CheeCha's Story
Elaine Cadrin, president and founder of CadCan Marketing & Sales Inc., was on a quest when her family first moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1995. Having just received her MBA she was inspired to start a new life with an exciting adventure. Elaine’s recent work with a major food corporation, indicated that the food market was in the early stages of focusing on healthier eating habits. Her natural love for cooking and enjoying great tasting food assisted in her creation of a healthy snack to meet the market potential.
Working with the “go with what you know” mentality Elaine was inspired to create a new product from an existing favorite. She had enjoyed cheecherone in the past. A snack originating in Mexico and traditionally deep fried and served in cantinas. On a trip to Mexico, Elaine pursued a meeting with the manufactures of the pasta pellets used to make cheecherone. Through trial and error it was discovered that the pellets would puff up in hot air, thus eliminating the need for high fats in this crunchy snack.
The very first shipment from Mexico consisted of 4 bags of pellets that Elaine and her parents carried across the border between Mexico and Yuma, Arizona. She then hot air puffed them in her kitchen using six small hot air popcorn poppers and sold them at a local farmer’s market. This was the beginning of Cheecha snacks. Soon enough, the kitchen became too small for the business and a small warehouse space was rented. Thanks to all the many wonderful opportunities provided by Calgary retailers and customers, the demand for Cheecha snacks continued to grow. Today, Cheecha snacks are sold across Canada and in several areas of the US.
Elaine and her daughter Tracey manage the Cheecha factory in Calgary. This dynamic mother-daughter duo recognizes the importance of staying in touch with customers, retailers and market trends. Elaine believes, “the demand for healthier food choices will continue to grow and soon become a perquisite for Canadian households; low fat snacks like Cheecha snacks will be the norm.” Cadcan Marketing & Sales is part of the healthy snack food evolution and will continue to create quality snack foods for the health-conscious consumer.