‘Sky’s the limit:’ Saskatchewan business expands to Dubai

A small Saskatchewan business is aiming for the big time.

Black Fox Farm and Distillery, located just outside of Saskatoon, has launched its sustainable whisky and gin in Dubai, just in time for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28.

Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote, the co-founder and CEO of the business, said Black Fox products caught the eyes of international alcohol importers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“They were looking for a Canadian whisky that was sustainable and we fit the bill. So we had the opportunity to receive this order from them and it just happened to coincide with the COP28 meetings,” she said.

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Stefanyshyn-Cote said sustainability has three pillars: Environmental, economic and social. She takes sustainability very seriously.

“We are the farmers and the distillers,” Stefanyshyn-Cote said. “As the farmers, when we plant the crop, we grow the ingredients that go into our bottles. So we have traceability. But we use environmental practices such as zero tillage (and) we also do crop rotations.

“When we distill, when the mash is done, we use that as compost back on our orchards and our flower fields here. We recycle 95 per cent of the water that we use in our distillery. We have geothermal cooling systems in the building to help with the energy transfer. Those are just some of the environmental initiatives that we do here.”

Stefanyshyn-Cote said this expansion is important to grow the business, which she shares with her husband, John Cote.

“Part of the reason why we were looking for these markets is Saskatchewan is just too small,” said Stefanyshyn-Cote. “We have just over a million people that can access our products. We need a larger market and that’s how we’re getting out into the world.”

As for an expansion to meet the new demand, she said there’s no need for any major changes just yet.

“At this point in time, we have the capacity to expand on our existing footprint,” she said. “We are not necessarily needing to expand at this point in time. But what this does mean for us, now that we’ve got recognition in markets such as Dubai, (is) it makes Singapore easy or Japan or Europe because you’ve got that uptake from a recognized entity that allows us to go around the world and the sky’s the limit now.”

Stefanyshyn-Cote and her husband will be using the Saskatchewan government pavilion in Dubai to bring their alcohol importers together to make an official announcement.

“We have this opportunity now to showcase and promote sustainable Saskatchewan products to the world that’s interested in sustainability at this point in time,” she said.

The trip is being paid by the co-founders, but they will be looking into funding programs available through Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership, as well as federal programs to help cover costs.

“Is it funded by the government? Somewhere down the line likely. But not specifically for going to Dubai; that was our own (funding),” she said.

According to Stefanyshyn-Cote, Black Fox products will now be available in Canada, the UAE, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and China to name a few countries.