Arbutus Ridge Farms

We are about...
Fresh and Healthy choices:

We make salads the way you would make at home, when you had the time. Many of our ingredients come from Canada and most of those from Vancouver Island and British Columbia mainland. We produce fresh daily. We do not add MSG. We  use natural preservatives when possible. Our Sweet Bean, Coleslaw Vinaigrette, Mediterranean Bulgur and Egyptian Kamut are preserved with vinegar or citrus juices and our Pesto's have no preservatives, nuts or fillers. In our efforts to ensure food safety we add potassium sorbate to prevent yeast caused spoilage in the Homous and Seafood based products.  The mayonnaise, dressings, Soya sauce, sour cream and other dairy products we use are made by various suppliers and do contain preservatives to ensure shelf life stability.

Reliable Service

We have earned a solid reputation because of our consistent quality and reliability. In our ten year history we have maintained a near 100% fill rate and have often filled orders when called by customers who were shorted orders by our competitors. We have a balanced team of core staff who have worked with us to build Arbutus Ridge Farms Ltd., and a compliment of summer students, many of whom return each year during their course of studies.

Customized service

We are creative and innovative. We keep in touch with the deli departments twice a week to make their ordering convenient and to make sure they are receiving the best and most appealing products for their market place. Although we now make over forty different salads, we are always willing to sit down with our clients to develop and customize products for their niche markets, such as ethnic flavours or holiday season products.

On the Community and staying green

We are strong believers in recycling all of our supplier packaging, keeping metal, plastic and cardboard out of landfills. We recycle vegetable scraps to our local farmers. The following are some of the organizations we support and sponsor through various donations:

• Cowichan Valley Basket Society
• Cowichan Family Caregivers Support Society
• Canadian Cancer Society-Camp Good Times
• Cowichan General Hospital
• BC Student Film Festival
• Cowichan/International Aboriginal Festival
• Cowichan WatersSports Community and International War Canoe Race

Our History

Arbutus Ridge Farms Ltd. was established in 1997 by Don & Debra McMurray. Don spent 17 years in Calgary practicing his profession in Commerce and Manufacturing Operations and Debra spent 12 years in Winnipeg and Calgary practicing her profession of Sales and Marketing.

In 1994 Don and Debra moved to Vancouver Island, bought a greenhouse operation and joined the BC Hothouse Co-op, growing Long English cucumbers, tomatoes, and coloured peppers. Product development of surplus produce led them to making fresh Salsa and Pestos.  In 1997, while looking for ways to grow their salsa and pesto business, they discovered and purchased a small business that was making the Deluxe potato salad and Sweet Bean salads that are still the company's premium sellers.  With their commerce and marketing talents and love for quality foods they have ventured into new territories and prospered by expanding their customer base and their product offerings. In the past 10 years Arbutus Ridge Farms has moved once and expanded their production facility three more times to keep up with the demand for their products.  The company's geographic sales area has grown from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands to include all of central and southern British Columbia and the Lower Mainland.