2023-07-03 04:00:00
Cheese, Philippe Labbé fell into it when he was little. Because the know-how has been passed down from generation to generation since 1948 at Laiterie Charlevoix, the Baie-Saint-Paul company that produces Fleurmier, 1608 and other delicacies.
“I never feel like I’m working at the dairy. When I was studying, I spent my summers in the family business and it was associated with vacations. I was with members of my family. Even today, in fact. And the team are friends,” says Philippe, director of business development.
When he was younger, his father and six uncles ran the business. Of this third generation, only the youngest of the siblings, Bruno, remains in office at the general management. The next generation is preparing with Philippe, his cousin Jean-Daniel and two other members of the Labbé family.
Philippe Labbé distributes Laiterie Charlevoix cheeses to restaurants across the country. Francis Pelletier
There are family businesses that are like choirs, multiple voices that find harmony in numbers. It has always fascinated me to see so many brothers, sons and cousins uniting their professional destinies.
In the family cocoon, Philippe is delighted to have always had the freedom to open up the business horizons of La Laiterie Charlevoix. At the beginning of his career, as desired by his family, he gained experience elsewhere, in the medical environment, as a representative.
From hospitals to restaurants
When he reunited with his clan in 2012, he set regarding developing the distribution of the company’s fine cheeses in good restaurants in Quebec and Montreal, building relationships with the chefs.
“Before, I sold medical equipment for people at the end of life. Now, I invite Stefano Faïta or the chef of the Pied de Cochon to fish for salmon to consolidate our relations. It’s more festive! rejoices the young man.
The chefs started to ask him for cheeses of all types, such as blues or Emmenthal, so there was the idea of acquiring the distributor Aux Terroirs in order to satisfy their desires. It also allowed Laiterie Charlevoix to expand its market across the country.
These activities are in addition to the cheese counter and the Cheese Economuseum in Baie-Saint-Paul, as well as the Grand Marché store in Quebec City, where the Laiterie Charlevoix has also just opened a dinette, a gourmet stop hoped for by its clients.
Since 1948, Laiterie Charlevoix has been producing cheeses that are now distributed across the country. Francis Pelletier
The flood nightmare
And then there’s Le Génévrier campground, which almost became a symbol of the Baie-Saint-Paul floods in the spring, when the Gouffre River washed away trailers, cabins, a bridge and lots of land.
“It was like a bad dream every day when it happened,” recalls Philippe, whose loved ones worked hard to be able to accommodate campers this summer. Because, casually, this campsite is a heavyweight in the local economy, while it welcomed between 2000 and 3000 people full time during the summer season. Obviously, this represents a significant influx of customers for local grocery stores and businesses.
“The development of our businesses, the older generation taught me, goes through the development of our region. We always thought regarding that. We had to continue to operate with the campsite”, says Philippe, happy at least to be able to offer 165 campsites out of the 400 of the past.
Ambassador of a region that he has tattooed on his heart, Philippe Labbé likes to say that he sells Charlevoix, long before selling the Laiterie or a cheese. What he carries is a great family story, just as much as that of the farmers in his region.
Profile of Philippe Labbé
Position: Director of Business Development, Laiterie Charlevoix
Age: 44 years old
Studies: Administration and consumer sciences, Laval University
1688387057
#Traveling #Charlevoix #cheese #Canada
