Background:

Rebel Salad is a salad bar restaurant in Thunder Bay, Ontario that provides heathy fast-food options to the community. It was created after many years of success at Growing Season Eatery, its sister restaurant, to dedicate a space to allow customers to build their own salads and pick and choose from ingredients that appeal to them. Currently, customers are able to choose from 3 different salad bases, 7 protein options, 13 vegetables, 9 toppings, 5 sides, and 10 different homemade dressings. Rebel Salad is the only customizable salad experience in Thunder Bay and has seen great success since opening in 2017. It is located in the Bay & Algoma district along with dozens of other great local restaurants, coffee shops, and shops. The area itself has grown exponentially in the past few years, allowing Rebel Salad to become one of Thunder Bay’s best options for healthy eating.

Growth through the pandemic:

When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, restaurants were one of the sectors that took a very significant hit in revenues when they were asked to switch to take-out or delivery. Rebel Salad and Growing Season Eatery were no different, and quickly had to adjust operations to accommodate the new regulations. In November of that year, management for the two restaurants decided to pursue a new project that would add an additional source of revenue for the businesses: manufacturing their famous dressings and sell them to retailers, markets, and restaurants across Canada.

Our dressings:

We have been using our dressing recipes since Growing Season Eatery opened in 2009 and are some of the best dressings you can buy in Northern Ontario. We are introducing the following products as our initial product offering: Chipotle, Pesto, Sesame Ginger, Tahini, Lemon Vinaigrette, and Harvest.

Our products are being marketed as an opportunity for consumers to chase their inner rebel through our dressings. We are not a traditional dressing and can be used for a wide variety of dishes other than just salads. The products are versatile, confident, and delicious in every form. We use premium ingredients and keep the production small-scale to give it that made-by-hand experience that is missing from a lot of the products currently on the market.

All of the dressings are produced in our kitchen at 320 Bay Street using kitchen equipment, stock pots, an emulsifier, a commercial blender, a filling machine, a capping machine, and a labelling machine. We also use various procedures and equipment as a means of quality assurance, including a pH meter, thermometers, etc. These processes are also in the process of being HACCP and CFIA certified.

Where we are today:

10 months into this project, we are preparing our products for launch in November 2021 and putting the final touches on our manufacturing processes, marketing strategy, and distribution channels. We are also preparing to staff the manufacturing facility that will produce our products and need a training program for new staff being brought into the company over the course of 2 months beginning in November.

All questions can be directed to our management team at rebelsaladevents@gmail.com; please allow 1-2 business days for a response. Students can also come by our office at 320 Bay Street between the hours of 11:00am and 3:00pm Monday through Friday.