Today's startups are tomorrow's world-changers—unlocking new possibilities in medical research, developing sustainable innovations, and building breakthrough technologies to combat climate change. Since 2006, these trailblazers have relied on AWS to reach new heights. With programs like AWS Activate that provide technological credits, and mentorship, these businesses can do more with less, break into new markets, and innovate faster.
This is precisely the case for AquaVerti Farms, a Quebec vertical hydroponic farm that supplies thousands of heads of fresh, pesticide-free lettuce and herbs to grocery stores year-round, even during the harshest Canadian winters. They received AWS’s support through a unique collaboration during season 13 of the Radio-Canada show, Dans l'œil du dragon.
Read on for a look at the journey of three Quebec companies that participated in Dans l'œil du dragon, propelled by AWS.
AquaVerti Farms: Reaching the next milestone through digitalization
In a 30,000 square foot building located in Ville Saint-Laurent, Montréal, towers with rows upon rows of herbs, lettuce, and spinach stand ready for harvest and distribution to supermarkets across Quebec.
AquaVerti Farms co-founder and president, Georges Aczam sees not just thousands of plants inside his facility but a goldmine of data. A single hydroponic system contain between five and six million data points—AquaVerti Farms has six systems. This doesn’t include operational systems, harvest quality control, production, or ventilation and air conditioning data points.
Georges knew he was missing an opportunity if he couldn't make his operations smarter by having his growing systems share data between themselves.
After winning the AWS grand prize of $100,000—including a grant, technological credits, and mentorship—during season 13 of Dans l'œil du dragon, AquaVerti Farms began migrating its data to the AWS Cloud. The objective was to leverage data to optimize performance and make more informed business decisions.
Within just a few months, the results exceeded AquaVerti Farm’s expectations. By centralizing its data, the company was able to reduce processing time to just a few minutes.
"We went from a 21-day growing cycle to 17 days!" says Georges, noting the savings in water management, materials, and energy generated by a shorter production cycle.
This optimization reduced costs and improved product quality, contributing to more sustainable agricultural practices and aligning more closely with the company's mission.
Efficiency gains allowed AquaVerti Farms to increase margins and expand market share, particularly in highly competitive segments like large food chains. "With AWS's help, we increased our productivity by an average of 20% across all produce. We are now in an excellent position to provide local products at competitive prices to big chains," Georges explains.
"Never underestimate the data you have," Georges says, "nor your ability to leverage it with technology. This can make all the difference when making informed business decisions."
For Georges and AquaVerti Farms, this is just the first step in their digital transformation.
"I have always aspired to become a technology company in the agri-food production sector," he continues. "Artificial intelligence (AI) holds enormous potential for ensuring food security locally and beyond our borders. I can't wait to share our technology with my peers in the sector."
AI Automation: The Key to OneTrip's Growth
Led by Djalil Baba-Moussa and Walid Baba-Moussa, OneTrip is an e-commerce platform designed for independent grocery stores to quickly create an online shop.
OneTrip, a runner up for the AWS grant, also received a prize worth $20,000 in technology credits and mentoring. This prize played a pivotal role for the company, allowing it to evolve rapidly by reducing development timelines and decreasing transformation-related costs.
"Thanks to AWS's support, we automated how retailers can digitize their products for online stores, which allows us to offer a remote service and create a new revenue stream," Walid says. "It enabled us to develop the market outside of Montreal, without multiplying travels!" he continues, mentioning new clients in the Laurentians, Rimouski, and Chicoutimi.
OneTrip benefited from AWS's technical expertise to set up a proof-of-concept project. Leveraging generative AI services, it extracts key information from grocery product images to develop product descriptions in the language of their choice. In just seconds, it builds a complete online inventory for merchants. The proof of concept worked so well that the two brothers put it into production immediately.
"We managed to increase the precision of our digitization process, going from 50 to 60% to nearly 80 to 90%," Djalil explains.
These advances enhanced OneTrip’s services and opened new business perspectives, strengthening its market position and fostering growth.
"Our customers keep telling us – we have eliminated a lot of friction for them!" Walid says.
OneTrip believes the future of commerce lies in the digital transformation of local businesses—with resolutely global ambitions.
"Above all, we're not afraid to think big!" he concludes, explaining that OneTrip is now planning to deploy to West Africa, particularly to their native country of Benin, following participation in an economic and creative symposium organized by the Benin-Canada Chamber of Commerce earlier this month. Walid and Djalil approach this step with confidence, knowing that AWS's global infrastructure would allow them to deploy to new markets in just a few clicks.
Exponential Growth for SilknSoak
SilknSoak, founded and led by sisters Kimberly Castaneda and Melanie Castaneda, sells cubes that release essential oils under shower steam, creating an immersive aromatherapy experience at home. The company also received a secondary prize worth $20,000 as part of the show.
"AWS quickly helped us find our footing in the startup world and facilitated relevant connections to propel our company to new heights," explains Kimberly.
"The AWS team predicted that we would reach a million dollars in revenue this year, and we thought they were crazy," she continues.
In just one year, SilknSoak saw its sales jump from $120,000 to $1.1 million in 2024.
"They pushed us to target larger market players, giving us confidence in our ability to handle large orders,” Melanie says, explaining that the sisters could now focus on the creativity and passion necessary to make their business successful.
"For us, the sky is now the only limit," Melanie says. She acknowledges the mentorship and support provided to overcome numerous challenges related to their rapid growth, and managing large orders from clients like Rachelle Berry (Sobeys).
Towards New Markets
OneTrip, SilknSoak, and AquaVerti Farms have all seen how AWS support and resources not only facilitated growth but also opened new innovation opportunities.
OneTrip continues to evolve by further automating its processes and exploring AI for merchant evaluation and order optimization.
SilknSoak is preparing to extend its presence throughout Canada while strengthening its internal capabilities.
AquaVerti Farms plans to deepen technology integration to support its expansion and develop its technological offering to support food security efforts.
These successes demonstrate the direct impact of technologies like cloud computing and artificial intelligence on the efficiency, productivity, innovation, and competitiveness of businesses of all sizes.
"Less than four hours after delivering my first order to a new chain, I received a call saying they are already out of stock and want a second delivery for tomorrow morning," Georges says. " I am grateful to the AWS team, who spoke about my products to the store manager."
Read this blog to discover how AWS is helping other SMBs scale to new heights.
