With her family dealing with food allergies, Jo Anne Fallaise began looking for alternative products to bring into her home. After talking to others who were dealing with similar issues, she started to invite them into her home, supplying them different options to cope.
Her passion to supply people with natural food products grew from and, with the encouragement of her entrepreneur father and the support of her husband Murray, Jo Anne’s Place Health Foods was born in 1976.
In the last 46 years Jo Anne’s place has expanded from her inside her home into three booming storefronts, including two in Peterborough and one in Lindsay, with 60 staff on the payroll.
General Manager Sharon Walker says that one of the challenges they face as a small business is that mass market stores have started carrying natural health products which has created some competition.
Walker adds that it’s not just natural health products that they offer, they also have a registered nutritionist working with them, who is available for advice and testing for anyone that needs it.
On top of the three storefronts, Jo Anne’s Place recently opened a café at Trent University’s Athletics Centre, serving the needs of students and community members.
For more information on Jo Anne’s Place Health Foods, visit JoannesPlace.ca.
(Written by: Scott Arnold)
