Call for Tenders - details

The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) invites you to submit your tenders for Gift Pack and Discovery Box products to be sold in its store network during the 2025 Holiday Campaign.

Using the online form and submitted with the non-refundable payment by credit card of C$240 per offer, your tender must be received BY THURSDAY, March 13, 2025. at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Canada (hereinafter the "closing of the call for tenders").

NOTE: any other type of offer (Spontaneous offer - OS) or submission method (Excel, PDF, fax, etc.) will be refused.

For the 2025 Gift Pack/Discovery Box operation, please note that some products included in the 2024 Holiday Campaign will be renewed. These products will be selected by the SAQ and must be submitted as renewal offers (RC) and not in response to this call for tenders (AO). We will contact the agents representing them by February 28, 2025. Please make sure you renewal offers (RC) are up-to-date.

To meet the specific needs for the 2025 Gift Pack/Discovery Box operation, the SAQ intends to select approximately FIFTEEN (15) products from this call for tenders within the following types of products. The number of products selected in each category will be based on the offers received. In order to promote discovery, we are particularly looking for tasting boxes. The number of products selected per category will be determined based on the offers received.

SPIRITS
BEERS
PORT
TABLE WINE (all formats and container types)*
CHAMPAGNE
SPARKLING WINE
QUEBEC HOMEGROWN PRODUCTS
LOW-ALCOHOL
HIGH-END PRODUCTS IN GIFT PACKS (BETWEEN C$100 AND C$250)

Note:
Suggested retail price: maximum C$100.00, except for high-end products
The value of the gift portion (packaging, gift box, gifts, etc.) must be attractive to the consumer and provide a purchase inducement.

*Examples: 250 ml can, 375 ml half bottles, etc.

Evaluation criteria:

1.Originality of the product for the new submitted gift packs.
2.Visual evaluation of the product and quality/appeal of the non-alcoholic part of the gift pack.
3.Retail price compared with the alcoholic product already sold stores.
4.Sales performance of the alcoholic product sold in stores.
5.Diversity of the offers.

Criteria to be observed:

• No new liquid. The liquid must already be sold at the SAQ and have an active SAQ code).
• A new format of an active product sold at the SAQ will be accepted.
• The nature of the product.
• All the gift packs must contain one or more alcoholic or dealcoholized products.
• The gift pack must not contain ANY food product.
• The UPC/EAN13 code on the gift pack must be different from the code on the alcoholic or dealcoholized product and must be free to use. This code should in no case be linked to a product with quantities remaining in the network or a product having no transaction in the 2 years preceding reuse, otherwise corrections will be required.

The selected products will have to be packed by the supplier before shipping.

IMPORTANT the overall environmental aspect of the gift pack will be taken into consideration: percentage recycled content/recycling, materials used, packaging reuse/added value, etc.

Promotional budget:

A promotional budget is required in order to cover displays and promotion fees of at least 17% of the purchase price per case are charged. Any additional promotional budget offer will be considered. If the product is selected, this budget will be invoiced directly to the supplier based on the number of cases ordered by the SAQ

SAQ Dépôt requirements

No products will be selected for the SAQ Dépôt banner through this call for tenders.

Order

To be included in the Gift Packs/Discovery Box - 2025 Holiday Campaign operation, the order should be shipped in time for receipt by October 6, 2025.

Failing to meet this deadline could lead to changes in quantities or to cancellation of the order.

Complement to the call for tenders to tender (applicable to all offers (AO and RC))

To clarify the offer as submitted on SAQ-B2B, you will be asked to complete this survey and answer all the questions before the closing of the call for tenders. The compiled results will be used to calculate the retail prices and to clarify certain details of the offer. This form replaces the information that was entered in the Other section Note fields on the Product and Offer page in previous calls for tenders.

Submission of visual

On submitting the offer and before the call-for-tenders deadline, you will have to email the gift pack visual (complete picture of the bottle and packaging, as seen on a shelf by the Quebec consumer) to SAQCommercialisation@saq.qc.ca.

Make sure to include the offer number (e.g. AO-xxxxx or RC-XXXXXX), the product name and call for tenders name in the subject line of the email. The visual can be in PDF or JPEG format or a PowerPoint presentation.

Criteria to meet

Container and packaging

Eco-design:

• Avoid materials that are unrecyclable in Quebec (ceramic, porcelain, stoneware, crystal, wood, plastic laminate, compostable or biodegradable plastic, vinyl and PVC).
• Favour lightweight glass containers.
• Favour alternative containers that are recyclable in Quebec and have a lower carbon footprint than glass (aseptic container (e.g. Tetrapak), monomaterial plastic (e.g. PET 1) or aluminum cans).
• Reduce overpackaging and the amount of materials used (optimization).
• Favour containers and packaging made with recycled content.

Standardized format (according to the Bottle Labelling and Packaging Guide)

There are several standard container sizes for wine. Wine can be sold in the following formats: 50 ml, 100 ml, 200 ml, 250 ml, 375 ml, 500 ml, 750 ml, 1 L, 1,5 L, 2 L, 3 L and 4 L.

For spirits, the accepted formats are 50 ml, 200 ml, 375 ml, 700 ml, 750 ml, 1.14 L and 1.75 L.

Price

Refer to the Purchasing and Merchandising Policy, chapter 5 - Product Purchasing, section 5.2 - Price.

Exchange rates

The exchange rates applicable to this call for tenders are:

Currency    Country of origin    Currency     Standard rate

CAD           Canada                  Dollar           1.0000
USD           United States         Dollar           1.3914
XEU            Europe                  Euro             1.5020

To submit a product offer, you must:

• Access the SAQ-B2B online portal*

To access the call for tenders, take one of the following paths:

• Access the Calls for Tenders section
or
• Select the My Products section
o Access the Catalog of Offers and Private Import Requests module
o Click on the Select link for Respond to an SAQ Call for Tenders

• Select the call for tenders for which you wish to submit a tender
• Scroll down to the end of the text
• Create an offer
• Complete the offer and submit it online.

IMPORTANT: In the Offer Details section, when answering the Supplier Price (Per Case) question under the Product and Offer tab, please provide the TOTAL supplier price (liquid AND packaging).

Note: The suggested retail price as calculated on the product offer form is provided for information purposes only. For the suggested retail price of the gift package, you can contact the Pricing Department (PrixdeRevient@saq.qc.ca) once you've completed the survey form, which will give them all the tools they need to proceed.

*If you are not a member of one of the transactional sites, you can create an account free of charge and use it to submit offers via the Subscribe section.

Specific requirements

A) Certified organically farmed products

Products labelled ORGANIC or any other such name must meet the labelling requirements of the Canadian Organic Products Regulations.The products must also comply with the requirements of Part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and of the Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants du Québec (CARTV). Proof of accreditation or certification will be required.

All products must have a shelf life that allows them to be sold within a reasonable time frame, which we consider to be at least one year from the date the order is picked up).

B) Fair trade-certified beverage alcohol products

Suppliers that submit a product designated "fair trade" must hold a recognized certification, such as Fairtrade or Fair for Life.

The name of the accreditation body (TransFair or Fairtrade) must be entered in the Additional Information box of the Product and Offer tab in the Other section of the form. Proof of certification or accreditation will be demanded at a later stage.

C) Environmental claims

Producers submitting a product with an environmental claim must comply with the standards of the Guide for Industry and Advertisers of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

When a new product is selected, the supplier must complete the Environmental Claim - SAQ Responsibility Charge form.

General conditions

The SAQ reserves the right not to accept any of the received tenders, to cancel this call for tenders and to reject all tenders, with no compensation to the tenderers and without the SAQ's being held liable for any costs or losses incurred by the tenderers.

The SAQ considers that any omission, abstention, inaccuracy or instance of non-compliance with one or another of the provisions of this call for tenders will render the tender unacceptable and may result in the cancellation of the offer.

No changes will be allowed once the call for tenders is closed.

Any false or incorrect information included in the offer, any changes made after the product has been selected or any failure to meet various deadlines may result in the withdrawal of the product.

The SAQ is not bound to accept a tender for a product even if the product meets a specific requirement described in this call for tenders.

The SAQ will not assume any expenses incurred by the producer of this call for tenders to prepare and submit its offer.

All submitted offers, all documents and all other items received during the processing of the offer become the exclusive property of the SAQ.

If, at the end of the evaluation of the offers, its product is selected, the supplier must commit to complying with the applicable conditions of the Purchasing and Merchandising Policy.

To avoid possible confusion, please wait for the SAQ's reply and instructions before sending the required labels and samples.

Only the French version of this call for tenders has official value. In the event of any discrepancy between the (official) French version and the English version, the French version shall prevail.

For more information about filling out the form, please contact SARA, our business relations assistance service, at 514 254-2711 or via Contact Us.