Benny&Co. is proud to announce the launch of its products available exclusively in the 296 IGA grocery stores across Quebec.
IGA supports many well-known Quebec food establishments, Benny&Co. is going to profit from their new line of frozen chicken products and BBQ sauce.
Many consumers live in the age of convenience. For some families going to a restaurant can be a tall order. Sometimes restaurants such as Benny&Co. are not located close to their homes. Quebec is the rotisserie chicken capital for food lovers. Benny&Co. a family-run business is expanding to meet demand the appetite for chicken. Culturally, chicken is a safe food for many ethnic groups. The chicken business is growing stronger in the past year in the USA as well as in the Quebec market. There are many cooking options with chicken. The chicken line is great economically. There are many supper ideas and time-saving recipes that will keep everybody happy.
“Chicken’s health profile allows it to fit well into just about any lifestyle and diet – it’s low fat, low carb, keto, paleo, low calorie, etc.,” – Chicken Farmers of Canada (Lisa Bishop-Spencer)
The grocery sector is very competitive. Many restaurant brands have found their way into the hearts of consumers through grocery stores. How do you stand above other brands? You give the public quality so that they keep coming back. Some of Quebec’s top restaurants have found their way to the grocery stores. Benny&Co. wants to get an equal footing with their own frozen chicken products. With COVID-19 it was challenging in the restaurant business to keep afloat, the grocery brand kept many establishments alive. So, this side of the business keeps the brand afloat and is an added bonus. I truly believe, Benny&Co. will get new customers who never had the chance to try their products in the past. The Quebec brand will join a very lucrative market dominated by international companies. I would encourage you to support this great family-run business that wants to leave a strong impression on your taste buds. So let’s start with the products they are offering.
Bits O’ Chicken
I want to firstly say, the packaging of all products with the different bright colors will attract your eye. The approachable typography stands out to catch your attention. You can tell the whole program was well researched from A to Z. One thing I hate about this type of branding is when companies have different foods and use the same type of packaging for all their products. It becomes confusing and consumers purchase the wrong item. Benny&Co. takes that equation out by offering a multi-color scheme for each product. You know exactly what you are purchasing.
When it comes to chicken bites, McDonald’s has built its chicken empire on the nugget for those picky little eaters. I love dipping nuggets in fruity-flavored sauces. Bits O’ Chicken are tender little morsels that will leave you wanting more. Once you start you cannot stop yourself. As much as I love the standard dips, I love drenching mine in Frank’s Red Hot sauce. Any equivalent hot sauce will do fine. If you are not into hot sauces like me, you should dip yours in Benny&Co. BBQ sauce.
I found a cool recipe for the Bits O’ Chicken that I will definitely try next time. Chicken kabobs are quite simple. Bake the Bits O’ Chicken and create kabob sticks with fresh-cut carrots and celery. Alternate your veggies with the chicken on the stick. You can dip your kabobs in blue cheese.
Chick ‘N Tenders
The Chick’n Tenders were as you would expect, soft and succulent. I cooked the tenders for 25 minutes and flipped them a couple of times to get the proper tenderness. I made wrap sandwiches with tortillas from the Quebec company Mejicano. First, I generously buttered the tortillas with MAG mayonnaise. We loaded our wraps with swiss cheese from Fromagerie St-Guillaume, cherry tomatoes from Serres Royales, and earthy fresh lettuce from Laitues Mirabel. Next time I plan to make with the Chick’n Tenders Buffalo chicken hot dogs. All you need is hot dogs buns and Frank’s buffalo sauce and Ranch sauce sprinkled with chopped green onions. There are so many recipe possibilities out there.
Winnin’ Wing
Winnin’ Wings are perfect for sporting events in your home. Football season is a few months away. Super Bowl and Grey Cup parties will make you a winner with your friends. I love my wings extra crispy, just leave a bit longer in the oven.
Veggie Fingers
The meat alternative market is exploding. All major chain restaurants are looking for sales growth in this new market. Veggie Fingers is Benny&Co.‘s answer to clients who want to enjoy the taste of chicken with slaughtering one. The Veggie Fingers come very close to tasting like chicken. You can create some great recipes that will please non-meat eaters. I was really surprised by the taste. For people with health concerns, chicken has always been the better choice when it comes to meat. Veggie Fingers is an added bonus for consumers looking to stay fit with a vegetarian regiment.
BBQ Sauce
The famous Benny&Co. BBQ sauce is finally available to the public in the grocery store. You can dip any of your favorite chicken offerings in this sauce. Just make sure you refrigerate after use. Honestly, you will go through it so fast you will need to buy more. The chain that shall remain nameless that sells sauce in cans for years has nothing on Benny&Co. BBQ sauce. This zesty sauce is out of this world. I drowned the BBQ sauce with some hot fries I made in my deep-fryer.
I strongly recommend you top up each week with the new Benny&Co. line of chicken products from IGA. Supporting this family-run business is a great way to get our local economy to grow stronger. It’s a win-win situation, you are getting great food, making healthier choices for yourself and your family.
More about Benny&Co. and their partners
Benny&Co. offers five grocery store products with the same great taste as the meals served in its restaurants. The famous Benny&Co. retail BBQ sauce is prepared by Produits Alimentaires Berthelet in its Boisbriand plant. As for the four frozen products, three of which are poultry-based and one soy-based, they were developed in partnership with Novo Poultry, an ultra-modern, high-performance and innovative poultry cooking plant.
“After more than four years of research and development, we are finally unveiling our first five grocery products—the result of teamwork between all departments of the company. During the development process, we focused on partners who prioritize the quality of our raw materials, food safety and local products,” said Nicolas Filiatrault, Benny&Co’s vice president of finance and administration.
“Supporting the deployment, development and growth of Quebec brands and companies is part of the DNA of IGA/Sobeys and our independent merchants who also run family businesses like Benny&Co. This partnership will allow consumers to have access to a new and varied product offering, from a reputed and appreciated brand like Benny&Co., in collaboration with a supplier as distinctive as Novo Poultry. For us, this type of collaboration is natural and offers a multitude of opportunities to feature Quebec’s agri-food expertise,” added Stéphane Bergeron, Quebec Director, Meat, Deli and Fish category at Sobeys.
Quebec partners who lead the way in their field
Built in 2019, the Novo Poultry plant offers a unique poultry enhancement concept that meets the most stringent Canadian Food Inspection Agency standards for new retail fully cooked coating recommendations. Its upstream zone cooking technology permits the use of different automated processes in a continuous 575-foot-long production line to ensure a product that is cooked in the proper environment, thus improving its yield and taste. Novo Poultry has a cooking capacity of more than 10 million kilograms of poultry per year.
“The Benny&Co. formula has remained in the tradition of true rotisserie cooking and it is a great pleasure to work with this forward-thinking family business. Our state-of-the-art process allows for gentler upstream cooking and results in a fully cooked, juicier and more tender coated poultry product with less waste. In addition, our cooking oven runs on recirculated thermal oil; it combines quality and energy efficiency, thus reducing our environmental footprint,” said Daniel Bonnafé, President of Novo Poultry.
Produits Alimentaires Berthelet is a pioneering Quebec-based company in the food industry that relies on the quality, consistency and good taste of its products.
“Berthelet has specialized in the manufacture of sauces and soup bases for over 60 years. We have developed a relationship of trust with the Benny family over the past few years. Our team of six people that works exclusively in research and development has design, among other things, the Benny&Co. BBQ sauce recipe for retail sale. It has the same taste as the sauce in their rotisseries,” said Serge Racette, President and CEO of Produits Alimentaires Berthelet.
These two partners will be valuable collaborators in helping Benny&Co. meet demand in IGA grocery stores and satisfy consumers. Benny&Co. inaugurated its new restaurant concept last April in downtown Montreal. Quebec’s largest family rotisserie chain now offers a modern and refined dining room with a bar area. In addition, a new counter offers ready-to-eat meals to go. Another restaurant will soon open at 201 Saint-Jacques Street in Old Montreal.
About Benny&Co.
Benny&Co., Quebec’s largest family rotisserie, with a network of 67 branches in Quebec and Ontario, specializes and excels in roasting chicken with its exclusive three-hour slow-roasting technique developed by cofounder Gilles Benny. Rotisserie chicken specialist since 1960, the third-generation company now offers products in grocery stores and is still 100% owned by members of the Benny family. Benny&Co. sells more than nine million rotisserie chicken meals per year, employs more than 2,100 people and is recognized by the Aliments du Québec au menu. To find out more: www.benny-co.com.
About Novo Poultry
Novo Poultry is a poultry cooking plant that offers an innovative approach to every step of its highly automated process, starting with upstream cooking, which allows it to meet the industry’s most demanding standards by offering fully cooked coated products. Located in Varennes, the company, whose facility was built in 2019, is owned by regional entrepreneurs and employs 20 people, 15 of whom work at the plant. For more information, visit www.novopoultry.com.
About Produits Alimentaires Berthelet
Founded in 1960, Produits Alimentaires Berthelet is a pioneering company that is recognized as an indispensable key player in the Canadian food industry. With two (2) manufacturing plants and over 120 employees, Berthelet manufactures a wide range of over 1,500 dehydrated and liquid products. Leaders in sauce mixes, soup bases, spices, and dessert toppings, their reputation is based on the quality, consistency, and great taste of the products they offer, as well as on their unparalleled customer service! Visit berthelet.com to learn more.