By Suzanne Chin-Loy
Chaeban Artisan is more than just an ice cream and cheese shop; it’s a testament to passion, resilience, innovation, and community. From its humble beginnings to its current triumph, Joseph Chaeban, his wife Zainab Ali, and his partner Darryl Stewart have pioneered a distinctive approach, using locally sourced, high-quality ingredients since 2017, capturing the hearts and palates of Winnipeggers and the rest of Western Canada.
“I’m a second-generation cheese and dairy maker and learned everything from my father [in addition to attending] school. It was amazing how it happened because it was like a dream,” says Chaeban. “The neighbourhood in South Osborne, Winnipeg sponsored my wife’s family to come to Canada because they were all Syrian refugees. At the time, I moved from Ontario to Winnipeg to run a cheese factory.”
Looking for employment opportunities for his wife’s family, Chaeban contacted Stewart, who suggested taking over an empty shop that used to sell ice cream. “I [thought] it would be cool to make super-premium ice cream by getting raw milk from the farm, pasteurizing it onsite, and creating a different ice-cream experience. The community got behind us; they wanted to support us and it went well until COVID hit us.”
Chaeban Artisan’s ingenuity, astute business sense, and economic resilience enabled the company to pivot its business and avoid bankruptcy during challenging times by investing in its IT infrastructure. This pivot allowed it to diversify its products and update its business model from a solely traditional bricks-and-mortar approach to a subscription service during COVID.
Chaeban’s best-selling ice-cream products include Salty Carl, Rocky Ricardo, and Abir Al Sham, a traditional Syrian recipe using rose and orange water with pistachios. The company also promotes innovative products and connects with potential customers by participating in agricultural fairs and trade shows.
“[We] strategized and devised the ice-cream subscription model and it worked for the summertime, but I always knew ice-cream sales plummet in the winter, so I said, ‘Let’s start making cheese that we don’t have to age for so long and can [generate] a fast cash flow to help us in the wintertime,’” says the master cheesemaker. “We made four or five cheeses [including] ricotta, mascarpone, firm and soft creamy feta. Our Mediterani Soft Creamy Feta is now winning awards, which is amazing.”
Chaeban Artisan is a company that embodies social and environmental responsibility and its commitment to sustainability is evident in its holistic principles. The company’s five core values — caring for all people, being environmentally friendly, giving back whenever possible, making everything from scratch and supporting local producers — form the basis of its operations.
“Our products are 100 per cent all-natural [with] no artificial colours or flavours. They’re seasonally made and mostly gluten-free. We get our raw milk from a local farmer here in Manitoba. [Our overall space] is about 3,000 sq. ft., including the storefront where customers can sit with their families and have an ice-cream experience. We don’t have storage space, [so] we try to [sell] our products right away,” says Chaeban.
The company’s commitment to environmental sustainability is evident in its packaging, which encourages recycling and minimizing waste by utilizing re-usable 500ml glass jars for its ice cream and offering customers a $1 reimbursement incentive for returns.
The company also ensures inclusivity by providing access to washrooms for everyone, including people experiencing homelessness, emphasizing that they “care about people and not just transactions.”
Chaeban Artisan has also garnered partnerships with retailers, including Sobey’s, IGA, Safeway, Federated Co-op under the Gold Program, and independent, family-run grocery retailers specializing in local and ethnic produce.
“Having your [partners] say, ‘We want you guys because we trust your brand, your ingredients, and the knowledge you have,’ means so much to us,” Chaeban says. “We’re just a family company making great products every day with great staff that [we] would consider family.”
Chaeban Artisan has now shifted its focus to concentrate on and perfect its award-winning soft cheeses while continuing to offer its ice-cream products. It’s collaborating with Co-Op to create a cream cheese flavour profile that will be launched shortly. Additionally, it’s hoping to expand into Ontario, Montreal, and eventually the rest of Eastern Canada.
“We want to focus on our cheese because it’s an all-year business. We put our hearts into our products, and I’m proud of everyone for how far we’ve come. When you do cream cheese, you can have a lot of fun [with] different flavours and really create something special.”
