With recent reports of Canadians being attacked in Mexico, that country’s tourism industry has had to battle an international image problem. Now a group of retired Canadians has joined that fight, realizing one of its favourite vacation spots needs help. It’s opened a distilling business in Mazatlan that’s winning awards and giving the local economy a much needed boost.
The plan came together with a few objectives in mind. “None of us really looks forward to retiring, so we said ‘We need a plan.’ We need something to do if we’re going to be down there enjoying the weather,” says Manuel Campos, the managing partner of Onilikan.
“We can’t just be twiddling our thumbs.”
And Onilikan was born. The company says it’s committed to investing in locally-grown products and workers to help Mazatlan’s economy.
“That’s our core value and what we really want to be doing,” says Courtney Maier, Onilikan’s sales director in Vancouver.
“Having pride as Canadians, we’re taking that into Mazatlan and making sure we’re giving back.”
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Campos adds, “We believe very much that if we’re going to live in a community, we should be helping the community.”
Recent violence against Canadians in Mexico has some people vowing to stay away, but Campos thinks the situation has been blown out of proportion. “Tourism is suffering tremendously and unfairly so – because…if you (look at) the statistics, there are a lot of other places in Latin America where violence is worse than Mexico. Far worse than in Mexico.”
Eric Lorenz of Lorenz Agave Spirits, based in Vancouver, is pleased to see a positive story come out of Mexico. “Sinaloa has recently got a bad rap in Canadian news, and this is a happy story out of Sinaloa.”
After about a year of growing the brand in Mexico, Onilikan’s products are now available in Canada. Canadians can now get a taste of Mexico with every sip, and the Mexican economy gets a little boost with every bottle.
A recent taste test impressed samplers in Vancouver, with one person commenting, “You can tell that you’re dealing with a first-rate product here that’s smooth and nice to enjoy.”
Campos says the company had a vision with the recipe. “We took European traditions and Mexican products like the mango and blue agave, and said ‘Let’s use the European technology and really develop a fine and refined product.'”
“The main product export from Mazatlan has long been things like mangos, but arguably…tourism has been a much bigger part of their economy for a very long time. Now that the tourism economy is dropping, they do need something to replace that for sure,” Lorenz says.
“It’s a very close relationship that Mexico and Canada have, and they will continue to have as they move towards the future,” says an optimistic Campos.
The business has also been personal endeavour for Maier. “This is really exciting for me and my whole family. It’s a retirement project.”
“They could be spending their time on the golf course, but instead they decided to be part of their community in Mazatlan, and to develop a product that gives back to the community and also gives them something fun to do in their retirement.”
Right now, Onilikan’s products are only available in British Columbia, but they’re expected to be in Alberta and Saskatchewan stores later this spring.
With files from Global National’s Francis Silvaggio
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