Meet Raven Rising-Global Indigenous Chocolates – an inspiring Canadian small business that was selected as a finalist in the Rising Stars category and voted by Canadians as the winner of the Canada’s Choice category in our 2022 Small Business Tales of Triumph Contest. The Rising Stars category of the contest is reserved for businesses that have launched in the last two years and are growing quickly. Let’s get to know this amazing company.
Adapting to the new normal
Raven Rising is a chocolate shop located in Sudbury, Ontario that produces artisan chocolates, truffles, hand-painted and hand-crafted bars and other chocolate treats.
Tami Maki, Raven Rising’s owner and a red seal pastry chef, launched the business in 2020 during the pandemic. At that time, retailers were quickly moving their retail businesses online. Tami knew ecommerce was the best option for her business, so she created a website and started filling orders. Today, with the help of Canada Post, she ships her chocolate Canada-wide.
Get to know our 2023 Tales of Triumph finalists.
Read their storiesRaven Rising’s roots
Raven Rising was born out of Tami’s journey to discover her Indigenous identity. Along the way, as she uncovered her roots, she came across ingredients that were very significant to First Nations peoples. She decided to create Raven Rising to showcase those traditional ingredients in her chocolate creations. She goes out of her way to source the ingredients from Indigenous people and businesses.
As Tami learns, she shares stories about her journey and contributes a portion of Raven Rising’s profits to various Indigenous societies. She also created the Raven Rising Pastry Arts Scholarship to support Indigenous students in pastry and culinary arts.
Growing Raven Rising
The business has grown steadily since opening and offers a revolving list of products. To keep additional products in stock and ready for retail, Tami is expanding her kitchen team.
Raven Rising’s current offerings include a 3 or 6-month chocolate membership. Members receive orders of chocolates monthly. Each membership is named after an animal and tells an Indigenous story about that animal. Raven Rising also offers online corporate tasting events.
What’s next for Raven Rising
Tami hopes to expand her team with more full-time staff and apprentices studying at George Brown. She is also hoping to add in-person events and more online corporate tasting events.
Raven Rising is more than just a chocolate shop. It’s making an impact in communities in Canada through the celebration of culture and food. Tami’s business helps deliver more for Indigenous peoples in Canada.