Farmers markets and business groups feuding with Loblaws after disparaging text ad

Recent ads from Loblaw Co. urging shoppers to skip the line at their local farmers market and visit its budget subsidiary NoFrills instead are an attack on groups that already struggle to sell their products, organizations in two provinces said as they expressed their disappointment in the grocery giant’s ad campaign.

Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia Cooperative and the Ontario Small Business Community both said members got word of a text with NoFrills’ latest flyer featuring the disparaging message earlier this month.

Victoria Tinkler, community manager for the Ontario small business group, said she first thought she was witnessing a prank when some local farmers sent her screenshots of the text message on July 20.

“There’s a lot of people who really are not happy with Loblaw’s and how they’ve conducted business, and they’re unhappy with having their wallets and stomachs held hostage,” she said in a phone interview.

She said since verifying the text message did in fact come from the grocery giant, the province’s farmers have been “exceptionally vocal” about their upset over the message.

“Farmers markets are their home base. It’s where they’re able to do business directly with consumers without a middleman and they’re able to provide for their immediate communities,” she said.

Tinkler said seeing such a message from a grocer that sells products grown by Canadian farmers from coast-to-coast feels especially confusing for many farmers given what she called the “symbiotic relationship” between food producers and the stores that feed Canadians.

“It’s confusing and hurtful and upsetting to them because they do business with these chains, and to see … the very chains they do business with not support them is very upsetting,” she said.

In separate social media posts, both groups accused Loblaw of attacking small business owners, many of whom they argue can’t stay open to customers year-round and face many barriers when looking to get their goods on grocery store shelves.

“Farmers Markets do not operate year-round and are home to Canada’s local and independent farm businesses and farms…where they are able to do business directly with consumers without a middle man. They offer better value, fresher products, and community connections,” an Instagram post by the Ontario Small Business Group reads.

The text message came just two months after thousands of Canadians participated in a Loblaw boycott in response to the company’s soaring profits and the rising cost of living many Canadians are facing.

Tinkler said the latest marketing campaign is another example of Loblaw breaking trust with consumers.

“They are not a trusted company that people feel like they can be a consumer of and that they’re not being taken advantage of. A message like this is just another song in the chorus of ‘Loblaw’s, why did you do this?’” Tinkler said.

Tinkler also said Loblaw had told the Ontario group the ad was only distributed within the province.

But several Nova Scotia residents reported getting the message, too.

An Instagram post by the Farmers’ Market of Nova Scotia Cooperative also condemned the corporate messaging after NoFrills said the company understands the “vital role” Canadian farmers play in feeding communities.

The co-operative said by encouraging customers to shop at places that don’t offer fair prices for their goods in the first place, NoFrills and Loblaw “missed the point,” as many farmers cannot afford to sell to Loblaw and its partners due to razor thin profit margins and unfair prices.

“This giant corporation felt the need to punch down at small scale producers in order to promote their flyer, which they purport is built to support local farmers,” the market co-operative wrote in an Instagram post.

In an email to The Canadian Press, Loblaw apologized for any confusion or disappointment the campaign caused.

“While the text (was) intended to highlight our NoFrills local summer produce program, unfortunately it fell short of reflecting the true spirit of our campaign,” the statement reads. “… Please know that our commitment to supporting Canadian farmers and growers remains unwavering.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2024.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press