M51 Community Spotlight: Redefining Sports Nutrition - with Melissa L’Heureux-Haché of VEGAIN

Melissa L’Heureux-Haché has spent the last decade building consumer brands with a clear through-line: products people trust, and come back to. As the Founder and President of VEGAIN, she’s now applying that same thinking to sports nutrition—a category she felt hadn’t kept pace with how people actually want to fuel.

“I kept seeing the same thing,” she says. “A category dominated by dairy-based products, even though most people don’t digest them well—and plant-based options that didn’t deliver on taste, texture, or performance.”

VEGAIN was built to close that gap.


Building something people actually want to use

Around 70% of the global population struggles with lactose digestion, yet whey protein still dominates the market. At the same time, many plant-based alternatives feel either too niche or too compromised.

Melissa’s approach was different from the start: performance first, built for a broad audience.

“We didn’t want to create something that only appealed to vegans,” she explains. “We wanted to compete with the best products in the world—full stop.”

That meant focusing on what actually matters in use—digestibility, taste, texture—and making sure the product could stand on its own.

From early traction to real scale

Over the past year, VEGAIN has moved from early traction into scale. They’ve expanded into national retail, validated manufacturing at commercial scale, and opened their flagship HQ and café, The Grind, in downtown Vancouver—a space that brings the brand into the real world. Growth has been driven less by heavy marketing and more by repeat customers and organic athlete adoption.

According to Melissa, “When people come back on their own, you know you’re building something real.”

A new format for protein

A major milestone has been the launch of SURGE™ Clear Protein, a product that challenges what a protein product is supposed to feel like.Instead of the usual heavy, milky shake, SURGE is light, juice-like, and designed for everyday use. It delivers 25g of protein with zero sugar, in both ready-to-drink and powder formats.

“It opens up entirely different moments,” Melissa says. “It’s not just post-workout anymore.”

Alongside that launch, VEGAIN has secured national retail distribution, partnered with the Vancouver Warriors as their preferred supplement partner, and picked up multiple innovation awards, including Product of the Year from BC Food & Beverage.


Doing the hard things early

Building a new category hasn’t been simple.

“Scaling a product like this means solving problems that don’t already have answers,” Melissa says. “Formulation, manufacturing, supply chain—we’ve had to build a lot of it ourselves.”

That work is now part of what sets VEGAIN apart. Their innovation is patent-pending, and the systems behind it are designed to scale.


Where things are going

Looking ahead, Melissa sees the biggest opportunity at the intersection of sports nutrition and functional beverages.

“People don’t just want protein anymore,” she says. “They want energy, hydration, recovery—products that actually fit into their day.”

Clear protein is a big part of that shift—lighter formats, better experience, more flexibility - not a one-time shake, but something you reach for regularly instead. VEGAIN is building around that idea, with SURGE positioned as a platform that can continue to evolve.


On leadership, growth, and taking up space

When asked what she would change in her entrepreneurial journey, Melissa is clear. She would have taken up more space, much earlier. That meant not waiting for permission, not shrinking her voice, and not forcing herself to fit into environments that were never built with her in mind.

It is guidance she now shares with other women building companies and navigating growth and funding. Trust the work, not the approval. Traction speaks for itself. Above all, be selective. Who you build with can shape everything.

Final word

Entrepreneurship, Melissa says, isn’t meant to feel clear.

“You’re constantly making decisions without perfect information.” The advantage is being willing to move anyway, and adjust quickly.”

And the best advice she’s carried with her?

“There’s a difference between being nice and being kind,” she says—learning when to prioritize honesty, standards, and long-term outcomes over short-term comfort.