Zest Commercial Food Hub

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Zest Commercial Food Hub Supporting food businesses and community food projects from ideas to reality. Commissary kitchens, cooking classes, dry and cold storage, and more.

Servicing Salmon Arm, the Shuswap, and beyond. Events, Workshops, & Classes https://linktr.ee/zestfoodhub

09/18/2026

☕ Graduation Edition: 6 Beans Roasting!

From small-batch roasts in our space to fueling mornings across the Shuswap and beyond, we couldn't be prouder to see 6 Beans Roasting take their next big leap!

Founded right here in Salmon Arm, this amazing family-run roastery uses eco-friendly fluid-bed hot air roasting to craft super smooth, stomach-friendly brews - from their popular Signature Blend and Shu Brew Cold Brew to incredible single-origin roasts. Watching them grow in our hub while doing local farmer's markets, selling products on retail shelves, and shipping fresh roasts directly to coffee lovers across Canada is the ultimate proud-mom moment for us!

At Zest Commercial Food Hub, our goal is to incubate local makers and serve as the stepping stone they need to sustainably transition into larger, dedicated commercial operations of their own. While we’ll miss the heavenly smell of their fresh roasts in our kitchen, celebrating their growth as a Zest graduate is what it’s all about.

Head over to 6 Beans Roasting to check out their fresh roast lineup and order a bag straight to your door!

09/09/2026

Show Us Your Zest: CarneBar (Graduation Edition!)

From whipping up early batches in our kitchen to taking major leaps in the food world, we couldn't be prouder to celebrate CarneBar as they step into their next chapter!

Founded by chefs Dave Allard and William Milk, CarneBar set out to revolutionize protein bars with real, savoury ingredients. Combining real beef jerky with fruit, nuts, and seeds for high-protein fuels like Cherry BBQ, Mango Chili Lime, and Thai Coconut Curry. Seeing them take these bold, award-winning snacks from our kitchen to store shelves across BC is the absolute best part of what we do!

At Zest Commercial Food Hub, our biggest mission is to incubate local food businesses and serve as a stepping stone to help them grow into larger commercial facilities of their own. While we always miss having our makers under our roof, seeing our "graduates" spread their wings and scale sustainably is what it’s all about.

*cue graduation fanfare music*

Check out CarneBar's unique savoury line-up and grab a box for yourself!

09/04/2026

Show Us Your Zest: Auntie NeeNee’s Caribbean Sauces 🌶️👶

We're continuing our series called "Show Us Your Zest" where we put a spotlight on the incredible makers, creators, and small business owners who bring our commercial kitchen facility to life!

Today, we’re featuring Auntie NeeNee's Caribbean Sauces - the family bringing authentic Trinidadian flavor, island vibes, and handcrafted heat right to your table.

Talk about dedication: between welcoming a brand-new baby 🍼 and driving 1.5 hours each way just to cook at Zest, they prove what true hustle and passion look like.

Their lineup is packed with incredible, small-batch flavor:
- Trinidadian Pepper Sauce: A fiery, award-winning blend featuring scorpion peppers, scotch bonnet, and local Okanagan ingredients.
- Trinidadian Green Seasoning: The ultimate fresh herb marinade to elevate grilled meats, veggies, and stews.
- Jerk BBQ Sauce: Island-style sweet, smoky heat made for summer grilling.

Drop a ❤️ in the comments to show this hardworking family some love! Where to find them:🔗 Head to auntieneeneesauces.com to shop their full lineup and learn more about their story.

📍 Follow them directly on Instagram at !

08/30/2026

Show Us Your Zest: Forest and Food Fixation 🌲🍄

This episode of "Show Us Your Zest" is extra special because we’re highlighting one of our longest-standing, OG tenants - Forest and Food Fixation

They’ve been with us at Zest Commercial Food Hub since the early days, transforming wild-harvested and locally foraged ingredients into artisanal gourmet goodies. From wild mushroom seasonings and herbal blends to small-batch preserves and wild teas, their passion for sustainable foraging and local ecology shines through in every product. 🌿✨ But most of all... bread...

Show some love in the comments for one of our founding family members! ❤️

Where to find them:
🔗 Visit forestandfoodfixation.ca to explore their wild-foraged lineup and order online.
📍 Follow along with their foraging journeys on Instagram at !

08/28/2026

Show Us Your Zest: Sugarbee's Ice Cream Company 🍦🐝

We're starting our series of "Show Us Your Zest", showcasing all of the amazing local food producers that use our facility, and things are getting sweet! Today we’re shining a spotlight on the team at Sugarbee's Ice Cream Company who churn up pure magic!

Handcrafted with local BC dairy, real fruits, zero shortcuts, and no artificial flavours, their small-batch recipes bring pure dreaminess to every scoop. From rich, classical dairy favorites and smooth gelato-style scoops to creamy vegan and dairy-free options, they’ve made sure everyone gets a sweet treat! 🍨✨

Where to find them:🔗 Visit sugarbeesicecream.com to browse current flavours and book them for local events.

📍 Give them a follow over on Facebook or Instagram at to see where they're scooping next!



All photos & videos are courtesy of SugarBee's Ice Cream Company

This is precisely Zest's mandate - feed the little birdies until one day they're ready to fly on their own 🐦We're over t...
06/19/2026

This is precisely Zest's mandate - feed the little birdies until one day they're ready to fly on their own 🐦We're over the moon that Elderberry Grove has left the nest! A huge congratulations to their team!

06/04/2026

Are you pricing your food product completely wrong? 🤯

In this video, we break down the reality of the Canadian grocery market. If you want your food production business to survive on retail shelves, you can't just guess your pricing. Between retailers taking 30-40% and distributors taking 15-25%, you need to know how to reverse engineer your product starting from the shelf price backward.

📖 Want the full mathematical breakdown and step-by-step pricing guide? Read our deep-dive blog post here: https://zestfoodhub.wixsite.com/home/post/the-10-trap-how-to-reverse-engineer-your-food-product-for-retail-success

💡 Missed our last video on how fixed and variable costs affect your cash flow? Watch it here: https://youtube.com/shorts/RfApYh4PCEM?feature=share

At Zest Food Hub, we help food entrepreneurs in Salmon Arm, the Shuswap, and beyond scale their businesses sustainably. From expert margin consulting to high-efficiency commercial kitchen space that lowers your labor costs, we give you the tools to succeed.

🍋 Visit us at https://zestfoodhub.ca to explore memberships, storage, and food business resources.

Why your product's aesthetic might be keeping you out of grocery stores. 📉⁣When designing packaging, it’s easy to focus ...
05/31/2026

Why your product's aesthetic might be keeping you out of grocery stores. 📉
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When designing packaging, it’s easy to focus solely on the look. But in the commercial food industry, your packaging needs to be lean, functional, and fast to assemble.
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If it takes three separate label applications and a hand-tied piece of twine to finish one jar, your production line is severely bottlenecked. Every extra touchpoint eats into that critical 50-60% margin you need to hand over to distributors and retail buyers.
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In our latest business bite, we break down exactly how to audit your packaging elements and put your product on a materials diet without losing its premium feel.
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📖 Read the full packaging audit checklist on our blog: https://zestfoodhub.wixsite.com/home/post/death-by-a-thousand-stickers-the-silent-margin-killer-in-food-packaging
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Want a professional eye on your production model? At Zest Food Hub in Salmon Arm, we don’t just rent kitchen space.... we offer strategic margin consulting to help local food brands scale profitably. Visit zestfoodhub.ca to learn more!

05/29/2026

Are you actually making a profit on your food product, or are these three hidden traps secretly draining your bank account? 🛑

When you’re scaling a food production business in today's tight economy, getting onto grocery shelves requires a healthy 50% to 60% gross margin. But many talented entrepreneurs watch their hard-earned profits vanish because of three silent margin killers. In this quick 1-minute breakdown, we unbox the three biggest financial leaks in small-scale food processing.

📖 Blog 1: Tracking Your True Labour Costs - https://zestfoodhub.wixsite.com/home/post/the-hidden-clock-the-cost-of-free-labour-in-your-food-business
📖 Blog 2: Unlocking Bulk Sourcing & Volume Pricing -https://zestfoodhub.wixsite.com/home/post/the-pallet-tipping-point-how-bulk-buying-unlocks-retail-success
📖 Blog 3: How to Stop Packaging Creep From Killing Margins -https://zestfoodhub.wixsite.com/home/post/death-by-a-thousand-stickers-the-silent-margin-killer-in-food-packaging

At Zest Food Hub, we provide the physical space and strategic support to help food entrepreneurs in Salmon Arm, the Shuswap, and across BC scale sustainably. From high-efficiency commercial kitchen equipment that slashes your production hours to scalable dry and cold storage that allows you to buy in bulk, we help you keep your overhead low and your margins high.

🍋 Explore kitchen memberships, storage solutions, and food business resources at: https://zestfoodhub.ca

The Pallet Tipping Point: How to buy ingredients like a major food brand. 🚚💸⁣It makes perfect mathematical sense to buy ...
05/27/2026

The Pallet Tipping Point: How to buy ingredients like a major food brand. 🚚💸
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It makes perfect mathematical sense to buy ingredients in bulk to save your margins, but small-scale producers usually hit two massive physical roadblocks: Storage space and loading infrastructure.
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You physically cannot fit a 1,000-kilogram delivery of raw ingredients or a full pallet of glass jars into a residential setup or a cramped kitchen.
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That is exactly why we built Zest Food Hub. We provide local food processors with scalable Interior Health-approved dry and cold storage, a commercial loading dock, and the high-volume processing equipment needed to turn bulk materials into finished products quickly.
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📖 Read our latest blog post to discover how to calculate your wholesale price breaks: https://zestfoodhub.wixsite.com/home/post/the-pallet-tipping-point-how-bulk-buying-unlocks-retail-success
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Ready to move past small batches? Head over to zestfoodhub.ca to check out our storage options and flexible kitchen memberships.

Address

1140 4th Avenue SW
Salmon Arm, BC
V1E4N2

Telephone

+17788241031

Website

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