Thanks to an unlikely combination of circumstances, a small business in Chicoutimi will start selling its mustard jars at Costco in the next few hours. Just in time for National Day. Looks like it’s fixed with the views guy, but no.
Posted at 7:30 p.m.
It took abnormally high temperatures in Western Canada, flair, strong nerves, the purchase of large containers and years of preparation for Canada Sauce to land an unexpected order from Costco. By the happiest of coincidences, all the stars have aligned.
So much so that this week, Quebecers who shop at Costco will see mustard made in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. The yellow condiment, sold in one-litre glass jars, will be present in about ten branches.
The three co-founders of Canada Sauce had been aiming to sell to Costco since day one, in 2019. “Our competition is American, and for us, it’s the gateway to the American market”, justifies the president, Simon-Pierre Murdock. But taking advantage of the retailer’s immense volumes doesn’t come by shouting Costco.
“There is a manual for selling to them. They are so rigorous. You can’t be a little to the left or to the right, ”says the young leader.
This instruction manual, Canada Sauce read it from the beginning, with the intention of having it ready in a horizon of “three to five years”. It finally took three years of work to bring it up to standard. It was worth it.
In January, the phone rang and it was a Costco representative looking for mustard, which was in dire need. The SME was able to jump at the chance, it was ready! Above all, she had enough mustard seeds. After the extreme heat in Western Canada destroyed the crops, Canada Sauce bought all the raw materials it could, even if it meant putting enormous pressure on its working capital. In fact, a shortage ensued, accentuated by the war in Ukraine, another major producer of mustard on an international scale.1.
But what exactly does the Costco manual contain?
“Palletisation is a key element”, gives me Simon-Pierre Murdock as an example. Explanations. In a traditional supermarket, employees empty cardboard boxes to put products on the shelves. Not at Costco. The pallet is placed on the floor and customers must be able to use it without significant prior handling. In other words, Costco employees should not have to open boxes.
To give you an idea of the level of detail, the pallet must be protected by a thickness of plastic film. Not two. Costco wants super fast unboxing. Other retailers require “three wraps” instead.
Photo Robert Skinner, La PressE archives
To be able to sell its products at Costco, the pallet must be placed on the floor and customers must be able to use it without significant prior handling. In other words, Costco employees should not have to open boxes.
Costco is also calling for HACCP (health standards) accreditation, the ability to “recall products in two hours” and “economic formats”, lists Simon-Pierre Murdock.
Canada Sauce was lucky. Last fall, an order for one-liter jars was placed with Egyptian and Chinese suppliers. This new format was to be launched at IGA. “It was very complicated, very complex. There are no suppliers in North America. Large quantities had to be purchased. The delivery time was six months,” says Simon-Pierre Murdock.
Even though glass is more expensive than plastic, and even though it’s more complicated for consumers to get the last milliliters of mustard out of it, Canada Sauce sticks to its container. “As is done with Mason jars, we bottle hot, to sterilize. Our product will keep for two years at room temperature, without preservatives, colors or texturizers. If the bottle wasn’t glass, that wouldn’t be possible. »
Photo JEANNOT LÉVESQUE, The Daily
Canada Sauce would like to introduce its ketchup and relish to Costco one day.
The 35-employee SME would one day like to introduce its ketchup and relish to Costco. She must first pass the mustard test. “We are starting with 10 warehouses and it will expand if the product achieves the expected success,” Costco Canada spokesperson Martin Groleau told me. The retailer, he says, is open to making room for local produce “when it makes sense.”
Canada Sauce will have the opportunity to take advantage of the growing consumer interest in Costco. In fact, the membership card renewal rate has never been so high, at 92.3% in Canada. In its last quarter, the company with 830 warehouses achieved sales of 68 billion. In Canada, its revenues jumped 15%.
Heinz and French were once small, too.