Our Mission

To be the premiere food company in Canada providing the best quality ingredients by leveraging our 40 plus years of experience, in-depth knowledge of the market, strict food safety adherence, and valued long-term relationships across the globe.

History

In 1974, two immigrant brothers desperate for an authentic bowl of rice, imported a container of basmati, and Shah Trading Company was born. Over the next four decades, as the need for ethnic and healthy pantry staples grew, Shah Trading Company expanded scope, capital and capabilities to becoming one of North America’s leading ethnic and natural food manufacturers and distributors.

Today, Shah Trading Company continues to be family-owned, with two generations at the helm, extending the personalized care of, concern for, and commitment to its customers, considered as part of its family.

First Generation

Shah Brothers, 1989 (l-r: Tony, Praful (1947-2016), Shashi, Baba)

Second Generation

Shah Cousins (l-r: Sangeeta, Sonali, Sanjeev, Kamal)

The Shah Trading Company Timeline

1974

The Beginning

Shah Trading Company founded in our family garage

1975

First Warehouse

15,000 sq ft warehouse opens in Montreal

1976

2nd Location

80,000 sq ft warehouse opens as operations extend to Toronto

1985

NuPak

Our first in-house brand launches

1994

Rice Processing

Premier Rice Processing facility added in Toronto

1999

New Warehouse

100,000 sq. ft warehouse commissioned in Montreal

2001

US Market

US expansion as New York operations begin

2001

West India Trading

Distribution expands to the West Indies from the purchase of a Montreal based company

2008

4th Warehouse

Storage capacity doubles with opening of another new warehouse

2015

Canning Facilities

State-of-the-art canning facilities opens in Toronto

2015

Dunya Harvest

A mainstream brand promoting healthy pantry staples launches

For us, giving back to the community is our way of showing thanks.

From our first customer on St Laurent in Montreal to the family in Markham that works at our warehouse, community is an integral part of who we are at Shah Trading Company -- it is the very root of our success.

As a family business, we firmly believe that a strong community is at the very heart of success and fulfillment. Over the course of forty years, we have built relationships within a community that extends beyond our own family and diaspora to the larger Canadian population, and these relationships are at the very core of our operations. We are deeply humbled by all the people we have met through our charitable activities. We continue to strive to help the community by getting our next generation involved as much as possible. Thank you Canada for the many opportunities!

COMMUNITY

By looking within our own communities in Montreal and Toronto, we are always seeking to find the most urgent needs and make contributions. Here are a few recent outreach programs we participated in the last year:

> In conjunction with the food drive of a local elementary school, we donated over 5000 cans to the cause! Eastview Community Centre was able to provide several months of meals with our donation.

> Recently, we contributed a large cash sum to help build a new Jain temple in Toronto.

DONATIONS

In late 2016, a uniquely Canadian endeavour was the grassroots effort to provide necessities to newly landed Syrian refugees. It was an honour and privilege to work with other Canadians towards one cause. Here are a few of the ways we were able to help:

> We supplied basic staple items and some indulgent favorite foods from “back home” to almost 50 newcomer families through the East Toronto Families for Syria group.

> With a large influx of refugees in a short amount of time, the SAV Syrian Active Volunteers group was formed and secured a warehouse in Mississauga. In the first few weeks, we sent many pallets of food staple items to the warehouse to help hundreds of families get started with their new lives in Canada.

> We organized several drives within the community to supply over the counter medicine, hygiene products, diapers, and sundry other basic items to dozens of families in need.

> Our door is always open for workers in need of a job, even with little knowledge of English. Please contact us if you are in need of a job and live close to Scarborough, ON.

KIDS

Kids are our future, strongly applicable when we are talking about a family business. We are part of a broader community of parents who love to see their children excel and grow, no matter what.

> Impact Skateboarding is close to our hearts simply because we are a skateboarding family. Impact has impressed us because of their mission to develop “…positive self-image, healthy relationships with the wider community, empowered youth, and involvement in social justice issues.” Our donations have helped build ramps, provide gear, and free lessons for underprivileged kids.

> COBA (Collective of Black Artists) is an amazing community of families brought together in the spirit of dance. In order to keep dance classes accessible to everyone and keep the collective alive, COBA parents hold an annual fundraiser. Nupak was one of three key sponsors at this year’s fundraiser.