Evive may be your answer to living a healthier life

Pre-blended, blenderless smoothies with fresh and healthy ingredients that are available in your local grocery stores sounds too good to be true. But with Evive Nutrition, it is possible. The pre-blended mixtures are frozen into ice cubes to create a blenderless smoothie. No need to have fresh, healthy ingredients on hand. No mess. No more waking-up your roommates with the absurdly loud buzzing of a blender in the morning. 

Co-creators Claudia Poulin and Dominic Dube turned their passion for their own health and well-being into a career. We sat down with Claudia to discuss where this idea came from and how they were able to grow their business so quickly in just over 5 years.

Can you tell me a little bit about each of yourselves? 

Dominic and I have been together for 11 years and we are expecting our first child, a baby boy, this summer. The past six years have been very much of a whirlwind, but we could not be more grateful or eager to continue developing products and expanding our brand. Although we both graduated from university, we can definitely say that our current profession is the total opposite of what we studied. I graduated with a degree in educational psychology and Dominic in mechanical engineering. Over the last 15 years, I’ve changed my diet and discovered various ways of enhancing my well-being. I became passionate about yoga, meditation, and wellness. On the other hand, Dominic loves developing and creating new things, and is an avid sportsman; he is currently training in order to complete a 100 KM race! So, it is safe to say that we made our passions a full-time job!

How did Evive come to be? 

When I was at university, I switched to a vegan diet and loved how it enhanced my well-being. However, meal prepping became more time consuming, so I started thinking of ways I could simplify my morning routine, which involved making a breakfast smoothie every morning that contained all the ingredients that would sustain me until lunchtime. At the time, I was living with roommates, and I could not use the blender at will, especially in the mornings, so that is when I started making my smoothies ahead of time and freezing them into ice cube trays. By doing so, I was sure to always have a variety of ingredients, like organic fruits and veggies, and superfoods on hand.

Why did you call it “Evive”? 

We came up with the name “Evive” to encompass everything that surrounds the words “living,” “live,” and essentially “life.” In our name (Evive), there is the French word vie, which means “life” and our brand basically represents a “greener” and healthier lifestyle. 

What’s your favourite product you make?

It is really hard to choose just one product since I developed all of them! But, being pregnant and wanting a healthy dose of all the healthiest ingredients, I would say that I’m partial to our Pure smoothie at the moment. It contains matcha, ginger, spinach, and has a delicious sweet mango taste. From our lunch line, I love the Mac Squash over a bed of macaroni. It is so delicious and nutritious since it is made with butternut squash, carrots, curcuma, and cashews. 

What was the most challenging part of creating this company?

There are so many different parts to consider and understand when building a complex company that is promoting an innovative product that has never been seen or marketed before. Some of the most challenging parts have been making the right decisions at the right time, all the while taking risks but keeping an equilibrium in the way we operate. I have strong instincts and will follow them, but Dominic is more analytical, so we definitely balance each other out that way. Another challenge would have to be following and maintaining our growth in different territories, like growing our team, which leads to increasing our production. Everything has to follow!

What was the most rewarding?

The most rewarding part of building a brand is seeing the positive effect Evive has on our members and consumers. I love when they open up about how our products have helped them eat healthier without compromising elsewhere. Our products were created to enable people to feel good about what they put inside their bodies, whether they have a busy lifestyle or if they are looking for quick and easy meals. Also, being able to market our brand online and in grocery stores is very rewarding since we are bringing new and innovative products to the health food market and to our consumers’ habits. Seeing how our consumers and members have embraced our products and our community is truly inspiring and heartwarming. 

What’s next for your company?

We want to keep building and expanding our brand and developing new and innovative products. By doing so, we are hoping to branch out and reach other targeted markets, such as the baby food industry. We are now available in over 2,000 grocery stores in Canada, and over 1,000 in the United-States. We are continuing to grow and would very much like to keep building our brand in order to become one of the most recognized health food brands in North America.

Where can we find you and your company on social media?

Instagram & Facebook : @Evivenutrition