M&M Meat Shops

M&M Meat Shops (French: Les aliments M&M) is the largest specialty frozen food store chain in Canada. The company is headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, and has locations in all ten provinces, the Yukon and Northwest Territories; the company formerly had operations in the Midwestern United States under the MyMenu brand that was discontinued in early 2011.

Origin

M&M was founded by Michael "Mac" Voisin and Mark Nowak in Kitchener, Ontario, in 1980. Voisin and Nowak's original business model was to provide good quality meat at lower prices. The partners discovered that flash frozen meats retained their freshness, but because they could be stored over a longer term, could be sold at a price comparable to supermarket meats.

M&M locations are generally small outlets in strip malls, consisting of several freezers, a counter, a conspicuous price list, and a Meal Advisor.

In addition to the head office in Kitchener, M&M has a regional office in Montreal, Quebec and Calgary, Alberta.

Growth

M&M opened its first new franchise in nearby Cambridge, Ontario, in 1982. Mac's brother and co-owner, Greg Voisin, became director of franchising in the mid-1980s. Since then, it has expanded to over 425 stores across Canada. M&M entered Quebec in 1992 and in 1997, it entered the western provinces by acquiring the business of Jeffrey's Food, based in Edmonton, Alberta in 1993. M&M opened its first store in Yukon in 2004 (at Whitehorse) and in the Northwest Territories in 2006 (Yellowknife). Some of Mac's family members, including Guy Voisin, also work for the company.

Although it originally focused on cuts of meat, it has expanded its offerings to prepared meals, appetizers, pizza, pasta, seafood, desserts and single servings, including meatless items to appeal to vegetarians. Recently, M&M has added a line of specialty premium ice cream.^[1]

Loyalty Program

In 2001, M&M Meat Shops created the MAX Rewards loyalty program that would give MAX members entries into exclusive contests, and special (MAX) pricing in-store. It is not a points-based program. Over time, the program grew to include special reward vouchers periodically available for over 8 million MAX members and special email offers sent through the eMAX newsletter.^[2]

Mascot

In the fall of 2012, M&M Meat Shops introduced a new mascot - a cute penguin. However, he did not have a name. In October 2012, M&M launched a Facebook contest to name the new mascot with one of the most suggested names becoming the mascot's new name. The fans chose to name the new mascot Max.

Digital Presence

In keeping with the changing times, M&M has developed a strong digital presence through their websites, email, and social media channels. The M&M Meat Shops website not only allows customers to browse through the products, peruse the flyer, and look for store locations; it also includes meal ideas and recipes^[3] and a relatively new feature called eOrder. eOrder allows customers to order their favourite products to pick up in-store. The new eFlyer also has integration with eOrder to allow customers to create their order directly from the eFlyer.

The website also includes a Nutrition and Allergen search tool that allows customers to browse products based on a variety of nutritional and dietary criteria ^[4]

Private Takeover

In July 2014, the brand was assumed by private investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. and partners. Searchlight appointed a chief executive officer, Andy O’Brien, and a chief financial officer, Sam Florio.^[5]

Charity BBQ Day and Corporate Sponsorship

Charity BBQ Day is M&M Meat Shops biggest charity event that is held annually on the Saturday before Mother’s Day. Charity BBQ Day supports the CCFC, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada, by raising funds for research through the sale of hamburgers and hot dogs for a minimum donation ^[6]

Charity BBQ Day first started in 1989, when the founder of M&M Meat Shops, Mac Voisin, wanted to give back to the community. He decide to support the CCFC, to help raise funds and support research into IBD, Inflammatory Bowel Disease. IBD has "no know cause or cure," and "Canada has among the highest reported prevalence of IBD in the world" ^[7] In 25 years, M&M Meat Shops has raised more than $24.3 million for medical research dedicated to finding a cure for IBD.^[8]

M&M Meat Shops holds other fundraising events through the year to support the CCFC, such as regional golf tournaments, the sale of Charity BBQ Day Penguins, Blossoms and Coupon Books, and by "sponsoring the Gutsy Walk and providing support in the form of BBQs in many event locations across the country.” ^[9]

M&M Meat Shops has also been a long time sponsor of the Canadian Junior Curling Championships and is a “full sub-sponsor to the CCA's Season of Champions ”.^[10] During the Season of Champions, M&M holds a contest where the grand prize is a trip to see the next year's World Juniors.

Awards and Recognition

M&M Meat Shops have won numerous awards over the years, such as a Gold Frankie Award from the Canadian Franchise Association for excellence in advertising: Internet/Website Design in 2008.^[11] In 2013, M&M Meat Shops successfully re-qualified for the 7th consecutive year (Platinum) as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC Commercial Banking, National Post, and Queen’s School of Business.^[12] M&M Meat Shops has also twice held the world record for longest sausage: first in 1983 and again in May 1995 with a 46.3 km (28.8 mi) sausage produced in conjunction with Schneider Foods.

MyMenu

In 2008, M&M ventured outside Canada for the first time, opening stores in the Midwestern United States under the banner MyMenu. Other than the new name (chosen to reflect a from-the-ground-up operation that "[helps] people put menus together"), MyMenu stores were similar in design and layout to the M&M locations in Canada, featuring freezers, a sales counter, and the blue-and-orange M&M color scheme.^[13] The company started with 8 original MyMenu stores—5 in the Madison, Wisconsin market and 3 in Fort Wayne, Indiana; these were considered "test market" locations, with the company hoping to convert them to franchise ownership before adding franchises in other Midwestern markets.^[14] A difficult economic climate that affected sales and franchise financing efforts prompted MyMenu to close 2 of its Madison stores in early 2010^[15] and all of its remaining Madison and Fort Wayne stores in early 2011. Despite this setback, MyMenu continued operations and changed its focus to co-branding opportunities with established retailers in existing locations; the first co-branding effort was the October 2010 launch of stand-alone MyMenu departments at three locations of general-merchandise retailer The Andersons in Toledo, Maumee, and Columbus, Ohio.^[16] According to the MyMenu website in March 2013, those co-branding efforts were discontinued, and MyMenu no longer operates in the United States.^[17]

References

External links

• M&M Meat Shops website
• MyMenu website