Epicure History

Excerpt from article by Jenny Vetter from DSN (Direct Selling News) March 2021

---As a mother of two young children, Sylvie Rochette was all too familiar with the pressure to put something fast, healthy and delicious on the table every evening. Frustrated by the lack of wholesome seasonings and spices on her grocery store shelves, she started mixing her own blends. Soon her homemade alternatives to the highly processed mixes of the ’90s became the star ingredients of Sylvie’s evening meals. After several years of sharing her blends with friends and family and at farmers’ markets and trade shows, she launched Epicure as a direct sales company in 1997.

Today, Epicure is the largest Canadian-founded party plan company, led by Sylvie’s daughter, Amelia Warren.

“My mom was looking for ways to feed my brother and me—food that was healthy, fast, affordable, and most importantly, that we would eat,” says Warren. “That’s always challenging when you make this beautiful meal that you think is healthy and no one eats it.”

Epicure has grown steadily from its launch in 1997, offering a constantly expanding line of signature spice blends and dip mixes, along with time-saving cookware. After leading the company as CEO for several years, Warren and her team shifted the company’s direction in 2014—a change that continues to guide Epicure to this day.

“We were always rooted in healthy eating, but over time we had become more of a company that helped people with entertaining,” she explains. “In 2014, we refocused the business on meal planning and launched our Good Food Real Fast mission, which is a focus on helping busy families take a meal from raw to ready in 20 minutes or less.”