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In the late ’80s, British Columbia had a growing need for organic produce, with many consumers and retailers—especially in Vancouver—searching for this hard-to-find category, and only a small organic cooperative—Wild West Organic Harvest—seemingly not able to handle the demand.
At the time, Debra Parker (now Boyle), a resourceful mother of three, began acquiring organic fruits and vegetables from local farmers and importing organic produce from California, and armed with little more than sheer determination, a beat-up station wagon, and a small loan from a friend, started Burnaby-based Pro Organics in 1990 to fill this underserved market.
Debra Boyle, Founder, Pro Organics
“Retailers and restaurants welcomed Pro Organics as an up-and-coming distributor that focused on quality organic products and customer service,” says Erik Sturgeon, supplier relationship manager for the company. “Debra embraced organic values and the organic lifestyle, promoting sustainable agriculture, family and farm histories, eco-politics and more—with passion.”
In 1993 Steve Boyle, a former buyer for Albert’s Organics in California, joined Pro Organics as Parker’s business partner and director of purchasing. His knowledge, contacts and insight into the dynamics of organic distribution proved pivotal in Pro Organics’ rapid growth as he implemented innovative systems, processes and programs.
Together, the two helped grow Pro Organics from a 7,500-square-foot facility into a 45,000-square-foot state-of-the-art, certified organic distribution center, serving all of Western Canada.
Pro Organics Warehouse
“Not only was their passion for the industry evident, but corporate social responsibility and community giving became a focus as well,” Sturgeon says. “Through the establishment of the Pro Organics Foundation, Pro has supported many charities throughout the Vancouver lower mainland.”
For close to 30 years, Pro Organics has focused on product quality and customer service, with the team striving for the widest selection of certified organic produce and dairy year-round; excellence in customer support; superior quality; same-day service for add-ons and subs; on-time delivery and competitive pricing structures.
Its listings include all organic fresh produce items as well as an extensive line of dairy and bulk items.
Challenges and Opportunities
There are 29 very active conventional produce distributors in the lower mainland and 99 in all of BC and Alberta with six conventional produce distributors competing against Pro Organics with organic programs.
“These programs vary in consistency of supply and product quality but have been trying to capitalize with lower than market pricing to gain customer share,” Sturgeon says. “Other challenges include Whole Foods and Amazon’s potential threat to growth of independents, a volatile U.S. exchange rate, inflation, deflation and NAFTA uncertainty.”
To combat these challenges, the company has recently restructured its sales and purchasing departments to be more customer and vendor focused.
“These exciting changes will allow us to build stronger relationships with the industry on both the grower and retailer sides,” Sturgeon says. “This will provide opportunities for new vendors and products. Specifically, value added items like cut veg, berries, and pre-seasoned ready to cook potatoes.”
Pro Organics
Pro Organics is the oldest operating and most trusted organic produce company in Canada and continue to exist and thrive because of a common shared value system with its core customers—exclusively independent organic produce retailers—and that is unwavering support for organic, sustainable agriculture exclusively.
“We believe that organic distributors like ourselves will continue to play a vital role in maintaining and promoting the growth and integrity of the fresh organic food industry in the years ahead,” Sturgeon says. “Pro Organics’ mission is to support the growth and integrity of organics from field to table. We accomplish this by working closely with our like-minded suppliers and customers, with dedicated and experienced employees.”
In the years ahead, the company will be putting more focus on innovations in both supply chain and products selection, including launching of new products in different commodities. Significant attention will also be devoted to supplier relations management and strategic procurement.
“The demand, commitment and loyalty to organic produce is probably stronger, more extensive and more well-established here in the Pacific Northwest than any other region of North America,” Sturgeon says. “Pro Organics is well-positioned to continue to grow.”
