Montreal, November 27, 2023 – Les Produits du Québec, the non-profit organization that facilitates the identification and purchase of Quebec products thanks to its certification marks, announces a collaboration with Walmart to encourage local purchasing. In fact, the retailer is implementing a range of promotion tools, such as a filter on its transactional website visited daily by more than 1.5 million people, which will allow the products verified by the organization to be sorted. This measure will not only make it easier to find local products, but it will also allow consumers to make informed choices. Les Produits du Québec thus fulfills its mission by reaching Quebecers where they make their purchases, whether in store or online.
“Quebecers must be able to identify local products in the spaces where they shop. The addition of Walmart as a partner will allow even more Quebecers to buy local, it’s good for our economy and it’s good for our businesses. “All of Quebec benefits,” says Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy.
“Many companies verified by Les Produits du Québec can be found at Walmart. It is a wide range of products which will now be easily identifiable for consumers. Among these manufacturers, we find names well known to Quebecers such as Cascades, Santé Naturelle Adrien Gagnon, Groupe Marcelle and Attitude,” declares Elfi Morin, General Manager of Les Produits du Québec.
"We are proud to give visibility to local products by displaying Les Produits du Québec certification marks. Promoting local merchandise is one of Walmart's values. In fact, we have already set up several initiatives for local purchasing and this collaboration with Les Produits du Québec is part of this valorization approach. Last year, Walmart sourced approximately $3.5 billion worth of products from more than 480 Quebec suppliers," said Cyrille Ballereau, Walmart's Vice President of Operations for Quebec.
“It is very important for us to display our roots which have been anchored in Quebec for nearly sixty years. The visibility and credibility of Les Produits du Québec certification marks also represent a tangible benefit for our company. We would like to thank Walmart for supporting local shopping and we hope that other retailers will move in the same direction, for the good of our economy,” says Hugo D’Amours, vice-president of communications and public affairs at Cascades, a member company and supplier to Walmart.
“We are a pioneer brand in supplements and natural health products and we are proud of our Quebec heritage, which the Les Produits du Québec certification supports. This allows us to encourage the recognition of our products and to be able to offer our consumers the choice of favoring local purchasing. In addition, the diversity of Les Produits du Québec certification marks makes the process more flexible for any Quebec company that would like to take part in it,” adds Zineb Sehabi, marketing and eCommerce director of Santé Naturelle Adrien Gagnon, a member company and supplier to Walmart.
Highlights
- Walmart joins BMR, SAIL, DeSerres, JC Perreault, Jean-Coutu, Brunet, La Vie en Rose and Souris Mini pharmacies, which have already implemented a variety of measures to make it easier for consumers to find local products.
- To date, Les Produits du Québec has awarded one of these three certification marks to more than 145 companies and more than 53,000 products: Produit du Québec, Fabriqué au Québec and Conçu au Québec.
- 64% of Quebecers say they would be inclined to choose non-food products if they were easily identifiable and that the final decision on the choice of products is made at the point of sale, whether online or in-store.
Source : Baromètre CQCD – L’achat local, à quel prix? – CQCD, février 2023.
About Les Produits du Québec
Founded in 2021, Les Produits du Québec is a non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate buying from Quebec through the creation of a family of certification marks. These act as a reference point and guarantee of trust for consumers by guaranteeing the origin of Quebec products.
About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, Walmart.ca, is visited by more than 1.5 million customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada was recently recognized as a LinkedIn Top Company of 2022 and was also named one of Canada’s most popular brands (based on Google searches). Walmart Canada has made a commitment to regeneration – focusing on equitable opportunity, sustainability, community, ethics and integrity. Since 1994, Walmart Canada has raised over $650 million to support communities across Canada. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca and on Walmart Canada’s social media pages – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
