Another flagship disappears, bringing with it the loss of 283 jobs, 107 of them in Quebec. Without warning, Whyte’s Foods, which made Coronation Pickles among other things, closed its doors earlier this month.
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“It’s boring, it could have ended differently. They could have at least sold the brands to continue,” said a long-time employee who did not want to be named.
The Coronation brand has existed in Quebec since 1938. Photo from Whyte’s Foods website
Anyone who worked for Whyte’s Foods was reportedly ordered not to spread the news. The vast majority have been unemployed for two weeks.
Founded in 1892 and based in Laval for a long time, the company was the largest producer of pickles, relishes and maraschino cherries in Canada.
In addition to the Coronation brands, Mrs. At Whyte’s, Saroli and Strub’s, she was responsible for the production of other brands such as President’s Choice (Loblaws), Great Value (Walmart) and Compliments (Sobey/IGA).
Whyte’s Foods filed for bankruptcy and bankruptcy protection in late August.
The owner, Elisabeth Kawaja, tried to sell the business but was unsuccessful. The deadline for a sale was October 6th. All company activities have now been discontinued.
Dismantling in progress
Whyte’s Foods had two factories. The Wallaceburg, Ontario company employed 172 people. The other company, in Saint-Louis in Montérégie, employed 48 people.
The distribution center was located on Highway 15 in Sainte-Thérèse, where the headquarters was also located. 59 people worked there. The building does not belong to the company.
The Whyte’s Foods distribution center in Sainte-Thérèse has been empty for at least two weeks. The building is for rent as it does not belong to the company. Photo Mathieu Boulay
The dissolution of Whyte’s Foods has already begun, according to documents from insolvency administrator Alvarez & Marsal.
The Saint-Louis factory was sold to a Quebec competitor, Putter’s, on September 29 for $7.45 million.
Whyte’s Foods also closed a factory in Laval in 2022 “to ensure the survival and future of the company.”
Debt of $60 million
The company was $59.6 million in debt, according to documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Of that, $44.9 million is owed to secured creditors, including Farm Credit Canada ($34 million) and Wells Fargo Bank ($8 million).
Whyte’s Foods valued its assets at $55.5 million as of July 31, the trustee says.
The company has been in the red since at least 2020 and posted a loss of $3.3 million this year. The deficit was $2.7 million in 2021, $5.3 million in 2022 and $7.5 million in 2023.
Neither the lawyers of record nor Ms Kawaja were available yesterday to explain the reason for their silence since the closure.
– In collaboration with Martin Jolicoeur
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