No Frills has drawn sharp criticism from small business owners after texting customers and urging them to"skip the line at farmer's markets."
The Ontario Small Business Community, an online platform for small businesses, artisans, service providers and artists, shared a screenshot of the text on its Instagram account.A post shared by Ontario Small Business Community | Resources | Events | Support "Initially, I did not think it was authentic," said Victoria."I paused for a moment and wondered if this was, in fact, real, given how bold and audacious it felt.""Many felt shocked, given that farmer's markets really do not compete in the retail space; it's simply not how they do business," she said, adding that farmer's markets"co-exist and operate in the greatest of harmony.
No Frills responded, stating,"We apologize for the poorly worded text. The intent was to direct customers to our local summer produce program featuring Canadian growers. We understand the vital role local producers play and purchased over $1 billion of produce from Canadian businesses last year."