From her kitchen in Saint-Boniface, Estelle Drouin, aka La Fit Foodie, concocts hundreds of snacks and treats every week. Its mission: to offer its customers healthy and appetizing snacks without compromising taste and the pleasure of eating.
Launched a year ago, her business, La Fit Foodie, is enjoying growing success. She prepares a hundred boxes each week, each containing ten bites. Her clients are mainly people from the region, although she is reaching more and more people in Quebec and on the South Shore of Montreal.
A paramedic by training, Estelle Drouin launched herself into the void when she made the leap into entrepreneurship. “I had been working as a paramedic for eight years when I decided to try my luck,” she says. The idea came from my love for training and for healthy eating. I’ve been cooking healthy snacks for almost 20 years. I have met several nutritionists over the years and learned how to proportion everything well. More and more, I was going there instinctively and creating my own recipes. »
Those around her quickly noticed that the bites cooked by Estelle were both healthy and full of flavor. Each time, it is to her that we entrusted the task of bringing the dessert during dinners with friends.
“I always put my touch to make the recipe as healthy as possible, without compromising on taste,” she says. Then at some point a friend of mine asked me to make him some office snacks. He wanted to buy me snacks. »
At the time, she found the idea far-fetched. She never thought she could sell her snacks. “I told him that I would make it to him with pleasure, but I did not see myself selling it to him. I didn’t see the potential to do anything with it at the time,” she says.
His bites were all the rage. Not only was her friend asking for more, but the word started getting around, so she started getting more and more orders. Over time, seeing the interest and demand, she decided to devote herself to this new project.
“I ended up believing that it could be,” she says. I started to diversify the snacks. I now make energy balls, bars, muffins, etc. I also make desserts like donuts and cupcakes. The boxes are varied and it changes every week. »
Making a difference, one bite at a time
What she loves most about her job is the feedback from her clients. “It’s rewarding when people write to me to tell me they love what I do. I’m happy to know that it makes them feel good, that they appreciate it and that they see the result in their daily lives. I feel like I’m making a small difference for them,” says the entrepreneur.
Among his clients, there are many sportsmen and athletes. “A lot of people eat the snacks before or after training, but it’s really for everyone, whether you train or not, specifies Estelle. Each snack is made with fresh, natural, high protein ingredients. »
For the moment, the only pick-up point for snack boxes is at Crossfit U3R, in Trois-Rivières. But starting in March, another pick-up point will be added in Quebec. “I also have a lot of requests for Shawinigan and the South Shore of Montreal, so I’m looking to have other pick-up points soon,” she drops.
To discover the company’s products or to place an order: lafitfoodie.com. It is also possible to follow the entrepreneur via the Facebook page and the Instagram account “La Fit Foodie”.
