The Yes Group – Quality and Food Safety is Key

The Yes Group

Quality and Food Safety is Key

By Sandy Trojansek, Meat & Poultry Ontario

Mario Henry, Product Specialist for the Yes Group, met his future employer at a trade show in Markham while owning his own slaughterhouse and store. He was a customer for 25 years before selling his business and joining the Yes Group in 2011.

The Yes Group, a private family-owned and operated company providing equipment, supplies and consulting services to the meat and poultry industry, was established in 1987. When Keith Young, founder of the Yes Group, passed away, his son Steve took over the business with his wife Sylvia. The company has 10 employees serving customers across Canada. Henry also has customers in Trinidad, Jamaica, and Barbados.

“We did a sausage kitchen out of Nunavut 6 years ago with a company I worked with out of Alberta,” said Henry. “We used two shipping containers that were side by side. One was a cutting room; another was a sausage kitchen. Elk was the biggest protein available. There was no place to process the elk when it was killed, it was brought to us to cut up, and taken next door to make hamburgers and sausages.” Clients that Henry and the Yes Group work with include most slaughterhouses in Canada, such as Cargill, JBS, Maple Leaf and Sofina.

“They have had long-standing relationships with the Yes Group for years,” said Henry. “It’s great because they’re so big, but we also have people walk in off the street to buy a bundle of casings.”

The Yes Group is known for a variety of products. “Someone can call and ask for Buffalo Chicken marinade, burger mix, wrapping paper, a mesh glove, hairnets, and other items, and want it sent today,” said Henry. “It’s one-stop shopping with quick turnaround.”

The company has faced challenges promoting new products. “We’re a spice distributor, but spice companies have been bought out and are bigger now,” said Henry. “This resulted in a high demand

Yes Group Christmas photo - from left to right: Back row - Wendy, Gord, Bill and Ana. Front row - Mario, Carol, Ian. Missing - Steve and Silvia Young.

on what we can order. It’s challenging to bring out new products, as minimum orders could be 400-500 kilos of a certain spice.”

Henry mentioned new equipment that is doing well for the Yes Group. “We’ve done well selling equipment to some of the bigger plants,” he said. We have a new generation Wizard Knife, and a batter breading machine to bread cutlets and chicken fingers. Our small tabletop hamburger machine makes burger making easy.”

What are the short and longterm goals for the organization? “Short-term goals are challenging due to issues with the spice blenders,” he said. “Long-term goals include continuing the great job with the slaughterhouses and meat cutting places. We deal with meat processing, but people think we work with restaurants. We’re more into the manufacturing side than service, and that’s where we’ll continue to grow.”

Future of the Industry “I owned a pork slaughterhouse in Toronto, and demographics have become so diverse,” said Henry. “I have lots of Muslim customers, and Halal and gluten-free are currently the growing trends. One challenge I see is that smaller slaughterhouses are closed or sold out. People can’t kill their pigs on the farm, so they drive 2-3 hours to have their pigs slaughtered. If you don’t have a growing market, it’s hard to survive.”

Henry enjoys working for the Yes Group. “Everyone is treated well, and it’s family oriented,” he said. “I spent two weeks in the ICU at the hospital sick with COVID. I missed 7 weeks of work and never lost wages. Another staff member had hip replacement, and never lost wages. You become humble and kinder to people when something like this happens.”

What business tip would Henry give the younger version of himself? “Quality. The quality of meat and spice is important, but so is the service aspect,” he said. “People take two days to respond to email. Service and quality of service is what’s going to help you.”

Henry’s business philosophy is simple. “Never exaggerate, promise something you can’t deliver, and answer something you don’t know.”

As for his personal philosophy, Henry stated “I’m making up for time missed with my kids. I’m still a workaholic, but I have two lives. One is work, the other is my wife and kids.” Henry sees challenges to food safety in the industry. “The Labelling Act has done wonderful things, but has also confused people,” he said. “They wanted to label ground beef recently. Sometimes, too much information can be confusing.”

According to Henry, food safety is the most important issue in the meat and poultry industry, “Australia is the leader in food safety. It’s their number one priority,” he said. “Our problem is the inspection levels we have. If we can make them more unified, our system would be great. Processors know this, and they want to produce safe food.”

What are Henry’s key food safety considerations? “Personnel is a big challenge. People have habits that can be bad,” he said. “For consumers, it’s temperature abuse, like leaving pizza out overnight to eat in the morning.”

Membership with MPO is Important Henry sees the value of membership with MPO. “I have been President of MPO in the past. Membership keeps us in touch with the industry, suppliers, and customers. This is very important,” he said. “It’s nice to see the organization, read BlockTalk, and see what’s going on in the industry. I like the personal aspect of things, and the trade shows are wonderful.”

The Yes Group Steve Young (905) 470-1136 www.yesgroup.ca

Mario Henry