The small town of Florenceville-Bristol in Canada’s New Brunswick province is home to just over 1,600 people. But this picturesque community on the banks of the Saint John River also happens to be the French Fry Capital of the World. That’s because Florenceville-Bristol is the headquarters of McCain Foods, the largest producer of frozen french fries on the planet.
McCain Foods today is the 19th largest company in Canada. It was established in 1957 by brothers Harrison and Wallace McCain. Their father, Andrew D. McCain, was a widely-known farmer of seed potatoes. He also had a knack for marketing. He was able to distribute his potato seeds throughout New Brunswick and developed a robust export trade with Caribbean nations and Latin America.
Young Men With a Knack for Business
Sons Henry and Wallance were working for an oil company when they both decided they did not want to spend the rest of their lives as employees. They took a page from their father’s success with spuds and went into a different kind of potato business.
After a huge amount of research, the two entrepreneurial-minded brothers opted to set up a factory for turning potatoes into frozen french fries. The first factory was a fast success because of the McCains’ focus on producing a high-quality product and their ability to export over long distances by creating an efficient distribution system.
Writing recently, Wallace McCain said he and his brother wanted to start a business that would be able to make a million dollars. However, he said the money was not their true motivation. What they really wanted to do was “have fun,” he said. For Wallace and Henry, building a frozen food operation was “a game and a challenge.”
The French Fry That Conquered the World
McCain french fries quickly spread across Canada and then jumped to compete in foreign markets. Today the firm enjoys a global reach and has 22,000 employees. Company value is estimated at $6.8 billion USD. One in every four frozen potato products in the world is made by McCain. One of every three french fries is a McCain.
Not surprisingly, the main event every summer in Florenceville-Bristol is the National French Fry Day. It draws between 1,500 and 2,000 celebrants. It’s an event similar to a Fourth of July in an American small town, complete with a parade, french fry eating contest, french fry cutting contest, musical entertainment, a dance and more.
Major Commitment to Sustainability
A major focus for McCain today is sustainability. Long-term planning by managers includes ambitious goals to reduce carbon outputs by 25% per ton of potatoes produced within 10 years. Plans call to increase water-use efficiency by 15% within five years.
They are also investing heavily in regenerative agricultural practices. McCain spearheaded an effort to create a new group called One Planet Business for Biodiversity. This is a consortium of diverse agriculture-sector companies that will combine resources and knowledge to further the practice of regenerative agriculture.
McCain also signed on to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an effort bankrolled by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The goal is to eliminate the use of plastics, such as packaging, in favor of biodegradable and recyclable materials.
