SAQ wants to sell more non-alcoholic drinks

The state-owned company wants to compete with retailers, who are wondering whether this type of product is part of its mandate.

The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) has no intention of watching the train go by: it wants to return to growth, particularly by improving its range of non-alcoholic beverages. Retailers are wondering what the Crown corporation is doing in their backyard…

“Our policy is to satisfy customers,” insists Jacques Farcy. “That’s why the SAQ exists.”

The president and CEO of the SAQ presented the results of the most recent financial year of the Crown corporation on Tuesday morning, which, unsurprisingly, confirms a well-established trend: sales are down because alcohol consumption is down. Here as elsewhere.

In quantity, the decrease is 2.8% compared to the same period last year.

Jacques Farcy has been in office since June 2023. He therefore took over at a time when sales were beginning to decline. “It’s a special situation for me,” he says, “and for the entire SAQ.”

Especially since the state-owned company also has a public health mandate.

“I think we are capable of returning to stable volumes, or even very slight growth, because 100% of the alcohol sold in Quebec is not sold at the SAQ: 55% is sold by the SAQ and 45% by someone else,” explains Jacques Farcy.

The SAQ wants to get a share of the market from this “someone else”.

Even more non-alcoholic drinks

Is it the SAQ’s mandate to sell alcohol-free products?

In an interview, Jacques Farcy himself asks the question. And answers it.

“Yes, because historically, these are products that come from the world of wines and spirits, except that their alcohol content has been lower to the point of having little or no alcohol. I think that is absolutely our mission because customers want it. […]. »

Please note: non-alcoholic products are exempt from Quebec law, which requires brewers to choose between the SAQ and other retailers for their beer.

“That’s why you see non-alcoholic beers in Dollarama and Canadian Tire,” illustrates Jacques Farcy.

Can we expect to see more non-alcoholic Quebec beers on the shelves of the SAQ?

“We are opening the door to being offered products,” Jacques Farcy says, as if it were an appeal that could be heard by local brewers.

“This interest is good news, and we will make the SAQ’s intention and appetite known,” says Marie-Ève ​​Myrand, general director of the Association des microbrasseries du Québec, who still has some reservations, since the SAQ’s business model is not compatible with all Quebec breweries, regardless of their size.

Retailers worried

While this opening is generally good news for manufacturers, some retailers are wondering what the SAQ is doing in the non-alcoholic market.

“I’m not happy,” admits Nicolas Ratthé, president of the Quebec Specialty Beer Retailers Association.

“If the SAQ had wanted to develop Quebec products, it would have done so a long time ago,” says this retailer who sees this opening of the SAQ to local beer as a panic reaction.

Franchise president Tite Frette is more categorical: the SAQ should simply not sell non-alcoholic beverages.

“The SAQ is starting to encroach on the territory of retailers like us,” says Karl Magnone, “at a time when the economic situation is difficult. The government should support small businesses, not take market share from them.”

“The SAQ claims that it does not have enough space to properly represent all the products from Quebec distilleries and vineyards,” continues Karl Magnone. “So why use this space for non-alcoholic products, when its mandate is to sell alcohol?”

Jacques Farcy maintains that the mandate of the state-owned company is to respond to the demands of its customers, in its niche, which now includes non-alcoholic products.

“I don’t think we’re going to be selling mineral water tomorrow morning, even if it’s a drink. It’s not our core business.”

But the non-alcoholic versions, yes.

“We will try to be smarter, more intelligent, more efficient than anyone else, but ultimately, it is the customer who will choose,” says Jacques Farcy.

Maryse Côté-Hamel, assistant professor of consumer sciences at Université Laval, believes that the mandate of a state-owned company like the SAQ is to regulate the market to ensure consumer safety and avoid a black market by providing quality products.

“Is it part of their mandate to seek market share from Quebec or Canadian companies?”

Maryse Côté-Hamel doubts it.

“Yes, a Crown corporation may want to increase its revenues, but it is not a private company,” she said. “The search for profit should not be the number one objective of a Crown corporation.”