As Tyron Demich recently stacked boxes of fresh fruit in his van, he remembered the first time he bit into an organic apple and savoured the taste.
Friends had brought it back from an organic farm in British Columbia in the fall of 2002 and Demich said it was the best apple he had ever eaten.
“It was just the crispiness, the juiciness, the sweetness,” Demich said.
“All of it was just beyond what I’d ever experienced by eating conventional fruit before.”
One 40 pound box of apples later and Demich was hooked. In June 2003, he used the last mortgage payment for his house to buy a refrigerated truck and drove to Cawston, B.C., in search of fruit, where he met growers from Harker’s Fruit Ranch, a prominent supplier of organic fruit and vegetables in Western Canada.
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“I took a real risk,” Demich said.
He returned to Saskatoon with 14 client names and high hopes.
Within a few days, Demich said, all the fruit was sold.
“At that point, I realized it was very inefficient to drive out to B.C. because it was 40 hours of my time plus a great deal of expense in gas and maintaining the vehicle,” said Demich. “So I arranged shipping for the next load that came in.”
Demich has supplied organic produce in the province ever since. He has extended his supply beyond apple varieties to pears, plums, cantaloupe, peppers, corn and wild rice. An estimated 500 clients in Saskatchewan now buy from Demich.
“I’m mainly wholesaling. I supply Saskatchewan’s health food stores, or a great deal of them, with organic produce.”
Each week, a shipment of fruit arrives on a skid that is one by three metres high, with some vegetables bought from local organic farmers. Demich delivers for two days and any leftover produce goes to retail customers.
Demich also sells to a good food box program run by the Child Hunger and Education Program in Saskatoon.
“Some of the customers were interested in a box that had more organic food in it,” said program executive director Karen Archibald, who added the organization buys from Demich because he supports local business.
When Demich first formed World Ty’s Trading, he delivered organic fruit directly to retail customers.
“They’re (the customers) not all big business. Some people buy a couple bags of apples.”
He said he has formed a special relationship with his clients and finds inspiration in the expression on people’s faces after they bite into his fruit.
Business is booming, but Demich said he does not have the manpower to continue door-to-door delivery on such a large scale. He runs the organic venture single-handedly, leaving 450 potential clients on a waiting list.
That number could grow in the future. According to Canadian Organic Growers, the organic industry is the fastest growing sector in agriculture, with sales increasing 20 percent each year.
Demich has high hopes.
“I guess I’m leaning toward becoming the organic food supplier for Saskatchewan,” he said. “I think I have a good possibility of doing that. What I’m needing, I guess, is infrastructure. I have just one van, several of which I’ve had because vehicles aren’t always reliable. I need a solid truck to drive and I need a secretary or some assistance in being able to supply everybody because I’m just one man.”
The entrepreneur has recently added another organic venture to his busy schedule: the Café de la Rosa restaurant in Regina Beach, Sask.
“It’s an organic food restaurant, which is value-added for my products as well.”
Demich said the restaurant will focus on organic dishes, including organic fruit smoothies. He chose the Regina area because 70 percent of his produce ends up in the region.
