Epicure

Epicure started with a busy mother's problem. In the early 1990s, Sylvie Rochette mixed her own spice blends so she could cook healthy meals for her two children without spending all day in the kitchen. She sold them from the back of her station wagon at farmers' markets around Victoria, B.C. The Times Colonist reported that on the first day she brought four blends to a country market, and sales came to $286.

Epicure dates its founding to 1997. After about six years selling wholesale, Rochette switched to party-plan selling, which the Times Colonist dated to 2007. The company grew fast. It bought a large rural property in North Saanich, where chefs, manufacturing, warehousing and shipping all sat on one site. BCBusiness named Rochette its 2012 Pacific Region Entrepreneur of the Year in consumer products, when the company had around $50 million in annual sales and about 10,000 independent sellers.

“Getting together, sharing recipes and eating — it really struck a chord.”

Sylvie Rochette, founder — BCBusiness, October 2012

Rochette's daughter, Amelia Warren, became chief executive. In 2017 Epicure marked its 20th anniversary with a picnic for 800 people on the lawn of the Fairmont Empress in Victoria. It then employed 175 staff and carried more than 300 products. The company added operations in the United States in 2019 and reported more than 20,000 sellers in 2021.

Epicure sold shortcuts to home-cooked meals. Most products came as small packets or jars that turned basic groceries into a family dinner in about 20 minutes.

• Meal seasonings: one-packet dinners such as Butter Chicken, Chicken Souvlaki, Taco and Mac & Cheese.
• Dip and dressing mixes: Three Onion, Herb & Garlic, Lemon Dilly, Guacamole and Greek dressing.
• Rubs, toppers and spice blends for meat, vegetables, eggs and popcorn.
• Baking mixes: gluten-free brownies, cupcakes, muffins, pancakes and waffles.
• Cookware: silicone steamers, multipurpose pots, bakeware and kitchen tools.

The company sold every food product as gluten-free and made in a nut-free facility, without artificial preservatives. Those claims came from Epicure itself, and they built a strong following among families dealing with celiac disease and nut allergies. Epicure also ran meal plans and wellness challenges, such as its Good Food Real Results program, built around its products.

Sellers were first called Consultants and, in later years, Ambassadors. The core of the business was the cooking party. A host invited friends, and the Ambassador cooked a few quick recipes with Epicure products while guests tasted and ordered. Hosts earned free products, discounts and host exclusives. Ambassadors also ran catalog and online parties and took orders through a personal Epicure website. The Times Colonist noted that a seller could earn more by bringing people into the company and building a team.

Ambassador Access Pass

In its last years, Epicure did not sell a traditional starter kit. New Ambassadors joined by buying a $49 Ambassador Access Pass. According to the old Direct Sales Aid profile, written around 2023, new Ambassadors had their pass reimbursed after $1,000 in sales in their first three months. They also earned Epicure apparel and product credits at set sales levels.

Pay

Ambassadors started at a 20% commission on their sales. Monthly sales bonuses were added once personal sales passed $1,000 and $2,000. The plan had 10 levels, based on personal sales and team sales. Promotion bonuses paid $40 for reaching Senior Ambassador with one team member, $100 for VIP Ambassador with two, and $250 for Executive Ambassador with three. A Grow Bonus offered up to $1,125 to new Ambassadors who reached Leader within six months. Leaders earned team commissions, incentive trips and conference perks. Direct Sales Aid recorded audio overviews of the company, the starter kit and the compensation plan while the program was running; they are still on our SoundCloud channel.

On January 24, 2025, Epicure shut down operations at its North Saanich headquarters and voluntarily entered bankruptcy. MNP Ltd. was appointed licensed insolvency trustee. The Times Colonist reported that an email from MNP, attributed to Sylvie Rochette, said Epicure could not recover from financial challenges that had hit direct sales businesses in recent years. The trustee sold off remaining stock through the company's website under the banner “Everything must go.”

The trustee's creditor package, reported by the Times Colonist on February 5, 2025, showed assets of $9.252 million against liabilities of about $15 million, a shortfall of $5.7 million. Ambassadors were listed as one creditor group owed $583,515, and employees as another owed $868,261.

“Epicure was a home-grown success story started by Sylvie Rochette, who initially sold a blend of spices at a market in Central Saanich.”

Carla Wilson — Times Colonist, February 5, 2025

The brand did not stay gone. Amelia Warren and her husband, Kyle Vucko, a co-founder of Indochino who had worked at Epicure, bought the brand's assets out of bankruptcy in April 2025. They relaunched Epicure by September 2025, rebuilt its supply chain with Canadian manufacturers and moved it into retail stores for the first time, the This Commerce Life podcast reported in June 2026.

Today Epicure is based in Vancouver and sells its seasonings, dip mixes and baking mixes on epicure.com. There are no Ambassadors, parties or team commissions. Instead, the company runs a free affiliate program: affiliates share a personal link and earn 15–20% commission on sales, plus a 15% discount on their own orders, and need $250 in customer sales every six months to stay active. Former Ambassadors kept whatever stock they had bought.