L’Original Packing Ltd. – Celebrating 50 Years of Success

BUSINESS MEMBER PROFILE L’Original Packing Ltd. – Celebrating 50 Years of Success April Jackman, Meat & Poultry Ontario

Iwas excited to have the opportunity to chat with L’Original Packing owner, Christine Bonneau-O’Neill, about the flourishing business located in eastern Ontario, just west of Ottawa. Established nearly 50 years ago in 1971, L’Original Packing employs 19 staff members, remains a staple in the community and nearby towns and are known their maple bacon and homemade smoked hams.

Celebrating 50 years in 2021, L’Original Packing has been a family business since its inception. Originally purchased as a ‘small town butcher shop’ by Christine’s father, Jean-Guy Bonneau. Jean-Guy grew the business with his two brothers, Yvan and Claude, and longtime employee Roger Barbarie. What started as a small slaughterhouse soon became a food distributor serving the eastern Ontario region from the Quebec border to Cornwall and Ottawa. In 1981 Jean-Guy expanded operations and moved to a larger production plant to meet demand. In 2006, Christine purchased the business with her brothers Andre and Benoit, and eventually became sole owner in 2013. Benoit still works with Christine as one of the butchers at their retail location, assisting customers with purchasing unique cuts and personalized product choices.

When it comes down to what makes L’Original special, Christine says it’s their personalized service and smoked products. “People will drive quite far to purchase our homemade products.” she says. Their star products being their signature mignon ham and maple bacon. Maple is a staple in the Quebec/Ontario francophone region, with the taste and flavour of the bacon bringing a sense of nostalgia for customers who grew up in the area. “It’s not like the bacon you’ll find at the grocery store, we make it special here.” They recently introduced the ‘Mysterious Sausage’ to market, and with its top-secret recipe and delicious flavour it has become one of the products she is most proud of.

The pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone, but Christine has seen a positive shift with more customers wanting to know where their food comes from and are returning to buying local. Keeping up with demand hasn’t been easy but the team at L’Orginal has been very supportive in keeping the business going by putting their heart into producing top notch product and service to customers.

Family has been the foundation of the business since the beginning, and that core value translates to the employees. Christine believes in treating your employees and customers like family and supporting each other through good and bad times. “It’s a part of the culture here at L’Original Packing, and our customers can feel that when they walk in the door.” says Christine.

In 2019, Christine was awarded the Prescott Russell Chamber of Commerce ‘Entrepreneur of the year’ award for her leadership. An accomplishment she is very proud of. “Being a woman in the industry has been challenging at times. I’ve had to overcome many stereotypes and obstacles to build the business, but I never gave up,” says Christine. Over the years Christine has worked to encourage more women to enter the industry and today has several women on her management team.

L’Original has been a member of Meat & Poultry Ontario since 1986. Christine finds the access to industry and technical knowledge to be the greatest asset. She says, “It’s nice to have a place that either already has the answers for you or can quickly find them for you.”

L’Orignal Packing Ltd. 2567 County Road 17 L’Orignal Ontario (613) 675-4612 general@lorignalpacking.ca http://www.lorignalpacking.ca