“From administrative level to buyer’s level, everyone has a role to do,” Milette said. “Once the IFPA team is selected, in August, every participating member has homework to do to be fully prepared. From contacting suppliers and industry players to determining who will be there, we collect all information into a shared file so other participants can join a meeting that they will be considering of interest for them.”
IFPA gives the company the opportunity to meet with more than 100 of its suppliers.
“As many of them travel and visit us occasionally in Canada, many of them don’t have the luxury to travel across North America,” Milette said. “IFPA is the perfect occasion to meet and greet so many of them, in one single place within a few days. We arrive a few days earlier to make a few dozen of our most important meetings, so we can be more available during Expo hours to be on the floor with most of our meeting behind us.”
For 30 years, Milette is always asked, “How was the show?” after any food event, and for him, the answer is “a show is only as good as you want it to be.”
“Not everyone participates for the same reasons and at the same level of preparation,” he said. “When we attend any convention or expo, we are on a mission. We always have a post IFPA follow up, where all participants individually present a resume of their event and what results are expected from it. The implication and professionalism of each participant is a determining factor and will be considered the following year when it gets time determine the next IFPA team.”
This year has brought some challenges to Courchesne Larose, including dealing with a recession in the food industry, which did impact produce.
“Consumers habits have shifted to reflect economic pressure across the country,” Milette said. “Both retail and foodservice were affected, not necessarily the same way, as geographical location and local products availability had different impacts depending on where you are.”
Additionally, Mother Nature was very uncooperative. “From a terrible yield in 2023, some local production of root products such as onions, after a yield of -40 percent last year, are looking at an enormous yield of +30 percent from a normal year, which is a great news for consumers but a sad one for growers,” Milette said. “They already know that the average price for several months to come will be very low. As a distributor, we are in a triangle with growers and consumers and it’s very hard to have all three players in the triangle happy at the same time.”
It is no secret that Courchesne Larose has an ambitious expansion plan.
“The latest announcement with Veg-Pak in Toronto is part of it and we are proud of this acquisition as Rick and Dan Carnevale had a great reputation in their market and the synergies between our companies are amazing,” Milette said. “Courchesne Larose used to be an importer and produce wholesaler, but we now consider ourselves as a service company who sells produce.”
