They are 21 years old, they are already the largest garlic producers in Quebec and they will be the first farmers here to reduce grocery store imports to offer garlic from our fields all year round.
Their innovative methods of preserving garlic bulbs will allow them to supply IGA continuously from August 24th, with the announced goal of reducing imports from China and Spain to zero.
“We’ve been working on conservation techniques for three or four years. We went to Europe to seek advice on how to regulate humidity and temperature well and how to create a well-controlled atmosphere during storage,” explains Nicolas Taillefer, co-owner of Une Touche d’Ail.
With his wife Karine Fournier, the farmer cultivates an area of 85 hectares in Montérégie, almost three times more than last year. The couple also doubled the size of their Saint-Anicet warehouse to 10,000 square meters to serve the province’s IGAs.
“There wasn’t a player from Quebec who was capable of that. We were ready to make the necessary investments,” explains Nicolas Taillefer, who finished the harvest at the end of July.
Une Touche d’Ail started collaborating with Sobeys on its processed products in 2021. Photo Pierre Paul Poulin
The adventure with Sobeys started two years ago with processed products: gravy, mashed potatoes and garlic pesto. The former managing director of Savoura, Marie Gosselin, was enthusiastic about the young farmer couple and gave the marketing a strong boost.
“People are so impressed with what we do that we never get negative vibes!” says Karine Fournier.
Entrepreneur at 15
The story of Une Touche d’Ail has something to seduce. Nicolas Taillefer became an entrepreneur at the age of 15 by planting 1000 bulbs of garlic on his grandfather’s land. He sold all his production in his region’s public markets and invested his profits in growth to increase the acreage.
“In the beginning I went to five markets a week. My dad came to drive me home with my garlic because I didn’t have a car when I was 15. And I didn’t have an Interac machine to pay money because I was underage,” says Nicolas with a smile.
He knew Karine in her high school physical education program. At 16 they became a couple. She came to his aid in the summer and on weekends. They continued their scientific education at CEGEP. Karine became a co-owner.
In order to support the growth of the company, she temporarily dropped out of her accounting studies at university at the crucial moment of the partnership with IGA.
The workweeks stretch over many hours as no subcontracting is used in the manufacture of the processed products.
“We work, we just do that. We’re together all the time and have such a passion that we take the world with us,” says Nicolas, who also prides himself on growing garlic without pesticides or herbicides.