Angela Santiago

Angela Santiago is a mother of 4 and CEO of The Little Potato Company Ltd. Her time is in demand and well managed between kids, the office and numerous business trips to Europe, the US and across Canada. She is youthful and vibrant. Her eyes reflect a warmth that embraces her family and staff alike. Family values have been the foundation of building her fledgling company from the first 30 acre crop to the emerging big produce supplier it has become.

Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of Alberta, preceded by a Business Diploma with courses in Mediation and Conflict Resolution at the Justice Institute in B.C. to round out the post secondary years. Then came her PhD in potatoes with a segue into business with her Dutch father in September 1996. While discussing the farm life of his youth, her father Jacob introduced the idea of small potatoes. The family tie has not diminished to this day. Jacob in the field and Angela in the lead chair, The Little Potato Company Ltd. has forged ahead creating a niche market for a North American food staple.

Angela has seen the company grow from its beginning stages, washing spuds in a bathtub and a farmers market distribution to 10 million in current sales. The Little Potato Company Ltd. holds the proprietary rights on all its varieties which are now sold through retailers and foodservice companies such as Loblaws, Safeway, Costco, Overwaitea, Sobeys, Bridgebrand and Sysco.

Market demand has dictated plans for expansion both of fields and production facilities. Angela is drafting plans for a California plant to supply the western US and is working towards a facility in Ontario in the next few years. She is attentive to the issues of food transportation and the dictates of quality product. The Little Potato Company is currently in partnership with growers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario in Canada as well as supplemental crops from California, Washington and Nebraska. Every crop is overseen by the company from plant to harvest to ensure the quality potatoes that started the venture continue to be on consumer plates.