SRED Unlimited Brewery Road Trip – August 2022
SRED Consultant David Reti
“What I found most interesting was that every one of these businesses are using SR&ED refunds to help grow their business, but each of them is doing it in very different ways.” – David R.
Part 2 – Mandioca Cheese Buns
Mandioca is a small company that just started up during the pandemic – so already you have to give them credit for their courage. They have an industrial unit that produces all their product, so it’s not really set up for visitors or retail.
But it ended up being the perfect second stop! Managing Partner Rodrigo put out the welcome mat when we arrived. They baked up all 4 varieties of their Brazilian cheese pops for us to sample. And wow! They were fantastic!
These are NOT your typical Canadian cheese buns!
Owner Alvaro is originally from Brazil and would meet North American tourists who always fell in love with the local “mandioca” snacks. They’re made from the yuca/cassava root (tapioca) and he figured if this was something Canadians didn’t typically get to enjoy, well, he could do something about that.
These Canadian-made cheese pops are completely gluten-free and have only six all-natural ingredients. But if you tried them, you’d never know. They had a crunchy exterior, with a cheesy chewiness that’s hard to describe and best experienced in person. Imagine a perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Chewy, a little crunchy on the outside with a full, melted cheesy flavour. But bite size. And gluten-free. And STRONG garlic, bacon or jalapeno flavour (if you choose a flavoured pop instead of regular).
The regular cheddar was delicious and the favourite by consensus. But all 4 flavours were rich and bold. Garlic, Jalapeno and Bacon were all prominent and we finished both full trays before we left with deep appreciation and a craving for more.
We got a quick explanation of the process for making these awesome snacks and then chatted about their marketing. With some extra capital available, thanks to SRED credits, they were able to really focus on expanding their marketing efforts to reach more people. . In fact, now, it’s just a matter of introducing these new healthy edibles to more Canadians to expand their market! So far, the feedback has been fantastic. Everyone who tries them ends up being a convert—which isn’t hard to believe having tasted them ourselves.
Our view was that they would go extremely well with a cold beer. But we may have been biased…
“I’m not sure people will buy it that this is actually a healthy snack. They taste way too good.” – Adam A
Stayed tuned for SRED Unlimited Brewery Road Trip – Part 3 when we head to Rhythm & Brews!