Handmade & Homegrown: Abbotsford’s Local Products
September 27, 2023
Take a piece of Abbotsford home with you and help its culture thrive by supporting these local businesses! In this blog, we will explore the rich flavours and fascinating tales that make Abbotsford so unique by going on a trip through its regional products.
HANDMADE
VSSL Outdoor Utility Tools
VSSL has found the right mix of quality, functional gear that you’d want on you anytime that you head out into the wild. The curated sets of outdoor gear are organized at their Abbotsford warehouse by the exceptional people that are a part of the Communitas program.
Shop their online store for durable compact units including outdoor gear kits, first aid kits, camp kitchen kits, and gear accessories!
Truly Lifestyle Brand
Truly Lifestyle Brand’s high-performing plant-based skincare products are made with up-cycled Post-Consumer Resin packaging, they’re priced affordably and contain only the most effective and sustainable ingredients.
Shop their facial cleansers, moisturizers, shampoos and conditioners, serums, sunscreen, and sheet masks- they’re all vegan and cruelty-free!
Find them online or at one of their many local stockists including Spruce Collective, Champagne and Lace, The Wild Orange Spa, Everbloom Designs, and Perfect Tan.
Alice + Sage
Alice + Sage is an Indigenous-owned candle company based out of Abbotsford. They produce natural soy wax candles which are phthalate, paraben, and toxin-free. They have a lead-free cotton wick, a 50+ hour burn time, and super cute packaging.
They also produce eco-friendly bath salts which are ideal for all skin types, and they’re biodegradable and vegan. They’re scented with pure essential oil lemon, lime, and white grapefruit or neroli, patchouli, and ylang ylang
Purchase an Alice + Sage spritz for a beautiful scent of rose, lavender, peppermint, honeysuckle, or clary sage. These are great to use whenever you’re wanting to relax and need to create harmony within – body, mind, and spirit. This spritz can be used on your face or body, and also makes the most wonderful bedtime linen spray!
Find them at the Abbotsford Farm and Country Market or order online!
New Wave Distilling
Ripples Winery & New Wave Distilling is a family-owned and operated winery/distillery that creates wines and spirits with local ingredients using sustainable practices. They create unique beautiful cocktails using their own ingredients with new additions weekly.
Purchase their flavored syrups for cocktail-making! Flavors include blueberry lavender, hibiscus, rose cardamom, ginger, and spicy.
Sugar & Co Confectionary
Enjoy Sugar & Co Confectionary’s wide assortment of flavored caramels including salted caramel, vanilla earl gray, exotic chai, raspberry ripple, lavender and lemon, toasted coconut, french sea salt, and rum raisin.
They also make delicious Clayburn Creek Jam. The jams are unlike regular commercial varieties as they add less sugar to the fruit to preserve the delicious natural flavor of Fraser Valley berries. Everything is done by hand in the commercial kitchen at Clayburn Village Store in Abbotsford.
Find them at the historic Clayburn Village Store or on their online store!
Ravens Brewing
Ravens Brewing is a family-owned brewery and distillery located in Abbotsford. Proud of their heritage and community, Ravens Brewing is an Indigenous Corporation focused on developing partnerships with local suppliers and businesses.
Their bitters are created from only natural botanicals and local fruit. Add a dash of the spiced, aromatic, orange, grapefruit, or habanero bitters to your favourite cocktail to add some complexity.
Try their Bird’s Eye hot sauce– it’s vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and all-natural.
Find a delicious addition to any wings, burgers, vegetables, bread, or crackers with Raven’s black garlic aioli! It’s also vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and all-natural.
Purchase their products online or at 37455 Kilgard Rd. Abbotsford, BC V3G 0H8
HOMEGROWN
Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm and Meadery
Campbell’s produces over 30 different flavours of honey, including cappuccino, jalapeno, and pumpkin spice flavours!
As they plant many different crops for their bees, they produce over thirty styles of honey wine (dry, sweet, and everything in between) all made directly at their family store using 80% of their own fruit.
Forage & Faire
Forage & Faire is a family-owned herbal apothecary, rare & artisan tea bar, refill, and aromatherapy shop. Their team of skilled herbalists, healers, and artisans meticulously curates a diverse range of herbs, plants, and botanical extracts, all sourced sustainably and ethically. Stop in and purchase any of their teas, salves, skincare, and aromatherapy products!
Healthy Hooch Kombucha
Brewed in Abbotsford, Healthy Hooch Kombucha is made of 100% organic ingredients and is certified by BCARA. Their brews are crafted thoughtfully with health, quality, and flavour at the forefront. Their flavours include Tart Cherry, Black & Blue, Lemon Ginger, Turmeric Sunshine, Peach Apricot Rooibos, and Pear Ginger. Try them all, and stay tuned for new flavours coming soon!
Find them at their Abbotsford retailers: Bow & Stern, Cafe Amarti, Neufeld Farms, Old Hand Coffee, Nature’s Pickin’s, Iron Cycle Club, and more!
Tuscan Farm Gardens
Tuscan Farm Garden’s essential oil soap is their most popular product. They make eleven different kinds, and it’s eco-certified and biodegradable. Alongside their soaps, they also sell pure essential oils, lavender teas, and lavender/rose whipped shea butter. They don’t use any artificial fragrances, preservatives, or dyes, just pure essential oils and plant-based ingredients.
Their culinary lavender is used by Oldhand, Field House Brewing, and Banter Ice Cream to make delicious things to eat and drink, and you can find their products at Wild Orange Spa, Pharmasave, Ralph’s Farm Market, and other retailers, as well as on their website.
Taves Family Farm
Try their crust recipe or make your own and just spoon in this Taves Apple Pie Filling made with orchard-grown Jonagold apples, a special blend of apple pie spices, and that’s it. Enjoy it in pie or pastry, on a croissant, on bread, buns, waffles, pancakes or French toast, on ice cream, or even chicken and pork.
Made by taking their pumpkin-patch deep orange Cinderella pumpkins, and incorporating cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Try this incredibly aromatic Pumpkin Butter as a sandwich spread or on bread, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, French toast, and in squares and cakes.
The Taves Apple Butter is nothing more than their freshest signature Jonagold apples, slow-cooked and condensed into purée and blended with cinnamon and allspice. Add it to bread, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, French toast, in cakes, or brush it on chicken or pork during the last few minutes of cooking.
Maan Farms
Try Mama Maan’s pepper jellies on crostinis with goat cheese, baked brie, or even pork loin. It’s a seedless fruit pepper jelly with a hint of spice that is lovingly handmade with Maan Farm’s own fresh fruit and peppers.
Mama Maan’s samosa chutney is a sweet and tangy tamarind sauce. Perfect addition to samosas or to use in dressings and dips!
Enjoy Mama Maan’s homemade fruit jams. Flavours include strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, bumbleberry, peach, apricot, plum, and greengage plum. The jam is made in-house with locally grown fruit. Try it on your favorite toast!
Don’t forget to tag @tourismabbotsford on Instagram or use #ExploreAbbotsford if your trying out any of these handmade & homegrown products!