What we do
It all started WITH...
It all started with a final project for an Indigenous Studies Course, facilitated by Dr. Renae Watchman. As a class, we were challenged to think about resistance within our everyday experience. One morning, on her way to school, Alexandra went to her favourite local coffee shop. Looking down at their array of beverages, she was struck with a thought. Here she was, purchasing product that supported small businesses and Indigenous communities elsewhere in the world. What if there was a tea that raised awareness of the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two spirit people, while also using Canadian ingredients and donating to a local women’s shelter?
Thus, Sarjesa Inc. was born.
As our brand grew, we noticed how difficult it was to find a manufacturer that used high quality ingredients and could provide us with the low MOQs we needed as well as the high touch service we wanted. After moving into our own production facility in 2020, we began to manufacture for some of our favourite brands. It was amazing to create win-win scenarios for ourselves and other brands, while passing along the benefits across our supply chain in service of our mission to reduce violence towards women in Canada and globally. Today, in addition to our house brands, we are proud to offer small, boutique style manufacturing to other brands across North America.
About us
We are a business family not just a family owned business. Wally’s family founded Sangster’s Health Foods franchise that was acquired by EastWest Bioscience. Sarjesa is not affiliated with Sangster’s but we would not be where we are today without the help and support of the family (Thank you Connie, Wallace and Daryl!). Our business started with $500, founded by Alexandra when she was a university student. In 2020, we moved into our own space and began our manufacturing journey with our first client. Since then we have grown exponentially each year adding new production lines, team members and certifications along the way. We have no investors and no interest in selling our company. We want to build a business that will change the world through supporting women in all aspects of our brand.
Facility Certifications
We hold an organic certification as well as HACCP GMP certification. On our last audit we scored 85. We have been audited by the CFIA in accordance with our Safe Food for Canadians License and are FDA registered. All documents are available upon request.
Supply chain
We source using a combination of Canadian grown and internationally sourced ingredients to make our products. Because our brand is all about women’s empowerment, we are working on developing an internal sourcing framework to support women’s equity across all our suppliers big and small. This framework will go into effect as of January 1, 2024. We are also hold memberships in cool groups working on environmentally sustainable packaging as well as sustainable herb supply chain. We have experience sourcing niche ingredients as well as staple ingredients in tea, tisanes and powders. One of the beautiful things about working intentionally with brands is we can aggregate our collective data on ingredients and velocities to share a report back on market trends for key ingredients as well as shared social impact.
Growth & Team
We are a family owned business with mixed race, female CEO and majority shareholder. Our average growth rate over the last two years is around 300%. Much of this has to do with expanding our manufacturing capabilities and sourcing abilities as well as our expansion into ecommerce and grocery. Our workforce is 71% women and 67% minorities. We are intentionally controlling our growth so that we do not grow in a way that sacrifices our quality.
House Brands
In addition to our amazing teas, we use premium botanicals to make bunny food.
