Pioneering the return to organic and (as) raw (as possible) plant-based food

I briefly worked with Avafina Organics‘ Laura Cuñer DuBois briefly when I was invited to write for a site called Plant Based World Pulse. Avafina’s a staple at many food shows in the city, and it was great to learn about her origin story and what drives her passion for organic, healthy foods. Bonus that her products are SO good AND so healthy for you!

Justin Manning: Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of VEG Networking Canada. It’s important to honor, acknowledge, and respect that many of us are located on the traditional ancestral and unceded territories of many Indigenous peoples of Canada. Veg networking Canada is a community where vegan, plant-based companies connect and collaborate. Today we have a very special guest with us. She is a pioneer in the organic food industry. She is socially conscious, a self-made entrepreneur with a passion for organic agriculture and a leader of an innovative manufacturer. VEG Networking Canada is pleased to introduce the founder and CEO of Avafina Organics. Welcome, Laura Cuñer Dubois.

Laura Cuñer-Dubois: Hello. How are you Justin?

JM: I am well, and I am—we are well, the whole group here. VEG Networking Canada is happy to have you and hear more about you personally and also, of course, your business story as well. But:

Let’s start on a personal note about your own story as it unfolded regarding vegan plant-based in that journey for you.

LCD: Okay, so my personal story of why I became a vegan, is that okay? Well, I mean, my journey started very early in life. I wouldn’t call myself a vegan back then, but when I turned 14, I decided I wasn’t going to eat more meat. And it was a revolution in the family. I grew up eating Italian foods. And, you know, a meat—I’m from Argentina originally, so meat in Argentina is the number one thing. So the priest thought I was changing religions. And, you know, everybody was kind of went crazy when they they heard that I was not to eat animal products anymore, but I didn’t have, like, you know, a real, I think, a real awakening until 2005 when I went to a vegan retreat and I ate, I juiced and I ate very lightly for one week, and it was kind of, you know, because, I mean, even as a vegan or as a vegetarian, you can have food addictions, and I we all have them, right?

We are, we are in denial. Because the—you know that, I mean sometimes, I mean it’s the tofu chicken wings, and if they’re okay once in a while, but we have those cravings for processed foods. I think we all do. But what, after one week of not having eaten those foods, I felt like I was reborn. It was like an like a rebirthing experience, and it was like it connected me with what I’m supposed to really be eating all the time, and what is my full potential, or how my consciousness is more‌ awakened when I eat those foods and when I stay away from, you know, the things that we know, we know that they are not good for us.

But sometimes it’s like we’re wired mentally to eat those things. And it became a quest of mine to kind of, you know, I’ve been in the food industry for a lot, a lot of years. I did a little bit of everything, and I knew that, you know, I was always reading labels in the supermarket. And I was like, there’s a lot of stuff here that shouldn’t be here and still is. And I was like, I wanted to be part of that, of the light, instead of the dark side of the supermarket, and come out with products, you know.

Like, I am very familiar with Emma’s products [Zimt Chocolates], you know, part of the solution, you know, coconut sugar, no milk. You know, things that are—leave all that stuff that we are not supposed to have. So if we have a manufacturing company, we should carry that responsibility forward about what you’re putting in your process, the ingredients, and how, you know, how is that affecting the person that’s going to consume those products? I think that’s the right way of approaching the manufacturing business.

But unfortunately, there’s a lot of products out there that don’t follow those principles, and that’s why, you know, we have an epidemic of diseases that shouldn’t be around, but they are around because of our diets. And, you know, it’s a kind of a cycle of things that happens, right? So, yeah, so I’m very, very committed to this lifestyle, I don’t consider that I’m missing out on anything completely the opposite, you know, I feel like, I feel like I’m missing out on inflammation and lots of different, and cholesterol and, you know, the possibilities of a stroke. Or, you know, like, I mean, yes, all those things are being part of the healthcare system, taking pills, those are the things I’m missing out but I don’t really feel like, you know, eating my tofu chicken wings, or, instead of the chicken wings, they know it’s—I think I’m saving a lot of animals, you know, saving a lot of transportation, of all the feed that is going to go into those chickens.

You know, you can feed—an adult cow eats more than 10 adult humans. So there’s not a problem of when they say, “Oh, if you grow everything organic, there’s not enough for everybody.” There’s lots for everybody. The problem is, you know that you know the problem. The problem is the pesticides on the foods. That’s a completely different story, and it’s something that I’m really passionate about. People don’t like to talk about it, but it’s very serious what’s happening.

And sometimes, as even as a vegan, you’re trying to eat healthy, but you’re still eating foods [that] are having fumigated, and that’s not disclosed to the consumer. And then, you know, it’s very serious. You know, the statistics say that every American—this is American statistics—there’s 150 million pounds of glyphosate sprayed in America every year. So that’s the equivalent of a pound of pesticides. And when you consume, you ingest, ingest that you know through, either through eating plants or through eating animals that have that in their tissue, you know that they affect your gut bacteria, right? So your gut bacteria, all your bacteria, all your peptides that get made in the gut. Your mood, your immune system, all is that being affected by the amount of pesticides in conventional food and organic foods. It’s only 1.5% of the total of agricultural land in the world.

So imagine how minuscule that number is. I mean, we are absolutely disappearing in you know, everything is becoming conventional and GMO and unfortunately, the tendency doesn’t seem to be going the other way. Unfortunately, this is something that got me really upset. On this last weekend, the Government of Canada gave the green light to the GMO companies to say you don’t need to report what you do to the seed. So we are contaminating the seeds of humanity. We, you know, so they can be sprayed with pesticides, and then we’re putting poison into our own food. There’s, I mean, it’s, I mean, we know that there’s bad. I mean, I can, I can go on and on and on about it. There’s books about it. Doctor Stephanie Seneff, she has a book out about pesticides and their effects on autism, cancer.

I mean, I mean, the list is endless, but it affects the babies in uterus. It affects the nervous system, the neurological system, so it’s very serious. What’s happening when you don’t have that bacteria to make everything work in your body? You know, things, bad things start happening. I mean, actually, the spreads that we developed, you know, but in organics, we manufacture vegan cheeses, right? Vegan cheeses and vegan spreads.

We are the sole manufacturers of Chiaviar. Chiaviar is a vegan caviar made with chia seeds and seaweed. And, you know, all the ingredients are very, very wholesome and wonderful for you. But everything that we developed, we developed following the principles of Dr Ann Wigmore. And Dr Ann Wigmore is kind of the mother of raw veganism, if you want to put it that way. I consider her to be that person, and she healed herself of stage four cancer, you know, by following a raw vegan approach, which, you know, taking away, we can say those things in private. I cannot say that—this to the public, but among vegans, we can say these things because they really happen, you know, when you put your body in an alkaline stage and you kind of remove all the toxicity.

So she says that toxicity, the body gets, the disease in the body happens for two reasons. One is deficiency, and the other one is toxicity. So it could be a deficiency of some nutrient, and that could be the cause of disease, or the other one can be, you know, toxicity. What are you putting in your body that shouldn’t be there? And yeah, so we try all our spirits are following, you know, I kind of made following the principle of no toxicity and lots of nutrients, you know, but they’re all robbing and following, I guess, the principles of living foods, if you will. Yeah.

JM: We’ll get to that at the very near the very end, we’re going to get to a question based on inspiration, and sort of what that means to you, but I’ll tell you right now, you just inspired me when you were talking about what you’re what you’re missing out on. And that just gave me an idea: the post that was very, very good. Um, so…

Tell us more about your own personal entrepreneurial story.

Did it start with Avafina? Was it something way before that? How did that unfold with you? Because clearly, you have a very burning entrepreneurial spirit.

LCD: Oh, yeah, yeah, I do that. I mean, I always, it’s a long story. I mean, I’ll tell you. And I grew up in a farm. My father was a farmer, my grandfather was a farmer, and I always, I was always, I need to be close to nature. But I saw what happened to farmers. You know, one day, one day, your father comes and says, “Oh, you know, frost,” and then you have nothing. And then, and then the other year, things are good, and you have a new car.

And I was like, I don’t want this instability of things, you know, it’s like, but I always wanted to do something connected to nature. So when I moved to North America in 1999, I started supplying, buying ingredients from South America, organic ingredients, and then importing them into North America. So and then that was at the beginning of the industry, where the organic industry was very young. And nobody knew the suppliers or things, or even people didn’t know what organic was. It was, you know, the beginnings of organic is nothing less than what food was 100 years ago, before glyphosate and before pesticides, only, until the 1900s and until the 1950s actually, all the food was organic.

It was, until, you know, in the 50s, when they didn’t know what to do with the DDT. They put it into glyphosate, and now we’re eating it. So it’s that and people are getting sick, and we need to stop and go the other way. So I started with the industry in the 90s, and I work with a lot of different manufacturers in North America, some of the largest today, you know, people that are friends and, you know, and I continue to work with because we also supply organic ingredients in bulk and also manufacture our own spreads. But, you know, we also do that too, because we have been doing it for a lot of years, very successfully.

So, yeah, so that’s kind of the story of how I started with organic, but I was like, I was trapped. I mean, I love what we are stand for. I love what, you know, cleaning the earth one farm at a time and one belly at a time. It’s so important to eat organic foods, you know, because you’re supporting a different way of production, a different way of treating the earth the other on the weekend, I was hiking with my dog in Whistler, and I was in the wilderness in the middle of nowhere, and I was like, I found myself telling Mother Nature, “I’m sorry, we will fix this.” Because, I mean, you know, with all the stuff, I mean, sometimes I talk about the importance of organic and organic agriculture, and people contact me on LinkedIn, and somebody contacted me and sending me, send me a lot of documents on the government and how we are spraying on the coniferous for certain coniferous that are not desirable after the timber man comes.

That’s why I was saying, because we’re doing here in BC, in, you know, it’s like so and we’re putting, we need to be conscious that we’re putting poison in the earth, in you know we are the Earth, so we are poisoning ourselves. It’s in the manure of cows, it’s in the human system. Colin T. Campbell, or some of the big guys, you know that people are going to respect and‌ here, because these are serious things, and we are at 20 pages of pesticide testing, because that’s how much, how many different things.

And I can, I’m happy to share that with you, but this information doesn’t go to the public, you know, and it’s very sad that we are doing this to the to the food sometimes, you know, the apples, apples in Canada, are GMO, potatoes are GMO, and those are staple foods. And not everybody maybe wants to spend the money buying organic and paying more, but at least we should be telling customers what they are having what’s in their food. That’s, you know, that’s the minimum protection we should be giving people. And I guess that’s the main job of the government to protect the public. So I think these are important, important questions that we should, you know, we should, kind of fund ourselves, right?

JM: Absolutely, definitely. And it all just starts with conversations like this. And so your entrepreneurial journey started, you know, kind of like even before coming here in 1999 because you kind of grew up in that environment.

LCD: Oh yes, I did, yes.

JM: Yeah, absolutely.

LCD: My father used to do the same thing, you know, kind of buying from other farmers and selling in the market and kind of, you know, that kind of connecting the dots with, yeah. So it’s pretty much my whole life, yeah, yeah.

JM: It’s in your DNA. Throughout the discussion so far, there has already been conversations and touches on transformations and trends in the industry. You mentioned that news about the relaxed guidelines for GMO and all of that. Yes.

Are there any transformations or trends?

Feel free to keep touching on that. But maybe, are there any transformations or trends that you’re seeing in your space that are welcome or positive, or anything like that? Or do we need to keep touching on…

LCD: I think, I mean, there’s a lot of positive. I mean, I feel that there’s not, there’s never been a best moment to be a vegan. I think, you know, the movement is growing. People are kind of realizing more and more of the benefits of it. There’s—the only diet that can have so many health benefits are proven by science. I mean, I think there’s an awakening. People are realizing that connecting the dots between the steak and the cow. I think for most—most people don’t make the—in the past, maybe before social media, but I think people are more making a connection now, and they’re like, they don’t want to be part of the suffering. They don’t want to be part of the toxicity. Of the, you know, of the byproduct of that cow.

We, you know, you know, emissions and all those things. So I think people are getting more and more conscious, and I feel like the future of humanity, we’re all going to be vegans. I mean, I don’t have a doubt. I feel like, I mean, it’s‌ the only solution for what we’re doing to the planet. I mean, it’s, I mean, it’s good. I mean, there’s no flaws in the field, in the whole thing. And I feel more and more humans are going to adopt this lifestyle and this, you know, the changes are going to be obvious and, and, yeah, I feel, I feel it’s an amazing moment to be a vegan. Yeah, for sure.

JM: Definitely couldn’t agree. I personally couldn’t agree more. And I think some people listening feel the exact same way. So in terms of where Avafina Organics is going in the future, for those listening, it’s usually helpful if you can walk us up to kind of like in a snapshot how it started, where we’re at today, using that as a springboard for sharing where it’s going in the future.

Where is Avafina Organics going in the future?

LCD: Of course, yeah, well, I mean, I shared a little bit of my background about, you know, how I started with ingredients, and then after my experience, and in my raw vegan retreat, in 2005 we have some time there where we cook and we or we uncook, because it’s a vegan retreat. Sorry, it’s raw, so there’s no‌ cooking. So I realized that there was, there was a lot of things in there that we were doing that we were not they were not mainstream, and they were not in the supermarket, and things that you know, I could do to help other people to eat that way, and detoxifying for the body in a more alkaline way, in a more easy to digest, all the things that you know, that we know we need to put our to help our body detox or heal or whatever stage to be part of the solution of the body.

Sometimes, you know, we know when we are doing things that are not good for our bodies, but we need to counteract with things that are, you know, good. So when I discovered those things, I was like, Okay, I want to make products like this to market. And then that’s how I started with my spreads. You know, the experiences that I had at the retreat, they taught me a lot about being on cheese, as we started talking about seed cheeses in the 2000s and now that’s why I never changed the spelling of the word, because I feel that’s the right spelling.

Cheese is not something that you make with milk. Cheese is the process of fermentation and all the stages. That’s what cheese is. So they can be cheese made with milk or cheese made with cashews. Cheese made with cashews is not less of a cheese as cheese made with milk. It’s just a different ingredient. And the dairy industry needs to accept that that’s the reality of it, and then there’s been a lot of progress. I mean, cheese, you can call any vegan cheese cheese, so that’s a good thing. So yeah, so that’s what we are doing right now. We are making also Chiaviar, which is an amazing product. So we are focusing right now on spreads, but I don’t—but we also have a line of spices and gluten free flours and seeds and seaweed, organic seaweeds. Everything we do is organic, and we are planning to add, continue to add more products, and hopefully continue to grow and help people get better. You know when so…get to get their health aligned with what they’re eating.

JM: So, very powerful about cheese is not mutually exclusive to coming from an animal. It’s a process that’s very powerful. So in terms of where you’re at currently, now with like distribution, like, where people can can taste and find these like, what does that look like? And, are there plans in the future to change that, expand that?

LCD: Of course, I mean, anybody that is in this industry knows, especially other manufacturers. I’m sure Emma and Michela will agree with me. You know, this is very difficult to get established. It’s very difficult to get distribution. I was talking to Lindsay from Piquant Marketing the other day and she was saying nobody buys from a company. You buy from a brand, or from a spirit company, soulful company kind of an idea, right? So it takes a while to build a brand, and at the beginning, the beginning stages are the most difficult.

I think, once you get yourself, I mean, and also for the distributors to get behind a brand, they need to see some continuity, some assurances, some financial stability, because there’s a lot of, unfortunately, companies that don’t make it. So I think that the most difficult part is getting started. And then once, once you get kind of started, and people start seeing those first I think that the first steps are the most difficult. And then, of course, I mean, an entrepreneurial journey is not the easiest, and it’s not for everybody. You have to be strong to withstand a lot of rains, but I think it gets easier as you get going.

JM: Yeah, beautiful, beautiful. Now, next question for you, we always preface by saying there’s no right or wrong answers, and you might answer it from the company lens or a personal lens, or both. Who knows? But the question is around giving back and charity.

So do you or Avafina Organics support any charitable organizations? Or what does charity or giving back even look like for you?

LCD: For me, it’s—I think I have a special meaning about which I don’t want to give. I’ll say I was sorry if I’m translating this wrong, but I believe in not giving people fish, but teaching them how to fish. So what we do is we support university students in Latin America. We have, we work with a church in, actually in Argentina, and we teach people. We support the teaching of jobs and things like that. And we have done a lot, lots of different, you know, like dental campaigns in South America, we have done some solar panels. We have installed ovens in people…I mean, but there’s—the needs are, like, you know, continuous, and you go there to solve a problem and come back with three more. So it’s, so that’s how we are very hands-on in our giving. And we also support immigrants that come to Canada, so we do a lot of support BC parks. There’s a lot of different ways that we are trying to contribute. And being, being, you know, being part of the solution.

JM: Beautiful, beautiful. Now you had mentioned a resource already. I think you mentioned a book by—I believe—Doctor Stephanie Seneff. Even said, so the next question for you is very broad, right? Generally, thinking leaders like yourself. We’re basically looking to extract some resources from you that people listening might not have heard of before that. Oh, that’s amazing. I’m going to either read that, watch that, listen to that. So,

Are there any resource recommendations, books, documentaries, podcasts, websites, maybe even mobile apps on your phone that you use for business or leadership?

LCD: Let me think about that. I mean, I think there’s a lot of resources. I like, I like to create. I don’t believe in success. I think one of the most powerful books that I read is just probably a book that many people have read. But it’s The Power of Habit and remembering that it’s not one big step that take—lead you to success, but many different little steps that you took along the way. And it’s kind of being conscious every day, what are you doing with your day? How are you spending your time, and is that time going to help you reach your goals?

I love the work of Dr. John Demartini. Dr. Demartini demonstrates that gratefulness is the best state of being. And sometimes I went to his workshop, and I failed miserably during the workshop, and he was like pointing his finger, saying, see, and pointing at me. And I was a bad student, and I didn’t get it at the time, but I did get it afterwards, and it’s very powerful. And it’s like, if you are not grateful for let’s say you say I dislike peanut butter, or I say or you say, I hate peanut butter. And then so the work that he’s done is like, find 100 reasons why you’re grateful to peanut butter. So you have to do the exercise. And by reason number 15 or 17, you’re not, you don’t hate or dislike peanut butter anymore, because you found so many good things about it.

You know what? I mean, that it changes your mind, and then it changes your vibration and your state of being. So I think, you know, investing in resources of, you know, being grateful and being happy. Eckhart Tolle is a great inspiration of mine. And you know, anytime, any YouTube videos by Eckhart Tolle, they put me in a different state of consciousness, and that’s usually you need to be very aware of your interactions with others as an entrepreneur, because you’re going to be mentoring a lot of people. So you have to try to be your best self to others and be of service. That’s what is going to get you successful. How many people can you serve and ‌sometimes listening to what people need, not so much what you, you know, listening to what others want you to help them with. You know, maybe it’s not, maybe it’s a different flavor of cheese or things, but being open to the needs of others, I think it’s the most important, being connected. Yeah.

JM: That was awesome, because you gave some great resources. And then you touched on the next question, which is inspiration. And then you even touched on the last question, which was sort of like tips and wisdom and stuff like that. So bringing it back to inspiration, you earlier, you mentioned Dr. Ann [Wigmore], so feel free if you want to talk more about that as a source of inspiration for you and or you mentioned Eckhart Tolle, or maybe, like, what inspiration actually even means to you? But that is the next question.

What is inspiration and what does it mean to you?

LCD: What is inspiration? If inspiration, I think, is connected to higher self, you know, being connected to we all have those moments where we are truly one. And I think that the being harmonious with the energy of love and the energy of God, and I think the energy of being vegan is very connected to that too. I don’t want to put it in a level of spirituality, but I think it has to do with it. And I can say those things in this network, because everyone would understand, but I think it’s—that’s what it means and and for that to happen, you have to be happy. So finding things in your everyday life that make you happy, that truly you feel like, okay, I’m in nature. My soul is vibrating. I’m kissing my dog. My soul is vibrating. I’m painting, I’m playing music. So you have to have those moments so, because, you know, we are all interconnected, and if we’re not happy, it’s very difficult to give good to others. So that’s very important to spend the time on making yourself happy, right?

JM: Yeah, absolutely. That’s an interesting take on inspiration in terms like what I heard, at least, maybe others as well would agree. It’s like a connection with the soul or the higher self, is it? So, did you want to touch more on Dr Ann [Wigmore] and how she is an inspiration?

LCD: Ann [Wigmore] is, yes, is the inspiration of my life. I feel like and my work, and also as a manufacturer, I want to be as true as I can to the principles of her work. Her work, she healed herself first when she was 13 or 14, and eating she healed herself from illness by eating grass. So that’s why there’s wheatgrass in her—you know the, in the protocol, there’s four ounces of wheatgrass. We also use rejuvelacs. With rejuvelacs is what we use to ferment the cheeses.

And then there’s a, you know, it’s a very light diet, kind of fruits and vegetables, and kind of when, when, when you experience disease of discomfort with your body, you can go into a very simple diet like that, and kind of try to repair some, some of the damage or feel a little bit better. So I think your work is amazing. And it’s, you know, it’s the Hippocrates Institute in Florida and OHI in San Diego and Austin. They follow those principles. Those are places that you could go and spend a week there and kind of get an experience of—by yourself, kind of what I’m saying.

I mean, OHI, in the case of OHI, is owned by a church, and it’s a nonprofit organization. They also have scholarships. So it’s not that I’m trying to sell anything. It’s just an amazing experience to be able to do something like that, especially as a vegan, because it’s, I mean, I don’t know if you ever fasted, but that’s also a very, very powerful experience to kind of fast for a little bit and see how your body feels, you know? So, yeah, so that’s, that’s kind of my inspiration in the realm of nutrition. And I’m not a perfect raw vegan. I am actually a vegan. I eat cooked foods, so I’m imperfect. I mean, actually the raw vegan lifestyle, you can eat up to 80, sorry, 20% of cooked foods, that’s, that’s considered raw vegan too. So it’s 20% so it’s, you know, but I think that it’s, it’s a very, I mean, when you see how people that you know, even vegans and raw vegans, we look better because we don’t—we don’t consume drugs that promote inflammation. For the most part, meat. It starts causing inflammation in the mouth, because that’s where digestion starts.

So, yeah, you know, so the body is not happy from the moment that meat touches your lips here, you know, it’s like, yeah, it’s a disease. Animal right in there, you know, doing its thing. So, so, yeah, so there’s, and then Eckhart Tolle. He’s been my hero. I discovered Eckhart Tolle actually, in the library of OHI. So because I was looking for a non-religious leader, kind of an idea, because I don’t believe in any kind of—in particular religion. I think there’s truth in every religion. But I think spirit, spirituality is broader than religion, and I think Eckart provides that he connects the dots between all religions, and, you know, teaching zero that really what, what you have always is the present moment. And in the present is where everything happens. Nothing happens in the future, in the past. It’s, you know, how are you being and, and kind of bringing that consciousness and the power of creation back to the present moment, you know. So it’s a very powerful guide. I met him in person, and he’s—he radiates light. He’s a light of he’s a being of light. And I think we can all learn a lot from him, from his teaching. So he’s been a great guide.

JM: Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration and being inspiration in this conversation. And somebody pointed out in the chat for everybody listening to, I said the wrong name. It’s Doctor Ann Wigmore. So not Gilmore, but Doctor Ann Wigmore. So thank you for that. So alright, Laura, so the last question, certain special guests that we have do not like framing this question as giving advice others, others are totally comfortable with that framework, but it’s along those lines. So like, advice, wisdom, lessons, tips, and you’ve already kind of given some already, right? Like gratefulness, you’ve touched on giving back through mentorship and things like that. But yeah, are there any tips, lessons, wisdom, or advice that you can give to either somebody who is already an entrepreneur, starting to become an entrepreneur, or maybe has this burning passion, has a nine to five and wants to become an entrepreneur. So there’s a wide swath of people, but yeah.

Any wisdom, tips, lessons, advice, kind of the last catch-all question for you.

LCD: Well, I mean, if you, if you want to become an entrepreneur, I don’t know if you become one or if you just are one. I never saw myself as anything. You know, I just did whatever felt that I wanted to do. So if you feel like that’s your spirit, follow your spirit. Know that it’s not going to be an easy journey. It’s usually, I mean, if you start like, I mean, I never asked the money the bank for money ever. I always did it like, stone by stone and break after break, and kind of very slowly with my own so if you don’t have a lot of capital, it’s going to be challenging at the beginning, but not impossible.

So keep your overhead low, as low as you can, and then keep your marketing budget up, because that’s what you’re going to need. A lot at the beginning, you’re going to be putting a lot of hours and feeling like you’re not going anywhere. So don’t get discouraged, and remember that you are going to read your destination. Because some people get discouraged along the way, and that’s what actually distinguishes the successful entrepreneur from the unsuccessful one. You have to reach the top of that mountain, and the more you climb, the easier it gets. So don’t give up.

I mean, and then, yes, look at your pennies, you know, if you don’t have a lot of money, look at where your money is going. And maybe, if you’re a manufacturer, maybe at the beginning you’re not going to have your own facility, and you’re going to be co packing, and look at all those things, because at the beginning it’s going to be, you’re going to be putting a lot of money and a lot of energy, and it seems like it’s going nowhere but, but it’s going somewhere. It’s like the seed. You know, sometimes you put a seed on the ground and you don’t see the leaves. You see the roots. You sorry, you don’t see that the root is growing. And then maybe in some time, you start seeing a sprout. And that’s the same with the entrepreneurial trip. It’s exactly the same thing. So stay strong and keep, keep, keep your goals in check, and make sure every day you’re going, you’re working towards those goals, and of course, you’re going to make it. There’s no doubt in my mind.

JM: Start talking about strong and strength, you mentioned, climbing up the mountain gets easier. And some people might hear that and think, Well, maybe it doesn’t get easier, but because you keep climbing, you get stronger. So it seems like it’s getting easier. So that’s incredible.

LCD: Yeah. You know, when you’re hiking, and you start the hike, you’re cold, your body is cold, so it seems very difficult, but once you start, you start going, and your body gets warm. You’re like, “Okay, this is nothing, right?” So, yeah. It’s a little bit of both.

JM: Totally, totally, totally and very tactical. Keep your overhead low and keep your marketing budget, yeah, high. Because that’s what you’re going to need. So that’s great. So alright, so Laura, amazing conversation. Is there anything either that we missed you want to double back on, or any announcements that you have kind of leaving the floor open for you? And then we’ll let people know where they can find out more, online and on Instagram.

LCD: Well, I just want to let people know about organics. You know, we are in Coquitlam. We are open to work with any other manufacturer that is organic, that is certified organic. We supply organic ingredients. We do private label. We have our own facility that is SQF at Safeway. I mean, we have all the certifications, GFSI certified. So if anybody wants to manufacture, I’m going to—talk to us. We’re open. And then we have our own line of retail products online that is available to everybody to try. If anybody wants to try my cheeses or Chiaviar and is part of the network, I’ll be happy to send them a full free sample size, no cost, absolutely zero, just to get connected and get to know everybody. So that’s available. And I just want to thank you so much for your time today and for having me and for the opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals. We need to connect with each other. We need to cooperate with each other and expand the network. So thank you so much for the work that you do and for putting us all together. And I look forward to connecting with everybody else and giving you my best, and I hope for the best.

JM: Beautiful. so everybody listening that probably peaked few people’s ears. So you’ll be able to connect with Laura directly. You can find out more online. www.avafina.com, that’s A, V, A, F, I, N, A. Avafina.com and Instagram is @avafinaorganics.

So this has been another episode of VEG Networking Canada. Awesome, awesome conversation with a great entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of Avafina Organics, Laura Cuñer Dubois. Everybody, thank you so much for being here with us, listening to this episode, and we’ll catch you soon for another one. Take care. Bye, for now.

LCD: Thank you. Bye.

 

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