Bean there, done Stak

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This article was published 23/01/2021 (1895 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG BEACH — It was the moment she’d bean, er, been waiting for.

Suzan Stupack is the owner of the Stak Co., an Interlake-based operation with the slogan, “You’ll never look at beans the same way again.” In November, following close to five years of research and development, coupled with thousands of hours spent peddling her wares at farmers markets and craft sales, Stupack saw her dream come true. Her gluten-free, vegan line of dry soup, burrito and chili mixes, wholly prepared with legumes grown in the southern part of the province, was finally going to be available at retail outlets across Manitoba and as far east as Thunder Bay.

Only thing was, with all that was going on in the world in regard to COVID-19, the married mother of two and grandmother of one didn’t feel comfortable trumpeting her achievement on her social media platforms. It wasn’t a time to celebrate, but rather a time to assist those less fortunate, she says, seated in the living room of her Winnipeg Beach abode, which she shares with her husband, Andrew, and their eight-year-old Maltese-Yorkshire terrier cross, Peanut.

In early December Stupack partnered with Kevin Burgin, host of The Main Ingredient, a foodie-centric radio program that airs on 680 CJOB, and chef Ben Kramer, the force behind Made with Love, an initiative that provides healthy meals to people in need. Their idea: a virtual chili cook-off using Stupack’s non-GMO bean blends, with all proceeds from a suggested $10 entry fee — many of the participants gave far more — going to Made with Love.

“Thanks to everybody who took part we raised hundreds of dollars for an excellent cause,” Stupack says, noting the winner, a resident of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, cemented his victory by spelling “CHILI” in the snow on the frozen river behind his property. “There’s no doubt in my mind I got way more out of that contest than I ever would have received from an official launch.”

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Stupack (nee Lariviere) was born in St. Pierre Jolys. Both sides of her family are Métis — her great-great-great grandfather was one of Louis Riel’s bodyguards — and when the entire clan used to gather for birthdays or special occasions, it was a foregone conclusion a culinary competition would break out at some point, she says with a chuckle.

“My mother was one of 14 kids, mainly girls, and she and my aunties used to have fun trying to outdo one another,” she continues, mentioning if there was one constant on the menu, it was a clay pot of beans that been soaked overnight then baked with ketchup, pork rinds, dry mustard and molasses.

Stupack, the youngest of three siblings, was 13 when her family relocated to Selkirk. By then she was also comfortable in the kitchen and because her father suffered from kidney disease, it was imperative meals she helped prepare were low in sodium and encompassed natural ingredients as much as possible, a practice she continued to follow when she became a mother herself.

About 10 years ago, Stupack found herself at a fork in the road, career-wise. She was successfully employed as a leasing manager — prior to that she’d worked in public relations and as a product development manager — but she began feeling she wanted to do “something… else,” she just couldn’t put her finger on what that might be, she says. But after taking a series of courses through the Osborne Village Resource Centre she became convinced entrepreneurship was her true calling. (She chuckles recalling her husband’s advice at the time, that she should simply put her feet up and retire. “I was like, are you kidding me? I was only 48 and in the prime of my life.”)

The Stak Co. — the name refers to stacks of burlap sacks loaded with non-perishables her ancestors used to keep in a cold storage room; also, the eye-catching way her beans, peas and spices are stacked in see-through, cellophane bags — might never have been, if it hadn’t been for an impromptu trip to a textile store in 2014. That spring, Stupack’s youngest daughter, Ashlee, was working on a sewing project for school when she asked her mom to drive her to a Fabricland location 10 minutes from their North Kildonan home.

While combing through the aisles, Stupack spotted a swatch of striped fabric, all earth tones, that, in her words, spoke to her. She purchased an entire bolt of the material. One of the things she made with it was a small cloth bag, about the size of a coin purse, that mimicked a pattern she’d spotted on Pinterest. Unsure of its exact purpose, she received her answer a few months later when, following a trip to Niagara Falls with her husband, she discovered it was the perfect size for holding a bag of beans she’d picked up during their travels.

That’s it, she’d sewn a bean bag, she told herself, which reminded her of all those pots of beans she’d seen on the stove growing up, which led to her founding her own bean-based biz in September 2015.

A hit right out of the gate (it didn’t hurt that the United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses; pulses referring to edible seeds that are harvested dry), Stupack’s line grew from two products — Loco Burrito and Tortilla Soup Fiesta (for recipes, visit www.thestakco.com) — to three in 2017, when she added her Northern Classic Chili mix to the fold. A year after that, she introduced a fourth, one she cheekily dubbed Housework Makes You Ugly Pea Soup.

Given all that, why did it take so long for retailers to finally came a-knockin’? she’s asked. First of all, it was a case of supply and demand. Initially she was a one-person show, meaning not only was she responsible for packaging and marketing her beans, she was also the one criss-crossing the province in her Hyundai Tucson to scoop up beans from growers. (That’s right, her vehicle was full of beans.) Also, because her mixes are gluten-free, she couldn’t rent space in a shared commercial kitchen for fear of cross-contamination. So that was one more variable to work through.

“Anyways, after I’d finally sorted everything out (a distributor now drops bags of legumes off at her door in Winnipeg Beach, where she and Andrew moved after becoming empty-nesters a few years ago), I was invited to take part in an event staged by Food & Beverage Manitoba that introduces small companies to prospective buyers like (Red River) Co-op and Sobeys,” she says. “It took another two years after that but in November, I finally got the go-ahead.”

Matthew Sobocan is the local development manager for Sobeys with a territory covering Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwest Ontario. He first sampled her chili at a planned get-together two years ago and is “thrilled” that consumers can now pick up The Stak Co. products at Sobeys, Safeway and IGA stores.

“There’s a growing demand for Manitoba-made items and Sobeys is dedicated to finding local products that deliver exactly what our customers are looking for, while also supporting small business,” Sobocan says, when reached at the office. “I’d seen Suzan at markets around the province and first tasted her chili at a Food & Beverage Manitoba event in the spring of 2019. We invited her to present her product, story and vision to us and we’ve been working together ever since.”

As for future goals, Stupack already has her Safe Food for Canadians permit, which grants her the ability to get The Stak Co. onto store shelves from coast to coast. Also, while she’s driving to and fro to restock grocery marts that carry her goods (when the Free Press photo desk reached out to her last week, she was on the highway, somewhere between Kenora and Dryden), she’s forever thinking of the next big thing — another soup or chili mix she can supplement her product line with. Well, that and another addition.

“We’re expecting our second grandchild in March so, yeah, that’s pretty exciting news, too,” she says, bending down to give her pooch a scratch behind the ears.

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca