The From the Ground Up Show was back for another and its second year. For 2026 it is an industry only trade show happening for one day only. Available and geared towards established companies and those in any stage in between.The goal is to sample, discover, connect, and build relationships or partnerships in support of newest, local brands.
This show is a great way for B.C. food and beverage brands to showcase their products to retail buyers, distributors, media, and other industry insiders. It’s all about helping local businesses grow from the ground up, hence the name. Everything is 100% B.C. local. Every product shown is made, grown, and/or packed in British Columbia.
A new addition this year is Sprout Street, showcasing up to 22 brands that are either new to the market and to From the Ground Up. This gives attendees early visibility into a curated mix of emerging brands.
The buyers in attendance aren’t just from grocery retail, they represent cafes, universities, K-12 schools, hospitals, hotels, and many other key markets. So don’t be surprised if you see anything posted here in one of the aforementioned businesses closest to you.
This is held intentionally smaller to foster deeper, high-value conversations between brands, buyers, and industry-only attendees. This is the kind of expo where it is okay to spend 15–20 minutes at a booth asking questions and tasting products.
The following are a few products and brands that caught my eye and peaked my interest, in the order that I tried them.
Kaslo Sourdough Pasta uses cultured dough so that their pastas are easier for the body to process. They started with their own line of breads and have now moved on to pasta.
Rad Relish uses local produce for their line of spicy to sweet zucchini relishes. This is Métis recipe from 1947, passed down to the owner. And today we got to try it on hotdogs.
Chances are if you have ordered dumplings from a restaurant and they weren’t made in house, that they came from Dicky’s Dumps. Owned and operated by a local husband and wife team that folds each dumpling by hand. Available in traditional fillings like pork and green onion and prawn. Plus plant-based alternatives using beyond meat.
Pop Right Popcorn is a line of popcorn seasonings that allows you to flavour any popcorn anywhere, as you like it using real nutritional yeast. Available in flavours like queso loco, magic masala, and herbzilla.
Gnubees, the vitamin-rich kids and adult kids juice brand now also produces sap water. This is their answer to coconut, replacing it for those who don’t like the taste, but still want the benefits. It is made with sap at a much lower carbon footprint. This is hydration meets preservation. It is not yet available in stores, but we should see bottles come to Safeway and Thrifty’s by fall.
I am already familiar with Blind Owl, having used their line of syrups for cocktail mixing. But today at From the Ground Up, I was able to learn about their back story. They actually started off as extracts that you can use in baking and to flavour food and drinks, with the syrups being their latest expansion. They recommend their products for puddings, oatmeal, as a glaze, and/or to flavour sparkling water. They plan to have a pumpkin spice one made with real spices and ingredients, come fall of 2026.
The From the Ground Up show also serves as a great place to meet the owners and faces of the brands you shop for and already use. Like Maureen Simon Foods and her line of original recipe Jamaican sauces. She currently has a curry and jerk for easy marinading.
Kettle & Hive has a line of quick mixed honey teas, just like grandma use to make. All you have to do is scoop out a tablespoon, add water and stir for the comfort of honey and lemon, honey and turmeric, and/or honey and lavender, etc.
We were impressed by Victoria’s own Hazel ice cream, sampling full bars that did not seem to melt. Available in flavours like cookies and cream, orange float, and chocolate toffee.
This was my first time hearing about sucking chocolate by Roxy’s. This is all natural chocolate that you don’t chew, but keep in your cheek and suck to draw out is flavour. The more you allow it to linger the more flavour your get out of it. By the end it was so rich that it reminded me of the last sip and the end of a cup of hot chocolate.
Nourvo was only 3 months old (during the trade show) and was here at From the Ground Up in hopes of connecting with distributors that could get their line of high protein dumplings in stores. These were traditional Hong Kong style dim sum items made with the addition of protein. Low in sodium, low in sugar, but high in taste; these were created for those who count macros.
Easy Peasy is a brand of do it yourself, high in fibre granola bar mix. You only need to add in wet ingredients and bake. It takes 5-10 minutes to do, making it a great activity to undertake with kids.
We learned that apple juice can’t be listed as juice unless it is filtered. Therefore Unusually Good is advertised as cider, but tastes like apple juice.
Stik Ice Pops is exactly as its name describes. Non-dairy popsicles made locally using original recipes. Today they had small rounds that made for perfect samples in flavours like Kits Coco or Mainstreet Matcha.
And Ice Keem is another ice cream option from Victoria, this time in scoopable pints. It is named after the owner and operator Keem, who specializes in South East Asian flavours like pandan coconut, ube, and durian. I love how the latter delivered on the fruit’s sweetness without any of its pungent scent.
In short, this was a great way to discover new products and get excited for what we can expect in market, in the near future.
