Dipping out: Popular plant-based dip business calls it quits

📸: Justo’s/ Instagram

Justo’s is dipping out.

On Tuesday, Aug. 8, co-founder and CEO Justin Kopetzki (also the namesake of the brand) said Justo’s would no longer continue serving its popular plant-based dips.

“It was time to bookend the business and move on to different things,” Kopetzki told Tasting Victoria. “We don't want anyone to feel bummed for us, or sorry. It was an incredible ride.”

Justo’s had gone unusually quiet since September, and it seemed more rare to see the familiar looking Justo’s brand—and faces—at farmers markets across the South Island.

Kopetzki said Justo’s shutdown was due a combination of things, including different priorities among its founders, as well as challenges to scaling up the business.

"We were gearing up to go to [a more] large-scale production,” he said. “We were going to fulfill larger orders from Thriftys and Save-On, and expand beyond our local reach. But there were errors in the production process, and that set us back out financially.”

Kopetzki said each of its founders are excited to shift focus, and most are either travelling, enjoying new careers, or settling down with families.

“I have no regrets about how things went,” Kopetzki said.

Justo’s Plant Based Dips was co-founded in 2019 by Kopetzki, Eric Taccogna, Tyler Hosie, and Adam Conlin. Justo’s mission was to make profound impacts on local communities and the environment, while making tasty plant-based dips. In 2022, Kopetzki made BC Business’ list of 30 entrepreneurs under 30, and Douglas Magazine’s 10 to Watch.

According to its website, Justo’s donated over 8,000 jars of dip to local charity organizations since 2019, pledged 1% of total revenue to support environmental non-profit organizations, and supported Plastic Credit Exchange—a South East Asian non-profit that supports female entrepreneurs reusing plastic waste for fuel.

Its choice in using glass jars was a sustainable one. Most salsa or hummus containers are plastic, and Justo’s funky-designed containers became its signature, showcasing line-drawings and designs of a Pacific Northwest dream—mountains, sailboats, umbrellas, campfires, and oceans.

If you’re like many in Victoria, though, a Justo’s jar is never too far.