Though she grew up in Kelowna on syilx Okanagan territory, Bebia Cho Foods’ Founder & CEO, Wendy Landry-Braun’s paternal side of her family hails from the Deh Gáh Got’ı̨ę Dene First Nation community of Fort Providence, Northwest Territories (NWT).
“Every summer, our family was dehydrating and canning fruit to bring up to our community in the NWT,” says Wendy, adding that Fort Providence is covered in snow for close to 9 months of the year, limiting access to secure and fresh food sources, like fruit.
Having been gifted a food dehydrator for Christmas in 2024, Wendy built off her childhood memories and started experimenting with dehydrating fruit, creating a fun hobby for her family. This hobby quickly grew into Bebia Cho Foods, so called thanks to a nickname given to Wendy by her late grandfather—bebia cho is a Dene Zhatıé phrase that translates to ‘big baby.’
“I started the company to highlight and honour the apple, bringing value to the fruit and transforming what people thought of apple chips,” says Wendy, whose initial goals also included celebrating “family tradition while addressing food waste and security in northern and remote communities.”
The collaborative spirit at the heart of the Central Okanagan’s business community was an integral part of Bebia Cho Foods’ early growth. In June of 2025, Wendy attended Métis Rendezvous in Kelowna, her first experience as a vendor.
It was at this event that she met Joy Haxton, executive director at the Lake Country Food Assistance Society, and Peter Boyd, owner of Peter’s Your Independent Grocer, both of whom Wendy credits with helping her grow her healthy snack program in Northern Canada, which she started prior to officially launching the business.
“We use the facilities at the Lake Country Foodbank to make the apple chips for Bebia Cho Foods’ healthy snack program,” explains Wendy. “Partnering with them was a game changer, as it removed a lot of the barriers and helped push my business forward.”
Peter Boyd’s extensive experience offered additional support for the business and mentorship for Wendy as she began her entrepreneurial journey and grew the healthy snack program, which provides Bebia Cho products to a school in Igloolik, Nunavut.
Today, less than a year from its launch, Bebia Cho Foods has already amassed a substantial list of accolades. Wendy pitched her business, alongside 26 other Indigenous entrepreneurs, at the 2025 Kamloopa Pow Wow Pitch. Her win at the event secured Bebia Cho Foods the $5,000 grand prize and the opportunity to advance to the 2025 Pow Wow Pitch Grand Finale, where they were ultimately awarded the second-place prize of $10,000. In conjunction with Pow Wow Pitch, Wendy also received a 2025 Aritzia Indigenous Grant, created to support emerging Indigenous women and two-spirit entrepreneurs.
Closer to home, and within 5 months of its launch, Bebia Cho Foods was named one of three finalists in the Indigenous Business of the Year category at the 2025 Kelowna Chamber Business Excellence Awards, recognizing the company’s early success. Bebia Cho Foods also won six awards—two Platinum and four Gold—in the CommunityVotes Kelowna 2025 competition.
Building off all her success, Wendy is now in the process of incorporating the business and setting up her own commercial kitchen. Having grown from one at-home dehydrator to 8 commercial machines, Bebia Cho Foods now makes several products, including its original apple chips and more than 32 flavours of Twisted Chips, which combine apple chips with an assortment of add-ins.
Wendy continues to source new avenues for showcasing Bebia Cho Foods’ products. Along with making connections with local orchardists—she hopes to own her own orchard one day, as one of Canada’s first Indigenous orchardists—Wendy has been connecting with local realtors to have her products included in their welcome packages. She’s preparing and finalizing details to have one of her products included in the Seasonal Discovery Box curated by Indigenous Box, and is looking into partnership opportunities with airlines to be included as part of their food offerings.
She’s also grown her businesses to include The Bebia Cho Company, which is focused on fashion and started with an orange shirt to honour her grandfather and all residential school survivors. Through the fashion arm of her business, Wendy is now showcasing at various 2026 fashion week celebrations across the globe. A portion of the revenue from The Bebia Cho Company supports Bebia Cho Foods’ healthy snack program, creating a full-circle connection in Wendy’s quest to “foster lasting change and empowerment” within her community.
Along with running her businesses, Wendy works as an Indigenous student advocate in the Kelowna neighbourhood of Rutland where she grew up. This past summer, she hired two of her former students as Bebia Cho Foods’ first employees.
“I started my business to show my students and my kids that you don’t have to have much to make a difference, you are valuable,” says Wendy. “My role at the school and my businesses all work towards youth empowerment, for my students and my kids. I’m planting the roots for my kids to carry this [business] on.”
