Posted at 9:00 a.m.
innovation
Encourage consumers to abandon sesame oil in favor of roasted camelina oil, a 100% Quebec product. This is the bet that the family business Signé Caméline made six months ago by launching, in all supermarkets in Quebec, a roasted oil, rich in omega-3, which, with its taste of peanuts grilled, can replace its rival imported from Asia, used in salads, Asian dishes and other poke bowls.
“By roasting the beans, you develop lots of interesting flavors. We are totally changing the range of flavors,” explains Chantal Van Winden, President and CEO of Signé Caméline. “We are providing a local alternative to sesame oil. We really have aromas of roasted peanuts, grilled sesame. It’s the one and only in the world, she says proudly. I don’t know of any other companies that have done this. »
Who
Located in Saint-Édouard, in Montérégie, the Signé Caméline company is already known for several of its products, in particular virgin camelina oil – which can replace olive oil –, available on the shelves of more than 800 outlets in Quebec. The idea of developing an oil extracted from the seed of a flower that grows in Quebec – camelina – officially took shape in 2014.
“We just started in the garage, like Apple,” laughs M.me Van Widen, who is taking part in the adventure with her spouse, her nephews and her niece by marriage. The entrepreneur has always wondered why no one was interested in this flower whose oil contains 35% omega-3 and antioxidants. “It is an oil that comes from our region. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Some Signé Caméline products
Two years after the company was founded, the team invested in a processing and packaging plant. Today, Signé Caméline, which offers more than a dozen products, sells throughout Quebec and exports to the United States, Europe and Asia. “And we’re preparing an order for Taiwan, it’s a new client,” says Chantal Van Widen.
To meet demand, the company works with about twenty camelina producers who are mainly located in Témiscamingue, Montérégie and Centre-du-Québec. Several restaurant kitchens, such as La Cage – Brasserie sportive, Les Enfants terribles and the Montreal Plaza, use Signé Caméline products.
The future
Already well established, the company intends to continue to grow. In addition to wanting to expand the factory where 10 people currently work, Mme Van Widen also wants to expand the product range. Then, in a few months, the Première Moisson bakery will be producing bread prepared with camelina seeds.
We also want to add value to the flour produced once the oil has been extracted from the roasted grain. “We really want to go into the circular economy, to promote it, either in baking or in fermentation. »
“Olive trees, we will never have any in Quebec, recalls Mme Van Widen at the end of the interview. But what we have here is camelina. »