Born out of necessity during the pandemic, an Indigenous Sask. cleaning supply company looks beyond COVID-19
The president of a new Indigenous soap and cleaning product company says he hopes consumers across Saskatchewan and beyond will switch brands and make Nikihk products regular staples in their homes.
“We think there’s going to be more production. We think it’s going to go into a national product,” said Nikihk company president Neil Sasakamoose.
Nikihk is a cree word for “my home” and the name of a cleaning company founded by the Battleford Agency of Tribal Chiefs on behalf of seven first nations, less than a year ago.
Neil Sasakamoose says First Nations in the North Battleford area couldn’t find sanitation supplies to buy in the first part of the Covid-19 pandemic. This led the Battleford Agency of Tribal Chiefs to source their own supplies and eventually led them to form a company to create their own brand of hand sanitizer complete with sweet grass scent.
“We thought narrowly at first. We thought we are just providing our own households on reserves an opportunity to be safe during the pandemic, but now this is a great opportunity,” said Sasakamoose.
To date, the company has has manufactured 70,000 Nikihk sample packages. They consist of seven products such as sanitizer, hand lotion, dish soap, kitsch degreaser and bathroom cleaner.
The Nikihk sample kits are being distributed to all people who get a Covid-19 vaccination at one of the urban Indigenous Covid-19 vaccination centres in Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert.
Some of the funding for the Covid-19 kits was provided by Indigenous Services Canada and serves partially as a reconciliation gift, says Sasakamoose.
About 20,000 kits have been given out at vaccine clinics to members of the public like Harneet Kaur.
“If they started a new businesses, it’s good for them to give the free samples and so if people like it they will obviously purchase it for themselves,” said Kaur.
The kit includes a survey card asking people to try the product and email them back a photo of the paper survey.
“Now this is a great marketing opportunity for us. People are picking it up now. It’s in demand,” said Sasakamoose.
The Sobey’s grocery store in Preston Crossing became the first major retailer to sell Nikihk products in its store.
“There’s been many calls from companies across Canada that would like to carry an Indigenous product like Nikihk,” Sasakamoose said.
The company’s production plant is located in Cormand Industrial Park North of Saskatoon, SK.
Twenty people work full time with the company. The number of employees rises to about 50 during peak production and distribution.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.