When celebrating the 50th anniversary of the company and integrating a new partner, the company let the “et Frères” slip out of its brand image. In the process, Pinard is focusing on the niche of dried flowers as a new field of possibilities.
Within two years, it is estimated that it will be able to generate 10 percent of the turnover of the company, which until now specialized in the cultivation of annual flowers and landscaping and maintenance services.
A story of families (with an s)
It was the ancestor Jérôme Pinard who opened the ball of internal transformations by launching into market gardening with strawberries as his specialty. While agricultural life was traditionally lived to the rhythm of dairy production on the Pinard land, this transition from breeding to cultivation was in itself a small revolution.
In 1975, when Pinard et Frères was founded, animals gave way entirely to plants.
From generation to generation, market gardening has transformed into the production of annual flowers. From horticulturists to landscapers, there was only one step…
Of the three associated brothers from the third generation, Gabriel, Julien and Benoît Pinard, the first two have embraced a new career. The third found an ally in Cynthia Gagné, his partner and trained horticulturist. In 2018, she fully acquired her shares in the company where she had already been operating for a dozen years.
“Cynthia and I found ourselves in a pandemic, and that’s when I discovered myself as an entrepreneur,” says Benoit Pinard. While the company was losing a significant amount of expertise among its brothers, he took on the role of general manager while cultivating the spirit of the family business. This comes at the dawn of a period of global economic uncertainty.
We now know: this pandemic has given people a taste for color, both in the rainbows hung in the windows and in the flowers planted in the garden. Production boomed, so much so that we had to sacrifice retail sales, which represented only a small part of the market.
The couple is now preparing to conclude a shareholding agreement with Gabriel Chênevert. He has been working in the landscaping and maintenance sector for seven years. He is following in the footsteps of his mother, a long-time employee dedicated to caring for flowers in the greenhouses.
The arrival of Garbiel Chênevert (right) completes the team of shareholders formed so far by Benoît Pinard and Cynthia Gagné. (Sylvain Mayer/Le Nouvelliste)
“When COVID arrived, I gave people that chance. I delegated and I allowed people to take up space,” considers the only descendant of Jérôme Pinard taking part in the destiny of the ancestral farm, 50 years after its foundation.
The arrival of Gabriel Chênevert nevertheless perpetuates “the family essence of the company”. In this turning point, we drop the “et Frères” of the trademark. However, Pinard (in short) continues to rely on a “human cog” to fully enter this entrepreneurial phase.
The dried flower with modern taste
At Pinard, no more dull and dusty bouquet placed in a stoneware vase that sat in our grandmothers’ living room. For the new dried flower artisan, Cynthia Gagné, everything starts with intention.
You don’t grow a flower intended for preservation by drying in the same way as fresh flowers, she explains. In addition, not all cultivars are suitable for creating a beautiful, long-lasting decoration once dried.
In order to perfect this unique art, the horticulturist traveled across France with her partner and spouse for three weeks last winter. Their quest: the know-how of artisans specialized in the production of flowers grown for the purpose of being dried.
Cynthia and Benoît come back with a host of ideas to experiment with to obtain sprays of flowers, each more colorful than the last, harvested at their peak and dried in optimal conditions.
The couple of entrepreneurs felt the pulse of a clientele to be conquered by their presence at the Godefroy market, during three weekends in December. Their bouquets and wreaths of flowers, grasses and eucalyptus leaves were overall well received.
“There are a lot of people who came, who told us: we saw you on social networks and we came for you. A customer even came three times to buy bouquets,” reports Benoit Pinard at the end of this first marketing experience.
An extended production season
With this new string to its bow, Pinard foresees an expansion of its production season aimed at energy efficiency. Once the annual flower season is over, greenhouses and fields find a new vocation by welcoming cultivars selected for their color and resistance.
A bouquet in delicate colors intended for a future bride. (Sylvain Mayer/Le Nouvelliste)
No need for heating or artificial lighting. The use of pesticides is almost non-existent in this crop, unlike that of fresh flowers which require them for their preservation. In addition, we are targeting a local market of retailers to distribute this production.
In this current stage of research and development, the market targeted by the flower wholesaler is oriented towards florists, decoration or event companies. During our visit, Cynthia Gagné had just made a whole range of bouquets for a wedding reception: bridal bouquet, buttonholes and matching centerpieces.
For online retail sales, we acquired a new domain name with pinard.ca. Bouquets with names evocative of colorful cocktails are offered all year round. Next marketing test: the highlight of Valentine’s Day.
