Knowlton entrepreneur makes it her ‘Mission’ to help her community feel good
Katrina Cote, owner of the popular Toro Graphix in Knowlton, is expanding her business ventures with a new nutritional shake bar in the village. After starting her own health and fitness journey and losing 60 pounds, many people approached Cote asking for her secret , which prompted her to take on clients. Now she’s gearing up to share her secret with the rest of Brome Lake by launching Mission Knowlton Bar Santé to offer various types of shakes and teas filled with nutrients and the opportunity to be coached by Cote.
“I started protein shakes, became healthier, and I lost a lot of weight and people started asking me questions. I’m coaching over 70 people now which is not what I planned on doing,” explained Cote. “I just started doing this to feel happier, to have more energy, and more confidence. I feel so much better. All of these women and men asked me what I did”
After taking on this new coaching role, the next step for Cote was to launch Mission. “The next step in the business was to open up my own shake bar like Activ8 (located in Waterloo). Since we already have Toro Graphix, I thought that it would be easy to put them side by side.”
Like Activ8, Mission will offer various different types of shakes and teas from a nutrition company and they serve different purposes depending on the goal of each client. “Some people drink the shakes to gain weight, to build muscle, to lose weight, and some people just like them because it’s fast and ready to go. There all types of reasons for taking the shakes and teas.”
Cote explained that the nutritional company that provides the products are highly rated. The shakes are also keto friendly and good for dietetics “They are good for the stomach, the digestive system, they debloat you, and they are helping people feel better about themselves. They are rich in vitamins and very good for you.”
The shakes serve as meal replacements while the teas work to give people more energy. Some people choose to incorporate the products with exercise but some prefer to stick with just the products. “All of the shakes are a meal replacement and the tea is really for energy, it speeds up the metabolism to help you lose weight and to have more energy.”
She emphasized that it was of the upmost importance for people to continue eating in-between their shakes and they are not to be depended on as actual food. “It’s very important that they have snacks between shakes to keep the metabolism going. They need to make sure they have snacks and that they are not starving themselves. The shakes with the protein keep people feeling full. It’s important that they still eat of course and to have a regular, healthy supper. People often cheat on weekend and get back to it on Monday morning.”
There will be many different flavors of shakes, including Pineapple, Strawberry, S’mores, and Rice crispy, which Cote will show her clients how to make at home. “I have the secret
ingredients that make it taste better but they can make it at home.”
By opening up Mission, Cote also hopes that more people will be interested in being coached. “By coaching I mean that I am guiding them on what to do, what to eat, what do drink, and how their meal plan should go depending on what their goal is. I guide them with what is best for them and if they are interested in exercising then we do have challenges that we do and it’s motivating and keeps them interested.”
Through her coaching, Cote has seen the difference the products can make in the life of her clientele. “It makes you feel good. It’s a healthy lifestyle, it’s not a diet. It’s not something that you’re going to do for a month and stop. You change a little bit of everything and it makes a big difference in your life. The women I’ve been coaching started feeling better about themselves and it’s nice to see them feel good in their skin and it’s very inspiring.”
Cote organized two VIP tastings over the last two weekends and business was non-stop. Before she even organized these tastings, there was a lot of hype on Mission’s social media pages and the community was excited for the business to open its doors. “I was really surprised, I wasn’t sure how people would react.”
Mission Knowlton Bar Santé officially opened its doors on May 31.