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Avalon Dairy

Meet Russ Rimmer, CEO of Burnaby’s Avalon Dairy, yogurt aficionado and trusted partner since 1996.

• Russ’s first job saw him rise at the crack of dawn to deliver the Time Colonist newspaper. Later on, he worked with Jersey Farms, Olympic Dairy, finally landing at Avalon. It’s safe to say Russ loves his dairy!

• He’s helming a 113 year old company, that’s still locally owned. And he’s the first to admit that it was the company’s chocolate milk and fruit-bottomed yogurts that sealed the deal for him. Russ calls it “the best chocolate milk in the world,” and free access to the glass-bottled elixir was too good to pass up. As for the yogurt, he eats it from the top down, saving the fruity bottom for last.

• The most invigorating part of the job though is interacting with Avalon’s passionate customers. Russ recalls a woman from East Sooke calling him to talk dairy for 45 minutes because she’s such a huge fan of the products.

• Avalon employs 55 people, some for up to 30 years! Russ considers one in particular the plant’s own MacGyver, and the reason they can run 140 different SKU’s.

• His greatest satisfaction is extending the Avalon name and brand to customers. And if he’s asked to choose, he’ll tell you his favourite yogurt is the vanilla flavour because it’s very adaptable and goes well on top of almost anything!

Here’s a unique way to use Avalon organic cottage cheese and organic homogenized milk while getting some veggies on the table in these Cheesy Zucchini Noodle Roll Ups.