T

he artisan flour miller and farmer-direct dry goods supplier was founded in 2014, and has sprouted into something that’s changed the landscape of traceable, sustainable, and better-for-you foods across the West Coast of Canada and North America. 

After a re-brand by Vancouver-based branding agency Glasfurd & Walker, Flourist opened its bakery doors in August 2019 in the Cedar Cottage neighbourhood of East Vancouver. Today, the once small pop-up operates three handmade stone flour mills, an innovative bakery and coffee program, and a pantry filled with a variety of locally sourced produce and grocery items. 

If that’s not impressive enough, everything Flourist makes, sells, or endorses on their celebrated Instagram page is traceable and sourced in a way that allows the consumer access to the freshest and best product available. With a quick visit to their website, you can learn about the importance of sustainable and traceable farming and why building relationships with small farms in Canada is so integral to the brand’s success. A detailed map—complete with short bios on each farm and farmer—is available for consumers to read and explore too.

The brand hopes that by creating a transparent supply chain, the customer will be confident that their goods are ethically sourced and supporting the farming community across Canada. 
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Other Canadian companies are following a similar business structure of delivering the highest quality, freshest, and ethically sourced goods they can get their hands on. Bakeries like Brodflour in Toronto, Ontario and coffee roasters like Monogram in Calgary, Alberta are also hopping on the traceability train, and much like Flourist, maintain strong relationships with the farmers who grow their grains and beans.
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One of biggest draws for consumers is the freshly milled flours that Flourist mills on site. They use two stone mills made by Osttiroler Getreidemьhlen Green in East Tyrolia, Austria, and a third one that started operation in April this year made by New American Stone Mills in Vermont, U.S. Stone milling flour helps retain the grain's nutrients by milling slowly, which maintains a low temperature between two large rotating stones. Flourist offers both sifted and unsifted whole grain flours. The flour is fresh and never bleached, unlike most store bought flours), meaning the end product is more nutritious and flavourful than anything you can get with off-the-shelf AP. 

You can taste the freshness in their ever-changing bakery program, which regularly features classic sourdough and seasonally flavoured loaves and pastries that aim to highlight their selection of whole grains. 

If you’re not located in Vancouver, you can buy bags of Flourist's freshly milled flour online, where they ship anywhere in North America. The brand recommends buying their flours in smaller quantities, as fresh flour with the germ intact tends to have a shorter shelf life than grocery store flour. If you didn’t think they did enough already, they also regularly update their online blog with recipes that allow customers to taste the freshness of the flour from their home kitchen. Sourdough breads, sweets, savoury bean soups, and salads are all at the home baker’s fingertips. 

Learn more about the brand, their message and all their offerings at flourist.com.