Back in May, Calgary-based Taste the City and its two co-founders received an offer while on the popular Canadian TV show Dragons’ Den. Now, nearly six months later, the pair can finally share their success and momentum after their episode finally aired.
Taste the City, an automated, prepaid tasting tour, was first launched in Calgary in early 2024. Each experience is text-led and thoughtfully curated, according to a University of Calgary issued press release, and allows guests to visit multiple restaurants in one evening, all within walking distance.
When booking, diners do not know where they’ll be going or what they’ll be eating.
According to Taste the City founder, CEO and 2024 UCalgary grad Joanna Pariseau, a trip to Italy inspired her start-up.
“When I was there (in Italy), I wanted to do a food tour, but I didn’t want to be in a group with a guide. It was really hard to tell how long you’d be at each restaurant, and you couldn’t make reservations within two hours of another one anyway,” she said.
“I came back (to Calgary) and created a beta product, and it’s been really successful.”
When Pariseau asked co-founder and CMO Melissa Ninaber, who has a background in social media marketing, to come on board, her reaction was an instant yes.
“I’m a huge foodie, and our story alone, and the story of what she was doing, and what she was trying to tell, I thought was so beautiful,” she said.
“Here I was like, ‘when can I quit my (other) job?”’
Now, nearly two years since their initial launch, the company hosts tasting experiences in Victoria Park, 17th Avenue, Inglewood, among others in Calgary and has expanded to Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Banff, Edmonton, and Niagara Falls.
UCalgary’s entrepreneurial environment played a pivotal role: Founder
For a project during her Urban Studies program, Pariseau had to conceptualize a revitalization of Calgary’s downtown, the first seedlings of Taste the City, which first introduced her to the city’s tech community.
“We felt the full support of the University of Calgary from a mentorship standpoint, and it’s been really encouraging,” Pariseau said.
After being invited to audition for Dragons’ Den, Taste the City was initially rejected due to its small size.
Once Pariseau and Ninaber built the business for another year, they submitted a mock sales video, which ultimately landed them national airtime.
“We worked with a producer to refine our pitch, which was really fun. Me and Joanna just decided we would practice our pitch everywhere, like at the Spa, at Niagara Falls, everywhere we went,” Ninaber said.
“We just practiced it because we thought, if we can be comfortable in public, in front of total strangers, wherever we go, we’ll be fine once we walk in front of the dragons.”
When their May-filmed episode finally aired on Nov. 13, the duo could finally reveal their deal with Brian Scudamore from 1-800-GOT-JUNK?.
Keeping her lips sealed for nearly six months proved difficult for Joanna, especially with every friend and family member poking and prodding about their TV experience.
“It was really challenging to be in this NDA when we have somebody, but we can’t talk about it,” she said.
“Everyone who asks, they’re all just like, ‘how was it?’ We kind of just have to say ‘we had a great day, we had an awesome day,’ take them how you will.”
The pair is hosting a watch party celebration event on the University of Calgary campus on Friday, Nov. 14 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m..
If interested in attending, please send an RSVP to info@tastethecity.ca.
