Following a tour of Nanak Foods, the company’s president Gurpreet Arneja became emotional while speaking to a group of politicians, business people, media and Nanak employees.
“All I can say is, this is possible because of hard work,” said Arneja, turning to the Nanak Foods employees behind him.
Arneja hosted a tour of the Newton-based facility Friday morning (Oct. 5) for Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham, along with MLAs Jinny Sims, Harry Bains and Garry Begg and other members of the business community. Nanak Foods celebrated its 20th anniversary this past May, and over the summer opened its second paneer factory across the border in Bellingham, Wash.
According to Nanak Foods’ website, the Surrey business is “the largest Indian dairy in North America,” specializing in paneer (fresh cheese), appetizers, lassi (a yogurt drink) and desserts. Nanak Foods produces more than 40 different products.
The company, also known as Punjab Milk Foods Inc., was started by Arneja and Vineet Taneja after a trip to India to learn how paneer was made. Nanak Foods opened in 1998, according to the website, and the following year the company began growing their number of products.
In 2000, Nanak Food began shipping internationally and now exports to more than 15 countries.
Arneja said the company’s 45 products use B.C. milk.
The tour of Nanak Foods follows the provincial government releasing the 2017 statistics for B.C.’s agricultural sector that “signal record new highs in sales and exports” for the province’s evolving food economy, said Popham.
Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham speaks after a tour of Nanak Foods this morning. pic.twitter.com/wZEi6x3022
— Lauren Collins (@laurenpcollins1) October 5, 2018
The statistics, Popham said, show that B.C.’s primary agriculture sector saw an increase in sales of more than four per cent over the previous.
“What that means is that we are at $3.2 billion in total sales,” she said.
Popham added that the food and processing sector saw an increase of more than two per cent which equalled $9.8 billion, and the total sales in seafood was $1.2 billion.
“That is why being here today is so fitting because these new stats that we’re hearing about today include Nanak Foods. Nanak is one of the largest Indian dairy processors in the world, and they started right here in our province,” Popham said.
“By turning one of B.C.’s primary agricultural products like B.C. dairy into products like paneer (and) lassi, Gurpreet and Vineet are increasing consumer demand for these products and thereby increasing sales for the overall sector and increasing the stats that we’re hearing about today,” Popham said.
Sims said Arneja and Taneja had a dream and “stuck with it” despite some challenges.
“It’s hard for me to imagine, that right here, in the middle of a very residential area in Surrey-Panorama, that we have a gem like this.”
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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