From Our Farm to You

There are many steps involved in bringing Sea Buckthorn products to store shelves. Mont Echo takes great pride in each step, from the growing of our plants to the the harvesting of the fruit to the processing and production of our skin care products. Find out more below.

Growing:
Mont Echo Sea Buckthorn is cultivated on our three family farms in Sutton, Quebec, and by a select group of dedicated farmers across Eastern Canada. Our Sea Buckthorn is grown in accordance with organic standards, without the use of pesticides, fungicides or herbicides.

On our family farms in Sutton, we planted our first four European varietals of Sea Buckthorn in the orchards in 2003. These original varietals were selected for their superior fruit production, the high oil content of their berries, and their suitability for growing in Quebec after extensive research and consultations with growers in Scandinavia. Since then, the farms have been expanded to include thousands of Sea Buckthorn trees.

Our trees are propagated from cuttings that are carefully selected from the parent plants. The cuttings are naturally nurtured without the use of synthetic agents in our onsite greenhouse until roots form and the new plants are ready to join the others in one of our orchard fields. The trees are pruned twice a year to promote proper growth, fruit production, and good overall health. Once the trees reach 3 – 4 years of age, they are ready for harvest.

Harvesting:
Mont Echo uses all parts of the Sea Buckthorn plant, including the fruit, leaves and branches, in our products. Many variables are taken into consideration to ensure that each part is collected at the ideal stage of maturation, when the nutritive value of the part is at its peak.

Harvest generally lasts from June through September. The time for harvest varies based on the growing season, the varietal, and the part of the plant to be harvested. The process is very labour-intensive as most parts must be collected by hand and the plants are extremely thorny.

After harvesting, the fruit, leaves and branches are cleaned and separated in preparation for processing. The fruit is placed in cold storage immediately to ensure a stable and consistent raw material while the leaves are naturally dried on racks. The branches are inspected and stored in a cool, dark room in our onsite facility.

Processing:
The processing of the various parts of the Sea Buckthorn plant is difficult and requires care, training, and specialized procedures and equipment to ensure pure, unspoiled raw and finished products.
All processing applications, including juicing, drying, fruit and seed oil extraction and gentle steam extraction are carried out by our dedicated, multidisciplinary team at our own onsite facility, making Mont Echo an innovator in the industry. Not only is Mont Echo the first company to focus entirely on 100% Canadian-grown Sea Buckthorn, we are also the first company in North America to commercially extract our own supercritical Sea Buckthorn fruit and seed oils. In addition, Mont Echo is the first and only company in the world to develop a Sea Buckthorn floral water.

All Mont Echo products are 100% natural, so care and strict protocols are extremely important at every stage in the growing, harvesting, processing and packaging of our Sea Buckthorn.

Products:
Mont Echo Bath & Body products are formulated with our 100% Canadian-grown Sea Buckthorn seed oil, fruit oil and floral waters to ensure that our customers receive all the benefits of this extraordinary plant. In addition to the Sea Buckthorn ingredients, our products contain only high quality, certified organic, biodynamically grown and wildcrafted essential oils and floral waters that are never bleached or processed, conserving all of their nourishing vitamins, minerals, enzymes, proteins and brilliant natural colours.
All of Mont Echo Naturels’ products are hand-blended onsite by our team and are immediately packaged under strict sanitation guidelines to ensure a high quality finished product.