Grandma Emily
You decided to eat a healthy breakfast so you put some yogurt into a bowl and sprinkle it with Grandma Emily’s Almond Vanilla Super Crunch Granola. Just as you sit down the doorbell rings. After a lengthy conversation, you go back to your breakfast, thinking that the granola will now be one big mush with the yogurt. It’s not! The granola is still as crunchy as when you first added it to the yogurt!
Welcome to one of Grandma Emily’s delicious products, the ever-crunchy and healthy granola. Owned, since 2015, by Corey Eisenberg, he bought the company from the granddaughter of Grandma Emily.
Humble Beginnings
Emily was born in Syria and came to Canada in the early 1900’s. She was an early proponent of healthy eating, feeding her family such things as dandelion and carrot juice. Grandma Emily inspired her granddaughter to a healthy way of eating and, as fate would have it, an event changed the family’s life and business.
In the spring of 1997, an acquaintance needed an exceptional product for a breast cancer awareness breakfast for 300 people. Everything, she said, had to be donated. Emily’s granddaughter, having just lost someone close to her from a similar illness, decided to support the cause and decided to make and donate her grandmother’s granola.
She rented the facilities of a local caterer who was kind enough to allow her to use his equipment before 9am and after 5pm. It took her two weeks to cook the required amount for the charity breakfast and her one customer at the time helped her cover some of the costs. That breakfast went from 300 to 1800 people and was the catalyst for Grandma Emily to go from a kitchen business to an industry.
Enter Corey Eisenberg
In 2015, Corey, a successful businessman, was looking to buy a business. He found out about Grandma Emily after looking into several business opportunities. Corey discovered Grandma Emily’s excellent reputation for quality and service, and purchased the business. As an astute entrepreneur, Corey saw the potential in this small business and began taking it to the next level. The rest, as they say, is history.
Immediately after purchasing the company, Corey incorporated and trademarked the products. His learning curve had officially started.
The Products and MK
For starters, the plant is HACCP certified. HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. The company has a quality control manager on staff to ensure that they are adhering to HACCP standards.
Astute businessmen are aware of the multi-billion-dollar kosher food industry. To make sure that their products reached the maximum amount of people, Corey understood he had to make his plant kosher. He called MK, recognized world-wide as one of the top kashruth certifications.
What Grandma Emily Sells and Where to Buy Their Products
As Corey’s learning curve grew, Grandma Emily has been able to penetrate more retailers and food service accounts.
Their products are organic and non-organic with some vegan products as well. They sell organic and non-organic granola cereals, eleven different kinds of granola bars in three types: organic, crunch and nutritive. Snacks in varying sizes under Grandma Emily as well as Cool Mama snack packages.
Their snacks vary from a secret recipe of five different kinds of almonds to chocolate melange, biscotti, flax sesame mix, kamikaze mix which consists of tangy blend of peanuts, flax chips, soya sticks, sesame chips, almonds and rice crackers, wasabi peas and trail mixes.
Need a corporate gift? Look no further than Grandma Emily. Packaged in beautiful, organic, sleek moulds, their amenities are the perfect gift for loyal customers, friends or family. Offering multiple product types within numerous formats, customers can choose amongst a wide variety of snacks.
Looking for something bigger? Try their beautifully appointed gift baskets that come in various sizes.
Where to get their products? Virtually all over the city from IGA and Metro to chains, independents and health food stores, spas, golf clubs and hotels. Grandma Emily has a presence in Montreal and far beyond.
The Finale: Taste Explosion
One of the hallmarks of Grandma Emily is the taste. The delicious mixes they create literally explode in your mouth. Eating a healthy diet is on everyone’s mind today. This is made much easier by companies such as Grandma Emily, who take the time, in a caring and loving way, to create a product your entire family will love. Look for their products with distinct, clean and clear packaging in stores all over Montreal.
By: Joannie Tansky
