What happens when a social media influencer declares that the best poutine is in Mauricie, at Les Couleurs de la terre farm?
Well, it happens what happened: overnight, adding to that the impact of traditional media coverage, there is a rush to Grande-Rivière Nord Road, in Yamachiche, where the Fradette family farm, which specializes in growing potatoes.
Then, of course, there are adjustments in the way of making Fradette!
“For a few years, our business had been stable; we served our poutine to some 200 customers a day,” said Patricia Claveau, co-owner of the farm with her husband, Guy Fradette. In the summer of 2022, we were serving 2,500 customers every day!”
It was on June 24, 2022, after a quest of a few days, that influencer Niko Atsaidis declared that the best poutine and the best fries he had eaten in his life were at Les Couleurs de la terre farm.
“We didn’t know him, he came to us like any other client,” recalls Ms. Claveau. After his visit, he didn’t tell us anything, not even send a message. It was customers who showed us the video the next day.”
Admittedly, the Quebec tiktokeur served as a spark plug, but according to Patricia Claveau, it was the local and national media that sparked the Yamachiche rush and incited people in Montreal, Laval, Fermont, Toronto and even Philadelphia to travel to Mauricie.
“A week after the TikTok wave, I published a post on our Facebook page to tell the adventure lived on the farm. This publication earned us reports in the local media and then the national media arrived. They all came: TVA, Salut Bonjour, Le Journal de Montréal, Narcity, Urbania.”
“Without taking anything away from the impact of influencers, it is mainly because of this intense media attention that we experienced this rush last summer,” she says.
After such a success, everything is in place at the Fradette family farm to welcome people in 2023.
“We remodeled the kitchen and added equipment, mentioned Ms. Claveau. Our team of employees has grown from three to seven people; tables have been added and our supply is secure. In 2023, we expect to find a happy medium between the 15,000 customers received at the farm in 2021 and the 70,000 people who came to us in 2022.
The Colors of the Earth farm is open from mid-May to the end of October.
