Quebec Produce business updates
Equifruit triples banana volume
Drummondville-based Equifruit Inc., the Canadian market leader in Fairtrade-certified bananas, has tripled its volume to three containers a week in the past three years to serve its growing customer base in Quebec.
President Jennie Coleman, who bought the Canadian operation in 2013 with ambitious expansion plans, said Sobeys banners in Quebec sell significant volumes of organic, fair trade bananas from Peru and Ecuador, while Farm Boy has shown interest in Ontario, alongside natural and organic food stores.
Equifruit also sells conventional Fairtrade bananas to Montreal’s Concordia University, designated a Fair Trade campus.
Groupe Connexion forms new alliance
Vertically integrated grower-shipper Groupe Connexion Inc., Joliette, Quebec, has partnered with Salinas, Calif.-based Growers Express to sell Green Giant Fresh value-added products across Canada.
Vice president of sales Robert Boudreau said eight Green Giant products will be coming north, including Cauliflower Crumbles, with plans to introduce more.
Boudreau said the partnership allows Groupe Connexion to offer the broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, romaine and iceberg it grows in Quebec and Prince Edward Island through its Vegkiss division and the value-added Green Giant products in a single delivery.
The Green Giant bags will be packed in Maine and Quebec during the local season.
“This gives East Coast customers a fresher product as it spends less time in transit,” he said, “and gives customers more flexibility when ordering.”
Vegkiss Brussels sprouts, harvested in September, will be packed in Quebec.
A recently completed plant will allow Groupe Connexion to expand its icing services and packing of value-added bags.
Through its DFS freight division, which specializes in the Canada to California corridor, the company also distributes produce to customers from Ontario to the Maritimes and the Northeast U.S.
GNC Farms adds squash acreage
Marketing director Guillaume Henri said GNC Farms in Saint-Lin-Laurentide, Quebec, expects to have red and golden beets available until the end of June.
Henri said GNC has increased its squash acreage by 30% this year, and the family-owned farm is building a new 7,500-square-foot refrigerated storage facility in time for the cabbage harvest. He said last year’s cabbage crop lasted until the first week of June.
Groupe Ethier doubles acreage
Mirabel, Quebec-based Groupe Ethier Inc., which grows potatoes, carrots, red and yellow beets, parsnips and white turnips, is doubling its acreage on most commodities this year to meet the growing demand for its products.
In potatoes, Ethier is growing fewer russets and increasing the supply of reds, which usually run out quickly, new vice president and general manager Mario Cloutier said, formerly of Productions Margiric Inc.
He said Ethier is also looking at new varieties of parsnips with creamy white flesh for the 2018 season.
Cloutier said the family-owned business has a new logo for its packaging and is “playing with” the cartoon characters on its potato bags.
Groupe Vegco redesigns bags
Sherrington, Quebec-based Groupe Vegco Inc. has redesigned its carrot bag to make it more visible on supermarket shelves, marketing coordinator Chloé Boileau said.
Groupe Vegco Inc. redesigned its carrot bags for better visibility at retail.A redesigned package for colored carrots will be available soon.
Last year’s new vegetable, kohlrabi, grew well and sold well. “It’s not commonly consumed in Quebec, but it is becoming more popular,” Boileau said.
Groupe Vegco’s 14 owner/producers have also found better varieties, cultivation and storage techniques to maximize its production of celery root, another fairly new commodity.
“We extended last year’s celery root season to May,” Boileau said, “and the 2017 season should begin around the first week of August.”
Isabelle invests in packing facility
Saint-Michel, Quebec-based potato producer Isabelle Inc. has invested $3 million in a packing facility designed to double its capacity.
“We’re now able to pack 10 loads a day,” said Gabriel Isabelle, vice president of sales and development.
The new facility follows all food safety and traceability guidelines, Isabelle said.
Since December, every bag and skid has been shipped with a bar code to enable full traceability.
Isabelle cultivates about 1,000 acres of potatoes a year, with yellow-fleshed still the most popular, he said.
Mas & Sons hires salesman
Johnathan Paré is the newest salesman at Saint-Michel, Quebec-based grower-shipper Mas & Sons Growers Ltd., which sells carrots, beets and turnips under the Christopher label.
Paré grew up in farm country near the U.S. border and studied business management in college. “I’ve basically been around fresh produce my whole life and enjoy the fast pace and action-packed days,” he said.
Paré’s current job consists of calling on customers in the Midwest.
He books the trucks and files all cross-border paperwork. He’s also working on a new company website which should be active by the fall.
Patates Dolbec expanding business
St-Ubalde, Quebec-based potato grower-shipper Patates Dolbec Inc. is spending millions of dollars on a packing plant and warehouses with equipment sourced from Europe, New Zealand and Quebec.
“We definitely plan to expand our business,” said Gord Medynski, director of sales, purchasing and business development, who’s planting 3,000 acres of potatoes this year.
Medynski said the expanded wash plant is complete, a new storage warehouse is now underway and the new packing plant should be up and running in early 2018, with more warehouse projects planned for next summer.
Les Serres Stephane Bertrand now has organic pink and red cherry tomatoes.Les Serres introduces Bio box
Quebec’s leading greenhouse grower of pink tomatoes, Mirabel-based Les Serres Stephane Bertrand, is presenting its pink and red organic cherry tomatoes in an attractive and sustainable 10-ounce box called Bio.
The new product, designed in-house, is just over a month old but demand is already strong, general manager Sylvain Miron said.
While pink tomatoes were popular in Quebec 25 years ago, Miron said there’s been a resurgence in demand, forcing the greenhouse to triple its volume of pink tomatoes in two years.
The new box retails for $3.99-4.99.
