It might be cold in Montreal but the city is bustling with hot innovative projects. Bastien Poulain is one of these dynamic young entrepreneurs surfing on the wave of innovation. He has launched 1642, the first cola made of maple syrup, in a country where the soda industry is clearly dominated by multinational firms.

Entrepreneurship? It runs in the family

Bastien is not from Montreal but his heart now belongs to the city. Born in the French city of Rennes, he was raised in Brittany in a family of entrepreneurs.

“My father and grandfather were both entrepreneurs. It runs in the family. I spent my childhood immersed in this world. Every Saturday morning, I opened the cheques with my father and gave him the amounts.”

However, Bastien knows that having childhood memories is not enough: to be an entrepreneur, you need to have an original idea, and be passionate about it. Bastien started his professional life in China and Montreal in the hotel industry and the idea of a Quebec cola only came to his mind in 2013.

Innovative financing tools

Like many startupers and entrepreneurs, Bastien had to juggle with several financing tools: although he had put money aside before the project, he launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and raised $7,111 CAD in a month. He also earned a grant from Fondation Montréal Inc, and credit from Banque Nationale and from private investors through the TV show “L’Oeil du Dragon”. Bastien knows that money is the backbone of his effort: “financing is a continuous goal that we have to consider on a daily basis to manage our growth”

Producing a local soda through social entrepreneurship

Producing alternative sodas is not a new idea and there are many examples in the world, such as Breizh Cola, a soda launched in Bastien’s original region of Brittany, but what is so innovative and special about 1642 is that (almost) everything about it is local.

“In Quebec, we have the chance of having the most natural and healthy sugar so when we asked ourselves what we would put in our cola, the answer was crystal clear”.

Not only is the product local but it is also perfectly adapted to the changing market: Today, consuming local products is not a trend anymore, it is a fact.

Bastien is dedicated to working with quality local actors: his company is the only one in the soda industry working with the best Canadian micro-distillery, Le Domaine Pinnacle. All providers and employees are local. The cola itself is named after the foundation date of Montreal, and Bastien has already developed strategic language elements and strong communication.

“We want to tell a story with our 1642, a story for all Montrealers, whether we were born here or made it our home. This is the story of our proud city”.

Consumers become influencers

Bastien started his adventure by targeting the Canadian market and neighbour states who have a good image of Canadian products. His target consumers are in their twenties and thirties, they are striving for innovative products and they like to tell all about it. “1642 is not a luxury product, it is a quality product”. Although an individual bottle will cost around $2 CAN in Canada, it is distributed in more than 600 locations in Quebec (you will find a helpful interactive map of Montreal on the website), in prestigious restaurants (Le Toqué, l’Européa in Montreal), in supermarkets and delicatessen shops. 1642 wants to create a niche on the fizzy drink market.

Next steps?

There is no doubt that 1642 will continue to grow in Canada but the company wants to develop sales in Europe, China and the US. They have also started to expand the range of products with 1642 Tonic, their new soda. In the short term, communication and PR remain a key issue and Bastien will represent Canada as a delegate at the G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit (G20YEA) in Beijing in August 2016, along with 16 other entrepreneurs.

1642 is sold in more than 600 locations in Quebec and 20 in France and Belgium, you can also buy it online. It is very active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Personally, I have tasted it at L’Intermarché Universel, 89 av. du Mont-Royal Est.