As recently as ten years ago, greenhouse strawberries seemed destined for niche market status in Quebec. But with major changes to California berry production and prices, that may be changing.Earlier this decade, long-time greenhouse grower Simon Parent and his business partner Joël Lalancette saw that California product – which has dominated the North American strawberry market for decades – was facing challenges. “Things have changed quite a lot in California,” Parent says, noting production and pricing have been affected by water shortages, fumigation regulation, increased labor costs, and rising land prices.
Seeing an opening, in 2013 Parent and Lalancette founded La Frissonnante, a year-round, greenhouse-grown strawberry operation originally located in Drummondville, Quebec. Since then, strong demand for local produce has allowed La Frissonnante to flourish. “Over the years, a small number of farmers have grown greenhouse strawberries in Quebec,” says Parent, who dabbled in greenhouse strawberries for over a decade before partnering with Lalancette. “But La Frissonnante is a completely different deal.”
Local produce trend driving demand
Demand for the company’s berries has increased each year of its existence, and in 2015 La Frissonnante moved into a new, three-acre facility in nearby Danville. “This makes us the largest greenhouse strawberry grower in North America,” Parent says.
Parent says that three main factors have played a role in La Frissonnante’s success. First is the decreased supply and increased pricing coming out of California. Second is increased demand for the strawberry category, as per-person yearly consumption has increased by more than a kilogram in Canada since 2000. Third is the trend toward local-grown produce, which Parent says plays a major role in the Quebec market.
“People want to buy local,” Parent says, noting as well that “the population is increasing, consumption is increasing, and California berries are harder and harder to grow.”
Production growing, but still “work in progress”
Parent says that growing greenhouse strawberries – a practice common in Europe, where field strawberries are already more expensive – comes with a number of unique challenges that he and Lalancette worked hard to resolve. Listing irrigation, climate control, growing techniques, and finding appropriate varieties for the region, Parent says that “these were all things that took us a while to master.”
Currently, La Frissonnante uses a mix of European and American strawberry varieties, growing them in a greenhouse that uses precise computer controls to adjust for climate. Parent says that he and Lalancette have focussed on taste when selecting varieties. Unlike California growers, who often aim for shelf life first, La Frissonnante is able to grow sweeter, more delicate berries, as most of their customers receive their product within 24-48 hours of picking.
While lower yields and increased overheads have kept La Frissonnante’s prices higher than the California product, Parent notes that they are far more stable, and that many customers have proved willing to pay for higher quality local berries.
Encouraged by the response of their first three years in business, Parent and Lalancette plan to continue fine tuning and expanding their program over the coming years. Says Parent, “It is still a work in progress.”
For more information:
Simon Parent & Joël Lalancette
La Frissonnante
Tel: +1 (450) 880-2247