While their candies are spreading everywhere, the owners of KandJu confectioneries will put everything in the same bag: the activities of the head office, the Saint-Césaire factory and the Granby distribution center will be brought together in a new complex which will be built on the 185,000 square feet of land they have just acquired in Granby.
Co-founders Marie-Ève Gladu and François St-Laurent will invest $7 million in the construction of a first 30,000 ft2 building in 2024. They are already planning a 22,000 ft2 expansion to support the growth of 35% per year that they have known for two years.
KandJu expertly packages candies supplied by Canadian and foreign manufacturers.
“We try to get the best from each country and we create blends and value-added products from these raw materials,” describes Marie-Ève Gladu. But our mixtures are still approved as prepared foods in Quebec, given that mixing is part of the processing activities. »
These amalgams are put in bags, plastic buckets, pots and are sold in bulk.
Currently, KandJu packages and distributes 25 tons of candy per week across Canada.
The company employs around a hundred people, almost half of whom work in its network of nine stores in Quebec.
It has recently invested heavily in automation. “In the new factory, we plan to install robots that will allow us to open the bags, take the boxes and put them on the pallets,” informs François St-Laurent.
The two entrepreneurs plan to soon tackle the American market, where their trademark has just been registered.
Marie-Ève Gladu and François St-Laurent met in the mid-2000s.
“We were so in love that we said to ourselves: ‘It’s not true that we’re going to spend our days working separately and that we’re going to see each other a little bit in the evening and a little bit in the morning””, relates François.
To unite their professional destinies, they launched their own business.
“We came up with the idea of taking candies and then sticking them on a wooden skewer. Like chicken skewers. »
They first offered them – packaged with a pretty little bow – to customers at Marie-Ève’s parents’ sugar bush. The skewers quickly piqued their curiosity: a customer asked them if she could get them elsewhere.
“Overnight, on a whim, we gave up our jobs, we set up skewers, we designed and assembled displays,” our man continues. “Then one nice September morning I went and bought a clean shirt and bought a tackle box from Canadian Tire. We put the products in and drove off to sell them. That’s kind of how the story started. »
That was in 2006. They created the KandJu brand in 2013 to sell their products directly to consumers.
When COVID-19 forced the closure of small independent businesses where they had previously sold their products, Marie-Ève and François decided to knock on the doors of the big chains.
“It really exploded that year,” notes the young entrepreneur. I think we were at 65% growth. »
The ensuing recession didn’t disrupt the business too much: The mid-range candy market has its own preservatives.
“In times of inflation or recession, we will restrict ourselves more on luxury products, but people will not deprive themselves of small rewards that remain affordable,” she explains. Which means we always manage to come out on top.”
The two entrepreneurs have recently discovered two new markets: corporate and fundraising.
“These are aspects that we underestimated,” admits Marie-Ève Gladu. I have law and notary offices that are going to offer their clients buckets of candy for Christmas. We have been exploiting this niche for two or three years, and we see it as a great opportunity. »
Another field is opening up in fundraising campaigns for young people.
“Everyone says yes to a little jar of candy. This is something that we will push over the coming years. »
Contrary to what one might believe, the Halloween frenzy had little influence on their success. Until recently, at least.
“A few years ago, we said that Halloween was the holiday of Walmart and supermarkets, because the people who give candy do not necessarily go to the mid- and high-end,” notes Marie-Ève Gladu.
But here too, a secondary market has developed over the past two or three years.
“The adults have murder mystery nights, scary nights, dinner parties. It’s really a party that we want to invest energy into. »
The question torments you: but where does the name KandJu come from?
“The word kandju means candy in Maltese,” replies Marie-Ève Gladu.
Nothing to do with malted milk candies: it’s the language spoken on the island of Malta.
“I’ll explain to you: François had done the exercise of entering the word candy into translator software to find a word that would speak to him. By doing the exercise, we arrived at the word kandju in Maltese, after testing several other languages. »
Tasty anecdote.
Pneus Ratté has been holding up well for almost 90 years and the Quebec company plans to expand its footprint in the Montreal region within three years. The group, which has 23 points of sale in Quebec, prides itself on being the oldest network of tire and mechanical workshops in Quebec. It appeared in Montreal in 2021, in the Anjou borough, where it has an automobile center and a heavy goods vehicle center – its only presence west of Trois-Rivières so far. Adrien Ratté opened his workshop in 1934 on Charest Boulevard, in Quebec, where he distributed Dunlop tires in particular. Stéphane Ratté, president, and Charlyne Ratté, vice-president, represent the fourth generation at the head of the company. Les Pneus Ratté has invested more than $40 million in acquisitions and expansions since 2000. They employ more than 250 people.
Solère had barely seen the light of day when it signed a partnership with a flagship in the distribution of electrical equipment. Solère, just launched in August 2023, has just signed an agreement with Lumen, which becomes its official distributor. The Montreal company has developed autonomous LED lighting systems, powered by batteries recharged with solar energy, for places and regions without electricity distribution. Its LiFePO4 battery system, designed and produced in its factory in the Saint-Laurent borough, remains perfectly functional from -50 to 65°C. A unique product on the market, assures the company. Solère is the result of the association between Marc Desparois, president of NRG Management, a commercial and institutional lighting agency, and Louis Duguay, president of Elumen Lighting Networks, a manufacturer of LED lighting products.
Difuze is focusing its attention a little more on Toronto with the acquisition of the sought-after Wanted!. The Montreal provider of finishing, dubbing, accessibility and content delivery services for the audiovisual industry has just purchased the Toronto studio founded in 2001, specializing in sound post-production. Supported by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, this transaction allows Difuze to “strengthen ties with [its] Ontario clients,” according to the company’s president, François Deschamps. Difuze was founded on September 1, 2018 by François Deschamps, Alain Baccanale and Nicolas Savoie, three veterans of the audiovisual sector. This is their sixth acquisition in five years. The three partners first acquired Technicolor, SPR and CNST. They then purchased two other Toronto-based companies, The Media Concierge and SpeakeasyDV. The company has more than 250 employees across its offices in Montreal and Toronto.
Some 120 representatives of Beauceron SMEs attended the information luncheon on the Renaissance of the Quebec shipbuilding industry, which took place on October 12 in Saint-Georges. It was one of nine meetings planned in this tour organized by the Chantier Davie Canada Suppliers Association.
