January 2022
Dear Cool&Simple community, as we step into the New Year, we would like to start by thanking you for your continued trust.
Our dedicated team will continue working hard to make your gourmet meals easier to prepare. And beyond that, we will continue our initiatives to become a more impactful and positive company.
Thus, our ambition is to become in 2022 the frozen food expert in Canada that makes the most efforts to reduce its ecological footprint and increase its positive impact on the community.
We are going at our own pace and within our means, but our commitment is absolute and our powerful team is very committed!
The pandemic has given many of you the opportunity to discover the qualities of gourmet frozen foods in terms of freshness, practicality and anti-waste solution, as they are very easy to store.
We still have a long way to go in terms of improvements, but we are proud to present several of our accomplishments:
No more food wasted in our operations.
ZERO! That's the amount of food wasted at Cool&Simple in 2021. In other words, there is NO more food waste in our operations. This can be explained by our choice of deep-freezing, which "puts our products to sleep" to extend their shelf life. But also through the management of our products at their expiration date, through donations to food banks and the use of an anti-waste app in our stores.
By the way, let’s talk about food waste! According to the UN, Canada is (sadly) a world champion... The average Canadian throws away the equivalent of $1,100 worth of food per year at home, or 79 kg, which is 20 kg more than the average American (source: UN report, March 2021).
At Cool&Simple, we believe that using more quality frozen foods, while managing fresh produce better, can significantly reduce food waste at home.
#2 A new partnership with Too Good To Go
In order to fight against food waste, Cool&Simple was among the first in Montreal to partner with Too Good To Go Canada, the most downloaded anti-food waste app in the world! Since we launched two months ago, 300 surprise meal-baskets have found takers, and we aim to save more than 2000 meal-baskets by 2022. Way to go, anti-food waste heroes!
#3 Fundraiser for Schizophrenia
$24,300: that's the amount raised for the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Society of Quebec (SQS) during the 2020 and 2021 holiday seasons. Cool&Simple joined SQS for a Festive Menu operation.
Many thanks to all the people who made a gesture for this cause, which will help the SQS improve the quality of life of people affected by schizophrenia. This cause that is close to the heart of the founder of Cool&Simple, Vincent Mahé, whose mother is affected by the disease.
#4 Recyclable brown paper bags instead of Styrofoam boxes
8,300 Styrofoam cooler boxes already saved from your garbage! To reduce our ecological footprint, we started delivering the orders of our customers located in the Greater Montreal area in a simple brown paper bag.To ensure this, we had to invest in state-of-the-art trucks, well-equipped to deliver frozen food at the right temperature to your doorstep, both in summer… and winter!
#5 High Tech Delivery Trucks
In November 2020, we acquired the most modern delivery trucks that exist on the market equipped with an electric refrigeration unit and a cold ‘’air curtain’’ system above each door that ensure the cold chain is maintained, while reducing fuel consumption. Trust our high-
Trust our " high-tech freezers on wheels " to deliver ice cream at the right temperature... Even in summer!
#6 New Cool&Simple concept on Mont-Royal
57% : This is the energy saving achieved by our new Novum freezers, the most eco-efficient freezers in the world, which we are also the first to use in Canada.
You will find them in our new Cool&Simple store located in Plateau Mont-Royal, which has been completely renovated from top to bottom after within 3 months of work.. With its new decor and new technologies, this store will serve as our a "laboratory" to testwhere we will be able to try our new practices aimed at, to offer offering you a unique shopping experience, while reducing our ecological footprint.
#7 1st Cool&Simple shop-in-shop in Terrebonne
A new gourmet destination opened last summer for epicureans located in the Terrebonne region: say hello to the Marché des Tilleuls. Conceived Founded by its friendly and visionary merchant-owner, Derek Skinner, this unique grocery store features Cool&Simple products . You'll you’ll be able to easily spot our products in the many in iconic black freezers! iconic to our brand. You can even find our famous notorious mochi bar! Lanaudière customers, run to Marché des Tilleuls, it's your new favorite market!
#8 A wWarehouse dedicated to our online sales
To cope with the sudden influx increase of online sales, we set up a dedicated team, then inaugurated a warehouse to prepare digital orders in the summer of 2020. Until now, only customers in the Greater Montreal area have been delivered directly by our "freezers on wheels". For our customers outside the Greater Montreal area, we ship in insulated boxes with dry ice.
#9 Renewed team for new challenges.
80% of our current Cool&Simple team have joined us in the last two years. New dynamic collaborators to take on challenges aligned with our values, we like it!
The ranks have swelled in human resources, product development, digital marketing, finance and strategy, communication, and logistics. Always with the aim of serving you better!
Our common goal is to act as a positive force with our 5 stakeholders to become an ever more responsible company: our customers, our employees, our community, the environment, and our governance.
#10 8:30 every morning: ever more connected
4000 minutes - that's the time the teleworking team spent addressing priorities and pain points. Collaboration is critical to our success, so we set up a short daily meeting to bring the troops into sync. This way, the team feels connected and up to date!
In 2022, the adventure continues... stay tuned!
Vincent Mahé
President Cool&Simple
