Thinking beyond the wheat field

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

A Regina-based company is poised to expand a line of domestically made, ready-to-eat products.

Prairie Food Products is a family-owned business that is taking up the challenge of “thinking beyond the wheat field” when it comes to the Saskatchewan food industry.

The company produces a number of value-added products – but one particular item you might not expect to be made in Saskatchewan is offering significant potential: calzones.

Calzones are a semi-circle of deliciousness that are sometimes referred to as a “stuffed pizza.” Calzones are a turnover filled with different types of meat and cheese.

Prairie Food Products General Manager Boutros Skaf says there is a huge opportunity for the product, both here in Saskatchewan and across the country.

“Every calzone that is coming into Canada right now is coming in from the United States, so there is not one calzone that is coming out of Canada,” he said.

That’s where Boutros’ Calzones come in. Prairie Food Products has developed three different flavours for the tasty treats – ham, pepperoni and chicken, spinach and feta – and are now selling them in a number of locations in the province.

Skaf says the product is almost completely home-grown.

“Everything is Saskatchewan-made except for the cheese, which comes from Saputo out of Montreal. Everything else originates from right here in the province. We found pretty much everything here,” he stated.

Boutrous’ Calzones have been a labour of love for Skaf. It has taken considerable time and money to get the product from the test kitchen to the consumer through stores such as 7-11. However, Skaf is grateful for the help his company received from Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s Agri-Value Program.

“They were very supportive in helping us link up with other companies, and helped a lot with money, research and development, and marketing assistance,” he said.

“There are a lot of hoops to go through to get a product out. Putting out a single product can cost as much as $10,000 just for printing, nutritional information, branding and packaging. For us, it was pretty much $10,000 a flavour just to get going.”

The company is now looking to expand with a new facility that will allow them to distribute the product nationally, and is looking to introduce more value-added products, including a line of baked pita chips.

Skaf says the Extreme Pita chain is interested in distributing the chips, which are unique in that they are flavoured before they are baked. He notes that the folks at Extreme Pita were impressed with the product and recognized Saskatchewan’s natural advantages.

“We have two advantages when it comes to baking good bread: a dry climate and hard water,” he laughed. “That’s the best thing for baking bread.”

Skaf says Prairie Food Products is committed to Saskatchewan and creating new opportunities here for value-added food products. This pride shows up on the company’s website, www.prairiepita.com, where it says: “Our families are dedicated to being community leaders and believe re-investing in Saskatchewan is important. We are proud of who we are and we want everyone to know we live, work and play in Saskatchewan by choice.”

According to Skaf, “There is an opportunity here that is like no other.”

For more information, contact:

Boutros Skaf, General Manager
Prairie Food Products
Phone: (306) 790-7482
E-mail: pfp@sasktel.net
Website: www.prairiepita.com