Milton Tonial & Not Bad Snacks: Building a Better Snack from the Ground Up

Milton Tonial is the co-founder of Not Bad Snacks, a Vancouver-based premium snack brand reimagining indulgent, better-for-you snacking. Originally from Brazil, Milton began his professional journey in law, earning his degree and practicing before ultimately pivoting toward entrepreneurship. While his legal background shaped his analytical thinking and discipline, he always knew he wanted to build something of his own.

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After moving to Canada, he leaned into that instinct and began exploring ventures at the intersection of product, branding, and storytelling. In 2023, he co-founded Not Bad Snacks alongside his wife, Gisela, transforming a series of kitchen experiments into an emerging consumer brand rooted in simplicity, flavour, and authenticity.

Family has been at the heart of the journey from the beginning. Building the brand while stepping into parenthood added a deeply human layer to the experience, shaping not only how the company operates but why it exists. That sense of closeness and intention continues to guide Milton’s approach to business, prioritizing honesty, connection, and long-term thinking over shortcuts.

Today, he remains deeply hands-on as the company grows through its early stages, working across product, brand, and retail expansion. Through Not Bad Snacks, Milton is focused on building something real and enduring, grounded in the belief that meaningful brands are shaped by personal journeys and genuine human connection.

THE BUSINESS.

Not Bad Snacks is a Vancouver-based premium snack brand creating refrigerated nut butter swirls made with simple, real ingredients and bold flavour.

Founded in 2023 by husband-and-wife duo Milton and Gisela, the company was born from a simple idea: they wanted to make the snacks they could not find.

Frustrated by the gap between indulgent treats and clean-label snacks, the founders set out to create something that felt both satisfying and intentional.

Each product is naturally sweetened with dates, plant-based, protein-packed, and crafted to deliver an indulgent texture that feels closer to a treat than a traditional health snack.

By focusing on simplicity, flavour, and a distinct visual identity, Not Bad Snacks has quickly resonated with a growing community of ingredient-conscious consumers.

Built from the ground up in Vancouver, the brand reflects a new generation of founder-led consumer companies, community-driven, design-aware, and rooted in authenticity.

Still in its early growth phase, Not Bad Snacks is expanding from direct-to-consumer momentum into select retail partnerships while continuing to build strong local traction.

At its core, Not Bad Snacks exists to make better-for-you snacks that do not feel like a compromise, combining real ingredients with bold flavour and a sense of joy.

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IN HIS WORDS.

“The entrepreneurial instinct was always there, even before I had the language for it. Growing up in Brazil, I was naturally drawn to independence and creating my own paths. I followed a more traditional route early on and became a lawyer, but even then, I felt a strong pull toward building something of my own. Moving to Canada amplified that feeling. Starting over in a new country makes you more comfortable with uncertainty, and that environment pushed me to think beyond conventional career paths. I began seeing entrepreneurship not as a risk, but as a form of freedom, the ability to shape your own reality.

One of my earliest memories of entrepreneurship goes back to when I was about six years old. We had pecan trees in our backyard, and I remember gathering them and trying to sell them to family and neighbours. It was simple and innocent, but I was fascinated by the idea that something small could turn into value. A couple of years later, around eight years old, I had another business moment. I quickly realized I needed money to buy chocolate, so I decided to sell some of my old toys. I set up a small booth in front of our house with handwritten price tags, determined to make it feel like a real store. Looking back, those moments were small but meaningful.

They taught me curiosity, resourcefulness, and the idea that you can create opportunities instead of waiting for them.

When asked about memorable early business experiences in Canada, I always think of building a reward-based review app called Sellar. It was one of my first real entrepreneurial attempts after moving here, and it quickly became a humbling introduction to how complex startups can be. On paper, the idea felt exciting and very achievable, but once we started building, we realized how much bigger the landscape really was.

Everything moved fast, and everything was expensive. Within a few months, it became clear that we had underestimated what it would take to make the idea work. We came to the realization that we would need nearly ten times the capital we had originally planned just to make the vision viable. About six months in, we made the difficult decision to step away. Looking back, that experience was incredibly valuable. It taught me humility, expanded my understanding of scale, and showed me how important timing and resources are. More than anything, it gave me clarity and helped shape a more grounded, intentional approach to the businesses I have built since.

“My entrepreneurial journey has evolved through a mix of curiosity, experimentation, and learning the hard way. After Sellar, we built another app called Spousing, a private social platform for destination weddings. It was created alongside my wife to solve a real problem we faced while planning our own wedding: how to keep guests informed and connected in one place. Like many early ventures, it came from a genuine need, which made it deeply personal. What those experiences taught me is that having a great idea is not enough. Execution is where everything gets tested.

When you are building with limited resources while learning in real time, every decision carries weight. We often found ourselves balancing ambition with reality, trying to bring meaningful ideas to life without the infrastructure or capital larger teams rely on. Those moments were challenging but also formative. They made me more honest about what it takes to build something sustainable.

Over time, setbacks stopped feeling like failures and started feeling like filters, shaping judgment, resilience, and clarity. That evolution made me far more intentional about where I invest energy today and how I approach building long term.

Reflecting on the sacrifices required to pursue this dream, one of the biggest was trading predictability for uncertainty.

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Building Not Bad Snacks while stepping into parenthood added another layer. Both journeys are deeply meaningful but demand very different types of presence. There were seasons where the line between personal and professional life blurred, and balance felt more like integration. What helped us navigate it was clarity around values. We became more intentional with our energy and more protective of what truly mattered. In the end, those sacrifices simplified our priorities and reminded us that building something meaningful is really about staying aligned with why you started.

A pivotal moment that confirmed we were on the right path came very early, when the product was still in its rawest form. With only a few months of development behind us, we made what felt like an ambitious, maybe slightly unhinged, decision to bring our prototype to CHFA Toronto in 2023, the biggest natural products show in the country. We did not have polished branding or retail-ready packaging. Just a few samples, improvised materials, and a lot of belief. We showed up with equal parts goodwill and mildly delusional confidence. But the reaction caught us off guard. People from across the industry started stopping, asking questions, and most importantly, asking where they could find the product. That was the moment something clicked. It was the first real external validation.”

“Support has also played a huge role in our journey, starting with family. They have been the emotional foundation through every high and low. Beyond family, Sharon Grewal, our food scientist, helped translate a homemade idea into a real product, and we would not be here without her. More recently, Lindsay Borodenko has brought clarity and strategic direction to our path.

Once we gained confidence in the vision for Not Bad Snacks, the focus shifted from experimentation to intentional building. One of the first steps was refining the product, tightening recipes, improving consistency, and developing packaging that truly reflected the brand we wanted to build. We realized early that details matter, especially in food, so we stayed very hands-on with everything from texture to shelf presentation. At the same time, we leaned heavily into direct community feedback. Pop-ups, small events, and direct-to-consumer sales gave us real-world validation and helped us understand how people experienced the product beyond our own perspective.

That loop of listening and refining became one of our most valuable growth tools.

As confidence grew, we began laying stronger foundations, building retail-ready packaging, nurturing relationships within the local food ecosystem, and preparing operationally for scale.

At its heart, Not Bad Snacks is about creating indulgent snacks made with real, simple ingredients.

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Looking ahead to 2026, our vision is to evolve from a strong local emerging brand into a recognized presence within the Canadian natural food space. We want to grow intentionally, expanding into aligned retail partners while staying deeply connected to the values that brought us here.

For us, growth is not just about scale; it is about preserving the authenticity and care that define the brand. If there is a legacy we care about, it is showing that you can build something lasting without rushing the process. That thoughtful, human-centered businesses still have a place in a fast-moving world.”

MILTON TONIAL, CO-FOUNDER

NOT BAD SNACKS

Author Profile

Helen Siwak, Collaborator: This story is created in collaboration between Helen Siwak and the featured subject. As the founder and publisher of Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, Helen works closely with entrepreneurs to share their paths of innovation, resilience, and growth. Each story in this series is co-developed through interviews and first-person insights, blending authentic voices with Helen’s editorial expertise to highlight the remarkable individuals shaping British Columbia’s business landscape.