Strategies | Evive: conquer the American freezer

Running a business is above all a matter of strategy. To kick off the year, leaders reveal some of their vision and game plan.

Nathaelle Morissette
Press

Frozen smoothies prepared by Evive can now be found in Americans’ freezers. The Quebec company has been selling its products for a year in some 500 supermarkets in the United States. And that’s just the start, says co-founder Dominic Dubé.

Founded more than six years ago, Evive, which made its reputation in Quebec with its frozen smoothies in triangles that just unmould and shake to then consume, quickly conquered Ontario and Western Canada. Since its creation, the company has continued to expand its range of products.

Over the past year, Mr. Dubé and his wife, Claudia Poulin, co-founder, introduced their products into the freezers of our neighbors to the south. “Last year, we got the call from the American Dream,” says Dominic Dubé on the phone. We launched [nos produits] in the United States, the Northeast and California. We are now in about 500 grocery stores in the United States. There is nothing quite like it as a product in the United States, so they are super responsive. ”

In addition to supermarkets, Evive offers its fruit and vitamin drinks online. The delivery service allows the company to serve approximately 80% of U.S. postal codes.

“It was a very, very good first year,” confirms Dominic Dubé. To launch their brand and ensure the proper functioning of the distribution centers where they do business, the couple cherished the project of settling in California. However, the arrival of a baby … and the pandemic have somewhat changed the plans. Entrepreneurs have therefore done remote management.

“We have two packing and distribution centers in the United States: one in the east and one in the west. These distribution centers had to be launched remotely without ever going there. It was quite a logistical headache. We started to hire people there in sales and marketing. I know so many Quebec brands that have [tenté leur chance] in the United States and returned empty-handed. This is what worried me the most. I was wondering: how do we avoid repeating this mistake? ”

“We have a unique product. We do not come up with a product that already exists ”, underlines the co-founder, to partly explain the secret of his success.

“A smoothie without a mixer, with our format, with the recipes, organic certification, the selling price which is very accessible compared to that requested by our competitors”, it is in these words that Mr. Dubé describes the ways in which his products stand out.

A potential of 10,000 points of sale

Another strength of the company to break into American soil: its omnichannel approach. Evive sells in grocery stores and online, which allows it to reach a wider range of customers. “There are so few brands that do it in frozen food, that, in itself, as a distribution model, is super new. ”

Evive’s smoothies could be consumed by more Americans over the next several years, as executives fully intend to keep the momentum going. “We have a lot of growth to do in the United States. There are still 10,000 points of sale that we can go and find. We’re just getting started. We are working very hard to build the brand there. We are in the process of finalizing a round of financing to help us accelerate growth there. ”

However, Evive will not abandon the Canadian market for all that. In particular, the company will launch a range of frozen “meal kits” that consumers can prepare in 15 minutes. You will also prepare cubes that you just need to put in a muffin tin and put in the oven. “We want to transform the face of the freezer for something healthier, emphasizes Dominic Dubé, even healthier than what you find in the fresh. ”