Olymel Cooperative established in Quebec in 1922 as La Coop Federee has annual sales in excess of $2.1 billion, concentrating on pork and broiler meat. Currently Olymel produces 30% of Canadian pork 18% of turkey meat and 13% of broilers. The cooperative operates four processing plants for hogs and three for poultry. In addition there are ten further-processing plants responsible for a wide range of added value products representing 30% of sales value. Olymel markets 56% of output under its national brands with 44% under private label. Current slaughter capacity is 160,000 hogs and 1.7 million broilers each week.
In addition to the domestic market in Canada, the cooperative exports to the U.S., Japan and Australia as the principal trading partners and product is consigned to over 60 nations. Exports represent 13% of sales value with Canadian retail chains and QSRs amounting to 51% and 36%, respectively. Restaurant chains supplied by Olymel include Swiss Chalet, KFC, Wendy’s, Tim Horton’s and Subway. Major American clients marketing Olymel products under their private labels include Wegmans, Meijer, Costco and Trader Joe’s.
Food safety is entrenched in the culture of the company with an emphasis on prevention and compliance with the most rigid international standards. The company employs a team of veterinarians, nutritionists and microbiologists qualified to develop, implement and maintain HACCP, ISO and nationally mandated traceback systems. Olymel must also adhere to strict environmental restrictions both in its plants and the production facilities operated by its supply farms.
