Group Export Agri-Food gets a brand identity makeover, on its 30th birthday

On the occasion of its 30^th anniversary despite the pandemic, the Group Export is pleased to present to the industry its renewed brand image, unveiled during its annual general meeting, which was held virtually on October 7, 2020. Still proudly bearing its status as Quebec leader in agri-food export services, the Group Export offers an updated and simplified brand identity that conveys a clearer message than ever: the Group Export offers a variety of complementary export services in a context of accompaniment and constant support to the industry.

“Designed to provide a modernized reference to the wind rose, the new logo of the Group Export represents the Earth and its axis of rotation as well as the growth and innovation shown by the member companies that constitute its heart. Agri-food products exporters will always remain at the centre of our interventions, which are selected and implemented with their interests and needs at the forefront of our thinking”, underlines Martin Lavoie, president and CEO.

Strong in its wish to meet the evolving needs of its members, the association has also made various adjustments to ensure better readability of the logo in order to optimize its impact on new technological platforms. Furthermore, the name of the organization has been shortened in order to position more strongly its belonging to the agri-food industry.

The two-colored arrow illustrating the needle of the compass and referring to the grouping and centralization of services offers a nod to history and confirms the Group Export’s desire to build on its past successes and continue the mission in which it has excelled for three decades.

Initiated in February 2019 when André A. Coutu presided the Export Group, the brand image redesign process was interrupted in order to allow the new leadership of the Group Export to take ownership of the change and shape it to its vision. The new image was therefore finalized under the leadership of Martin Lavoie, current president and CEO, who wished to maintain the achievements in terms of notoriety and make the link between the past and the future while offering a clear symbol of renewal.

In the current context, this new image will be implemented gradually, through a remodeled brand platform, and will culminate at the start of 2021 with the launch of a revamped website, which will facilitate the Group Export’s interactions with its members on a two-way basis.

New faces on the board

To initiate the turning point marked by the launch of this new corporate identity, new directors were elected to the board of directors.

Several seats were up for election at the annual general meeting. Ms. Anne Létourneau (Fruit d´Or) was re-elected to her seat, while three newcomers were welcomed to the board of directors, namely

– Ms. Katell Burot (Carrément Tarte) – Exporter member
– Mr. Mathieu Roy (Emblem Canneberge) – Exporter member
– Ms. Lory Z. Wang (Arctica Food Group Canada Inc.) – Exporter member

The Group Export would also like to thank its outgoing directors, Mr. Jacques Bissonnette (formerly Olymel and La Milanaise), Mr. Martin Cournoyer (formerly Chocolat Lamontagne) replacing Mr. Martin Bilodeau (Gogo Quinoa) and Mr. Jacques Duhaime (Duhaime Gourmet) for their involvement and their availability to the Group Export.

A new strategic plan for redefined interventions

The annual general meeting was also an opportunity for the Group Export to make public a new strategic plan which paints a portrait of the actions to be undertaken until 2023 and which lays the foundations for an enhanced service offering aimed at facilitating market access for exporters. Even more, it concretely seeks to support the achievement of the export target of $ 14 billion of the “Politique bioalimentaire 2018-2025” of the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Group Export being one of the organizations responsible for export actions within the framework of this policy.

Through this new planning, the Group Export team wishes to show increased agility in its support to its members, a notion that will become all the more important in a context of economic and export recovery. As Mr. Lavoie mentions, “while it is currently difficult to anticipate the business environment for agri-food exports and to know what the needs will be at the end of this troubled period, it is clear that those will be increased and changing”.

A Personalized Advisory Program

This particular situation was therefore the perfect moment to announce the forthcoming implementation of a new personalized export diversification and advisory program. Indeed, during the month of October 2020, the Zenith program will be launched, a turnkey solution based on a precise analysis approach combined with a proven methodology. The Zenith program will enable the Group Export to materialize a new field approach to internationalization tailored to its member companies.

Bouncing back on these new stepping stones, the Group Export is ready to tackle the next 30 years with energy, conviction and commitment.

About the Export Group

With over 500 members, Group Export is the largest association of agri-food exporters in Canada. Created in 1990, the Association has, over the years, developed several services and initiated hundreds of activities to facilitate market access outside Quebec and internationally for agri-food exporters in Quebec. A privileged link between exporters and markets, an essential bridge between the public sector and industry, the Association works daily to increase the presence of Quebec products around the world.