It all starts with an idea
Sylvie Rochette, 54
Victoria
What she was: Administrator, B.C. legislature
What she is: Founder and president of Victorian Epicure, a manufacturer of gourmet spice blends, food and cookware
How she made the leap
The cache of umbrellas and rubber boots in the foyer of Victorian Epicure's main office makes it clear: Sylvie Rochette has thought of everything. She laughs at the suggestion, but then thinks back to the early years before her company's dazzling soar to success and slowly nods. "I used to do everything myself — all of the research, the blending of ingredients, package design, marketing, accounts receivable and payable," she recalls. "I used to know every part of the business, hands on."
On this day, Rochette's been up since 4 in the morning. She admits to being fatigued but shows no palpable dent in her considerable stores of energy. Throughout the offices and on the production floor, she greets her staff with a broad smile and easily picks up the threads of projects in progress.
What began more than a decade ago with four spice blends from her own kitchen has today burgeoned into a multi-million dollar operation, located on an 80-acre farm on the outskirts of Victoria. The setting is idyllic: From the road, a white-fenced lane leads past the vineyard — where the boots come in handy on a rainy day — to twin, steel-clad buildings that two decades ago briefly housed a failed venture in high-tech farming. One has been retrofitted for production, the other for shipping and handling.
Victorian Epicure now employs more than 100 people locally and another 6,000 direct-sales consultants throughout Canada. Even in the current subdued economy, sales continue to be robust and are expected to top $40 million this year. Every day, up to four semi-trailers roll away from the farm, laden with products and seasonings for everything from pasta to popcorn. "Our products are well suited for these times," Rochette says. "They're convenient, and there's little fat and often no salt. That works well with the growing trend to stay in for dinner. And they taste good."
In the early '90s, Rochette was bored with her government desk job and distressed by the long hours away from her two young children. Eager for a change, she looked in her kitchen cupboard and saw opportunity in the herb and spice blends she'd created to fast-track her family's favourite dishes. "Back then, the few available premixed seasonings were high in salt and dips were made with onion soup mix," she recalls. "I didn't want that for my kids and figured other parents might feel the same way."
