Nutrinor: Authentic Local Products

September and back to school go hand in hand! For the season, we approached Nutrinor: a Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean cooperative well-known in Quebec. We had the opportunity to chat with Sonia Tremblay, Senior Public Relations and Marketing Specialist at Nutrinor.

In a few words, tell us more about Nutrinor.

Nutrinor was born out of a need to bring farm producers together to combine their purchasing power and facilitate product sales. The cooperative was officially established in 1949. Today, we are proud to see that our cause reunites 936 members and 650 employees altogether. In addition to agriculture, the cooperative is involved in three other fields: agribusiness, energy and hardware.

In terms of agribusiness, what are you doing exactly within the industry?

Our agri-food division is split into three major categories: dairy products, spring water and meat. In addition to these lines of business, Nutrinor owns well-known brands in Quebec like Charcuterie Fortin, Boucherie Charcuterie Perron, Fromagerie Perron and Fromagerie Champêtre. Sound familiar? Based on our four pillars that underpin Nutrinor's values ​​such as innovation, recognition, accountability and transparency, we make sure to offer our customers authentic products that reflect the flavour of Quebec’s soil.

In addition to your values, how do you stand out from other cooperatives?

It must be said that Nutrinor is the only dairy to have its own factory, which is a great perk in the industry because it allows a better quality control of our production. Plus, we really value our members’ products, using regional seeds as one example. In addition to reducing our ecological footprint, we also believe in boosting regional farms.

I’ve heard that Nutrinor has been developing a tracking system for products. Is that correct?

Absolutely! Consumers can access it through our website, which allows them to follow the processing of the products they consume. For example, by only entering the expiry code of the Nordic organic milk the customer just bought, he can discover from which farm his milk comes from and learn more about the craftsman who passed on his passion through the product.

 

At an environmental level, how far has Nutrinor come in fostering sustainable development?

For the past 10 years, we have been redoubling efforts to constantly improve our processes in order to evolve from an environmental, social and economic standpoint. Sustainable development is a tenet of our managerial philosophy and it will always be taken into account when making decisions. This ensures the consistency of our actions.

What is the AgroBoréal certification all about?

To summarize, the AgroBoréal certification is attributed to processed plant-based or animal products resulting from a proven ability and typicity associated with the boreal conditions. At Nutrinor, we are proud to say that our dairy products and new rice pudding line are certified AgroBoréal.

And 5 years from now, where do you see Nutrinor?

Two words: sustainable agriculture. Nutrinor aims to become a leader in sustainable agriculture. Above all, we want to meet the expectations of consumers who want fresh, local and responsible products. Thanks to the comments collected, members of the cooperative are adapting facilities to ensure a production process that is as good for you as it is for us and the environment.

To learn more about sustainable agriculture at Nutrinor, you can watch the following video.