YORKTON, Sask. – Oats have quietly and steadily grown into big business for a small milling company in Saskatchewan.
“People here in Yorkton often don’t even know who we are. They don’t see our name on the products they buy. But our products end up in their kitchens all the same,” said Debbie Sapara of Popo-wich Milling.
Started five years ago, the milling company now buys more than 9,500 tonnes of locally produced oats for its flaking mill. Instant oatmeal in 10 flavors, quick oat flakes, regular flakes, oat bran, oat flour and animal feed byproducts are mainstays of the business.
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But Popowich Milling is still not well known by the public due to the nature of its markets. Private label producers like Popowich don’t have their own brand name. Their products are packaged under the brand names of retailers to whom they sell.
Change with trends
Terry Popowich started a seed cleaning business in the late 1970s and branched into pulse crop processing and marketing. The oat bran craze of the late 1980s presented an opportunity for change and expansion, and the oatmeal milling business was born.
The instant oatmeal business led to some high volume and high profile customers for Popowich. In western Canada, Lucerne, Overwaitea, Westfair’s No Name Brand, and Federated Co-op Foods are all customers of the Saskatchewan company. New markets in Ontario and Quebec have prompted sales in the east as well.
“We don’t have to worry about developing a brand name, advertising, arranging and competing for shelf space, nor do we have to spend money on it. The private label business lets us concentrate on what we do best. Flake oats,” said Sapara.
The company remains private and representatives say farmers who deal with it appreciate having the company president available to buy their grain. Customers can deal directly with the owner when negotiating a purchase.
Bulk sales are part of the business too. Shipping oat ingredients to bakeries and distributors in the U.S., Mexico, Taiwan, Peru and Indonesia requires year-round operation, but slow times do occur.
“We are moving into hot chocolate, drink mixes and jelly powders, all food products that can utilize our existing production machines and workforce of 27,” said Sapara.
Financing rapid growth of the operation “has proved challenging” and Sapara said banks aren’t always quick to jump in with capital in small town Saskatchewan. She said government programs that encourage value-added processing have provided some needed investments to encourage expansion for Popowich.
Highly variable oat prices have required the company to pass on increases to customers, and hedging in the market is necessary to guarantee supply, Sapara said.
