PlantX celebrates ‘official’ grand opening of B.C. store
Months after opening its store in Squamish, B.C., PlantX was able to make some noise in the community. The store, branded as XMarket Squamish, first opened its doors in May 2021, but delayed holding an official grand opening because of COVID-related restrictions in the province.
“Of course, the event was still COVID friendly and safe, but the rules are not as strict as they had been in the past, people were still scared of gatherings, and vendors [had restrictions] on how they could sample and display products,” says Alex Hoffman, chief marketing officer at PlantX, a one-stop shop for all things vegan. “We wanted to wait so we could have an event that was more fun and exciting, and we were able to better market it without being insensitive to what’s going on in the world.”
The grand opening, which took place on Oct. 14, featured a barbecue supported by Beyond Meat, which donated 250 burgers for PlantX to cook and give out to attendees. A variety of vendors handed out product samples, including Spark Kombucha, Truffula, Mogiana Coffee, Clover Tea and Sea Cider.
The sampling event gave PlantX and its vendors the opportunity for customers to experience and learn more about the benefits of plant-based products. There are also educational components throughout the store, such as recipe cards for plant-dishes.
“Education is at the backbone of everything we do at PlantX,” says Hoffman. “Plant-based products are on the rise and plant-based living is on the rise. However, a lot of people don’t know how to eat plant-based or be vegan [in a healthy way].” By that, Hoffman means people shouldn’t just eat pasta and carbs and call themselves vegan. “We’re trying to educate people how to move to a plant-based life or incorporate more plants in the healthiest, easiest way,” she says.
PlantX is housed in a 15,000-sq.-ft commercial space, which also includes the Locavore Bar & Grill, Cloudburst Café and Locavore Food Truck. Prior to the grand opening, the store got a bit of makeover, with floors freshly painted, a wall removed and new windows added.
Founded in 2019, PlantX sells plant-based grocery items across the dry goods, frozen and refrigerated categories in store and online at Plantx.com and Plantx.ca.
