SNI is celebrating 20 years of servicing the industry in 2025.
Time really does fly when you’re having fun! Our story goes back a long way, starting in a basement office in Winnipeg suburbia. We never imagined we’d someday be one of the leading market entry service providers, and we certainly didn’t anticipate we would be on a list of Canada’s Top 10 Contract Research Organization Companies.
DID YOU KNOW?
Bernie Desgagnés founded Source Nutraceutical, Inc.—now affectionately known as SNI—after observing the stress and confusion that so many companies were facing while trying to navigate the rules and regulations of the North American market.
The First Step in Achieving Dreams: Create a Plan.
Bernie’s experience working with Natural Health Products, sports nutrition/supplements combined with his involvement with the Government of Manitoba gave him the “Ah ha!” entrepreneurial moment it took to lift SNI from dream to reality. Bernie knew his immense wealth of knowledge in regulatory affairs was in high demand and was eager to fill the gap with customized solutions that so many companies were looking for.
On April 1, 2004, Bernie officially set up SNI in the lower-level of his Winnipeg home and went to work tackling the new work that started coming his way.
Bernie is working hard in the very first SNI basement headquarters!
When One Door Shuts, Another Door Opens
Surrounded by a loyal and ambitious team, SNI primarily focused its expert solutions in workout supplements and sports nutrition, while also maintaining distribution and Health Canada certified storage spaces.
In Fall of 2008 SNI regulatory team had grown four times, SNI creative services team tripled, and the office space expanded into the adjacent unit—providing even more office space and an even bigger warehouse with twice the opportunities!
True Life is Lived when Small Changes Occur
As regulations changed, the solutions SNI was able to offer customers also transformed around them.
By 2009, SNI had branched into the cosmetic industry and specialty foods and beverages sectors; taking on big name clients with even bigger expectations. In 2021 SNI Clinical Research team opened up SNI's Self Care / Pharmaceutical Clinical Trial facility: a hospital-grade, custom built, fully-accessible clinical trials facility also situated in Winnipeg, putting it within reach of over 800,000 individuals, including in remote northern regions.
The 2025 New Year and Beyond
Today, SNI operates three divisions, each dedicated to your core needs along the market entry and compliance journey. We’ve even recently opened up a second clinic location within our Winnipeg headquarters focusing on cosmetic and consumer product research, which is broadening our research capabilities and diversifying our solutions across multiple therapeutic areas, patient populations, and product types.
Our divisions all work efficiently and collaboratively between regulatory affairs, clinical research, and creative services to provide our clients with an expedited speed to market.
Bernie believes SNI has gained a strong track record of success on behalf of our 600+ clients because of the dedication to quality service and commitment to finding solutions for customers—even if it’s outside his walls.
"Celebrating 20 years in business is not just a milestone, but a testament to the incredible dedication of our team, both past and present. I am deeply grateful for every person who has contributed to our journey, and to the clients who have trusted us along the way. Together, we've built something truly special—and it is one that continues to evolve and grow.
As we look to the future, I’m filled with optimism and excitement for what lies ahead. The best is yet to come, and we’re just getting started."
~ Bernie Desgagnés, CEO and President
From Regulatory Affairs to Packaging Compliance, to Strategic Consulting, to Clinical Trials: SNI has developed a deep portfolio over the past 20+ years working with clients from multinational retail chains to innovative niche brands.
We’ve learned so much from them and each other—and we couldn’t be prouder of the team and divisions that we have grown into today.
Stay tuned in 2025 as we feature 20-year celebrations in all things SNI!
We can’t wait for what the future has in store!
