweeten its cream-top honey and cream-top vanilla yogurt. The couple put in a lot of hard work and research before opening their plant. They enlisted the help of the local Hilary’s Cheese to do test batches and received a loan from Community Futures to get their plant up and running. Myles noted that family members lent a hand with everything from framing the building to installing the plumbing. Since 2013, growth on the island has been exponential and promises to continue. In January, Tree Island launched a Greek yogurt in Vancouver with help from the
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“I think people nowadays are really looking at the ingredients and they really want to buy food that’s closer to home.” MERISSA MYLES CO-FOUNDER, TREE ISLAND GOURMET YOGURT
Agricultural Innovation Foundation. As with it’s other products, the Greek yogurt is beyond the ordinary. “We developed a new ultra filtration process,” Myles said. “We filter the milk to remove some of the watery whey and we concentrate the protein and fat, which makes a thick yogurt. But because we don’t use any powders or thickeners, we can guarantee the traceability to a grass-fed farm. We are also able to produce a really silky texture.” The company’s new packaging is also innovative, using 50 per cent less plastic than is normally used. Recently, the company was approached by Thrifty Foods and is now working with the company to introduce its products in that
Merissa Myles and Don McRae, MLA for Comox Valley, sample some greek yogurt at the Island Agriculture Show held in February chain of stores. “I think people nowadays are really looking at the ingredients and they really want to buy food that’s closer to home,” Myles said. “One of the things that makes our product unique is the quality of the milk as well as our unique flavour profiles. All our recipes are inspired by traditional recipes of the Mediterranean and the Silk Road. We haven’t re-invented the wheel – we have taken and adapted something that we know works.” Tree Island Gourmet Yogurt is at 3747 Island Highway South in Courtenay. www.treeislandyogurt.com
Merissa Myles and John Watson of CVEDS at Agriculture Show display
There were garden supplies, education sessions and exhibits for the kids at the Agriculture Show held in the Comox Valley
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