An Ahuntsic company that develops dog food, Wilder Harrier, offers a solution to exploit Asian carp, an invasive species that threatens the ecosystem of the St.Lawrence and especially of several North American lakes. This innovation is added to others, demonstrating thatthere is business to be done in terms of sustainable development. Its co-founder, Philippe Poirier, explains their approach.
Why did you go looking for Asian carp to make dog food?
It was a project that we had been thinking about for three years. It has often been thought to use proteins from invasive species that are harmful to the ecosystem because they are not native to these regions and pose a threat to the environment. The problem was the supply chain, because these carp are caught in the United States. At the moment we are lucky, this is not a problem in Canada. But if we do nothing, it will become. Asian carp are on the agenda of many Canadian environmental organizations.
Is this fish not edible?
Carp has a great nutritional profile in terms of omega 3s or minerals. It is also very popular in Asia. It is not eaten in North America because it has a lot of bones and small bones. We cannot make beautiful fillets out of them that we will sell to the fishmonger. We knew that in terms of security, it was correct. We still had the fish analyzed to shell out the nutrients, to find out if it contained toxins or ingredients that would be harmful to health. We called in animal nutrition specialists and we were able to make a recipe using the nutritional profile of carp.
Is your product on the market?
We launched the product this fall, fixing last year the last glitches that existed in the supply chain.
You could have developed dog food made from the waste of ordinary fish, salmon or trout for example. Why did you choose Asian carp?
The company’s primary goal is to have an environmental impact and to change the way of doing business, which is believed to be harmful. If we can inspire other players to do the same, that will be good. We will not solve the Asian carp problem on our own.
We founded Wilder Harrier six years ago with the goal of introducing alternatives that are more eco-responsible, while being nutritious in the food system of our animals.
We do this with vegetable proteins by recovering fruit and vegetable pulps from a fruit juice manufacturer that we put in our products instead of throwing them away. We also do this with insects [poudre de grillons et mouches soldates].
Your business model seems to combine financial profits and eco-responsibility. Yet one might think that it is irreconcilable.
We believe that a business must be financially profitable if it is to achieve its environmental and social objective. For Tesla, for example, if the electric car was not profitable, if it did not meet consumer expectations, the environmental impact of replacing gasoline cars would be greatly reduced.
Do you think you are shaping the business model of tomorrow?
This is what we believe. Our only goal is not to maximize financial profits. All businesses must have a triple bottom line, three lines, one of profits, one of environmental gains and one of social benefits. We try to maximize each one and we see the financial profits as the gas that makes it possible to reach the other two.
You insist on local production. Why ?
We try to be consistent in our decisions. If we had products that are radically eco-responsible like ours, but that would come from China, emitting all kinds of greenhouse gases, we would be inconsistent.
The formula seems to work well anyway.
We start looking for international markets and it comes with some new thinking. For us local production and sourcing is super important. If we start exporting, we will have to quickly add production on site. This is something that is coming. At the moment, our two big markets outside of Canada are the United States and South Korea.
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