Dainty was founded as Mount Royal Rice Mills at 5120 St. Patrick street along the Lachine canal in Montreal in 1882. The founder, Robert Reford, had previously established a ship agency business, the Robert Reford Company Limited, in 1866. The rice milling facility was eventually moved to Windsor, Ontario in 1967, when the City of Montreal closed the head race on the canal and the water powered mill was no longer feasible.
1892 the Company expands to Victoria on Vancouver Island and establishes the Victoria Roller Flour and Rice mill. The building exists today on the Victoria waterfront. The clipper ship Thermopylae was purchased and operated to carry rice from the Far East to the West Coast in the 1890s.
The DAINTY Brand was created for the "post-war consumer". Following WW2 there was an emergence of large food companies in North America offering consumer packaged goods, quickly creating competition and a necessity for branding and marketing on the part of manufacturers.
RICE IN A CAN by Dainty has been in production since 1947. 60+ years later it remains just cooked rice. Pure, simple, quick and easy; an ICON.
A new facility was built in Windsor and remains home to the Dainty brand and Canada’s only rice mill.
Jehane Benoit, a well-loved pioneer of modern cookery from Montreal, was a Dainty ambassador for over 2 decades, writing several little cookbooks of Dainty rice recipes during the 1960s and ’70s.
Loyal to its origins, Dainty’s revitalized brand solidly acknowledges the components of its history. Our contemporary new look and colour projects the humble, approachable and proud rice company that we are. Our values remain and we promise to continue to be innovative and seek out new heights in all that we do to provide top quality product to you.
Dainty's new compact packaging provides consumers with simple, easy steps to prepare a wide variety of rices, and visually guides you to travel their origins, sourced the world over.
In addition to directly serving retailers and consumers, Dainty, is a one stop rice supplier to many companies in the food industry. Our rice milling facilities and dedicated employees allow us to supply rice and rice flour to other businesses whether they are servicing hospitals, restaurants, airlines or using rice as an ingredient. Dainty is able to provide many related services; custom flour milling services, food grade testing, cross-border documentation to name a few. Onsite Quality Assurance and R&D provide great depth to our customers, as well as ensuring we maintain highest food safety standards.
Dainty products become Non-GMO Certified and a Limited edition Holiday pack is introduced, a new tradition in your home perhaps...
A Dainty rice cooker, simplest way to perfect rice.
See the online DAINTY SHOP to order one, and for inspiration visit our RECIPES page.
In 2021 Dainty introduced packaging made from 25% post-consumer recycled material.
Dainty is committed to helping close the plastic recycling loop, and will continue to innovate on the packaging around all our products.
Dainty Foods, Canada's rice brand and singular rice miller, proudly celebrates 140 years.
Dainty introduces Gluten Free Baking mixes and a Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. Simple to assemble, with clean ingredients, they can be oven ready in minutes.
