Mercier takes home $10,000
Cheesemaker will now expand his operations in North Rustico
Now backed by the $10,000 championship prize they won during the 2018 Dragons’ Contest, cheese makers Gabriel and Deirdre Mercier will soon begin the construction of a sheep cheese production plant on their Isle Saint-Jean Farm in North Rustico.
They accepted their giant cheque from Chris Palmer, provincial minister of Economic Development and Tourism, who was representing the sponsor, Innovation PEI. The contest finale was held jointly with the 2018 Acadian Entrepreneurs’ Gala March 17, at the Centre Belle-Alliance in Summerside.
The winners couldn’t stop smiling after hearing the decision of the three judges or “dragons” - Alfred Arsenault, general manager of EvangelineCentral Credit Union; Pauline Roy, director of the Centre Assomption de recherche et de développement en entrepreneuriat in Moncton, and Olivier Bertrand, entrepreneur with the companies xoxolo.com, les Druides du Web and Elumicate in Moncton.
The competition at this fourth edition of the contest was tough since the two other finalists also presented highly valid entrepreneurial projects.
Stéphanie St-Onge-Cornish of Summerside had presented a project for the expansion of her podology centre, Blossom Foot Care - she even sang an adapted version of a little French traditional song about wear-andtear on one’s feet from walking all the time.
Contestant Sylvain Gagné of Charlottetown presented a project for the addition of a fresh blueberry processing plant to his Gagné Blueberries operation and he had brought along an old-fashioned blueberry rake and a case of small blueberry containers for demonstration purposes.
Gabriel Mercier’s grandfather was a master cheese maker in Quebec who handed down his passion to his grandson. Mercier and his wife Deirdre set up Isle Saint-Jean Farm in North Rustico in 2015, first of all to start producing sheep milk.
Their intention was always to eventually build their own cheese-making plant. In the meantime, they negotiated a deal with Mathieu Gallant’s Island Artisan Cheesehouse in Mont-Carmel to use his plant to process their milk into cheese and yogurt.
In addition to building their new cheese house, the Merciers are looking to increase both their production and sales and to hire additional staff in the short-term.
In the long-term, they would like to export and train other producers. Their financial projections also show respectable increases in both sales and profits.
In addition to the $10,000 investment, the winners receive a free one-year membership to the Summerside and Charlottetown Chambers of Commerce.
The three finalists get a free membership to the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of P.E.I.