Our roots
OUR
BUSINESS
FRESHNESS IS AT THE HEART OF OUR PRACTICES
ENHANCING OUR SHARED WEALTH
Saladexpress makes life easier for amateur and professional cooks by providing fresh vegetables, packaged raw or cooked and ready to cook or serve. They can create healthy meals using healthy products that are at the peak of freshness, grown by local farmers and prepared by our dedicated employees.
A PASSION FED BY LOCAL FARMERS
Saladexpress aspires to extend the reach of local vegetables in eastern Canada and the United States by supplying consumers with cuts, savvy combinations of tasty ingredients and handy recyclable packaging. By staying on top of market trends and technological advances, we can offer fresher and fresher innovative products to consumers and restaurateurs.
TOWARDS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE DIET
We’re proud to support sustainable development and the local economy by opting for natural, low-energy processing methods, maximizing the use of raw material as part of a circular economy and buying from farmers located near our facilities.
ADDING VALUE TO LOCAL VEGETABLES SINCE 1989
135 EMPLOYEES GUIDED BY AN EXPERIENCED NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM
OUR
VALUES
GUARANTEE OF IMPECCABLE QUALITY
SIMPLICITY
VEGETABLES PREPARED FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY
Because time is money for consumers and cooks, we offer handy, delicious prepared vegetables. Our vegetables are cut, washed and packaged with care to preserve maximum freshness and they contain no preservatives. Goodbye knives and vegetable waste, hello healthy, natural products that are ready to eat or to cook!
PROXIMITY
VEGETABLES HARVESTED FRESH FROM LOCAL PRODUCERS
To preserve the environment and leave its richness for future generations, we support sustainable agriculture and opt for natural, low-energy processing methods. We also minimize our carbon footprint by obtaining most of our materials from nearby producers.
SOLIDARITY
KEEPING IN STEP WITH THE NEEDS OF CONSUMERS AND RESTAURATEURS
At Saladexpress, we’re committed to meeting the needs of every link in the supply chain, from the farmer to the consumer, including employees, merchants and restaurateurs. Local vegetables are a shared wealth, and we are working to add value responsibly for the benefit of the whole community.
Our
HISTORY
Saladexpress inc. was founded in 1989 in Saint-Rémi, deep in a true vegetable paradise in the Montérégie region. In 1995, Mr. Leslie Jonas acquired the company and gave it a new direction based on a promise of simplicity, freshness and nature. He concentrated on products to meet the needs of the retail, hotel, restaurant, institutional and agri-food industry markets. Technological and strategic investments served to optimize quality control and efficient processing methods. A wave of freshness washed over the world of ready-to-use vegetables with the long-expected arrival of kitchen aids. Saladexpress offered the top-quality products that were sought by increasing numbers of institutions and consumers for whom the contents of their plate were a priority. In 2007, after strong growth, the offices and a large part of the factory needed renovation. In 2008, Saladexpress acquired Nutriplus, the leader in the bagged-spinach market in Québec at the time, thereby diversifying its line and increasing both the number of employees and its market share. This investment required retooling facilities to include Nutriplus’ equipment and staff. Saladexpress obtained HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) certification. This food safety management system is recognized around the world and follows the strictest food safety assurance standards. Saladexpress had another decisive moment in 2010, when the Fonds de solidarité FTQ acquired Mr. Jonas’ shares and became the majority shareholder. Saladexpress was also a finalist in the category “Increased Productivity – SME” at the Mercuriades, a contest organized by the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec to recognize successful entrepreneurs. In 2011, Saladexpress renewed its commitment to providing healthy products by obtaining FSSC 22000 quality certification, part of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). In 2018, in order to modernize its facilities in Saint-Rémi, Saladexpress signed a strategic partnership with Groupe Agrial, a French agricultural cooperative that is an international leader in agri-food processing of milk, fresh vegetables and fruit, beverages and meats. The partnership with Agrial opened the door to a new phase of development for Saladexpress with an investment of over $3M. The company also launched the Florette brand in Canada and repositioned the Champêtre brand. Saladexpress is far from finished! As the Québec leader in the field of processing vegetables, Saladexpress is continuing to penetrate a changing sphere of activities. It is constantly listening to its clienteles in Québec, Ontario, the Maritimes and the northeastern United States in order to provide them with fresher and fresher products and make life easier in the kitchen.
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Today