Renata Isopo
Fruits and vegetables are produced seasonally, but the market requires fresh products throughout the year. Increased consumer year-round demand for fresh produce, force retailers or their representatives to establish buying points for consumers in different areas such as the grand city of Laval. Le Panier Du Fermier, a new online fresh-produce service, owned and operated by Elias Mantis and partners, is the newest kid on the block, having established a buying point, on Laval Island, for the north shore and beyond.
Some retailers contract year-round fresh fruit and vegetable packers in several different production regions to ensure year-round availability every. These packers generally link only in regions with large numbers of growers or importers. Large volumes enable packers to obtain sufficient quantities of individual products at competitive prices.
Explosion of on-line consuming
“To stay competitive, processors must keep unit costs low,” stated Elias, adding that price and quality, drive production. “Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to know what is meant by high quality, and quality judgement often varies from year to year.” Retailers and consumers judge produce quality, including flavor, ripeness, odor, cleanliness, and the presence of insects and foreign material.
With the explosion of on-line purchasing of everything from light bulbs to car parts, the produce industry is also excited about getting into the online consumer boom. Le Panier du Fermier owner Elias Mantis and partners, sell fruits and vegetables through their depot, distributing throughout Fabreville, Chomedey, and Ste-Rose.
“Since this is a high tech city and everyone has internet, this is a great way to sell online in order to provide extended customer services which are picking up like hot cakes,” said Elias. The intriguing Web presentation features farm produce in vivid images that quickly catch the eye. Orders are packed and held in cold storage. Elias told TLN in a telephone interview that his internet sales portal is proving to be successful and growing. “We save consumers serious money. We package fully loaded boxes with only the best and freshest variety of fruits and vegetables at extremely competitive prices. A box that normally sells for $50 is sold for only $30 at Le Panier Du Fermier at all times.”
Shopping convenience is the aim of on-line ordering, according to Elias and his partners, making the experience comfortable, attractive, and cost-efficient compared to stores. Customers choose boxes of goodies, delivery time most convenient, morning, afternoon, or evening. Forms are provided with all the pertinent information.
Quality and freshness guaranteed
“Our boxes are bursting with best quality, freshness guaranteed. Each box lasts at least a week, full of seasonal favorites.” Mainly, shopping on our online store avoids unnecessary grocery store purchases, prevents overspending, helps families to budget more effectively. and reduces food waste,” Elias explained.
The service caters to all clientele. Many senior citizens struggle to go out and buy their groceries every week, while others simply have better things to do than spend a day shopping. Le Panier Du Fermier provides for all, including the not so young. The result is a system that is affordable, practical, easy to use, and it makes it possible for seniors to get their grocery without worries, from home, regardless of the weather or state of health.
Convenient and affordable
“Convenience is the driving force behind our goal. Traditional shopping is remarkably inconvenient since it’s time consuming, especially for workers,” said Elias. The problem is especially significant for grocery shopping, since most people must do it fairly often to replace perishable items. Choosing our online produce which is always $30 (a $50 value), with a $5 delivery fee regardless the area, is the easiest way to avoid inconvenience. It’s the best way to save time and money, and mainly there’s no waste which is a loss of money.”
All orders must be placed by Thursday night, include 16 to 20 items, varying week to week. “In fact, consumers can now check us out on Facebook,” said Elias proudly. “We began to sell to family and friends, and then, with Facebook, the business just exploded,” he added.
“Essentially, our online produce delivery service works on pre-orders by going to our page at www.panierdufermier.ca With the community supporting our online purchasing project, we guarantee our customers in Chomedey, Fabreville, Ste-Rose, and beyond fresh quality produce saving time and lots of money,” concluded Elias.
You are what you eat!
