Amazon will identify Quebec products

The organization Les Produits du Québec has just concluded a partnership with Amazon, which adds to the dozen retailers identifying items from here. Is the organization succeeding where the Blue Basket would have failed in its mission to promote local purchasing?

After Walmart, Amazon is joining the fray. The American giant will clearly identify items certified as Product of Quebec on its site in order to make it easier for consumers to identify them.

“As nearly half of online purchases in Quebec are made on Amazon each year, you will agree with me that this partnership is essential,” proudly underlined Elfi Morin, general director of Produits du Québec – the organization responsible for verification and of the authentication of articles – during a press briefing on Monday at Amazon’s YUL2 shipping center in Lachine.

The “major retailer” thus becomes the second international player to collaborate with Les Produits du Québec. BMR, SAIL, DeSerres, JC Perreault, Pharmacies Jean Coutu, Brunet, La Vie en Rose and Souris Mini are also among the retailers displaying posters to clearly identify products from La Belle Province. Walmart joined the adventure in November.

A page dedicated to products from La Belle Province, certification logos on each item checked and the establishment of the Fleurdelysée Boutique are among the initiatives that the online sales giant will put in place. For the moment, on the platform, 1750 products are authenticated with the Product of Quebec, Made in Quebec and Designed in Quebec seals. In total, across all participating retailers, 62,500 products received one of these three brands.

On Amazon, the “favorite” products of local consumers belong to the Attitude, Annabelle and Magic Bag brands, according to Jean-François Héroux, general manager of the YUL2 shipping center, where 400 employees work.

“We sincerely hope that this announcement will further strengthen support for local purchasing by providing increased visibility to businesses that sell or wish to sell on the Amazon site,” adds M^me Morin.

By the end of the year, the organization will enter into partnerships with five or ten new retailers, confirmed its general director.

“When we see large companies that trust this brand, we know that we are moving in the right direction,” underlined Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy, present at the press briefing.

A snub to the Blue Basket?

With this announcement concerning Amazon, the organization Les Produits du Québec, whose logos are increasingly visible, would it not thumb its nose at the Blue Panier, an online purchasing platform bringing together merchants from here , which was intended to be an alternative solution to large retailers on the web?

“The Blue Basket is now a private entity,” he recalled. They have their own development strategy. One does not exclude the other. There is enough space in Quebec to promote all local products. »

Also questioned on this subject, M^me Morin was careful not to criticize the Blue Basket, created by the government in the midst of a pandemic to stimulate local purchasing. “I can’t speak for the Blue Basket. We succeed because we have something promising. »

And to those who demonize Amazon by accusing it of unfair competition against small businesses, M^me Morin has a ready answer. “More than half of online purchases in Quebec are made on Amazon. There are several small businesses that are on Amazon, that take advantage of the Amazon ecosystem. We are not trying to change the consumer, she adds. We go to where he is and give him [repères] to try to enlighten it. »