Burnaby-based Kula Kitchen is making Afro-Caribbean vegan foods

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Asha Wheeldon founded Burnaby-based Afro-Caribbean vegan food label Kula Foods in 2018 to fill a void she found moving to Vancouver.

Born in Kenya, she came to Canada at age 10. Her family settled in Toronto, where the large West Indian and African population meant familiar flavours and ingredients were relatively easy to source.

But when her tech career took her to B.C. in 2015 that changed.

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Dining experiences in the Lower Mainland were almost as hard to find as specific ingredients. After a welcome meal at Da Roti Shak on 12th Street in New Westminster, a business idea began to form.

“I was hungry and looking for anything that resonated with the East African cuisine I grew up on or the West Indian roti shops I had become familiar with, and I knew I wasn’t alone in that experience,” said Wheeldon. “There was a missing piece in the market for Afro-Caribbean food products, particularly meal-ready choices. At the same time, I was transitioning into a far more plant-based diet and I got the encouragement sharing meals with people in the local food industry to consider developing a product line.”

During maternity leave for her first child, she attended the BCIT’s entrepreneurship certificate program and developed the plan for what became Kula Foods. From there, she took the concept to the manufacturing stage. The company launched in 2018 at Vancouver Farmer’s Markets.

The product line includes with a trio of plant-based meat alternatives including ginger beef, BBQ chik-un and G.O.A.T curry. These vegan protein sources are based in pea proteins synthesized from Canadian-grown ingredients with Afro-Caribbean tastebuds in mind. The same is true of the three BBQ sauces, which range from mild red pepper to African pili pili and scotch bonnet with no added sugars.

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In the Kiswahili language, kula means “to eat.” Everything this writer has sampled in the product line will leave you wanting to do just that.

At every stage of the creation process, Wheeldon stuck to preset goals of sourcing locally and developing partnerships with other small businesses. Sixty per cent of the ingredients are from businesses within an 80 kilometre radius of the manufacturing plant. Of that, 80 per cent comes from small, predominantly female owned-and-operated suppliers.

The goal was honest and accurate representations of the unique flavours of her heritage. Avoiding the reliance of salt and sugars found in much of the available vegan products on the market was a nutritional aim. It took a lot of work and market research to arrive at the present recipes and packaging, but it has earned the company official Certified B Corporation status as transforming global business models, as well as being a Veritree verified partner, where online purchase plants one mangrove tree in Keyna to preserve intertidal wetlands along coastlines.

“I became pretty obsessive in trying to find the right alternatives to signature dishes like goat curry, to bring both authentic textures and flavours as well as the kind of nutritional composition that meant you could use the products daily,” she said. “Plant-based foods are a busy category, but now we have uniquely positioned products out there in the region. Now, we are working on expanding across Canada and into the U.S.”

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While curry spicing isn’t unfamiliar to Lower Mainlanders, Wheeldon says that getting the initial buy in can be challenging for retailers. Another issue is that the protein items are all sold frozen, which increases shipping and storage costs.

“It’s the biggest challenge we face in the grocery field, because buyers see anything new as a challenge and need to see real returns quickly,” she said. “Our solution is to do a lot of demos at retailers and events because that immediately connects with buyers and raises name recognition. Plant-based foods are evolving, with a definite need for items that are more flexible than merely a replacement for burgers or hotdogs.”

Besides an active catering wing that serves up vegan meals for corporate and private events, Kula Foods has been showcased at certain large food services operations.

“Both UBC and SFU have showcased our line with great success,” said Wheeldon. “This isn’t on a permanent basis at this time, but we are experimenting with chefs to develop ways that our flavours can be paired to more individual recipes. It’s a next stage goal.”

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For now, Kula Foods can be found at participating retailers from B.C. to Nova Scotia as well as online. Cooking classes are offered online and in person and the website has a wealth of recipe options to expand your Afro-Caribbean culinary skills. Wheeldon notes that Kula Foods being “right on point in terms of flavour” makes it easy to get into the healthy cuisine from these regions.

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Kula Cauliflower Wings

With fall harvests of cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables in full-swing, liven up the veggie offering with this recipe from Kula Foods’ Asha Wheeldon. Pairs very well with the Ginger Beef Tibs recipe.

Ingredients

Cauliflower ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower — chopped into florets
• ½ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¾ cup oat milk

Buffalo sauce ingredients

Directions

1. Toss all of the cauliflower ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Then, oven-bake the florets at 425F for 25 minutes. While they’re in the oven, prepare the Pili Pili buffalo sauce.
3. Once the florets are out of the oven, marinate them with your buffalo sauce.

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Bam! You’ve got hot, flavourful plant-based wings!

Want a dipping sauce? Simply mix Kula Pili Pili Sauce with 3 tablespoons of your preferred mayo product and some lemon juice.

sderdeyn@postmedia.com

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