A Mississauga specialty food retailer focused on flavoured butter has opened its first permanent store as its founder expands into wholesale distribution through partnerships with Ontario food businesses.
Butter Bar Boutique, located at 1006 Lagoon St. in Mississauga’s Port Credit area, features the company’s gourmet flavoured butters alongside specialty foods, kitchen products, entertaining accessories and gifts, with an emphasis on locally made and Canadian products.
Founded by entrepreneur Kate Engineer in 2023, Butter Bar has grown from a market-based operation into a retail business with production support from family-owned The Alliston Creamery. The company has also supplied its packaged butters to other retailers, including SanRemo Bakery and Downey’s Farm Market, with the products at those stores during the recent Thanksgiving weekend.
The boutique’s opening and the wholesale expansion mark the next stage of a business that Engineer initially operated herself, handling production, packaging and sales before partnering with a creamery to increase output.
From farmers’ markets to retail
Engineer developed Butter Bar after growing up around her family’s restaurant and working in retail marketing and communications. She later launched a fashion public relations agency and founded hospitality training company Servers Excellence before turning her attention to specialty food.
For the first three years of Butter Bar’s operations, Engineer personally made, packaged and sold the company’s butter. She introduced the products at the Port Credit Farmers’ Market and expanded her reach through pop-up shops and the One Of A Kind Show.
“I started Butter Bar out of a love for butter and cooking, and for the first three years, I did every part of it myself — from churning and flavouring to moulding, freezing, wrapping and selling every stick,” said Engineer. “It all began at the Port Credit Farmers’ Market and grew through pop-ups and the One Of A Kind Show. The support has been incredible. Customers kept coming back, sharing our butter with friends and encouraging me to keep going. That following made it clear that it was time to grow. Opening the Boutique and partnering with Alliston Creamery are the next chapter in a business built by hand, with a lot of love and a community that believed in it.”
The partnership with The Alliston Creamery has enabled Butter Bar to increase production and pursue wholesale distribution while retaining control over its flavour recipes. The creamery produces the butter using local Ontario cream and serves as the company’s co-packing and production partner.
The products are packaged in 250-gram portions wrapped in wax paper and placed in custom sleeve boxes. The companies also worked together to introduce the wax-paper packaging as an alternative to conventional foil wrapping.
“The Butter Bar team came to Alliston Creamery with a clear vision, and it challenged us to rethink both how we make butter and how we wrap it, right down to bringing traditional wax paper back into the process. It’s what happens when two passionate Canadian food businesses aren’t afraid to do things a little differently. We’re incredibly proud of these butters and can’t wait to see them debut at the Boutique,” said Marianne of The Alliston Creamery.
Wholesale distribution adds a growth channel
Butter Bar’s products are now available to retailers, with SanRemo Bakery and Downey’s Farm Market identified as the first businesses to carry the newly packaged collection. The company is seeking additional retail partners, including specialty food stores, gourmet grocers, farm markets, butcher shops, bakeries and gift shops.
Engineer said wholesale distribution complements the opening of the company’s own store by giving customers more opportunities to purchase the products.
“Opening our own Boutique was always part of the dream, but seeing Butter Bar on the shelves of other incredible food businesses is equally exciting,” says Engineer. “SanRemo Bakery and Downey’s Farm Market are destinations people already associate with great food, tradition and gathering, which makes them such natural first retail partners for us. And having the butters arrive just in time for Thanksgiving feels especially perfect — because if there’s ever a weekend that deserves really good butter, this is it.”
The flavoured butters retail for $30 to $34 per 250-gram package, depending on the flavour.
Store focuses on food and entertaining
The boutique combines Butter Bar’s products with a broader selection of specialty pantry items, gourmet foods, kitchen and tabletop products, charcuterie supplies, serving accessories and gifts. Its merchandise selection is intended to appeal to home cooks, hosts and shoppers looking for food-related gifts, while featuring products from Canadian makers.
The store is open Wednesday through Sunday at 1006 Lagoon St. in Mississauga.
Engineer said the permanent location provides an opportunity to present the products alongside other Canadian-made goods and give customers a more complete retail experience.
“There’s something incredibly nostalgic about butter, but there is also so much room to have fun with it,” added Engineer. “We’ve obsessed over everything from the flavours and ingredients to the way the butter is wrapped, boxed and displayed. The Boutique gives us the opportunity to share that entire experience with our customers and introduce them to other Canadian products and makers we love. Ultimately, Butter Bar is about making everyday food feel a little more special — and spreading a little joy along the way.”
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