Who We Are

Our story began in 2005, when two travelers, Alon Farber and Marie-Josée Richer returned to Quebec after meeting in India. Antsy to share their love of food and passion for healthy nutrition, they started out roasting nuts in Marie-Josée’s mom’s kitchen and selling their tasty treats through word-of-mouth and farmer’s markets.

“At the time, organic-certified products were relatively unpopular and hard to find. But we recognized the importance to eat healthy while respecting the natural cycles of the earth and the ecosystems.” - Alon Farber, Co-Founder.

Soon enough, their mouth-watering Go Nuts mix was a success. In the following years, many other tasty products were successfully developed. As word of mouth and demand skyrocketed, Alon and Marie carefully surrounded themselves with talented and like-minded people sharing the same passion to grow the then-startup into a larger company, keeping their commitment to sustainability at the heart of every project.

The team’s efforts got officially acknowledged in 2015 when the company obtained its B Corp certification which recognizes businesses from all industries that have a positive impact on the environment and on their workers, customers and community.

Following strong growth in Canada for several years, the co-founders wanted to take a step back to best position PRANA for sustained long-term success as a socially and environmentally responsible company. So in 2017, they took a sabbatical, leaving a strong leadership team in charge temporarily.

“This sabbatical year was a necessary milestone in our entrepreneurial journey. Convening with our family, refocusing our core values and meeting our suppliers to better understand their realities afforded us valuable insight that motivates us to breathe new life into PRANA.” - Marie-Josée Richer, co-founder of PRANA.

End of 2018, Alon and Marie came back with a renewed energy, ready to keep shaping and building the organization in their own image.

“We want, more than ever, to define ourselves as a leader in the food industry through our vision and our distinct values that are synergistic with those of today's consumers. We believe in a socially responsible economy fueled by companies with strong cultures and we want to use business as a driver for positive change." - Alon Farber, co-founder of PRANA.” 

The PRANA family as we like to call it, is filled with vibrant, energetic, genuine, open people from all walks of life. When we're not busy spreading the good word of our delicious organic products, you can find us taking lunch breaks at the municipal pool across the street from our office, or swapping recipes between ourselves.

At PRANA, it's not so much the 9 to 5 that brings us together, but the mutual respect and passion we share for the industry that makes us gel together not only at work, but after hours too.

Our vision is big, but we never forget who we are and where we come from.