The company Inno-3B wants to offer all Quebecers the possibility to actually pick certain vegetables themselves in store. “Too much food is lost currently in green-groceries. Also, consumers are buying salads that were sometimes picked seven days earlier and have travelled a long way” says Marin Brault, from Inno-3B.
The greengrocers, Metro Lebel in La Pocatière will be the first store to offer their clients living vegetables.
Inno-3B plans to set up a pilot factory over the next few months to supply some of the Bas-Saint-Laurent, “We are talking about short circuit distribution, i.e. about 100-150km”. The company intends to build factories in many regions so that all consumers will have access to fresh, living, local salad.
Leaders in the food world are interested in the concept, “For them, it is 30% more profit, because there is no loss” explains Martin Brault. There are advantages for both the consumer and the retailer and Mr Brault underlines that “The client should not have to pay more than what they are currently paying”. Greengrocer, Simon Lebel from Metro Lebel in La Pocatière says that “Offering a salad that is still alive at incomparable prices, that entices us. I think that our clients will react very positively”.
The vegetables will have been grown in controlled production units at less than 150km from the stores. The vegetables will always be transported straight to a retailer alive and with their roots. Consumers will pick the products (with their roots) using a free, recyclable device that is exempt of plastic, water and soil. The product is then placed in the fridge or on the counter and can be kept for a longer duration. To date, products offered are : Boston lettuce, rocket, Romaine lettuce, frisée, kale and bok choy as well as parsley, mint, basil and coriander.