The crunchy happiness ant
If Jean de La Fontaine had lived to cross paths with Geneviève Gagnon, his famous fable might well have begun as follows: "The ant, having worked all year, found itself very well provided for when the bonus came." Nearly 18 years after founding La Fourmi Bionique , the president of the company manufacturing granola, muesli and healthy snack mixes has never ceased to inspire admiration.
Without singing or dancing, Geneviève, who knew nothing about business and food processing, has nevertheless garnered recognition. Named Quebec Businesswoman in the small business category in 2011, then winner of the Businesswomen's Award for Medium-Sized Businesses in 2019, the forty-year-old with the innocent eyes of a child hasn't stopped there.
In recent years, by boosting her turnover by 78% over five years and 76% over three years, the woman who has long suffered from imposter syndrome has seen her company twice appear among the 500 fastest-growing companies in the country in the Profit 500 ranking . Absolutely remarkable for this bachelor's degree in psychology who, moreover, was officially the first graduate in public relations from UQÀM.
Geneviève knows all too well the phenomenal level of difficulty involved in giving birth to a company and... three children! The food manufacturing sector being even more atypical for a woman, last February, the leader and majority shareholder of her small empire with a turnover of between $3 million and $5 million obtained the Women Owned certification awarded by the WeConnect International organization. This certification, which gives access to major clients, is more than welcome for the entrepreneur who advocates for a more inclusive and equitable economy for all.
While her parents hadn't envisioned their daughter becoming an entrepreneur, the fact remains that her inspiration came from her father, who owned a Provisoir . Over time, the daughter of the "boss," who could take whatever she wanted from the shelves of the family convenience store, ended up being lured by products that were more like her. More efficient, more nutritious foodstuffs that could be sourced locally.
" I was greatly influenced by Normand Laprise, the chef at Le Toqué, who displayed on the menu that his honey came from the Les Trois Acres farm, his lettuce from another local supplier. Just like the cranberries and maple syrup, the cereal elements that make up our forty or so blends, the oat flakes, spelt flour, rye, and barley all come from Quebec. We can boast that 75% of our ingredients are local and up to 85% are certified organic. What's more, we've broken the stigma of bland-tasting health products. Our recipes don't taste like tofu! "
So much so that with her twenty employees well-established in the Domtar complex, ten minutes from the Atwater Market, Geneviève Gagnon is able to supply 2,000 points of sale in Canada and France. In 2008, La Fourmi bionique received its first order from the Grande Épicerie de Paris and Galeries Lafayette. But during the pandemic, it was with its flagship Grand Granola range that it was able to infiltrate the breakfast market within the French distribution chain Monoprix.
With all due respect to General Mills and Kellogg’s , the company that could be nicknamed the bionic ant in chief was the first to offer cereal in bags rather than boxes. Armed with her US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration, Geneviève slowly began negotiations and prepared her packaging to, among other things, offer our southern neighbors tons of her favorite mix, the Grand Granola Aphrodisiaque !
Thanks to a significant investment in the automation of its SQF-certified factory on Saint-Patrick Street, La Fourmi Bionique 's productivity is expected to increase by another 25 to 30 percent. Bring on organic whole grain oats, macadamia nuts, caramelized pecans, goji berries, organic salted caramel milk chocolate, and gluten-free coconut sugar. And let's not forget maca. With this Andean root said to increase energy, libido, and fertility, the world will be a happier place!
Photo credit: Gaëlle Vuillaume
