LOOP Mission to conquer international markets

Known for six years for its juices prepared with imperfect fruits and vegetables that previously remained unsold, LOOP Mission sets out to conquer international markets. Thanks to its new plant located in Boisbriand, the Quebec company is currently preparing its first order for the United States.

Nathaelle Morissette
The Press

The $11.2 million project, which received financial assistance in the form of a $4.7 million loan from the federal and provincial governments, will allow LOOP Mission to ship its juices to outside Canadian borders, a growing demand that the company could not meet. With its automated processes, the new facility, with an area of ​​40,000 square feet, offers greater production capacity. Nearly 300,000 bottles of juice will be prepared there each week, compared to 50,000 at the former Anjou plant, located in the Courchesne Larose distribution centre. This distributor and importer of fruits and vegetables is also a partner with LOOP Mission.

On site on Monday, a sweet smell of citrus was already being felt when the door of the factory was opened, which will eventually accommodate around forty workers. ” [Quand on a fondé l’entreprise], we defined that LOOP’s vision was to become the world leader in circular economy in the food industry, says Julie Poitras-Saulnier, co-founder and CEO of the company during a press conference held Monday in Boisbriand, along with the Minister of Finance of Quebec, Eric Girard and the federal minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED), Pascale St-Onge. It seemed really utopian at that time. I realize today that it was not a utopia because we are already realizing that in Canada. And here today the factory that we are inaugurating is what will allow us to achieve that, but internationally. On site to make announcements regarding their financial support, the two ministers took the opportunity to tour the facilities.

“We are in the process of making the first official order for the United States”, proudly announces M^me Poitras-Saulnier interviewed at The Press. It’s been a while since we saw the limit of our production capacity coming, adds the president of LOOP Mission. And lately, we had quite big contracts that meant that we absolutely had to move. Even for our orders in Canada, we were limited in our growth. We had requests for new contracts for projects that we had to refuse. »

With its facilities in Boisbriand, the company is also toying with the project of transforming discarded fruits and vegetables into ingredients that can be easily used by the food industry. She could, for example, prepare a strawberry puree that a producer would then put in a yogurt.

Moreover, the American order currently in progress will send Loop juice to the shelves of 388 stores belonging to the American chain Sprouts Farmers Market. The company also produces gin, soap and beer. But it is above all its juices that are the object of covetousness abroad.

new factories

LOOP Mission has several projects in its pipeline. “We’ve had demand from just about everywhere for a long time, either to open factories in other countries, or to export our products,” says Julie Poitras-Saulnier, referring not only to our neighbors in South but also to Europe.

“At the moment, we are concentrating on exporting to the northeast of the United States in order to build volume and set up another factory. Our long-term vision is to have factories elsewhere in the world rather than exporting. Food waste is a global problem. »