In Pictures: Exotic foods at the Mikuni Wild Harvest warehouse
Company that serves top chefs wants to enter the consumer market
Tyler Gray, co-founder of Mikuni Wild Harvest, at the warehouse in Vancouver.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mikuni Wild Harvest was founded a decade ago by B.C. native Tyler Gray, above, and his Canadian partners Gord and Tim Weighill. The Seattle-based company started out selling mushrooms and other wild foraged foods to top restaurants throughout North America. But today the company wants to start selling to consumers as well.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Tyler Gray sniffs the company’s Noble Tonic No. 4, a white wine vinegar infused with Egyptian heirloom organic lemon peel, at the warehouse in Vancouver. The company also sells truffles, sustainable fish and farmed produce, and artisanal packaged products such as its Noble Handcrafted maple syrups. But how can it bring these products to consumers while preserving the company’s brand and reputation?Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mikuni also offers mountain rose heirloom apples from Oregon. To build a consumer brand alongside the business-to-business one, the company is launching an e-commerce division. But Mr. Gray also envisages a push into retail stores and even a health and wellness program.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Another exotic food carried by Mikuni is Buddha’s Hand, a type of fragrant citrus.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Here is a fresh wasabi rhizome grown in the Fraser Valley, seen at the Mikuni Wild Harvest warehouse in Vancouver.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Tyler Gray holds black perigord truffles from France.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Gray wonders whether Mikuni should change its name as it enters the consumer market. “I feel like the Mikuni Wild Harvest brand isn’t the right one to take to business-to-consumer. I may be wrong in that, but that’s my gut.”Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail