SMAK DAB
G rowing a farmers’-market favourite into a semi-nationally distributed mustard brand is quite a leap. But Smak Dab founder Carly Minish- Wytinck’s success story isn’t about risky business moves. It’s about taking one sure- footed step at a time. The Red Seal chef came up with the idea for Smak Dab one Christmas when she made mustard as gifts, and discovered she had a hit. “Working in restaurants, I learned that mus- tard was incredibly versatile and valuable in the kitchen, so I played around with a recipe using beer and chipotle and gave it to my fam- ily — they loved it and that’s how it got going,” she says. Minish-Wytinck grew up in a family of food lovers, and her “business why” is deeply root- ed in bringing joy back to home cooking. “I love food, I love to eat, I love to cook, I love to bake,” she says. “People are so busy and overwhelmed that cooking food isn’t a joy anymore, and I want- ed to provide something that people could add to the food and add some fun and some love into cooking again. So the whole purpose behind Smak Dab is, ‘Here’s a really good tasting mustard and here’s how you can cook with it.’ ” Great recipes using quality ingredients, good manufacturing practises, and a mean- ingful value proposition are key ingredients for Smak Dab’s success. “Our product line is special because we take a lot of pride in sourcing really amazing in- gredients for each of our mustard products,” she says. That means local honey, real maple syrup, fresh Canadian mustard seeds, craft beers and more. Great ingredients make great recipes. “We’ve done trials and trials to get them just right where you can taste, say, the horserad- ish or the honey in the mustard, and it’s a very balanced flavour.” Minish-Wytinck holds a diploma in culinary arts from Northern Alberta Institute of Tech- nology along with her Red Seal certification. Her mustards are manufactured and distrib- uted out of a facility in her home town, Swan River, with a regular team of six staff and a few extra seasonal hands. The company has a ware- house in Winnipeg, and retail customers from Quebec to B.C., as well as an online shop. Starting small lets a business get famil- iar with the local market — and vice versa. And having solid manufacturing processes that factor in space for growth ensures that
TAKING JOY IN COOKING The special ingredient isn’t love, it’s mustard
BY WENDY KING
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