Auguste Renoir's Le Déjeuner des Canotiers is Cassis Monna & Filles in painting. The company cherishes this guinguette atmosphere of encounters and pleasures, revives a place buffeted by the river winds, sublimates a small black fruit and, above all, celebrates a family. A legacy that the girls do not want to freeze in time.

Passing on your passion… an exercise in trust

“The transfer took years,” reveals Anne Monna. “The transition was uncomfortable for all of us.” Even in the best families, conflicts wear you down. Especially when it comes to your baby, your life plan. Founding father, Bernard Monna is a farmer and craftsman from a line of French liqueur makers who had a passion for blackcurrants in his belly when he arrived in Quebec in the 1970s. Black currants do indeed grow on Félix Leclerc’s land and the man has flair. He will be the first to import, cultivate and process them. It’s quite a legacy that he leaves to his daughters, “an extraordinary place, internationally renowned products, and an authentic artisanal side like no other,” says Anne.

Feeling the call to return to the lifestyle she had known on the island, the eldest left Montreal to come back and lend a hand to her father in 2002. With her "cook buddy", she runs the charming seasonal bistro that showcases blackcurrant production with derivative products.

It would become La Monnaguette , a nod to the French guinguettes à la Renoir. The following year, Anne joined them. “We’d always help out here and there since we were little,” remembers the youngest sister. “We’d follow my parents into the field, play store. My father ran the sugar shack; he grew asparagus, and my mother, roses. We were used to that, surrounded by projects to make a living from the land. But there, we worked hard, without any investment.” Perhaps her father wanted to test their ambition? “It was out of the question for him to have a door built, so we went through the window. We lived upstairs and shared the bathroom with the customers. What great memories! We really got the taste of being our own bosses.”

A long transfer process

A project that was only the beginning of the handover of the company. "It was our brother who was supposed to take over, but his personality clashed too much with that of our father," explains Anne. "Over time, we had to get our hands dirty." While the eldest became more involved in production, the youngest put her touch on the restaurant and the decor. "It wasn't easy for my sister, he wasn't necessarily the best teacher to pass on his knowledge. My father is quite a character!" Anne remembers, without bitterness: "Those were difficult years. It must be said that he still had a clear image of his dreams. We arrived with our big ideas! Fortunately, Catherine and I were united in putting our vision forward."

It was when they received professional and personal support from the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) in a succession process, in particular with personality tests, that the vision became clearer: "Identifying our values, asking ourselves the right questions about what we wanted in our lives, what really motivated us, was an essential exercise for moving forward," says Anne, happy to have been able to put her cards on the table.

Support is a key to success for the girls. They continue to receive coaching, mentoring and training, particularly in conflict management, conscious communication and human resources.

The transfer process stretched out over a decade. “We were going around in circles with notaries and tax experts, we had no sense of urgency. My father must not have been in such a hurry to officially retire and give up full control of his baby.” The co-owners since 2005 officially became the majority shareholders in 2015 when they made a significant financial commitment for major expansions. “We had already been transforming and developing the company full-time for quite some time, but we had to settle the matter at that point.”

Preserving tradition

“I remember that at the beginning, we started by renaming the company and redoing the brand image, because we wanted to keep the artisanal image and that it represented both of us,” explains Anne. “We were among the first companies to display a neat brand image in the image of local products.” An approach that above all allowed the sisters to ensure the cohesion of the company around the values of family, audacity and authenticity.

“What our father brought us, beyond the magnificent playground, is his creative and free spirit,” Anne emphasizes with emotion. “We were immersed in the arts, we were nourished by great ideas. It is important for us to continue to do things differently.”

Taking the craft business to another level while preserving its identity remains a challenge for growth. Since they have been at the helm, the sisters have succeeded in the challenge and recorded more than 400% increase in their turnover. Over time, the café-terrace overlooking the estate has been added the artisanal creamery, the boutique and the tasting room in the wine cellar and the economuseum divided into stations; the ancestral barn has undergone a facelift to accommodate the vat room and visitors. Projects for an artisanal micro-distillery are floating in the air.

Each one has their own field of expertise

“If it hadn’t been my sister, I don’t know if I would have gotten through it,” Anne confides. “Even today, we confront each other, we constantly question each other. Sometimes, it’s even more difficult than with my father, but that’s what keeps us moving forward, it’s a guarantee of success.”

To avoid micromanagement and playing on each other's toes, they have reserved areas of expertise that naturally suit them. "For me, it's human resources, sales, marketing, and customer experience. For Catherine, it's production and distribution." Next step? Developing foreign markets. The Monna girls are on a roll!

With shining eyes, Anne highlights the evolution of the testimonies since she and her sister have been at the helm of the company.