Nearly three years after its creation, the general manager of Le Panier bleu, Alain Dumas, feels the need to justify the raison d’être of the Quebec online shopping platform. In an open letter, he attempts to respond to the many critics who have suggested that the Blue Basket was a “ failure ”.

“The information that a small proportion of “Quebec Certified” products were on sale on the Blue Basket caused some to say that this online market for Quebec merchants was a failure. The reality is different. Le Panier Bleu is rather an emerging success,” reads the message broadcast in the platform’s newsletter.

Since its creation at the start of the pandemic, the Blue Basket – an online shopping platform that brings together Quebec merchants – has come under heavy criticism. At the beginning of the year, several companies listed there confirmed to La Presse that their presence on this market place had not allowed them to generate huge sales. More recently, the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, during the study of budget appropriations, revealed that only 1% of the products displayed on the site were Quebec certified. In total, 115,000 are listed there as well as 250 merchants.

“ We must realize this: there are relatively few companies that take the certification process allowing them to affix the “Produit du Québec” or “Aliments du Québec” certification, we can read, because many do not don’t feel it’s necessary. Does a Quebec publisher need to remind people that their books are Quebec? Does a maple syrup producer need to remember that his maple syrup is from Quebec when almost 100% of the world’s maple syrup comes from here? Companies take a certification approach when it is relevant to them. But it is not the Blue Basket that certifies. »

“Le Panier Bleu will not dislodge Amazon, much in the same way that TOU.TV will not dislodge Netflix. The challenge is to be there. To be present in the world. »