La Pinte is the story of two childhood friends, Pascal Valade and Rémi Ducharme, who spent their summers working on the fields of the Valade dairy farm. Several years later, while they were both students in administration, they met Dany Rouleau, who shared their dream of starting up an agri-food business. Together they meticulously developed their project to process and distribute milk from the region’s herds.

In 2014, they bought 20 milk cans, and a few months later they acquired the old bowling alley in Ayer’s Cliff, which they repurposed into an artisanal dairy farm. La Pinte was born! As owner and founder Pascal Valade explains, “Our business is developing rapidly because it connects with a clientele that cares about the traceability of the products they consume. Our premium milk is proudly sourced from Eastern Townships dairy cows and is sold in returnable glass bottles, which also appeals to environmentally conscious consumers.”

The developers of La Pinte have been working with the CAE Memphrémagog since the beginning of their project, for start-up financing, building purchase and renovation, and equipment acquisition. Valade notes that “it’s quite a challenge to start an artisanal agri-food business in the age of information technology; it feels like we’re going against the grain. We needed an exceptional financial partner who would put their trust in us. And this is what we found in the CAE Memphrémagog. In addition to the financing, they care about our business’s evolution.

The advisor suggested that I apply for a personal loan under the new Youth Strategy program since she knew I met the eligibility criteria and that it would be beneficial to our business.”