The history of a company, like that of a person, is punctuated by pivotal encounters and decisive turning points. In the 1960s, Lassonde’s broker Anastase Brault helped the company to land a contract with the big Steinberg grocery store chain to produce its cans of small yellow and green beans under a private label. But not for just any beans — only the best! The contract came with clear specifications and strict standards. Everything had to be given the green light by the lab before being shipped to the stores and a quality controller was even assigned to train suppliers.

Sam Steinberg was a grocer with high standards who was a pioneer in the field of quality control in the food industry in Quebec. Those standards would guide Lassonde in its future operations.

Like Aristide Lassonde and Anastase Brault, Sam Steinberg was a visionary who began to develop his keen business sense at the age of 15 when he opened his second grocery store. It was to his mother Ida that Sam owed his emphasis on quality and customer service.

A Hungarian Jewish immigrant, Ida Steinberg soon found herself alone with six children to support. She opened a grocery store which quickly attracted a clientele. The business thrived even during the Great Depression. What was Ida’s secret? Adding complimentary cookies to orders; letting customers buy on credit; slipping apples into grocery bags ready for home delivery. Sam embraced his mother’s credo: top-notch service and quality products at low prices made possible by such strategies and innovations as self-service stores, which Sam introduced to Quebec in the 1930s.

Next column: An important new ally…