Ottawa

Meet Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Companies for 2022

The top 10 remind us of the other side of the pandemic story

March 25, 2022
2:13 PM
ET

Editor's Note

The Fastest Growing Companies program is supported by presenting sponsor GGFL Chartered Professional Accountants, an Ottawa-based accounting firm.

2022-03-25

Organizations: Bushbalm, Food Cycle Science, GoFor, Keynote Group, Noibu Technologies, Ottawa Business Journal, Ottawa Deck and Rail, Ottawa Valley Meats, Purecolo, Sampford Advisors, Sidi.io

I’m a sucker for anything historical, particularly when it’s wrapped in a good narrative.

For that reason, years ago, I got hooked on a radio series called The Rest of the Story. Host Paul Harvey recounted historical stories, many of them common knowledge to listeners. The show’s big twist came when Harvey introduced little-known facts that completely altered your perspective.

I wonder if that approach could be used to reframe the pandemic, years from now.

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The prevailing narrative is that the pandemic caused massive job loss and business failures. People will look back at the pandemic as a time of economic ruin.

However, OBJ’s 2022 Fastest Growing Companies have a very different story to tell.

The profiles provide evidence that the pandemic is also the biggest business catalyst of this generation. Almost half of the top 10 companies experienced four-digit revenue growth during the pandemic and all would agree their businesses are stronger today than they were three years ago.

Three themes emerge from their profiles.

The first involves human resources. The rapid adoption of work-from-home has changed the workplace forever. And that newfound flexibility is causing companies in Ottawa (and around the globe) to rethink what culture means and how it’s nurtured.

The second shift involves digital marketing and commerce. Take one of our top 10, Ottawa Valley Meats, for example. Farm-to-plate isn’t innovative enough for this butcher. It’s using e-commerce to differentiate from old-school competitors. When a butcher says it’s inspired by Amazon, you know e-commerce has taken a giant step forward.

The final shift involves sustainability. The best example is GoFor, another top 10 company that is working to make last-mile deliveries faster and more efficient. That’s a tough goal, but GoFor is upping the challenge by adding sustainability to the mix. It’s using carbon offsets, electric vehicles and smart packaging to make the last mile “carbon negative.”

Three shifts that accelerated because of the pandemic, when unprecedented disruption caused equally disruptive innovation.

Check out OBJ’s Spring Newsmagazine to read more about our top 10 and how they managed their explosive growth. We’ll also be featuring them on our website. We think you’ll agree that OBJ’s Fastest Growing Companies for 2022 know the rest of the story.

Congratulations!

1. Bushbalm Natural Skincare

Three-year revenue growth: 5,570%

Last year’s rank: 3

PROFILE: Bushbalm is the bikini line skincare company, specializing in all-natural and vegan products. What makes it different is where the products are meant to be used: the ever-so-bashful pubic region.

2. Noibu

Three-year revenue growth: 1,721%

Last year’s rank: 4

PROFILE: The e-commerce error-monitoring platform powering the world’s best e-commerce experiences. Originally conceived as a vehicle for offering 3D virtual tours of brick-and-mortar stores, the startup changed focus in 2019 to become a bug-detection platform for e-commerce sites.

3. GoFor Delivers

Three-year revenue growth: 1,382%

Last year’s rank: 1

PROFILE: GoFor provides small to big and bulky last-mile delivery services in the retail, construction and supply chain industries across North America.

4. Ottawa Deck and Rail

Three-year revenue growth: 1,185%

Last year’s rank: New to the list

PROFILE: Ottawa Deck and Rail supplies and installs aluminum powder-coated railings for decks, balconies and front steps.

5. Ottawa Valley Meats

Three-year revenue growth: 450%

Last year’s rank: New to the list

PROFILE: Farm-to-plate e-commerce, specializing in high-quality locally produced meats. Direct-to-consumer Amazon model of ordering farm meats.

6. Food Cycle Science

Three-year revenue growth: 425%

Last year’s rank: New to the list

PROFILE: Food Cycle Science is changing the way businesses and consumers handle food waste with its FoodCycler technology, which reduces food waste by 90 per cent at the source in hours.

7. Sidi.io

Three-year revenue growth: 422%

Last year’s rank: New to the list

PROFILE: Sidi.io is a digital marketing agency specializing in demand generation strategy and execution, primarily for companies in the B2B technology, SaaS, arts and entertainment and health-care industries.