Tony Singh opened a small produce store in Newton in 1994. He figured it would provide a decent income to raise his family and make him enough to put a little away for his retirement.
Little did the savvy entrepreneur know his Fruiticana concept - one that offers customers the freshest produce straight from local farmers as well as specialty products from around the world - would become an instant phenomenon.

When Fruiticana began, the only employees were himself, his father Tarlok Singh and one staff member. (Today, there are more than 500 employees).

He would wake very early, head to the store and get it ready for customers by 8:30 a.m. At the time, Singh was working 16-hour days as a Jack of all Trades - janitor, cashier, buyer and banker.

He would also get into his van and visit local farms in Abbotsford, Langley and Surrey and hand-pick the freshest products he could find.
This went on for about nine months, when Singh realized he had a recipe for success. Within a year, he opened his second Fruiticana outlet in Richmond. Singh didn't realize how much people were searching for specialty produce.
He is also a trailblazer when it comes to importing international products into B.C. Being from Montreal; early on he was able to offer his clients exotic produce that he would ship from back east. Singh was bringing in fresh sugar cane, Indian yams and guavas … items that weren't readily available in Western Canada. Soon, Fruiticana shelves were stocked with Indian spices and lentils.

Eight years later, Fruiticana branched out into Alberta. Fifteen years later, the produce and specialty items giant has gone from a small cottage business to a well-respected company with 14 Fruiticana outlets across B.C. and Alberta, and a wholesale business shipping products around the world, including to the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Fruiticana stocks unique products from around the world, such as India, Pakistan, Thailand, Dubai, Australia and the Philippines.
Singh and his staff of buyers regularly attend international trade shows sourcing out new items that they think would appeal to its clientele.
No longer is Fruiticana simply an East Indian store. The buyers travel around the world looking for new spices, lentils and other items that our customers requests.

Fruiticana prides itself in bringing brand names from India and Pakistan, to guarantee our customers the most trusted brand names possible. Its state-of-the-art 65,000 square foot warehouse is the largest in Western Canada. The warehouse is temperature controlled to ensure the spices are kept at the highest quality possible. To guarantee the freshest imported produce such as mangoes, Fruiticana purchased its own farms in Mexico. Its mangoes, for example, are hand picked; hand packed and transported at a certain temperature so that when its customer here bites into a mango it's bursting with flavour and sweetness. (Its mangoes are sold under Fruiticana's brand name, Rajan).

Singh personally visits his farms regularly to ensure the highest quality produce reaches your home.
With no middleman, Fruiticana sells hard-to-find specialty brands - such as Parle-G, Dabour, Tiffany, Panchranga, and Golden Temple Flour- at the lowest prices possible.

Fruiticana is the sole distributor of Golden Temple Flour in Western Canada. Meanwhile, the company has been honoured with a number of awards and accolades over the years. Fruiticana won the Business Person of the Year Award from the Surrey Board of Trade as well as the Cultural Diversity Award from the Surrey/Delta Immigration Society. The privately held company has also been awarded an Ethnic Produce Business Award from Business in Vancouver newspaper and the coveted Consumer Choice Award of Canada.

Fruiticana has gone from yearly sales of less than a million to sales of over $100 million. Philanthropy has always played a vital role in Singh's overall personal and corporate life. Singh is one of the founding members of the SPARK Foundation - a nonprofit organization assisting students in obtaining a university education, who due to economic and/or cultural reasons may not attend otherwise. He is also involved in the fundraising efforts to build a new emergency wing at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

Fruiticana also donate a lot of money and fundraise on behalf of Children's Hospital and its staff volunteers during the yearly Telethon.
Over the past 12 years, Fruiticana has established scholarships for deserving students through the Indo-Canadian Business Association.