Growing Food Enterprises With Thoughtful Design
Shauna presents at the Basin Food & Buyer Expo (FABx), an annual regional event that connects producers and buyers, fosters collaboration, and supports local food systems. She also serves as a director with the Kootenay Food Council.
These days, Shauna’s primary crop isn’t carrots—it’s food businesses. She cultivates food enterprises, helping farmers and makers grow through thoughtful design and packaging—work she deeply loves.
She didn’t come to farming in the traditional way. A born-and-raised, self-described “city kid,” her connection to food began early. As a young teenager, she worked in her family’s cookie bakery, where she spent years learning the rhythms and realities of food production. After studying design and working professionally in the industry, a shift in circumstance brought her back to the bakery—this time as a young, ambitious business owner at just 21. There, she began developing packaging concepts and gained a hands-on education in food systems and production.
Soon after rebranding her cookie shop, she launched her own wholesale organic bakery focused on gluten-free and vegan products, where she deepened her understanding of food packaging and regulatory requirements. But the pull to connect more directly with food—beyond production and into growing—became undeniable.
Shauna and her family sold everything—the two businesses and their home—and relocated to the Slocan Valley, landing on a hillside homestead with no prior ties to the region. What followed were years of immersive learning: farming, permaculture, food preservation, and animal husbandry. Along the way, she hosted workshops, building knowledge through hands-on learning. Recognizing a broader desire in her community to reconnect with traditional food skills, she founded a not-for-profit co-op to help others access and learn skills that had largely been lost across generations.
Today, her approach to farming is more focused. She has stepped back from intensive, varied production and animal husbandry, and now concentrates on perennials—nuts and fruit—along with hot peppers and flowers, which she describes as feeding her soul and need for heat!
Professionally, Shauna brings this lived experience into her work as the founder and Creative Director of Design Farm (designfarm.ink), where she specializes in crafting brand identities and CFIA-compliant packaging for food businesses, along with education and speaking opportunities. She is especially passionate about helping farmers tell their stories and connecting consumers more meaningfully to the people behind their food. Many of her clients are women working across agriculture and food— from organic vegetable growers on the Island to beef ranchers in the Prairies, cheese makers and pork wranglers on the mainland, and egg farmers in the Okanagan. These women are the backbone of our food shed—a community she deeply respects and is proud to support. When wandering through grocery stores she is over the moon to find so much of her work on display.
Since 2018, Shauna has also produced the Basin Food & Buyer Expo (FABx), an annual regional gathering that brings producers and buyers together to build relationships, share knowledge, and celebrate local food systems. She also serves as a director on the Kootenay Food Council.
Like many women in agriculture and food, Shauna continues to navigate the balance between work and well-being. She finds grounding in simple, physical rhythms—biking, canoeing, and walking with her dogs. A 30-year yoga practice has been a steady gift, nourishing her body through asana and her mind through pranayama, and she can’t imagine doing it all without these foundations.
Running her own business comes with its challenges, but also its gifts—like the ability to step outside when the sun is calling, breathe deeply, stay connected to the land, and ground herself with her hands in the soil when needed.
Shauna remains driven by curiosity, creativity, and a deep appreciation for the people who grow and make the food that sustains us. This year also marks the start of new branches for Shauna and Design Farm, including a YouTube channel (@designfarm-ink ) dedicated to supporting food producers with packaging and brand tips from a pro, and a new podcast series. Bread and Salt Sessions, created in partnership with two fellow amazing women in food in the region, features conversations with food crafters across BC.
About the Author
Shauna Fidler is a graphic and permaculture designer passionate about food, community, and farm economies. Founder of DESIGN FARM, specializing in branding and initiatives supporting resilient food systems and producers. Visit designfarm.ink.
