In the hustle and bustle of Collingwood’s farmers market on Saturday mornings, a little vegan bakery stands out to the visitors who indulge in their treats, and to the judges of the Exc!te Business Pitch Competition who recently awarded the animal-free confectioner with second prize.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we sat down with Rose Forgues, co-owner of Bad Vegan.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: We both grew up in the Sutton area.
Q: What is your background?
A: Me and John (Forgues, husband and co-owner of Bad Vegan) moved out west to work and see the mountains and have an adventure. We realized we wanted to come back. Collingwood was the best town in the east. It’s very comparable with all the trails, and we love the outdoors. John loves to ski.
Collingwood was such a natural fit for us. We love it here.
We moved here about two and a half years ago.
We wanted to buy a house, and we wanted to start something. We kind of had a plan. We knew we’d move back, buy a house, eventually get a dog, get jobs we love and start a business. We just didn’t know exactly what. It all unfolded.
Q: Have you both always been vegan?
A: No. We’ve both always been in the food industry. I have more than 15 years experience serving, bartending, barista, baker, all of it. With the customer service, I just love helping people. John became a chef when I met him eight years ago.
We saw in restaurants how many people miss out because of their eating restrictions. That inspired us to move in that direction – to get people who rarely get to indulge in such things to try and brighten up their selection.
Q: Are you both fully vegan now?
A: I am, but he’s not. He’s a chef, so he’s always gotta taste stuff in the restaurant. But, at home he lives a pretty darn vegan life.
Q: How long have you run this business, Bad Vegan?
A: It’s been almost two years. The first year was kind of a soft year. Baking is my favourite hobby. I’ve been experimenting with vegan baking for about eight years. I would bake on my days off, but then there would be too much of it in my house so I’d bring it into work to share.
One day, the chef I worked with said, “This is really good. You should sell it.”
So I started thinking about it seriously. I’d always wanted my own business in food. It just dawned on me that this was the direction.
And I love it.
Q: You participated in the Exc!te Business Pitch Competition. Can you describe your business?
A: (Performs her pitch)
Hi, we’re Rose and John! We’re the baker and chef team behind Bad Vegan. We are proud to serve plant-based eats and sweets in the heart of Collingwood, Ontario.
We give peace of mind to those with eating restrictions by baking with the best-tasting natural ingredients and without sacrificing taste or texture.
We’re Rose and John and we want to show you why bad is good.
Q: What made you want to participate in the competition?
A: My mentor, Don Bourne, from the Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre really pushed me. I didn’t really have the confidence to sign up right away. He gave me the confidence to pursue that challenge.
I was kind of scared at first. But the more you do the work, the more you gain confidence in your business and define what you do. It is scary to take that leap.
Q: Was there any part of the process that surprised you?
A: I didn’t expect everyone to be so nice and supportive.
It was an amazing atmosphere. Half the battle is thinking a different way. They help you do that. They help you to look at your business from all angles to really define what you do.
Doing the pitch competition was validation that we had something to pursue and we should continue on this path.
Q: How did it feel when you found out you won second place?
A: We couldn’t believe it! We were so happy. It was nice knowing we had that support and now a bit of capital to help with next steps.
Q: Do you attribute any of your success to Collingwood?
A: It’s all Collingwood. Ever since we moved here, everything has just been great. The town is so supportive and so friendly... you get that community feel. I have never experienced a town that’s as welcoming. Truly, we couldn’t have done any of this without our mentors, friends and the support Collingwood offers.
Q: What are your business’ next steps?
A: Right now, we’re in Phase 1, so we retail and supply to a couple of cafes and retail stores (Press Juice, Good Grief Coffee Roasters in Thornbury and Occasions Food Hall). We’re at the Collingwood Farmers Market every Saturday.
We’re looking to expand our retail, so hopefully there will be more Bad Vegan cupcakes in the freezer sections of local stores and more pocket pies on counters.
Phase 2 would be to ultimately open up a brick and mortar store to be Collingwood’s first vegan and gluten-free bakery.
Q: What does the future hold for you long-term?
A: John and I love the food industry, so I have a feeling we’ll be in this for a long time. In the future, I think John would probably explore his chef side and do more savoury items. Who knows? We’re kind of just leaving it open.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we’ll be speaking with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way. This feature will run on CollingwoodToday every Saturday. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
