Exploring a Collective Market for Local Winter Vegetables in Bas-Saint-Laurent

Context

The Table de concertation bioalimentaire du Bas‑Saint‑Laurent (TCBBSL) is actively working to advance the organic agriculture sector within the region. Over the past few years, numerous initiatives have been launched to address the four priority areas of the region’s 2020–2025 Action Plan.

As part of this process, meetings were held with market gardeners to gauge their interest in taking part in a collective marketing initiative for locally grown organic vegetables. Five market gardeners expressed interest in joining. Retail sales, specifically winter vegetables, were identified as the focus of a pilot project to be carried out in winter 2025–2026.

Objectives

To assess the feasibility of a collective marketing initiative for local organic winter vegetables in the Bas‑Saint‑Laurent retail market, CISA supported the TCBBSL between December 2024 and June 2025. The support was structured around three phases: 1) analysis of the internal and external environment of the project; 2) definition of the business model and identification of the supply chain; and 3) assessment of the project’s economic feasibility.