Anticipating the shortage to come, a Quebec entrepreneur outstripped the multinationals by buying up all that remained of mustard seeds in Western Canada to steal their place on grocery store shelves.
“We invested heavily last year when we saw what was coming,” boasts Simon-Pierre Murdock, founder and co-owner of Canada Sauce, from Saguenay.
What was coming was a shortage of mustard seeds due to dire weather conditions in Western Canada in 2021.
The harvest in Canada, the world's largest producer, was affected with a drop of 28% for the year 2021-2022.
“Around August 2021, we bought astronomical quantities of mustard seeds, vans and vans. All that was left in the silos, we took it. We invested all our working capital,” says the entrepreneur, who has been producing mustard since 2019.
So much so that today, Canada Sauce's "baseball" mustard can be found in 1,800 outlets, and the company has just signed a contract to supply Costco.
World prices are exploding
Meanwhile, the global mustard market is suffering. Seeds are becoming scarce and their price has soared, reaching up to five times the value of 2020.
The world's second largest producer is Russia, hit by an embargo. Another important producer is Ukraine, whose fields have been devastated by Russian tanks.
Industry giants like Maille and Heinz are struggling to source raw materials. Stock shortages are observed everywhere, as in Europe.
“You will no doubt have noticed that certain brands of mustard have been absent from supermarket shelves for several days now,” wrote Le Point magazine yesterday.
Each year, Canada exports 70,000 tonnes of yellow mustard, mostly to the United States. The so-called common mustard, the famous “baseball” mustard, is produced there.
In 2022, Canada Sauce will use 20 to 30 tonnes of mustard seeds to produce its mustard.
“We are a small player, but it pays to have good relations with producers in the West,” he says.
This is also what the Quebec Food Processing Council has observed.
“Those who produce mustard here have been warned of the poor harvest to come and have been able to store some. But production will have to be good this year, otherwise we will find ourselves in the same situation as Europe, ”explains the CEO of the organization, Sylvie Cloutier.
Like what betting on local products can lead to beautiful surprises. And seize opportunities.
“We have 10% of the mustard market in Quebec, and with everything that is happening, we think we can go up to 30-40% this year,” dreams Simon-Pierre Murdock.
Remember the heat dome last year? This drought caused mustard seed production to drop by 28% in Canada, the world's largest producer. The second producer? Russia, hit by an embargo. In France, mustard production fell from 12,000 tonnes in 2016 to 4,000 tonnes in 2021, due to a cold snap, but also due to the ban on the use of certain insecticides. In short, it's the perfect storm.
